Sri Lanka Floods and Mudslides Continue: Warnings Sounded by the Worsening Catastrophe
Lately, the flooding and mudslides triggered by monsoon rains in the south and west of Sri Lanka have drawn continuing international attention. As of June 3, the exact number of deaths has risen to 211, while 72 people were injured and hospitalized, 91 others are still missing, and around 700,000 have been affected, according to the authorities. It’s calculated that days of heavy rain and secondary geological disasters have caused 1,999 houses to be fully damaged and over 10,000 houses partially damaged.
With the devastation of floods and landslides, Sri Lanka has already appealed for international assistance in the hope that the residents of the affected areas could receive humanitarian aid from other countries. However, rescue efforts are hampered by bad weather and severe destruction. A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) MI-17 helicopter is known to have crash landed, reportedly because of weather, while transporting relief materials to the flood victims in the south of the country. Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology said that more rains are expected in the upcoming days as Tropical Cyclone Mora was strengthened into a tropical storm in the east central Bay of Bengal.
As it is said, “Accidents happen; life is unpredictable.” This unexpected and continued storm has badly battered the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka, with ever-rising casualties and property damage being reported. Constant heavy rains and secondary disasters like landslides and mudslides tug at the heartstrings of all those who keep a close eye on the disaster situation in Sri Lanka. Though some countries have lent a helping hand, in the face of the serious disaster, human assistance appears so powerless, and sometimes those who intend to help are instead implicated.
At present, the disaster in Sri Lanka has come under discussion among believers in the Lord on the Internet. Many brothers and sisters focused their attention on the warnings delivered by the disaster to people in the last days. One said in light of current international tensions, “The Lord Jesus prophesied the signs of the last days, ‘For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows’ (Mark 13:8). Now natural and man-made disasters appear everywhere, and the prophecy of the four blood moons has come true. We’ve been given some signs, from which we can say that the Lord Jesus has supposedly come back. The wise virgins should pay attention to hearing the voice of the Lord returned….”
One said, “Now assistance to regional disasters is still available. When the Lord finishes the work of His second coming, the destructive disasters prophesied in Revelation will be hurled down. If, then, we haven’t sought the true way and followed the Lamb’s footsteps and received God’s salvation of the last days, none of us will be able to escape the disasters, much less save others. It’s like in the time of Noah: When Noah had finished building the ark, God personally closed the door of the ark and sent down the great flood. Except for Noah, who obeyed God, and his family, all the others that didn’t return to God were submerged by the flood. They couldn’t save themselves, let alone anyone else. At that time, God would not listen to their cries for help. During the period when God issues warnings to us humans and offers opportunities for us to pursue salvation, if we don’t seek and cherish His salvation, it will be all too late to seek God and cry out to Him when the door to salvation has been closed….”
Another said, “The church is a cold place today and we’ve lost the work of the Holy Spirit, while God has frequently sent down disasters. Could God be warning us that we should quickly go to find the church with the work of the Holy Spirit and the people who testify to the work and words of the Lord returned? In the world today, any preaching that testifies to the Lord’s return in a systematic and comprehensive way, and can fully unravel the mysteries of God’s management of mankind and of the little scroll mentioned in Revelation, must come from the work of the Lord returned. But if we don’t seek, how can we know it? Now that we are in a highly advanced information age, what are we waiting for? We should hurriedly seek and investigate the Lord’s return.”
Looking at these online remarks, I felt particularly encouraged and got some ways of practice. The brothers and sisters who truly thirst for the Lord’s return have already sprung into action. The disaster will not be delayed, and time waits for no one. If we sit around foolishly waiting for the Lord’s arrival, we will simply be doomed. So, we should take the initiative to seek and heed the voice of God like the wise virgins. The Lord Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). The Lord is faithful. As long as we actively seek and investigate His return, the Lord will enlighten us, so that we can recognize His voice, follow His footprints, receive His care and protection amid the great disaster and survive, and finally gain the way of eternal life He bestows upon those who truly believe in Him and follow Him during the last days.
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