Earthquake in Turkey

 

Over 34,000 people have perished in the major earthquake in Turkey. The land is now stricken with grief, and relief is flooding in from many Christian organizations. Turkey was once an epicenter Church History, it is where Constantine settled Eastern Rome, the Capitol named Constantinople, now Istanbul. There The Eastern Rome (Byzantium) endured from 330 to 1453 A.D. until it fell to the Ottoman Turks. Later Turkey would be a crucible of a Armenian Holocaust where over 2 Million Armenian Christians were killed in an act of genocide. 

Some may feel that this earthquake is The Lord recompensing the nation of Turkey for its crimes against Christians from past to present: The Seljurk Turks who robbed, raped and killed Christians on the pilgrim roads to Jerusalem prompting The First Crusade, then as The Ottoman Turks trying to conquer the Christian world with violent invasions that were stopped by miraculous Christian victories at Vienna, Lepanto, & Malta, then as the declining Ottoman Empire’s genocide of Armenian Christians where they killed over 2 Million Armenians, and still to this day denying  he genocide happened, and finally President Recep Erdogan of Turkey targeting Christian minorities in Syria and wanting violence against Christians (https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/2020/05/11/turkey-erdogan-uses-leftovers-of-the-sword-anti-christian-hate-speech

https://observer.com/2017/07/turkey-erdogan-christianity-church-seizures/amp/

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2019/november/shocking-cradle-of-christianity-on-the-verge-of-collapse-as-turkey-turns-northern-syria-into-death-zone).  

Well It does seem possible the earthquake was God’s punishment since Scripture says The Lord makes the Earth quake in his wrath and anger, “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation,” (Jeremiah 10:10), “You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire,” (Isaiah 29:6), “For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel,” (Ezekiel 38:19), “The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it,” (Nahum 1:5), “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry,” (Psalm 18:7), “The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel,” (Psalm 68:8).  

Jesus our Lord predicts earthquakes like the one in Turkey, “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven,” (Luke 21:11), “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains,” (Mark 13:8). We are also told there will be great earthquakes at the end of days that happen before and during Christ’s Return, “And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake,” (Revelation 16:18), “Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake,” (Revelation 8:5), “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place,” (Revelation 6:12-14) and finally when Jesus stands on Mt. Olivet after He Returns it shall split in a Earthquake like event, “On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.” (Zachariah 14:4). Thus it is possible this may be one of many predicted earthquakes. 

We should pray the Christian relief to the Turkey has an impact and bears fruit. That missionaries can sow the Truth of the Gospel as they help with needs; that God can use this tragedy to help save souls, because the Turkish People are precious to God like all people are; and He desires all be saved, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) and “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). It is important to remember some of the earliest Christians were from Turkey, that they got saved a Pentecost as the Apostle Peter preached (Acts, Chapter 2, look up the nations, many of them were from parts of Turkey). From very early on Christ was reaching out to The Turks, calling them to believe in Him, to be baptized in The Holy Spirit, and join the church, the family of God. Our prayers should be that even Recep Erdogen who hates Christians will turn from being like Saul who persecuted the Church into an Apostle Paul who founded churches: that Recep has a Damascus Experience where he hears “Recep, Recep, why are you persecuting me?” Amen.