Hurricanes and Judgment

I currently live just north of Tampa, Florida. As I'm typing this, the weather outside my study window is showing strong and dark signs of the soon overhead category 3 hurricane named "Milton" that's on its way. It's the first storm of this magnitude that Tampa has dealt with in about a hundred years. And I just moved back here last year! Great! It was a category 5 then a 4 out in the Gulf of Mexico just days ago but as expected it's dropped down in intensity as it hit some windshear nearing the state and also some cold front air coming down from the northeast and is now a category 3. The eye of this storm will basically move right over my home around midnight tonight. My family of six and I are staying put and have made all the preparations we could. We live in an area that is not a danger zone. We're way far enough inland that even a twelve foot storm surge of water won't get anywhere close to us. Even a 20-foot can’t move far over land. And remember, we're all still seeing the effects of Hurricane Helene that didn't even directly hit this area just days ago. I raked up several huge bags of sticks and debris from the beautiful oak, magnolia, and palm trees in my yard just days ago.

Global warming is a joke by the way. But I digress.

As I was driving into my place of work Monday, which is the church I work at now that I'm retired from the military, I was sitting at a stoplight near I-75 thinking. All the cars and trucks were busily making their turns, u-turns, stops, and starts. All of us headed somewhere. People coming home to loved ones, people leaving loved ones. Some wouldn't even make it where they were going. People living in great home situations, and people in abusive situations. People drowning in debt, people doing quite well financially. Black, white, thieves, liars. Singles, married people, divorced people. People addicted to drugs. People addicted to pornography. People with OnlyFans pages. All kinds of people, likely only some in Christ and most not. But you know, despite all of their varying demographic and salvific realities, every one of them was fully aware of this storm. They'd all seen the news, talked to someone about it, and made decisions. As I sat there, I asked myself- "What if everyone was as aware of the coming storm of God’s anger and judgment as they are of tiny Milton?" What would the world be like if we took heed of Jesus' words about this?

As I drove to work, I was reminded of a teaching by the great Ray Comfort. Ray grew up in New Zealand and did a lot of surfing. Surfers would float facing inland and look to the ocean horizon for waves. Little while lines in the surf. When they'd see these signs he said they'd yell out, "big set coming!" When they heard it, they'd begin paddling like crazy toward the shoreline because in seconds they'd be on a wave. Surfers could guess the size of the waves given the lines they saw coming. Ray used this as an analogy of what all the prophets have said about God's coming judgment on the world.

I recently concluded a study of the writings of the prophet Amos. Amos was prophesying around the mid-eighth century B.C. and spoke of a coming judgment on Israel for their unrepentant national and individual evils. His words were fulfilled around 722 B.C. This was a local judgment on Israel, by Assyria, by God. Like most “minor prophets,” Amos spoke of this time as one of great judgment to come. It’s a terrible message they shared, but God would judge his people. Period. And future generations could learn from it or not.
But, as terrible as this judgment was, it’s literally nothing compared to what’s coming on the world. Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:10-13-
“10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
Folks, “BIG SET COMING.” Jesus came to forgive. This message of judgment, from which he rescues his elect, is a message of Jesus. (Matthew 25:31-33, cf. Matthew 10:15; 11:22; 12:36; John 5:22-24; 28-29). Hebrews says, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” Hebrews 9:27. Judgement is true of us all both individually and collectively. There is a global judgment to come that we’ll all be a part of, but God’s covenant in Christ changes everything for the believer. The believer in Christ only will not face a judgment for their sin.
Jesus hasn’t told me what’s going to happen to me, my family, or my property tonight as Milton literally passes through my neighborhood, but he has told me plainly that when I die, I will not stand guilty for my sins. That I will receive a “not guilty” ruling from him. He has told me, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” John 5:24. This I know for sure. I didn’t come to Jesus for hurricane insurance. I have a company that I pay for that. I came to Jesus because I know that evil exists, that I’ve done my share of it, and that God hates evil and those who love it. I came to him because I knew I needed to be forgiven. How? Because someone told me about it. Through that, I was convicted of my sin by God. So, in faith, I came to the Cross because I knew I needed grace. And that grace, ever since, I now have firm in every storm.
How about you?  The truth is that everyone at that intersection on Monday has heard about Jesus. The Gospel has gone forth in this fallen world. We live in a time, place, and culture where I’m nearly positive this is true of every single one of them. We’ve all heard. But we have not all listened? What about you? Read the Bible.
 
Friend. This may very well be my last writing. God is love. We ain't. Repent. Believe in Jesus. Be free. No one knows what midnight will bring in this life. But one has died and rose again and told us exactly what truth is regarding our souls before him.