Is Haiti a Harbinger?
By: J. B. Hixson, Ph.D.
January 14, 2010

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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:6-7)

The calamitous events in Haiti this week have left the rest of the world feeling helpless as we watch the victims being pulled one by one from the rubble.  What a terrible tragedy this is-the worst earthquake in the region in 200 years!  Our hearts and prayers are with the Haitians and the rescue workers.  In a global age where the world is ever decreasing in size, many of us know someone personally who lives in Haiti, has traveled there, supports a mission work there, etc., and this only sharpens our sense of empathy and compassion all the more.

When natural disasters like this occur, it does not take long for theological prognosticators to weigh in announcing that this latest cataclysmic event is yet another sign of the imminent return of the Lord.  "The sky is falling," they proclaim.  "Be ready!"  But is Haiti really a harbinger of the end of the world?  Can we really point to any particular natural disaster and say with certainty that it signals the soon-coming end of the age, when the eschatological wrath of God will be poured out upon the whole earth?  Hardly.

It is important in times like these to avoid the tendency to engage in drive by exegesis.  We must resist the urge to formulate our theology through the lens of experience.  All of life-especially unsettling events such as a devastating earthquake-must be interpreted and explained through the lens of Scripture, not driven by our feelings or circumstances.  There have been devastating earthquakes before; there will be devastating earthquakes again.  Throughout human history, there have been hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and any number of natural disasters.  Jesus told us plainly that such things do not necessarily signal the end of the age. 

Haiti is no more a harbinger of the end of the age than major earthquakes of the second or third centuries were.  Granted, it is true that in this present evil age where Satan is prince things are going to get worse and worse (Gal 1:4; Eph 2:2; 2 Tim 3:13) until God finally intervenes supernaturally and ushers in the long-awaited Kingdom (Matt 24:29-31).  But no one knows His timetable (Matt 24:36), least of all the opportunistic televangelists and popular Christian personalities of our day who are making great hay out of all of this. 

The lesson to learn from Haiti is simple.  God is sovereign.  He is sovereign over good things and bad things-good times and bad times.  We do not know the mind of God (Isa 40:13).  His judgments are unsearchable and His ways are not always known to us (Rom 11:33).  It is presumptuous and offensive to declare hastily that the earthquake in Haiti is God's retributive judgment or a signal that the end is near.  Both could be true; but neither can be proven to be true.  We will know the end is here only when it arrives.  Until then, be not troubled, rest in His sovereignty, respond with Christlike compassion to those who are hurting, and repent if needed.