Flooding Superstorm May Menace California
Beyond Today Magazine
World News and Prophecy: July - August 2011
Course Content
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey have warned about the prospects of a superstorm hitting California at some point.
Apparently such a storm hit the state in 1861-62 and continued over 45 days. Because of massive flooding, the state capital had to be moved from Sacramento to San Francisco for a time (Felicity Barringer, “If Quakes Weren’t Enough, Enter the ‘Superstorm,’” The New York Times, January 15, 2011).
Witnesses described a “river that swept away people and livestock. California’s central valley, now America’s breadbasket [of fruits and vegetables] was turned into an inland sea, impassable for months” (John Harlow, “Biblical ‘Arkstorm’ Threatens LA,” The Sunday Times, March 6, 2011).
Scientists have further warned that if the Los Angeles area were hit by such a storm in the next decade, more than 1.5 million people would be rendered homeless, and the cost could be three times as high as a major earthquake.
A writer for the British magazine Geographicalreports that “all around the world extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe. And while the UK has been hit by several devastating floods in recent years, developing countries continue to be profoundly affected, with Pakistan an obvious recent example” (Mark Rowe, October 2010).
Upsets in the weather and natural disasters both play their part in the prophetic framework given in the Bible. Jesus warned of “great earthquakes” (Luke 21:10), which are part of the “beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:7-8, New International Version)—signifying that they will, as labor contractions, increase in frequency and intensity as the return of Christ draws nearer. Yet the word for earthquake here, seismos(from which we get seismicand seismology), literally means “shaking” and applies to shakings of the atmosphere (storms) as well as the ground. In fact, the word seismosis elsewhere translated “tempest” (Matthew 8:24) or “storm” (NIV).
So the many hundreds of tornadoes this year, and even Hurricane Katrina of 2005, are by no means the worst weather we can expect. As we approach Christ’s return, we will see more and bigger storms, with accompanying flooding, than we’ve already seen. Yet even a superstorm hitting California may not be the worst of it. Consider that a comet or asteroid impact, which the Bible also seems to warn will come near the very end (see Revelation 8:6-12), could conceivably raise atmospheric temperatures enough to produce massive hypercanes hundreds of miles across with winds over 500 miles per hour. (Sources: The Sunday Times,Geographical[both London], The New York Times.)
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Tom is an elder in the United Church of God who works from his home near St. Louis, Missouri, as a senior writer and editor for the Beyond Today magazine and church booklets. He is also the editor of the UCG Bible Commentary. He also served as a copy editor for Vertical Thought and managing editor for World News and Prophecy.
Tom began attending God's Church at the age of 16 in 1985 and was baptized a year later. He attended Ambassador College in both Texas and California and served for a year as a history teacher at the college's overseas project in Sri Lanka. He graduated from the Texas campus in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology along with minors in English and mass communications. Since 1994, he has been employed as an editor and writer for church publications and has served in local congregations through the regular preaching of sermons.
Tom was ordained to the ministry in 2012 and attends with his wife Donna and their young children.
