Was the Earthquake in Haiti a Fulfillment of Prophecy!

According to a well-know televangelist, the earthquake in Haiti occurred because of God's continuous wrath on a people who more than 200 years ago, made an alleged pact with the devil to " . . .get the French off our necks."

Before accepting or rejecting this alleged explanation of that tragic event in the light of biblical prophecy, let's consider several facts from the Bible.

Jesus warned His followers more than 2,000 years ago in a conversation reported in the 24th chapter of Matthew, in Mark 13 and in Luke 21, about false prophets. Jesus said these alleged teachers would operate during the long and eventful countdown to the return of the Christ for His Church. The conversation began with Jesus making an almost casual observation about the Jerusalem temple. He told the disciples the temple would be destroyed so completely that " . . . not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Later, as Jesus and His disciples rested on the Mount of Olives, four disciples--Peter, James, John and Andrew--asked the Messiah privately: "When will these things be and what shall be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?" In response to their three questions:

1. When will the temple be destroyed?
2. What is the sign of the return of Jesus, the Christ?
3. What signs signal the end of the age?

. . . Jesus listed a series of age-lasting circumstances and calamities that Jesus summarized as " . . .the beginning of sorrows (All Scriptures quoted from The New King James Version,unless noted otherwise). Here's the list Jesus left us with:

1. A seemingly never ending line of false prophets would come and go during this countdown to destiny.
2. A seemingly endless litany of wars and rumors of wars would be fought throughout the world.
3. Famines and disease epidemics would ravish various populations and earthquakes would shatter various places around the world.

In Deuteronomy 18:20-22, the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write the standards that establishes whether a prophet speaks on his own authority, or speaks the words of God. "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I had not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?' When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.'"

Let's examine history to determine if Jesus can be established as an authentic prophet. Solomon built the first temple, which was destroyed about 586BC during the Babylonian captivity. More than 70 years later, about 42,000 Jews, with the authority of Cyrus returned to Judea to build the second temple. About 19BC, Herod the Great began a massive renovation and expansion of the second temple. Construction had continued for more than 40 years by the day of Jesus' assertion that the temple would be destroyed. The prophecy puzzled the disciples of Jesus and they queried Him about when it would occur. He never directly answered their question, but history shows that the Roman Army, led by a Titus, a future emperor, destroyed the temple in 70AD. The fulfillment of this "short term" prophecy establishes Jesus, the Christ, as a bona fide prophet, according to the standards in the Scriptures. Therefore, since His short-term prophecy proved to be true, His long term prophecies are also true, according to the standards revealed in the Bible.

Therefore, when Jesus predicted that the countdown to the end of the age will include numerous false prophets, we can accept His assertion as true. These false prophets, according to Jesus, would claim that He--Jesus--is the Messiah, but shall deceive many. How can we identify these individuals so that they do not deceive us? We find the answer in the apostle Peter's second epistle to the Church:

"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive hereies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed." (2Peter 2:1-2.)

The apostle Paul also provided a general identification of these false teachers: "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Acts 20:29-30).

We can identify these false prophets and teachers because they bring in heretical concepts. They will seek to organize groups to follow them, rather than the Christ, according to the Scriptures.

Did this professing Christian leader cite Scriptural evidence when he declared that the hundreds of thousands of individuals who died in the earthquake in Haiti paid for a "pact with the devil" their ancestors allegedly made? I leave you to determine the answer. I urge you to think about that question, though, in the light of the following verses:

"What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes (an euphemism for sin), and the children's teeth are set on edge?' (an euphemism for the wages of sin). 'As I live," says the Lord God, 'you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. 'Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the Father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall die." (Ezek. 18:1-5).

Yes, the men and women who died as a result of that earthquake were very likely sinners because according to the Bible: "All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God." According to the Scriptures, they did not die because of some alleged pact with the devil made by their ancestors, or the sins of their ancestors. If they were sinners when they died, that's all we know--they were sinners when they died.

Thus, did this man provide an accurate lesson from the Scriptures? You decide!