Are You Awake to Our Times?
BEING awake to danger can make the difference between life and death. This can be illustrated by what happened on two volcanic islands.
Mount Pelée, the most deadly volcano of the 20th century, erupted on May 8, 1902, on the Caribbean island of Martinique. It killed all but a few of the 30,000 residents of Saint Pierre, a city at the foot of the volcano.
In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo exploded in what was probably the greatest eruption of the century. It took place in a densely populated area of the Philippines and caused some 900 deaths. However, this time two factors helped to save thousands of lives: (1) being awake to the danger and (2) willingness to act in harmony with warnings.
Fitting Action Saved Lives
Mount Pinatubo had been dormant for hundreds of years when, in April 1991, it began to show signs of an impending eruption. Steam and sulfur dioxide began to escape from the cone. Local residents felt a series of earth tremors, and a sinister dome of solidified lava began to emerge from the mountain. Scientists from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology kept a close vigil and in time convinced officials that it would be wise to evacuate 35,000 inhabitants from nearby towns and villages.
People are understandably loath to flee their homes without cause, but reticence was overcome by a video presentation that vividly depicted the perils of a volcanic eruption. The mass exodus came none too soon. Two days later, a mighty explosion hurled two cubic miles [8 cu. km.] of ash into the atmosphere. Mudflows, or lahars, later killed hundreds. Probably thousands were spared, however, because the people had been alerted to the danger and had acted in harmony with warnings.
Escape From a Man-Made Cataclysm
In the first century of our Common Era, Christians living in Jerusalem also had to decide whether they should abandon their homes. Flight from that city in 66 C.E. saved them from the destruction that befell other residents and thousands of Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover of 70 C.E. Over one million people were inside that walled city for the Passover observance when Roman armies cut off any chance of escape. Famine, power struggles, and the Romans’ relentless attacks resulted in a death toll of more than one million.
The cataclysm that stamped out the Jewish revolt against Rome did not come unannounced. Several decades earlier, Jesus Christ had foretold that Jerusalem would be besieged. He said: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw, and let those in the country places not enter into her.” (Luke 21:20, 21) Those instructions were clear, and Jesus’ followers took them seriously.
The fourth-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea reports that the Christians of all Judea acted on Jesus’ warning. When the Romans abandoned their first siege of Jerusalem in 66 C.E., many Jewish Christians went to live in the Gentile city of Pella, in the Roman province of Perea. By being awake to their times and by acting on Jesus’ warning, they escaped what has been described as “one of the most terrible sieges in all history.”
Today, similar vigilance is needed. So is specific action. The following article will explain why.
[Picture Credit Line on page 3]
Godo-Foto, West Stock