Meteor explosion in Russia not the end of the world, but is a sign

Trail of Chelyabinsk Meteor (Nikita Plekhanov)

As reported yesterday, a meteor exploded over Russia and has been called “Chelyabinsk Armageddon.” This explosion was more powerful than what the news originally reported and caused greater injuries:

16 February 2013

Russian meteor hit with force of 30 Hiroshima bombs

The meteor that streaked across the skies over Russia in a blinding fireball on Friday exploded with a force about 30 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb, Nasa scientists have said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9874662/Russian-meteor-hit-with-force-of-30-Hiroshima-bombs.html
16 February 2013

Cleanup efforts are underway in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region after a meteor exploded over the area, blowing out an estimated 200,000 square metres of windows.

Workers began cleaning up the mess Saturday from Friday’s shocking event that shattered windows in more than 4,000 buildings and injured 1,200 people. Most of the people were injured from the flying glass…

By Saturday, 15 people remained in hospital, one in a coma, the regional health ministry said.

The region’s governor Mikhail Yurevich estimated the damage from the explosion to be around $33 million. http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/russia-meteor-damage-pegged-at-33m-cleanup-efforts-begin-1.1159395#ixzz2L4dAg5D

16 February 2013

Russian comet was “like the end of the world”…

Residents fled for their lives as fireballs slammed into the Earth after exploding with the force of a nuclear bomb…Witnesses described it as “like a war zone”…

Video footage showed screaming children battling to flee through school corridors. Teacher Valentina Nikolayeva said: “An unreal light lit up all the classrooms on one side of the school.

“That kind of light doesn’t happen in life, only at the end of the world, then a trail appeared like from a plane but 10 times bigger.” http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/378026/Russian-comet-was-like-the-end-of-the-world

16 February 2013

What experts agree was a meteor or a small asteroid wreaked havoc in the densely populated and highly industrialized Urals, injuring hundreds, causing millions of dollars worth of material damage, disrupting phone and Internet communication and prompting residents and leading scientists to draw new lessons from the small Chelyabinsk Armageddon.

“When a small piece of rock would fall on the Earth 100 years ago it could have caused minimal damage and would have stayed largely undetected, but Friday’s accident fully demonstrated how vulnerable the technological civilization of today has become,” Vladimir Lipunov, head of the Space Monitoring Laboratory with Moscow State University, said in an interview Saturday. http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-wn-fg-chelyabinsk-meteor-lessons-20130216,0,4643856.story

Of course, Armageddon itself is the staging area for a massive military battle (see Revelation 16:12-16), so the Chelyabinsk meteor explosion was not Armageddon, but seems to be a sign as part of the beginning of sorrows. Notice the words of Jesus:

4…”Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:4-8)

5…”Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. (Mark 13:5-8)

Notice that Jesus said that the sorrows are not the end. But certainly what happened in Russia can be categorized as troubles.

Now, the Bible is clear that there will be signs in the heavens and destruction from them, but this 2 1/2 years or more after the start of the Great Tribulation (which has not yet began):

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Matthew 24:15-16)

10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. (Revelation 8:10-12)

So, the Bible clearly teaches that the “end of the world” events will include problems that will come from space (called the heavens above). (More on Revelation 8:10-11 can be found in yesterday’s post Meteor explodes over Russia and asteroid 2012 DA14 coming today. Does the Bible warn of devastation from space?)

Part of Russia yesterday, got to experience just a small foretaste of what objects from outer space can do. Will this help any of them, or you, repent? Civilization as we know it will end. And there will be destruction coming from the heavens. But never forget that God is in charge of the universe and that Jesus will return.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
Just What Do You Mean Conversion? Many think that they are converted Christians. But are they? Would you like to know more about conversion. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
False Conversion Have you really been converted? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this article on this important subject.
All About Water Baptism What is baptism? Would you like to know more about it. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject. As far as early history, see also Baptism and the Early Church.
God’s Grace is For All Is being Jewish a hinderance to salvation? What about not being a descendant of Israel? What does the Bible really teach? Will God save the Gentiles?
What is the Gospel? True religion should be based upon the true gospel. What are some of the different gospels and where did they come from? Do you believe the true or a false gospel?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about?
Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2018 or 2019?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2013, 2014, or 2015? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000?