1811 - The end of the world.

 

The act of experiencing contemporary cataclysms and trials and then forming "end times" conclusions about them is nothing new. 

In the winter of 1811-1812 an immensely destructive series of earthquakes was experienced in the areas of southern Missouri and Arkansas. Modern seismologists estimate that it may have been 10 times as destructive in force than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Accounts exist today telling of the ground opening up and spewing sand and sulfur into the air. The sky was darkened and it was hard to breathe. The Missouri river was so churned up by the shocks that it even appeared to flow backwards for a time, destroying islands, and creating new ones. Loss of life on the river is unknown. 
Thunder and explosions were reported, and even sightings of blue flames spouting out of the ground. There is even an account of a man clinging to a tree while the earth shook, only to have the ground open up beneath him and swallow him along with the tree.
It was felt in Canada to the north and as far south as Mexico.
Nearly all homes were destroyed, and people had to flee to higher ground in order to escape the effects on the now flooding and unpredictable Missouri river.  

To cap it all off, a comet had appeared in the sky earlier that year (March 1811), and continued for 260 days.
With the comet still visible as the earthquakes destroyed people's homes and livelihoods, the doomsayers began to come out of the woodwork. They had more reason than most to assume the world was actually ending. They saw these as supernatural events of divine intervention into mankind and an indication of God's wrath.
Hymns were penned proclaiming this “truth:”

More than six months have past and gone,
And still the earth keeps shaking;
The Christians go with bow’d down heads,
While sinners’ hearts are aching.

The great event I cannot tell,
Nor what the Lord is doing;
But one thing I am well assur’d,
The scriptures are fulfilling.

They came to be called “earthquake Christians,” and they flocked to the churches.  According to historians, preachers attested significant numbers of baptisms and conversions, since sinners wanted to avoid further outpourings of God’s wrath. As one minister recalled, “It was a time of great terror for sinners.” Many biblical passages were quoted and used as examples for proof that the end of days had come.

My point in all this is that these people had some very real reasons for believing the world was ending. I would argue, much better reasons than we have today. They used the same passages to declare their doom. Yet, they were wrong. At the moment, I doubt they could have believed that their descendants would be discussing their plight in a virtual space, communicating to each other separated by continents, all in an instant…well over 200 years later.

Looking at earthly circumstances is not a reliable way to gauge when the end is near. If we know our history, we will recognize that the “end” has come dozens if not hundreds of times. Trust in the truth of scripture and be patient, Christ is much more patient than mankind tends to be.  

For more information regarding the 1811-1812 quakes, check out these sources.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-End-of-the-World-New-Madrid-Earthquake-1811-1812
https://missourilife.com/new-madrid-earthquakes-1811-1812/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-cYe9yMNU&t=911s