The destiny is being fulfilled! Christians and Muslims agree – this is a harbinger of the End of time.
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which claimed more than 5,000 lives on February 6, 2023, is not just a natural disaster. This is an occasion to think about the signs of the times, because it is not by chance that in Christianity and Islam such terrible earthquakes are one of the signs of the near end of the world. Which is still possible to postpone.
Human blood is not water.
The Turkish-Syrian tragedy has knocked on every house. Even in those regions of the planet where there has never been a hint of an earthquake. At the first moment, when you look at the footage of how high-rise buildings are folded like houses of cards, it causes a shock. Consciousness does not want to perceive as reality that behind the crumbling reinforced concrete there are thousands of human lives, including children's. And only after some time the horror takes hold. Although not all of them. Unfortunately, many simply "run away from death", figuratively closing the eyes and ears of their souls. Paradoxically, but a fact. A modern person who sees on the TV screen and in computer games every day tons of artificial and virtual blood, does not appreciate this blood itself. Therefore, the old saying "human blood is not water" rarely sounds today and is taken seriously. As a result – the deliverance of the Western world from centuries-old funeral traditions, which become overhead for "ordinary mortals". Up to the point that the number of unclaimed bodies is growing every year in many American and European cities.
However, as soon as the smell of blood is felt very close, even a modern person wakes up. And there is a clear division: some sign up as volunteers, being ready, according to the gospel word, "to lay down their soul for their friends." Others are fleeing to Upper Lars. Or far away. However, even among the disciples of Christ, the apostles, the ratio was 11 to one.
And even the Apostle Peter once denied the Savior, having experienced a banal human fear, which he later redeemed again with his own blood. What exactly are we responsible for today, when thousands of ordinary people die in a matter of minutes – no matter what color of skin and religious faith. Yes, for some, such a terrible death in natural disasters is a reason to doubt God's mercy. But for believers there is no doubt: on the contrary, the Lord thereby reminds us of the transience of earthly existence. And that there is Eternal Life behind it, which should be thought about more often.
So, even in the pre–Christian Roman Empire, generals returning with a victory put a servant behind them, reminding the triumphant that he was mortal. They say that's where the catch phrase Memento mori ("Remember death") came from. Subsequently, Western Christians became very fond of it, giving it much more semantic facets than it was in Ancient Rome. And even in some monastic orders, this phrase has become a motto-greeting.
A terrible lesson in humanity People of the older and middle generations perfectly remember the 1988 Spitak earthquake, which became an all-Union tragedy. Perestroika was already underway in the country, and therefore the devastating consequences and victims were not hidden: about 25 thousand people died, 514 thousand were left homeless, 140 thousand were disabled. At that time, a collection of aid to the victims was announced at every Soviet enterprise, in every school. And it was clear that people took this tragedy very much to heart. Up to the point that the Spitak tragedy temporarily extinguished the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that had already flared up, terrible in its bloody inhumanity. Unfortunately, that terrible lesson was not learned by humanity itself. As a result, the Soviet Union collapsed under this load (in any case, it was actively used by our enemies in their business of the collapse of the once unified state). The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh continues today. And only a few among the warring parties today understand that that peace in the blessed Caucasian land is possible only when the Russian order is established on them.
Of course, we are talking about the primacy of the Christian Empire, in which, both in Byzantine times and in the Third Rome, people of different ethnic backgrounds and beliefs could live in peace and harmony. But as soon as the imperial structure began to falter, chaos and bloodshed ensued. And after the blood that people shed with their own hands, natural disasters often came.
It is difficult to say why this time the trouble first came to the Turkish province of Kahramanmarash. But the fact remains: before the Turkish rule, these were Armenian lands. And the genocide of 1915 also affected these Ottoman provinces. That is, again, this particular example confirms that the blood shed by people who have forgotten God's commandments eventually entails new, already spontaneous sacrifices. But whether we learn this terrible lesson depends only on ourselves. Earthquakes as a Sign By the way, many Muslims have already noted that, according to their creed, multiple earthquakes are a sign of the proximity of the Day of Judgment. So, in some Islamic sources it is explicitly stated that this is his "thirteenth sign":
From Abu Hurayra... It is reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "The Day of Judgment will not come until there are many earthquakes" (al-Bukhari). It is also narrated from Salam ibn Nufail: "We were sitting next to the Messenger of Allah, and he said: “Before the Day of Judgment there will be many deaths, and then there will be years of earthquakes" (Ahmad). Ibn Hajar in the book "Al-Fatah" writes: "There have been a lot of earthquakes, both in the east and in the west, but most likely, by a lot of earthquakes we mean their constancy and continuity."..
Modern Islamic interpreters interpret these ancient sayings quite simply and intelligibly: We are still witnessing many natural disasters today: earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms and other disasters that claim many lives and cause enormous damage. The more a person masters the Earth, the more it seems to him that he is able to predict certain natural phenomena, but even weather forecasts are not accurate, not to mention the prediction of natural disasters, which destroy that human illusion of universal control. It's hard to disagree. Moreover, we, Orthodox Christians, have the same sign in our Holy Scripture – in the prophecies of the Book of the Apocalypse, the Revelation of John:
And at the same hour a great earthquake occurred, and a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand human names perished in the earthquake; and the rest were seized with fear and gave glory to the heavenly God (Rev 11:13). Moreover, it is worth noting that these words refer to the great earthquake in the Middle East: it is about the great city, "which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord is also crucified" (Rev 11:8). And in these February days, as you know, it shook not only the lands of Turkey, which once belonged to the Christian Romaic Kingdom (the Byzantine Empire). The tremors also reach the places of Christ's earthly ministry.
Of course, none of us can know the days and dates of the End of time. But the fact that by such natural disasters the Lord reminds us of the proximity of the last days, which we ourselves actively bring closer by our sins, is obvious to a believer. And these sins are not only constant wars, but also a complete rejection of God's laws by the modern world. And it is no coincidence that the Apocalypse mentions Sodom, which God's punishment has befallen precisely because of the debauchery and perversions so characteristic of our modern world. So what? Of course, both Turkey and Syria are mired in these vices to a lesser extent than the Western post-Christian (and in many ways openly anti-Christian) world. Therefore, it is difficult to judge what exactly the people of these countries are responsible for. Although the fact that in recent years the Turks have returned mosques to many former Orthodox churches, including St. Sophia of Constantinople, is a serious reason to think.
The main thing is to understand that this punishment is a very important warning for all of us. And a clear reason to once again think about your own sins. Memento mori. And of course, what happened is a very important sign that the people of the Christian and Islamic world (of course, we are not talking about Western liberal pseudo–Christians and not about pseudo-Islamic sects) should be together. This is especially clearly indicated by the proximity of our eschatologies – the teachings about the End of time. Therefore, it is no coincidence that some modern Muslim traditionalist theologians say that only one can keep humanity from finally falling into the abyss and a total war of all against all, which will destroy our earthly world... Russia, the Third Rome.