Two earthquakes felt in Israel in one week. Does it have biblical significance?
Two earthquakes have been felt in Israel in the past week.
Last month an earthquake on the border of Syria and Turkey killed over 47,000 people. Since that catastrophic event, almost 8,000 aftershocks have shaken the region, many felt in Israel. One end of days expert weighed in, suggesting that God is shaking us awake in preparation for the final show.
A 4,5 magnitude earthquake centered off the coast of Lebanon was felt in Israel on Wednesday morning marking the second time this week that Israel was shaken. The epicenter was 18 kilometers below sea level some 81 kilometers northwest of the Israeli coastal city of Nahariya.
The tremor was reportedly felt by residents mostly in the north of the country but no injuries or damages were reported as a result of the tremor.
This follows a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the Turkey-Syrian border region on Monday. That earthquake was also felt in Israel. Six people were killed in Turkey.
7,930 aftershocks have shaken the region since the first devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6. More than 600,000 apartments and 150,000 commercial premises had suffered at least moderate damage. The death toll from that earthquake has reached over 47,000.
Many of the aftershocks were felt in Israel.
Earthquakes are prophesied to accompany the end-of-days. Earthquakes and volcanoes are explicitly mentioned by the prophets as playing a role in the end of days, preparing the world by burning away impurities as a crucible is used in metallurgy to purify metal.
But Hashem God is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King; at His wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide His indignation. Jeremiah 10:10
The Prophet Ezekiel specifically described earthquakes as preceding the War of Gog and Magog.
Mountains shall be overthrown, cliffs shall topple, and every wall shall crumble to the ground. Ezekiel 38:20
Some rabbis have attributed this pre-Magog shake-up to God entering into the fray, using the forces of nature as his weapons of choice.
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a prolific end of days blogger, described the wave of earthquakes as “God shaking us awake like sleepy children who refuse to get up for school.”
“All of the ‘experts’ claim that this region is overdue for a major quake,” Rabbi Winston said. “So all of these little quakes are like a wake-up call. It should capture your attention and make you think differently, maybe reassess your life decisions. God wants to see who is awake and who stays asleep.”
“This is God’s way of transitioning us from a sleepy sense that everything is okay into an alert state that is a call to action and a more Biblical way of thinking about life and the world,” Rabbi Winston said. “If you believe in prophecy, if you believe that we are at the end of days, you will jump out of bed and get to work.”
Rabbi Winston emphasized that this paradigm of multiple catastrophes can be seen in the Bible.
“God could have brought one massive plague on Egypt or He could have started with the Plague of the firstborn,” Rabbi Winston said. “Because we have free choice, God wants to help us decide by giving us hints, a taste of things to come.”
Rabbi Winston referred to the Ipuwer Papyrus dated between 1991–1803 BCE and is currently displayed in a museum in Leiden, Holland. The papyrus describes earlier events in Egypt that closely resemble the Biblical plagues.
“I guarantee there were Egyptians who attributed the plagues to natural causes,” Rabbi Winston said. “It is the same today. Just in the last few years, we have gone through a pandemic and the first European conflict since World War Two that threatens to go global. Now, we have non-stop earthquakes in the Middle East. If you aren’t awake by now, you aren’t paying attention.”
Rabbi Winston explained that this subjective ambiguity is characteristic of the Messiah from the House of Joseph.
“It’s natural for the people who want to see it as natural and who refuse to see the miraculous aspect of events and it is miraculous for people who can see the miracles for what they are,” Rabbi Winston said. “We are commanded to believe in Biblical prophecy, the Third Temple, and the perfection of the world. For some people, it will come as a surprise, and for others, it won’t.”
Rabbi Winston suggested that the next stage is already set. In the context of the current wave of earthquakes, he noted that one of the most seismically sensitive areas in the world is Iran as it is crossed by several major faults that cover at least 90% of the country. As a result, earthquakes in Iran occur often and are destructive.
While the world has been focused on the catastrophic earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey, a 5.2 magnitude quake hit southwest Iran on Tuesday. While no injuries were reported, that was not the case almost one month ago when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck Iran, killing three and injuring over 800 people.
In the wake of the disaster in Turkey and Syria, Iranian officials announced that about 1.4 million unstable units are built in urban areas, putting some 22,500,000 people at risk. Some experts predicted that at least one and a half million people would die in case of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 in Tehran.
“All of the pieces are in place,” Rabbi Winston said. “The world is polarized because everyone has already chosen the side they are on. Everyone who is here today is going to have a front seat to the final show.”
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