A father savagely murders his nine children. A stay at home mother drowns her five children in a bathtub. A sex offender confesses to abducting and killing a nine-year-old child. Two weeks later in the same state another sex offender duplicates the same heinous crime. In late December of 2004, over 75,000 children perished when a 9.3 earthquake caused a great Tsunami off the coast of Asia; 75,000 children were gone in an instant. When reading the morning headlines, nothing can strike more sadness within the soul once finding out a defenseless, innocent child has passed away.

It is only natural for man to ask God how He could allow a helpless child to die. The answer, if given likely would not be sufficient enough for our human minds. The prophet Isaiah explained, the righteous passes away; the godly often die before their time. And no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come (Isaiah 57:1.)

The countries where the Tsunami struck are well known for their worship to false gods and idols. They are content worshipping cows, rats, insects, etc, choosing to worship creatures instead of the Creator. The 1st commandment of the Ten Commandments reads I am the Lord your Godyou shall have no other gods before me. The 2nd commandment: You shall not make for yourself any carved images, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water underneath the earth, you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. The great Tsunami claimed over 300,000 lives in less than a hour. Was the Tsunami judgment upon these pagan nations from God? Not to mention, the majority of countries hit by the Tsunami are well known for the heavy persecution of Christians within their country. Prophetic evangelist, Perry Stone, believes that the aftermath of the Tsunami will allow missionaries to freely teach the Gospel in places which they were restricted to do so before: a fulfillment of the prophecy of the Gospel being preached to all nations.

It was over 2,500 years ago, when Isaiah the prophet declared the prophecy concerning the righteous to die, at the time spiritual wickedness was at an all time high in Israel. According to the amplified Bible:

The society then was so bad that the righteous people in Israel had to die in order to find peace. Observing the evil all around apparently frustrated them. The only way the righteous could be sparred from such frustration was to die.

A wise man once said if you want to know whats going to happen in the future look to the past. America as a nation is on the same spiritual path (i.e. Idolatry, Spiritual Abomination, and Sexual Immorality) that the nation of Israel was before God rendered His judgment. The only difference this time is that instead of the righteous dying, the righteous shall all be changed and taken away in a twinkling of an eye. Was the great Tsunami the beginning of the birth pains described by Christ before His imminent return? The words of Isaiah regarding the righteous can offer a glimmer of hope when a devastating tragedy occurs. We must hold tight to the fact that God is in absolute control when it appears nothing in this world is.

Recommended reading "Plucking the Eagle's Wings" by Perry Stone Ministries