Jonathan Brentner
As Mount Saint Helens rumbled during the Spring months of 1980, one man stood firm in his resolve to remain on the mountain. Harry R. Truman, an innkeeper, refused to leave his home despite an evacuation order and repeated warnings that came via reoccurring earthquakes.
He acknowledged it was “possible” the mountain might “blow” someday, but he never reached the place where he was willing “to pack up his bags” and leave his home.
On May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens erupted with such force that the top 1,300 feet of the mountain instantly disappeared. The explosion caused a huge landslide that moved down the mountainside at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour devouring everything in its path, including the residence of Harry R. Truman at Spirit Lake.
Why mention a stubborn old man who refused to heed the warnings of impending disaster? Because he epitomizes so many in our world today. Just like Mr. Truman, they hear the warnings of biblical prophecy and sense the danger inherent in our day, but they do not turn to the Savior or watch for His appearing.
WARNING SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE
Jump ahead to 2020 and we see the world government of the tribulation springing to life before our eyes along with the technology necessary for the antichrist to enforce the “mark of the beast” under the penalty of death. The lawlessness and violence of our day, coupled with the multitude of signs, repeatedly warn us of the approaching devastation and death of the coming day of the Lord.
Like Harry R. Truman, many believers are not yet willing to “pack their bags” in anticipation of Jesus’ imminent return. They do not recognize the urgency of the day in which they live and as a result they live solely for the things of this world without the necessary balance of an eternal perspective.
For many saints, the fault lies with their shepherds who have long dismissed the prophetic promises of Scripture regarding Israel. They offer biblical encouragement, but fail to warn people of the urgency of the day in which they live. They repeat the error of the Pharisees and Sadducees who remained blind to the signs that their promised Messiah stood in their midst (Matt. 16:1-4). Just like the religious leaders of old, many today fail to recognize the numerous signs pointing to Jesus’ imminent appearing.
Jesus’ last words to His church contain the promise of His speedy return. “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20). The word for “soon” in the Greek is tachu, which is much better translated “quickly.” It refers to the swiftness or the speed of an action. The Lord ended His direct revelation to the church as a whole with the promise of His quick return for His bride.
Paul also wrote about the swiftness of Jesus’ appearing to take us home, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). Jesus will raise the dead in Christ and catch the living saints away in an instant, in the “twinkling of an eye.”
We will not have a day or two warning before rapture; as soon as we hear the sound of the trumpet we will forever be with the Lord. What we already see in our world tells us this day is exceedingly close.
Just like the devastation that followed the Mount St. Helens eruption, 1 Thessalonians 5:3 tells us that “sudden destruction” will fall on those left behind after the rapture. This appears to be a pre-tribulation period outpouring of God’s wrath. After we depart from the earth, the world will experience unspeakable terror that will get far worse during the seven-year tribulation.
There’s no genuine imminent hope for those who dismiss the prophetic signs of the day in which we live; only the fleeting hope that “somehow life will somehow return to normal in the future.” They cannot see how the “Great Reset” championed by the elite of our world will lead to the kingdom of the antichrist just as John wrote about in the book of Revelation.
Those of us who understand the warnings of Revelation know that the judgments described on its pages are not only possible but imminent. Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, we recognize the signs of Jesus’ return and look up in anticipation of His appearing to take us to the place He is preparing for us in his Father’s house (John 14:1-3). It does not get any better than that!
The tale of Harry R. Truman warns us of the folly in ignoring the prophetic signs that tells us we indeed live in the last days. Just like the eruption that suddenly consumed the top of Mount St. Helens, so the day of the Lord will bring sudden devastation to this world, to those who now reject the saving message of the Gospel and will be left behind to face the day of the Lord.
Harry R. Truman ignored the warnings of the impending disaster. What will you do with the warnings of biblical prophecy?
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