by Jon R. Welker

A few people have engaged me in conversations regarding the great catastrophe that has taken place in the Pacific Rim nations, referring to the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. One person said, "You know, I'd just like to ask God, `Why?'!" When a person thinks of hundreds of thousands of people dead, or their lives disrupted and their homes completely damaged, it is difficult to fully comprehend. I heard a report in which one man expressed that he had lost forty members of his extended family: cousins, nephews, brothers, sisters...!

And I heard on the news one day that people started asking, "If there's a God, how could God do such a thing?" So, those kinds of concepts get thrown out again (as they did after the 9/11/01 tragedy). It gets back to the universal question "WHY?". Who are you? Why are you here? Where are you going? It's that ultimate question of life. What is life's purpose? Because if we don't understand that question, things like this "natural" catastrophe cannot be adequately explained.

WHY DO CERTAIN LOCATIONS INVITE "PSYCHIC ACTIVITY"?

I remember when some of us were living in San Diego in the 1970s, there were quite a number of airplane crashes in Southern California, and elsewhere. In one crash 144 people were killed. It went down in a densely populated neighborhood. It was a terrible disaster; people's lives snuffed out instantly. At that time some of us were involved in the WHO ARE YOU? studies, and reading GOD'S MASTER PLAN OF LOVE FOR MAN. So, we were able to put some of these things together into a meaningful whole, and not become cynical or sarcastic.

When we think back on "911" and thousands of people in high-rise skyscrapers and other buildings and planes whose lives were snuffed out, well, if you don't have some understanding of the purpose that God has for His spirit-children here on earth, then you can be left pretty high and dry in believing in a "loving God." Again, WHY? And why can we in America (at least a big percentage) and Western Europe still enjoy such comfortable lives? Yet, how long will it go on?

Years ago we were involved in discussions about areas such as the Bermuda Triangle, Machu Picchu (ancient Incan city of Peru discovered in 1911, where the Incas practiced ritual sacrifice, including that of humans, on a large scale, etc.), and other places where great psychic activity is often reported. Some of that is discussed in SHEPHERDSFIELD UPDATE #45. I think that we could expect similar phenomenon to happen in New York City. Because of the reported psychic activity, conferences on harmonic convergences and similar meetings have been conducted at Machu Picchu and similar places. And, many people are aware of legends regarding the Bermuda Triangle, yet what happened there historically? It's where crews of ships carrying black slaves, cast into the ocean, or literally murdered, thousands and thousands of people. They dumped them overboard, alive!

Some sort of psychic phenomenon is often reported in areas where lives of people were snuffed out quickly. So, what really goes on in those places? And, what takes place in the spirit realm? These are intriguing questions. Similar happenings are related to Machu Picchu, and elsewhere. It has now been reported in the WALL STREET JOURNAL (1/18/05), "as Thai people grapple with the physical after effects of December's natural disaster, they are also dealing with another serious problem: ghosts. For many Thais steeped in Buddhist teachings of rebirth, and even older animistic beliefs in spirits, ghosts are very real. When people die suddenly and violently, as they did in the December waves, spirits cling to their bodies and to familiar places, unsure of how to cross from the world of the living to the world of the dead, many here believe."

The area of the Pacific Rim nations where this recent tragedy hit was significantly Muslim in religious background, although there are some Buddhists and Hindus there as well. But a great percentage of the people killed were Muslim. I'm not saying this is directly the answer. Yet, God is faithful to His Word. And even though we are only nominally "Christian nations," Christendom which has departed and apostatized from much of God's Law, He's still faithful to His Word that for His servant Abraham's sake He will "bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you" (Gen. 12:3). The various attacks against Israel, Spain, the United States, etc., including "911," were perpetrated by Muslim fanatics against nominally Christian nations. Should we not ponder, "Is there a connection to that?" But that's not of course the ultimate answer as to "why." God doesn't hold responsible the innocent for the sins of those who are evil. Yet there's something that goes on beyond our physical realm in reference to the spirits that inhabit this earth, of which most people are unaware.

Ultimately, we've got to understand our own identity in this flesh - this "space suit" we wear around. There is something going on within us that transcends this body of flesh. And the answers to that are important. For members of Shepherdsfield this gets back to our identity as a group and the people to whom we minister and serve. Brother Dahl used to say, "Think big." How many people could be served by us or our students armed with just a basic understanding of principles which I have referenced which relate to this recent tragedy. People ponder the pictures and images, and those of the Trade Towers crashing down and thousands of people caught therein, and those in planes, perishing in moments. "Why?!," they ask....

Think of somewhere upwards of 200,000 people dead (maybe more), and others who are now displaced, wandering around dazed. That just staggers the imagination. And yet, God has foretold of much worse things to come. Why? Because He arbitrarily uses His "thumb" to "snuff out" human life when He has a whim? No! There's got to be a purpose, you see. There's something more.

Now some Christians will tell us we just have to take it by faith and "trust God." That may work for some people, but for many others, especially in our day of so-called "education" and science, and a time of the "doubting Thomases," they don't bite into that explanation. I imagine this will be a time when a lot of people are going to be using this tragedy to excuse themselves out of any belief in a God that is supposedly loving and caring about His children here on earth, and yet lets something like this happen, as the images are broadcast in the media. But, it will also be a great opportunity for us to share with many also.

Brush up on some of the concepts and understanding we have been given, because you may not know what situation you might experience in which you could be called upon to share words of life and understanding in the days ahead. Don't think in terms of thousands of people, it might be just one person.

NEWS FROM GERMANY...

Recently, I was engaged in a conversation with some people from Germany. They said that in Germany, America is considered very spiritual. The Germans don't talk about religion publicly, so when they hear President Bush say, "May God bless you" and such expressions, they are often shocked, because in Germany that would not be tolerated in their leaders. They said that many churches are doing good to be able to get twelve people, usually over sixty years of age, to their services. That goes along with what Bert Van Nes, whom Mikkel Dahl used to refer to as his "Edmonton friend," has said about Holland. Germany has entered into a time similar to that which is reported of in France, Holland and other European countries - they have departed, or apostacized, from the Christian faith, and the "falling away" is great.

The German woman said that Berlin has become the third largest Turkish city in the world: Istanbul, Ankara, and then Berlin! Her older son said this was because Germans, in the 1970s and 80s, were very arrogant. They didn't want to do the menial tasks, nor did they want to do the sanitation work and other similar jobs, so they brought in immigrants, especially Turks. What they didn't count on was that those workers also brought into Germany other family members, so that pretty soon they were inundated with illegal immigrants who were stretching Germany's socialistic support systems and overburdening the German economy. What I received from that conversation was that tensions are really building up there, just like they are in France, Great Britain, and elsewhere.

Don't forget what we've shared about the Four Riders of the Apocalypse (order our booklet entitled Four Riders, available from our Bookstore). One of those Riders still symbolizes Fascism. What is Fascism? It's a nationalistic spirit. Though some of these tensions are under the surface, just like the spirit of "Communism," it's still lying there. There's going to be a rising up against such social tensions, etc.

How ironic...Hitler had a measure of "success(?)" in "getting rid of the Jewish problem," yet Germany ends up with problems related to the Turks, who were their allies. These Germans expressed that in Turkey, which Ataturk tried to make a secular state, that even though the populace is mostly Muslim, the women and young girls, for the most part, do not wear head scarves. Yet guess what most Turkish females do in Berlin? They wear head scarves - they have been radicalized! So, there's tension. And it's things like this which are telling us where we are in the process of end-time events. Such tensions are like "fault-lines" that will lead to psychological "earthquakes" among people.

What is life's final purpose? It's one thing to be "Christian," attend church, or even live in Christian community, and read all the little books, etc. But what purpose is that, ultimately? What are you doing with it? How are you helping to bring any understanding beyond that which already exists? You don't have to be in Shepherdsfield in order to "share" so-called Christian Truth principles. There's something more you can do. God is going to be giving us more opportunities, as well as challenges, in the time to come.

REMEMBER THE MILLENNIUM?

A little later I want to share some things which I referenced at our "Eve of the Millennium" Conference in the Fall of 1999. For, it was at the Eve of Millennium Conference that I shared, just previous to its commencement, that I was walking down the road, and I asked the Lord that there might be something that would "punctuate" our efforts and to let us know we were on the right track. Then, there were several earthquakes in parts of the world - three in a row - that took place right at that time. Big ones!

I shared at the Conference that there are two kinds of earthquakes. One is literal, which shakes the earth physically. But there is another type of earthquake, and that is psychological. It is something that is so profound in our lives that it "shakes us up." Because of stressed areas, the pressure builds up and we experience a literal, physical earthquake. But that same illustration reveals the causes of psychological earthquakes also. When we're stressed and pressured in a certain area, there's a "fault line," a weak area, and it begins to crack or the pressure drives two forces in opposition, and something erupts. A tidal wave (of emotion) can result. When you think of an emotional wave, you can also imagine the result of an eruption, psychologically, which is also the "aftereffect" of a tremendous explosion! We erupt! This can also become "volcanic." It can be something that takes place as a result of the pressures that build in that area and the forces that are released. This concept is more fully discussed in THE SHAKING OF ALL THINGS by Leland Earls (available from our Bookstore). As in heaven so on earth, or as on earth so in heaven....

FACTS AND FIGURES...

Recent events are speaking to us, alerting us. They're keys to something taking place in the spirit world. And something so profound as the statistics which I am going to be sharing with you regarding the recent earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, which caused such destruction, is definitely related to some thing God would have those who "have ears to hear and eyes to see" to seriously consider.

The epicenter of this particular earthquake was over 5 miles below the surface of the ocean. That's a long distance. The buildup of the resultant pressure had its effect on the surface water. We've been told that wasn't as high as we might think. But as it built up, it obtained about 50 feet in height when it reached the shorelines! Yet that's not what was reported as causing such damage. It was the terrific speed at which it was traveling - 500 miles an hour! ...So fast that the power of it, some reports have claimed, was comparable to thousands, or even millions, of atom bombs such as that dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

I'm not trying to relate little bits of trivia about this recent earthquake for no reason. For we need to ask ourselves, what does this speak in reference to the Lord's purposes and plans? When we consider "fault lines" and pressures building underneath, we commence to understand. The "psychological earthquakes" and resultant "tsunamis" to come in places where pressures have been building up, will be powerful and highly destructive.

In checking the encyclopedia regarding tsunamis, we find the following:

Tsunami is the Japanese word meaning `harbor wave,' and is used as the scientific term for a seismic sea wave generated by an undersea earthquake...landslide or volcanic eruption. When the ocean floor is tilted...during an earthquake, a set of waves is created.... Most tsunamis originate along the Ring of Fire: a zone of volcanos and seismic activity...that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Since 1819 about 40 tsunamis have struck the Hawaiian Islands.
A tsunami can have wave lengths or widths of 60 to 120 miles and may travel...across the deep ocean reaching speeds of about 450 to 500 mph. Upon entering shallow coastal waters, the wave, which may have been only about...a foot or two high out at sea, suddenly grows rapidly. When waves reach the shore, they may be 50 feet high or more. Tsunamis have tremendous energy [and] are capable of obliterating coastal settlements.
Tsunamis should not be confused with storm surges, which are domes of water that rise underneath hurricanes or cyclones and cause extensive coastal flooding when the storms reach land. ...A cyclone and the accompanying storm surge killed an estimated 500,000 people in Bangladesh in 1970.
© 1993-2003 Encarta, Microsoft Corp.

Now let me share some information regarding the Richter scale, which is the method of ranking the strength or size of an earthquake.

The Richter scale...was devised in 1935 by the American seismologist, Charles F. Richter to rank earth-quakes occurring in California. [It was] later modified...to apply to earthquakes anywhere in the world.

The Richter scale ranks earthquakes based on how much the ground shakes 60 miles from the earthquake's epicenter, the site on the earth's surface directly above the earthquake's origin. The amount of ground movement is measured by an instrument called the seismograph. Seismographs can detect movement as small as about 0.000004 inches to...as large as about 40 inches. In order to deal with numbers in such a broad range, the Richter scale is a logarithmic scale. Each increase of `1' on the Richter scale represents a 10-fold increase in movement.

That's important to keep in mind. So if you're talking about 4 to 5, you're not talking about one step, you're talking 10-fold. So the difference between a 7 and an 8 is 10-fold greater, and the difference between an 8 and a 9 is 10-fold greater.

Thus, an earthquake registering 7 on the scale is 10 times as strong as an earthquake registering 6, and the earth moves 10 times as far. Earthquakes of magnitude 5 are considered moderate, while quakes of magnitude 6 are considered large, quakes of magnitude 7 are considered major, and quakes of magnitude 8 or larger are considered "great" [emphasis mine - JRW]. For example the Los Angeles quake of 1994 was a...6.7..... And the San Francisco quake of 1906 was a...7.9.... Although there is no upper limit to the Richter scale, earthquakes of magnitude 8 or greater are rare. Worldwide they occur only maybe once a year.

Now the reason that is rare is because there are earthquakes all the time. Remember, they can measure just inches. Our earth is continuously moving. But reaching a 9 doesn't occur often.

Scientists believe that the crust cannot store enough energy to release a magnitude 10 earthquake.

There is also no lower limit on the Richter scale. An earthquake 1/10 the size of a magnitude 1 earthquake would be a magnitude 0..., and an earthquake 1/10 that size would be a magnitude -1.... Earthquakes with negative Richter scales magnitudes occur every day, but are so small that they are difficult to detect.
The amount of energy released by an earthquake is related to how much the earth moves. ...[And] increases 32-fold for each increase of 1 on the Richter scale. Thus an earthquake registering 7...releases 32 times as much energy as an earthquake registering 6, even while the earth moves only 10 times as far. The amount of energy released by a magnitude 4.3 earthquake is equivalent to the energy released by the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan, ...equivalent to about 20 kilotons of TNT. The largest earthquakes recorded to date measured about 9.5 and released as much energy as 66 million Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs! It is estimated that a magnitude 12 earthquake would release enough energy to split the earth in half.
© 1993-2003 Encarta, Microsoft Corp.

Now I do not believe that means "splitting" as if one part is over in one place and another part is in another place. Does a Scripture come to mind? Consider the threefold Babylon (Rev. 16:19). And when Jesus sets foot on the Mount of Olives it is said to split apart.

"And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. ...And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea...." Zechariah 14:4,8

The earthquake that created the devastating tsunami off the coast of Sumatra was extremely rare and extremely powerful - at least 23 times as strong as the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, according to geophysicists. The 9.0 quake (some say, 9.2 or 9.4), according to some reports, caused a seismic shift so intense it shook the planet like a bell being rung, wobbling the earth on its axis and permanently altering the map, moving some islands in the region more than 20 meters (65+ feet). One source states:

More spectacularly, some of the smaller islands southwest of Sumatra may have moved southwest by up to 20 meters (66 feet). The northern tip of Sumatra, …may also have moved up to 36 meters (118 feet) southwest. Movement was likely both vertical as well as lateral; some coastal areas may now be below sea level. Measurements using GPS and satellite imagery are being used to determine the extent and nature of actual geophysical change.
"2004 Indian Ocean earthquake," Wikipedia, 2/1/05

It actually moved some islands. After hearing these things, we can think of the Scripture which states, "the earth shall stagger like a drunken man..." (Isa. 24:20 ASV). It's possible.... The earth splitting and eruptions of water flowing out in cleansing the polluted water, as referenced in the Zechariah passage - it's possible. Not only is it possible, it will be so!

This was the earth's most powerful quake in 40 years, and one of the top 5 of the past 100 years. Tectonic plates slipped against each other 6 miles below the earth's surface, displacing a huge volume of water. It resembled a speed bump as it moved at hundreds of miles per hour below the surface, only to rise as high as 40 to 50 feet as it approached land. Experts say it is difficult to predict when an undersea earthquake will spawn a tsunami, and even tougher to say when the next one may occur. "These things sometimes do happen in clusters and we really don't know why," stated research geophysicist Stewart Sipkin. There were several magnitude 9 earthquakes in the late 1950s and early 60s, so it is possible we could enter another stage like that and see some more, according to British researchers. It has also been reported that eventually the whole rock associated with an undersea volcano near the Canary Islands will collapse into the water and the resultant tidal waves could devastate many parts of the Atlantic Coast," stated Bill McGuire of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre.

Mention has also been made of a mystery surrounding this disaster: they found no dead animals. Sri Lankan wildlife officials were stunned by the lack of carcases of animals. Animals can sense disaster; they know when things are happening. Remember also what we have taught about the angelic beings who oversee herds of animals. That accounts for what is labelled "instinct." (Order our new edition of TABRACANA, available from our Bookstore.)

FROM OUR ARCHIVES...

Now let me share a few paragraphs from our SHEPHERD'S LETTER (Fall 1999 issue) that was put out just previous to our "Eve of the Millennium" Conference.

I'd asked the Lord that He would so time events in the world that there would be something that would punctuate our Eve of the Millennium Convention/Conference. I realized the Lord already had planned the major events as relating to the end of the age and that He wouldn't arbitrarily change anything based upon human whims and desires. But if we are in harmony with His plans and will, then we can surely align our plans and decisions in accordance with His. Shepherdsfield had prayed and fasted as to whether we should undertake to hold such a conference and we felt we had received the word to `go forward.'

I went on to share about the things that then happened regarding the earthquakes that took place in Greece, Turkey, and especially the ones in Asia Minor where the Letters to the Seven Churches were sent. There were also minor earthquakes in Los Angeles. And then I shared in the December, 2000 edition of the SHEPHERDSFIELD CHAT:

Here...pause to realize that there are two types of earthquakes. One is caused by an internal combustion, or explosion, which affects an area of the earth's surface so violently that great areas of land quake. Even the people tremble and quake. The second type of an earthquake is of a psychological and traumatic nature, mentally, emotionally, multitudes tremble and shake.
As for instance, if the superpowers were to open nuclear war, that would constitute such a shock to countless millions of people that psychologically they would be shaken out of their shoes and they would continue shaking so long as that war might last....
...What will constitute the earthquake when the angel scoops fire from off the Golden Altar before God and casts it down upon the earth in Revelation 8:5? For all we now know, there could be an ordinary earthquake taking place, but the far greater earthquake will be within the mind and emotional being of multitudes within Christendom. The dogma...common and rampant within the organized churches amounts to just this: the entire membership is holy and their names are written in Heaven; therefore, the Lord is going to take out of the world all those whose names are written in Heaven previous to the Great Tribulation incepting. And that is the belief and conviction held by nearly all devout Christians. But ...
You will find in the 14^th chapter of the Book of Revelation that there is a "Firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb" who are to be "redeemed from among men"(verse 14). And shortly thereafter we read about them being in heaven.

We have often related that to the psychological earthquake that will take place which commences the Great Tribulation.

Here, let us consider a couple of Scriptures which I referenced in that Fall 1999 SHEPHERD'S LETTER. First, Revelation 16, starting at verse 18:

"And there were voices and thunders and lightnings and there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth; so mighty an earthquake, and so great."

BACK TO THE FUTURE...

Now again, this earthquake is described as one greater than anything previously ("not since men were upon the earth; so mighty an earthquake, and so great.") Remember the previously mentioned statistics? Theoretically, a magnitude 12 would split the earth in half.

Verse 19: "And the great city was divided in three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon came to remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath."
Verse 20: "And every island fled away and the mountains were not found."

In some of the statistics already referenced, the islands themselves actually moved.

Now, I've already established that there are two kinds of earthquakes. And I believe that what God does in the physical realm is pictured/reflected in the spiritual realm. First, the children of Israel were delivered from the literal land of Egypt and taken into the promised land. Yet, there is a spiritual fulfillment of that which takes place in our lives, too, as we come out of the "Egypt" of this world and "Pharaoh's" dominion over us, and are led into God's Promised Land - the heaven-world. And, soon we shall behold some taken out of this world and translated into Heaven. Eventually the spiritual and the physical will merge when the New Jerusalem comes out of Heaven (Rev. 3:12, 21:2). Therefore, we can know there's also going to be a psychological earthquake "so mighty...and so great," that it too will be true to the words, "not since men were upon the earth" (Rev. 16:18).

Every island will flee away. Don't forget that even Great Britain is an island. Some of the primitive tribes in the area of this recent tragedy have actually been completely wiped out; they no longer exist. And some of the islands are gone.

Hebrews 12, verse 26 states: "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven."

Now here we see that it's not just the physical, but also that which is of the spiritual or heaven which is shaken.

"And this word, `yet once more,' signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made; that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." Verse 27

You see, here's the pattern. It's not just the shaking of the things of earth, but the things of men, because God is going to do His mighty and strange work. And it's going to be a psychological earthquake of great magnitude. We're being given a foretaste of this.

Now, let's take a look at Matthew 24:33:
"So likewise when ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

You may have read that Scripture before. But notice, it does not say, "When you hear all these things...." It says, "see." What about our generation is different than the generation that was alive at the time that this Scripture was given? The ability to "see" things happening from afar. ...When you SEE these things (such events as the war in Iraq, or the Trade Towers tragedy, this recent tsunami, etc.). They can now be seen as they come to pass, because of the news media and satellite transmissions - it's not just our hearing about them. Therefore Jesus said, "Know that it is at the doors." You see, there was a time when news traveled by word of mouth. Then it came about that you could actually transmit the word of mouth and put it onto radio waves. But that was still hearing. And then there was a time where a few people could begin to see television. But now, because of satellite TV, and similar technology, great multitudes in the world can also see! And that's why we're seeing probably one of the greatest relief efforts in history. Because it's being transmitted to every area of the world - people are seeing. "When you shall see all these things (or signs), note "that it is nigh, even at the doors" (Mk. 13:29)! So again I say,

Keep Watching!