Tornadoes
Steve Martin
“And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17, NKJV)
Fifty-one ago, on May 15, 1968, an F5 tornado tore through Charles City, Iowa, injuring 450, killing 13 and causing an estimated $30 million in damage (in 1968 dollars.) Living just 44 miles to the south at the time, in Cedar Falls, Iowa, I remember the devastation and heartbreak. I was in 7th grade, and just glad it wasn’t us, though it very easily could have been.
Charles City, Iowa tornado May 15, 1968 (Visual Journalist)
Tornados are not fun. They quickly come and quickly move on, often leaving behind years of rebuilding and restoring of property lost, and lives that may not be.
Fast forward to today, while sitting on our home front porch swing, at our Charlotte, North Carolina home on a very pleasant Sunday afternoon spring day, I was resting a bit from the busy activity done earlier for our congregation. I dozed off a bit. Not uncommon these days!
Between moments of light sleep and some prayer, I envisioned tornadoes popping up across the United States map. Here, there. In many places, I could see these destructive forces all across the land, in various and numerous places. Even in places where they normally don’t occur.
Was this the Lord causing this supernatural action? Was this the devil? Back to this in a moment.
It is common practice for our local and national weathermen (and women) to state that “Mother Nature” is causing upsetting occurences whenever something out of the norm comes into the weather pattern. Be it tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, or other fierce precipitation – “she” gets the credit or is the reason for the season.
If one believes the Bible as I do, there is no “Mother Nature”. But there is Father God, the Creator. Being He oversees what goes on, whether He brings it on Himself or permits the satanic forces to act for His purposes to be revealed, my eyes are going to stay fixed on Him.
In the Old Testament, we know that the Lord God brought the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 19:24-25 it clearly states, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” (NKJV)
He also will send His wrath again, as it clearly states in Revelation 6:12-17 (NKJV), “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (emphasis mine)
The same God, from the beginning through the end in the Word, both in the Old and New Testaments, rules and reigns, and judges that which is evil in His sight.
On other occasions Jesus, God in the flesh, the Son of Father God, rebuked the destructive forces of the weather, as it so happened in Luke 8:23-25 (NKJV), “But as they sailed He (Jesus, Yeshua) fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"
Our Father in heaven is in control of all things, always, and in all places. I may not know every time if His judgment or His permissive will is being enacted, but I know He is in control.
So back to the “vision” I saw in my semi-sleep state. Were these tornadoes I saw of the Lord, or the devil? Were they for good, or bad?
Personally, I think both.
The Lord’s word says that in these final days He is going to be shaking the heavens and the earth. He even says it will be all things that are shaken, to reveal that which alone will stand.
“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:25-29, NKJV)
Charles City, Iowa tornado May 15, 1968 (Visual Journalist)
In the natural, and the spiritual, the Lord is the One shaking things up. He is going to shake up His Body, the Church, to tear down that which man has produced over the centuries, setting in place their rules and regulations, not His. And trust me, our congregations and synagogues have a lot of junk in them that needs to be taken down and out.
And He is going to shake up and destroy those who have shaken their fists at God, denouncing His purposes and plans, believing they are the ones who rule as kings and queens of the universe, and rulers of their own destinies. They will in time have to think again.
So, are the tornadoes in the “vision” I experienced natural or spiritual? I tend to believe they are both.
God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Third Person of the Trinity, Holy Spirit, are on the move. They are performing their acts, both in the natural and the spiritual, out of their eternal love, to draw all mankind unto Them. They are shaking things up, as if through tornadoes
and other forces that get our attention. Hopefully, these will wake many people up - both in the Church to get them out of their slumber and the world out of their pride and haughtiness.
Some will need a natural shaking to happen before they will look up. Others will need a spiritual act of God in their life before they will look up.
Whatever it takes, we want the Lord to save His people, reveal His plans, and bring about His eternal Kingdom in our lives.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.
Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.
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Now Think On This #404 - in the year of our Lord 03.31.19 – “Tornadoes” – Sunday, 4:40 pm.
Another key component I have learned could be expressed as "living in the until clause." A promise is revealed and then a promise is fulfilled. A revelation is released and then later, a revelation is manifested. In between the two, there is a gap called the "until clause." What comprises this "until clause?" (Photo via Unsplash)
Are we in a kairos time where the mantles of the prophetic and evangelistic are converging? As this changing of the guard occurs, are we properly postured to inherit the revelatory promises released by these forerunners? I simply say, "Yes and Amen!" to these promises of a great global harvest for Jesus Christ's sake! (Photo via James Goll)