Shaking The Earth Terribly

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isaiah 2:19).

Ever since the convulsions of the Flood, the earth’s crust has been in a state of instability, causing earthquakes from time to time all around the world.

But there are earthquakes yet to come which will exceed anything ever yet experienced. The earthquake prophesied in our text was also predicted in Revelation. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; . . . and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And . . . (they) hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from . . . the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:12-16). 

The Sufferings of Jesus

In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Revelation 5:12

In heaven, not only will our sufferings win us merit, the sufferings of Jesus will have an eternal perspective, too. Our Lord will be honored as the slain Lamb. His sufferings will never be forgotten. Unlike us, he will always visibly bare his wounds to the universe, and for that, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will enjoy praise as never before! If any dark demon in the corner of the universe ever doubted the righteousness of God in stooping to rescue debased sinners, he'll be set straight. No evil spirit will dare accuse God of having defiled His purity in order to redeem wicked men. No one will question God's righteous reputation for having condescended to save sinners.

Did Jesus Evade the Leaders' Question?

J.C. Ryle

Note the consummate wisdom with which Jesus replied to the question put to Him (Matthew 21:23-27). 

His enemies had asked Him for His authority for doing what He did. They intended to make His answer a handle for accusing Him. He knew the drift of their inquiry and said, "I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?"

We must understand that in this answer of our Lord's there was no evasion. To suppose this is a great mistake. The counter question He asked was in reality an answer to His enemies' inquiry. He knew they dared not deny that John the Baptist was a man sent from God. He knew that, this being granted, he needed only to remind them of John's testimony to Himself.