As the fires rage in the Los Angeles area, the casting of blame continues unabated. Die-hard environmentalists insist that climate change is the primary culprit. Those making such a claim overlook the vast array of other factors that have contributed to the ongoing disaster.
Water mismanagement was a key factor. Fire hydrants with no water or low water pressure clearly made matters much worse. In his January 12 morning message, Jake Hibbs highlighted this critical factor by pointing out that California had received record rainfall during the past two years but let most of it drain into the ocean rather than store it. The video of firemen carrying water from their truck to the fire with small vessels due to no fire hoses is a sight I wonโt soon forget.
When I lived in the Los Angeles area in the mid to late 1970s, I noticed how the authorities controlled the vegetation and forests on the foothills that surrounded the area. I saw several large breaks in the landscape where they had stripped the land bare of all vegetation and trees so as to slow the momentum of fires once they started. During this time, a fire left a light dusting of ashes on the sidewalk outside my apartment, but the firefighters were able to contain the blaze mainly to the foothills because of such careful protection of the environment.
Fifty years later, the lack of preventative land management allowed the fires to grow with unstoppable force by the time they reached the populated areas.
Itโs Not the Apocalypse
Some are using the language of the book of Revelation to describe the devastation left by the fires. I hear the word โapocalypticโ used to describe the widespread devastation.
The word โapocalypseโ is a transliteration that comes from Revelation 1:1, โThe revelation of Jesus Christโ (my emphasis). In the Greek, the word denotes an appearing or manifestation. The last book of the Bible reveals the person, might, and character of the Lord Jesus on all its pages.
While for many, the word communicates the horrors of what the world sees on the videos that continue to stream from Southern California, what we see is not yet the unveiling of the Lord and His wrath upon the world. Itโs not the apocalypse. That cannot happen until after the Rapture.
In addition, the horrific scenes from Los Angeles do not rise to the level of carnage that will mark the seven-year Tribulation. The seal judgments that will come early in this period will result in the death of one-fourth of the population (Revelation 6:1-8).
The Great Day of Wrath
Thereโs another noteworthy aspect of the Tribulation that sets apart the judgments of the book of Revelation from the disasters that we continue to witness in California and elsewhere. Please note the worldโs responses to the horrific events that will mark the start of the Tribulation: โThen the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, โFall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from theย wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of theirย wrathย has come, and who can stand?’โ (Revelation 6:15-17, emphasis added).
Not only will the horrific events of the Tribulation exceed what we now witness in terms of devastation and death, but people will correctly identify them as the โwrath of the Lamb.โ I have heard a great many explanations for the fires that continue in the Los Angeles area, but I have yet to hear government officials, the elite, or the rich attribute them to โGodโs wrath.โ
Though people will recognize the Lordโs hand of judgment during the Tribulation, the vast majority of them will refuse to repent of their sins (see Revelation 9:20-21). If thereโs any similarity between now and then, itโs that what we see warns mankind of its urgent need to turn to the Savior.
Itโs Not a Coincidence
Although itโs not the apocalypse, I believe God has a purpose for the unmitigated disaster thatโs unfolding before our eyes in Southern California. He has allowed incompetent government officials, DEI hiring practices, serious lapses of judgment, fierce Santa Ana winds, and evil people starting fires to lead to this deadly calamity. Itโs not a coincidence that the fires not have not only struck at the heart of Americaโs entertainment industry, which has long polluted minds with trashy films but also at what has become the headquarters of a multi-billion-dollar porn filmmaking industry.
Perhaps itโs also not a coincidence that the fires started soon after Hollywood verbally mocked God at the Golden Globes award ceremony on January 5, 2025.
Itโs difficult for me not to see Godโs hand in bringing together the many factors that contributed to the dreadful images that continue to stream our way from the West Coast. Itโs not the Day of the Lord wrath, but we would amiss not to see it as His warning of what lies ahead for those who refuse to respond to His gracious offer of salvation.
Itโs understandable that people would compare the Los Angeles fires with the judgments they read about in the book of Revelation. Itโs important, however, to note the key difference. What we now see is not yet the โwrath of the Lambโ but rather a warning of its impending arrival and a call for repentance.
Thereโs coming a day when many will correctly identify the dreadful events of their day as the โwrath of the Lamb,โ but then it will be too late for them to escape the Lordโs fury.
