Seismos - another facet of a biblical Greek word

In 2005, I had the opportunity to write a paper about the subject titled above. Little did I know how reality would underline what you will read here under. This small study was published(1) four days only before Hurricane Katrina hit New-Orleans, just showing how serious the prophecies and the words of our Master and Savior Yahshua are. Since then, a great number of storms and hurricanes did struck the world in different places. Two of the biggest which happened lately were Pepeng (Parma) and Ondoy (Ketsana) the same year, 2009, and following each other at about 3 days interval. As I write this intro, I’m thinking of the 8,9 Richter Scale earthquake which hit Japan (the biggest known in Japanese history) few days ago. This last event coupled with some thinking about the Olivet Prophecy decided me to re-edit this study about « seismos ». Surely, the word you will read below are still in full effects, and as Yahweh have made clear, things will get worse before Yahshua’s Return, so take heed of the message !    -   J. M. Peeters

Let us read Matthew 24:7,

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.

The matter of this short study is about the “earthquakes” Yahshua was talking about in His prophecy running from the 24th chapter to verse 1 of the 26th chapter of Matthew – also known as the Olivet Prophecy.

Of course, every believers in this world know about this huge prophecy Yahshua had given before being betrayed and arrested (Matthew 26:2,14-16,57). Yet, we always take for granted that Yahshua did prophesied only about “earthquakes in diverse places” – but did He really prophesied about earthquakes only? Is there not something else He was talking about for the end-time when He made this prophecy? Well, yes there is something else and we can look at what is behind the word used by Yahshua when He was talking about “earthquakes in diverse places”.

In Matthew 24:7, and the parallel Scriptures of Mark 13:8 and Luke 21:11, the word for “earthquakes” is the Greek “seismos” meaning a commotion of the ground AND OF THE AIR (Thayer’s Greek Definition of the Bible) i.e. an earthquake, or a tempest. In our day, “seismos” is at the roots of the word “Seismology” – the study of earthquakes. Yet, in the Old Greek, “seismos” also applied to the tempest, an air-quake if you prefer. But, do we have any confirmation about it from the Bible itself? As you know, we must examine everything using the Word of Yahweh to see if what is being said is the Truth (I Thess.5:21 and Acts 17:11).

Let us read another account in the book of Matthew, “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he [Yahshua] was asleep.” (Matthew 8:24). The word used here for “tempest” is the same as in Matthew 24:7 for “earthquakes” – “seismos”. And it was not a small tempest, it was “a great tempest”.

Compare now with the two parallel accounts we can find in Mark 4:35-39,

“…And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full…”

and in Luke 8:22-25,

"But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.”

Here, the Greek word for “storm” is “lailaps” meaning a whirlwind or storm, tempest (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) or as Thayer’s Greek Definition of the Bible put it with more clarity:

1. a whirlwind, a tempestuous wind
2. a violent attack of wind, a squall - never a single gust nor a steady blowing wind, however violent, but a storm breaking forth from black thunder clouds in furious gusts, with floods of rain, and throwing everything topsy-turvy

Putting the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke together, we clearly see that there was a great and violent storm on the lake, so violent – in fact - that this whirlwind “lailaps” (in Mark and Luke) was called a “seismos” (in Matthew) – an AIR-quake.  As you see for yourself, the Bible do precisely and truly show that the word “seismos” apply for both an earthquake and a violent storm. So, when Yahshua did prophesied about “seismos” for the end-time, He did not only prophesied about “earthquakes” but also about “AIR-quakes” – storm, tempest, hurricane, typhoon, i.e. violent whirlwind. Then, Matthew 24:7 can be read as such :

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and “SEISMOS” [earthquakes and violent storms], in divers places.”

Yet, what do we read today in our newspapers? Do we only read about “Earthquakes”? In fact, we read more, in comparison, about hurricane, typhoon, storm, tempest in any part of the world than we read about earthquakes as such.

 

 

WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY ABOUT IT?

 

In his book written in 1999, “Apocalypse – A natural history of global disasters”, Bill McGuire, Professor of Geohazard and Director of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at University College London, say this about Hurricanes :

“Wind-storms, particularly hurricanes, constitute one of the most destructive of all geophysical hazards… The Saffir-Simpson Scale classifies hurricanes in terms of categories ranging from 1 to 5, largely based upon the average and peak strengths of the winds.” (p.32, “Atmospheric hazards”).

For instance, the Hurricane Andrew who struck Miami in Augustus 1992 was a category 5 hurricane – it means that his winds were with an average speeds between 250 km/hour and 300 km/hour. The cost of this events was US$ 32 billion. As Bill McGuire put it :

“Hurricane Andrew was the second-most expensive disaster in the history of the country”

Since this quote of 1999, Hurricane Katrina had struck New Orleans in 2005, with even more damage financially and humanely,

“Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.[2] Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion (2005 USD),[2] nearly triple the damage brought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.“ (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina).

Yet, this is not the end of the matter, let’s read what he said in the same book on the facts Science had discovered based on diverse measurements :

“In recent years [remember this quote was made in 1999], the numbers of hurricanes have been increasing, and there are now some 40 per cent more intense hurricanes than there were 30 years ago. Worryingly, this does not seem to be a blip, but part of a continuing trend...” (p.34, it.)

And he follow by an explanation

“In order for a hurricane to form, the sea-surface temperature in the spawning grounds must be at least 26°c. However, recent scientific research has revealed not only that sea-surface temperatures are rising, but also that, for every 1°c rise, more hurricanes can be expected. In the Eastern Atlantic, for example, sea-surface temperatures of 27°c will generate, on average, one or two hurricanes a year, while a rise to 28°c will result in seven or eight.” (p.34)

Yet, he close his words by this sad fact :

“With the global-warming trend set to continue for at least another 50 years, whatever we do today to reduce ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, the prospects for hurricane-prone regions look increasingly bleak.” (p.34)

But there is something else linked to hurricanes, violent storms, typhoon, cyclones, or whatever the name you give to heavy winds - Inundations. 

In the part talking about Hydrological Hazards, the same Bill McGuire say this: 

“Where there is wind there is often rain, and where that rain is torrential and persistent it will not be long before floods follow. … The intensity of rainfall during a tropical storm can be almost unbelievable. In 1970, on the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, for example, nearly 4cm of rain fell in only 1 minute, while on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean nearly 4m of rain fell in a single 24-hour period in March 1952.” (p.35, “Hydrological Hazards”).

Once again, the Professor McGuire underline this fact : 

“Flood disasters are on the increase world-wide… In any single year, floods may affect upwards of 100 million people world-wide, killing up to 20,000.” (p.35)

To close this, let us read a final word of this book, on page 38 :

“…despite many initiatives designed to better understand geophysical hazards and their effect, natural disasters have not only continued unabated but have actually increased in both number and impact.” (p.38, “Geophysical hazards and the human race”).

As we read this, it must be clear now that natural disasters are globally on the increase, not only hurricanes, but also earthquakes, inundations, fire, drought, etc. Yahshua’s Prophecy is on the way before our very eyes, and Science had just demonstrated how accurate this prophecy is. For sure, in the future we will be the witnesses of more and more violent storms – and their immediate consequences as heavy rainfalls, inundations, landslides, etc - of any kind, and in any place in the world, even in places who had never knew one before. Yet, they will not only be numerous, but also more destructive and powerful than in the past.

 

Yes, in the near future just before the return of our Master Yahshua, there will be more earthquakes in diverse places, but also violent storms, hurricanes, typhoons,…, in diverse places.