In recent months several major disasters have attracted worldwide attention. The disastrous chemical leak in Bhopal, India, the catastrophic earthquake which devastated Mexico City, and the recent nuclear accident in Chernobyl in the Ukraine have all produced global concern and dismay. But perhaps the most tragic of recent disasters was the volcanic eruption of Nevada del Ruiz in Colombia.
The tragedy of this terrible event lay in the fact that most of the twenty-five thousand who lost their lives perished in spite of repeated warnings of impending disaster.
Advance notice of the eruption occurred as early as 1984 when earthquakes shook the area. Next, minor expulsions of gas and ash were evident throughout the first few months of 1985. Then on November 8, 1985, the Colombian Institute of Geological Mining Research issued a warning indicating that there was a strong possibility of an eruption which would cause a mudflow that would threaten the nearby town of Armero.
Two days later volcanic tremors began, and at 3 p.m. on November 13 a technical emergency committee recommended the evacuation of Armero. There was still time. Disaster was still eight hours away.
In the face of all these warnings why was there such a devastating loss of life? The problem was that on one hand the emergency committee was urging evacuation, while on the other hand the public address system at the church, and Radio Armero, the local radio station, were counseling the people to remain calm. In fact, Radio Armero continued to urge calm and was still playing cheerful music shortly after 11 p.m. when power failed and mud engulfed the station.
What a terrible tragedy! And yet many men and women today are doing just as the citizens of Armero did. They are listening to two opposing forms of advice and deciding which one to believe.
On the other side are your friends, perhaps your relatives and sometimes even your religious leaders who tell you, "Calm down," "Cool it," "Don't get so excited." They try to reassure you that there is no real urgency, no need for immediate concern. They tell you that tomorrow, next month or four years from now will be soon enough to think about your soul's destiny.
To whom are you going to pay attention? God knows what is coming; man does not.
God has not only warned of judgment to come, He has also provided a way of escape. In John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) the Lord Jesus tells us: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [judgment]; but is passed from death unto life."
Won't you believe God's warning and accept His way of escape today?