January, 2005

Fred R. Coulter

Minister

January 10, 2005

God and the Tsunami:

Was the Earthquake-Tsunami in Southeast Asia

Time and Chance or God’s Judgment?

Why does the God of love allow such horrendous catastrophes to occur—with hundreds of thousands dead and missing? Why didn’t God prevent the earthquake and tsunami? What does the Bible reveal about such disastrous "natural" catastrophes? Was this event a "natural" catastrophe or did God cause the earthquake-tsunami to happen! If so, why would God cause the death of supposedly "innocent people and children?" Since God knows the hearts of all people, were there hidden and overt sins that caused God to render His judgment and vengeance against them with overwhelming destruction? What is the Biblical Truth? You need to know what the Word of God reveals!

by

Fred R. Coulter

On December 26, 2004 a gigantic underwater earthquake and the resulting awesome tsunami waves caused one of the worst disasters in decades. The quake was so powerful on the floor of the Indian Ocean that it raised the fault line nearly 100 feet for an estimated distance of 600 miles. The 9.3 earthquake was estimated to be equal to one million Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs exploding at once. It was so powerful that it jolted the earth’s rotation, and the aftershocks have continued to haunt survivors.

Vast areas with oceanfront villages and properties in many countries have been totally obliterated by powerful tidal waves—destroying billions of dollars worth of property and killing thousands of men and a disproportionate number of women and children. In many places the geography has been permanently changed. Tragically, many small remote islands have completely disappeared, being swept away by the tidal waves—with whole villages vanishing and unknown thousands of people disappearing without a trace.

The confirmed death toll from the catastrophe is near 160,000, and climbing daily, with 52 countries reporting nationals dead or injured. The death toll is expected to grow exponentially on the western coast of Sumatra, perhaps by tens of thousands. In addition, thousands of tourists who have been listed as missing are presumed dead. The number of people believed to have been injured in the disaster has been put at 500,000.

After four days the tropical heat caused dead bodies to bloat and turn black, making it impossible to identify the victims. Government workers and volunteers began to bury and cremate the rotting corpses as fast as possible with little hope of identifying many of them. At the present time, the survivors’ most urgent need is clean drinking water, because the tidal waves destroyed and contaminated water supplies with ocean water, dead bodies and a mixture of sewage and debris. In Geneva, the World Health Organization warned of a "health disaster" if access to clean drinking water was not available soon. Concern over unsanitary conditions, which could precipitate disease epidemics such as cholera, has health officials worrying that the death toll could climb to over a million. An epidemic of measles among children has already begun. Emergency food supplies are desperately needed because some people have had very little or nothing to eat for over a week.

The cataclysmic loss of loved ones, emotional trauma, and decimated family units will take its emotional and physical toll for many years to come. Those who have survived will never view life the same way. Finally, it is estimated that it will take at least ten years to physically reconstruct what was lost.

Why do such disasters happen? Why doesn’t God prevent them? Does God allow them? Or, does God cause them? Whenever widespread disasters like this happen people always ask these questions. What is the Bible answer? What does God reveal in His Word?

Sin’s Effects on the Environment: Since Adam and Eve, nearly all human beings have rejected God’s rule in their lives. Furthermore, the Bible reveals that mankind’s sins affect not only those who sin but the environment as well. God told Adam and Eve that because they rejected His commandments and chose Satan’s way by eating from the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil," not only would their lives be cursed, but the environment would be cursed as well: "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:17-19, KJV).

Fifteen hundred years later, in the days of Noah, great wickedness, evil and violence filled the earth. So overwhelming was sin and wickedness that it affected every person, the entire environment and even God Himself: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD …

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Gen. 6:5-8, 11-13 KJV).

God’s punishment for these collective sins was the Flood that destroyed all life on earth except Noah and his wife and their sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives. The only animals and birds that survived were those that God had sent to Noah to put into the ark. Seven days after the Lord sealed them in the ark the Flood began: "And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened" (Gen. 7:6-11, KJV).

Undoubtedly, the fountains of the deep were broken up by hundreds of tremendous earthquakes, accompanied with many simultaneous violent volcanic eruptions. IMAGINE THE AWESOME TSUNAMI WAVES THAT CRASHED ACROSS THE EARTH—TIDAL WAVES WOULD HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS FEET HIGH! Wave after wave consumed the land, destroying everything in its path. From the biblical description Flood, it is truly impossible to compare what happened at the end of December 2004 in Southeast Asia with the enormity of the biblical Flood.

There is no question that the waters covered the entire earth, and it was not just a local flood as skeptics theorize. If it were only a local widespread flood, why was it necessary to build the ark in order to save Noah and his family and all the animals? The Word of God plainly tells us that the Flood did cover the entire earth—yes, fifteen cubits (upwards of 30 feet) above the tops of the highest mountains: "And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days" (En 7:17-24, KJV).

After the Flood, the descendents of Noah failed to remember the lessons of the Flood. They again rebelled against God and refused to walk in His ways. As a result, at the tower of Babel, God confounded their languages and scattered them across the face of the earth. Although God had promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood, the sins of mankind have continued to affect all people and the environment. "Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away" (Hos. 4:1-3, KJV).

These are some of the horrible curses and penalties that mankind brings upon themselves by rejecting God and His laws and commandments. Man substitutes his own religions and his sinful way for God’s way and calls it good. Isaiah was inspired to prophesy against this folly: "Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: that say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

"Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still" (Isa. 5:18-25, KJV).

Another question that people always ask is: Why do so many children die in disasters, wars, and famines? Sometimes it is because their parents have rejected Jesus Christ, denounced God and live in gross sin; or in the case of Israel they have forgotten God. They have gone their own ways, worshiped false gods and bowed down to idols—serving Satan and his demons. As a result, God takes away their children, which are most precious to them, in hopes that they may repent. (Although they were cut off by death in infancy or in their youth, please remember that after the Millennium, God, because of His great mercy and love, will resurrect them back to a new physical life for an opportunity for salvation. Listen to any "Last Great Day" sermon on www.cbcg.org.)

Because of the parents' sins, the sins of society and the sins of religion in serving other gods, God warned that their children would suffer. They would bring God’s curse upon their own flesh and blood. The prophet of Hosea gave this warning: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity [instead of God]. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. Will I not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery? for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall" (Hosea 4:6-14, KJV).

The prophet Jeremiah also saw how sin affected the environment and he fully understood the power of God’s word and His judgments against evil. Moreover, the sins of the people of Judah also affected Jeremiah—it broke his heart to see it: "Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD" (Jer. 23:9-12, KJV).

Jesus Prophesied Worldwide Disasters in the End Time: Jesus foretold what would occur on the earth before His return: "And because lawlessness shall be multiplied, the love of many shall grow cold" (Matt. 24:12). Since lawlessness, or sin will be increased, the result will be wars, and the effect upon the environment will be pestilences, earthquakes and disasters—all the results of sin. "Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Be on guard, so that no one deceives you. For many [false prophets] shall come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ"; and they shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you do not let these things disturb you. For it is necessary that all these things take place, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. Now all these things are the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24:4-8).

Jesus prophesied that these things would happen, so when they occur, it should not come as a surprise to those who know their Bibles. Wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes always cause the loss of human life. From this prophecy it is apparent that these catastrophes would increase in intensity ushering the time of the beginning of sorrows worldwide. As we look at the state of the world, it appears that we are in that time called by Jesus "the beginning of sorrows." Moreover, these calamitous events will ultimately culminate in the "great tribulation" (verses 21-22) and Jesus Christ’s second coming (verses 27-30).

When we analyze Jesus’ prophecy, we find a pattern. Because of sin, five things always occur: false prophets, wars, famine, disease and death. In Revelation Chapter 6 we find the same pattern: The false prophet, verse two; war, verse four; famine, verses five and six; and disease and death, verse seven. These are summarized in verse eight with the additional plague of "beasts": "And I looked, and behold, there was a pale horse; and the name of the one sitting on it wasDeath, and the grave followed him; and authority was given to them over one fourth of the earth, to kill with thesword and with famine and with death, and by the beasts of the earth."

Throughout the Bible, God always follows the same pattern to correct people for their sins. When they reject Him through their idolatrous religious practices and by heeding false prophets, God punishes them through these means. In Ezekiel Chapter 14, the same pattern is repeated: Israel commits idolatry because of false prophets (Chapter 13), verses one to five; and God stretches out His hand to punish them with famine, verses twelve through fourteen, and war, verses seventeen and eighteen. In verse fifteen, God again adds the plague of "noisome beasts" as in Revelation Chapter 6 and pestilence, verses nineteen and twenty. Furthermore, in verse twenty-one, God calls these His four sore judgments.

God Judges in Order that Men May Repent of Their Sins: Through the prophet Jeremiah, God reveals that He judges all nations: "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them" (Jer. 18:7, KJV).

However, when judging a nation’s evil, God first sends his prophets to call people to repent of their sins and avert His judgment. A good example is the warning that God gave to the Ninevites. When the king heard Jonah’s warning from God, he and the entire nation repented (Jonah 3:4-9). Because of their repentance, God did not bring His punishments: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way: and God repented of the evil, that He said that He would do unto them; and He did it not" (verse 10). However, their repentance was not repentance unto spiritual salvation but repentance from their evil ways, resulting in their physical salvation from the five punishments that God brings upon sinful nations.

In Ezekiel 33, God again shows that He always gives a warning and a call to repentance before He brings His correction and judgments. He does not desire the death of the wicked, but repentance: "Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

"But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

"Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it" (Ezk. 33:1-13, KJV).

Time and Chance Happen to All: When viewing events like the recent Southeast Asian earthquake and tsunamis, was this God’s judgment or time and chance? In the book of Ecclesiastes King Solomon wrote that time and chance happen to all: "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them" (Ecc. 9:11-12, KJV).

Furthermore, Jesus made it clear that those who are killed in unexpected disasters such as this are not greater sinners than others who are spared. He verified that "time and chance" happen to all: "Now at the same time, there were present some who were telling Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all Galileans, because they suffered such things? No, I tell you; but if you do not repent, you shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, do you suppose that these were debtors above all men who dwelt in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but if you do not repent, you shall all likewise perish’ " (Luke 13:1-5). Again, God continues to demand that people repent of their sins.

Time and Chance or God’s Judgment?: By January 10, 2005, the world has had a chance to analyze this disaster more deeply. Additional evidence raises the question: Was this event just time and chance or was it primarily God’s judgment against wicked people?

Sexual Slavery of Children:On January 8, 2005 Fox News Network reported that the countries which suffered the worst damage and loss of life, were also the nations that were most heavily involved in sexual slavery of children. Gary Haugen, who works for an organization that is seeking to stop child sexual slavery, reported in the nations of Southeast Asia, children as young as 3 years of age are sold by their parents into sexual slavery. As horrendous as it may sound, the child brokers who buy the children from the parents, begin training them on how to perform perverted sexual acts in order to get a higher price when they are sold to pedophiles. Much of the tourist activities in Southeast Asia—the very places that absorbed the brunt of the earthquake and tsunami—is actually centered child sex slavery and bondage. Imagine the horrible brutality and perverted, sadistic sexual exploitation these poor children are forced to endure? Their lives are virtually ruined—mentally, emotionally and physically—for the rest of their lives. In his soon to be released book, Suffer No More, Haugen details the horror of these sexual sins and what he and others are doing to curtail it. The cruelty and suffering these children endure breaks your heart.

While this problem has been going on for decades, the Western press rarely reports on the situation nor exposes the sexual sins of these nations. However, child sexual slavery is a gigantic and thriving business worldwide, as the following excerpts from a UNISEF report detail:

"Children who are trafficked [sold as slaves] … greatly increases a child’s risk of exposure to violence, physical abuse and even death. Children who survive often face malnutrition, illness [as well as sexually transmitted diseases], physical and mental trauma, and stunted cognitive and emotional development ... The use of children as a commodity for labour or sex is a lucrative international trade. Worldwide, an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year [The majority come from the nations of Southeast Asia]."

"Like other forms of criminal activity, trafficking is an underground activity and is difficult to address. Moreover, families [who sell their children] are often unaware of its dangers, believing that their children might have the chance for a better life outside their own country. Frequently, trafficked children are arrested and detained as illegal aliens. Girls as young as 13 (mainly from Asia and Eastern Europe) are trafficked as ‘mail-order brides.’ Up to 10,000 women and girls from poorer neighbouring countries have been lured into commercial sex establishments in one South-East Asian nation.

"Children are sexually exploited. Though it is difficult to quantify, about 1 million children (mainly girls, but also a significant number of boys) are exploited every year in the multibillion-dollar sex industry. Commercial sexual abuse of children is fuelled by local, not foreign, demand, with sexual tourism only a small part of the problem. The Internet, however, has the potential to promote sex tourism and child pornography globally and this is a cause of concern. Children are most often sexually abused by those closest to them. Since sexual activity is usually regarded as a private matter, governments and communities alike are often reticent to intervene in cases of sexual exploitation" Source: http://www.unicef.org/media/media_9482.html [No longer available]

After understanding the magnitude of these abominable sins and degradation these child sex predators unleash upon the innocent children they sell into the slavery of forced sexual exploitation, perhaps we can understand that the earthquake-tsunami in Southeast Asia was not time and chance. Rather, it undoubtedly was God’s judgment against the evildoers because of the cries and sighs of these little innocent, helpless exploited children by cruel, evil parents and the child-sex brokers.

However, as a direct result of this "disaster," the abominable child-sex business has been exposed to the world. But, what will the nations of the world to stop this great evil? If they do not move to put a stop to these activities, then undoubtedly, God will unleash more severe judgments against them.

Sexual Sins and God’s Judgment: Just before the twelve tribes of Israel entered the Promised land, God warned them against committing the same sexual sins that the Canaanites committed. Because of those sins, God’s judgment was to spew them out of the land and He give it to the twelve tribes of Israel. Through Moses God said, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD" (Lev. 18:1-5, KJV).

In verses 6-19, God gave laws against all kinds of incest, and in verse 20, He reiterated the law against lying with a neighbor’s wife—committing adultery. All of these laws expand upon the primary law of the seventh commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14).

In addition, God gave strict commands against homosexuality and bestiality. He specifically designates such practices as abominations: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion" (Le. 18:22-23, KJV).

In summarizing these laws and commandments, God admonished the tribes of Israel not to defile themselves by committing these heinous sexual sins. They understood that God was casting out the Cantinas because of these practices. Moreover, God further warned them that if they did practice these abominations they would likewise be cast out of the land: "Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

"Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God" (Lev. 18:24-30, KJV).

In Genesis 19, the account of God’s punishment against Sodom and Gomorrha for their gross sexual sins and perversions is a perpetual witness of God’s judgment. In fact, some of God’s harshest judgments and punishments are against those who commit sexual sins. The apostle Jude, the half-brother of Jesus Christ made it clear that God fiercely executes His judgment against such behavior: "Just as Sodom and Gomorrha—and the cities surrounding them, in the same manner as them—having given themselves over to sexual debaucheries, and having gone after different flesh, are themselves exhibited as a perpetual example of undergoing the punishment of eternal fire, in the same way also, these dreamers offilthy dreams are defiling the flesh, and are declaring as invalid the lordship of God, and are blaspheming the divine powers … as for these, whatever things they do not understand, they blaspheme; but whatever things they understand by instinct, as irrational brute beasts, they are corrupting themselves in these things" (Jude 7-11).

With this additional understanding, there is little doubt that God did, indeed, execute His judgment against the massive sins of the child sex slavery of Southeast Asia. Perhaps, those who truly care and have the power to intervene and stop these activities will take decisive action. Then some good can come out of this horrible disaster.

Finally, it is a heartening to see the tremendous outpouring of aid and comfort that the nations of the world, and especially the United States, are providing for all those who have survived this mammoth catastrophe. God will bless those nations that give such needed assistance and help put an end to these abominable sins. For the United States’ part, the prophecy that God gave to Abraham is being fulfilled when He said, "… in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).

By Fred R. Coulter

President & Minister

Christian Biblical Church of God © 2009

P.O. Box 1442

Hollister, California 95024-1442

USA