First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” … But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10
It was March 20, 1980. A magnitude 4.2 earthquake at Mt. St. Helens triggered something that caught vulcanologists’ attention. Scientists carefully watched the volcano over the coming weeks, trying to figure out what was happening. They warned that the volcano could erupt at any moment, but had no idea when that would be. However, as the weeks passed, most common people lost interest with the small spurts of steam and ash it spit out. It was not the giant, cacophonous kaboom and streams of lava that people were looking for. Sarcastic t-shirts were made saying, “I survived the eruption of Mt. St. Helens”.
It’s easy to get complacent in times like that. When nothing significant happened, people lost interest, and the news turned to more pressing matters. Scientists knew it would erupt; they just didn’t know when.
Nearly two months later, on the sunny, Sunday morning of May 18, 1980 at 8:32 am, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake vibrated the region and the northern slope of the mountain collapsed in the largest landslide recorded in history. Then the mountain exploded. A massive plume of ash shot 15 miles into the atmosphere. Mudslides swept away anything in their paths. The results were devastating.
We should let Mt. St. Helens serve as a reminder. Warnings were given and some heeded them and others didn’t. As Peter said above, God is patient and wants everyone to repent. However, there will be a day when it will be too late. The Bible frequently calls people to repentance. The people of Israel were warned of impending doom if they did not turn back to God. They ignored the warnings and were sadly carried away into captivity. The prophets spoke of a coming “Day of the Lord”. Jesus spoke of the end and when he would return, a day when the Lord will judge the world. Yet it has been nearly two thousand years. It is easy to get complacent hearing “The end is near!” when nothing has happened. Has God changed his mind? Will Jesus actually return?
Today at sundown Rosh Hoshanah began, kicking off the civil new year of 5773 on the Jewish calendar. The day is called the Feast of Trumpets in the Bible. Just as a trumpet sounds a call to get peoples’ attention, so this day should get our attention. It begins 10 days of a call to repentance, ending with the Day of Atonement. It is a time to get right with God and other people. It is a reminder to repent because the end is coming; we just don’t know when it will come. We can only be ready. Are you?