The death toll from the earthquake that struck Indonesia on Wednesday has continued to rise, bringing the total to 17 dead and 88 injured. The initial quake, which measured 8.4 on the Richter Scale, has been followed by around 40 large tremors within the past few days leaving residents of Sumatra panic stricken for fear that another big earthquake may occur. A similar situation occurred just prior to the earthquake that triggered the Asian tsunami on December 26th, 2004. Rather than releasing pressure between the earth's tectonic plates, earthquakes simply transfer it to another place on the map. Due to this fact, seismologists are expecting another major earthquake in the not too distant future, which will transfer pressure that has built up following the 2004 earthquake... 

Quote: "Experts have been predicting a repeat of the monster temblor that triggered the 2004 Asian tsunami, killing more than 230,000 people in a dozen nations. American Kerry Sieh, who has spent decades studying the fault along Sumatra island, said the new jolts could be leading up to the big one. "No one can say whether it will be in 30 seconds or 30 years," he said, adding the recent developments made him nervous. "But my intuition tells me it will be sooner rather than later."

The earthquake of December 2004 was one of the largest the world has ever witnessed. It measured around 9-10 on the Richter Scale and lasted for around 10 minutes. The earthquake caused the whole planet to wobble on its axis. Islands in Indonesia to move by around 20 metres. It created a 900 mile long gash in the ocean floor, altering the earth's magnetic field. A wave of water moving at around 500mph slammed into a dozen surrounding nations, killing around 250,000 people, whole villages being wiped off the map. 

Quote: "On Dec. 26, 2004 at 1:58 a.m. Central European Time, the South Asian Plate couldn't withstand the tension any longer: an edge of the plate broke off and the rest of the plate jerked upwards. With a magnitude of 9.3, it was the strongest earthquake anywhere in the world in the last 40 years. From the northern tip of Sumatra, a 1,300 kilometre long rip in the Earth's surface suddenly appeared. A deep gash raced northwards at a speed of 2.5 kilometers per second, and the ocean floor instantly raised 15 meters. The thrust created the monster tsunami -- a wave which caused terrible damage even thousands of kilometers away. The tremors shook the entire globe. Like a rug being shaken out, Sri Lanka rose and fell fully nine centimetres. A number of islands were shifted dozens of centimetres -- the entire Indian subcontinent moved east by two centimetres. Weeks after the quake, the entire Earth was still vibrating.

It's hard to comprehend the sheer scale of this event. We tend to think of the earth as fixed, unmoveable and indestructible. And while the Bible states that God created the earth to exist forever, it also states that because of man's sin, its very foundations will be shaken.

Isaiah 24:17-20
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

The book of Revelation tells us that during the tribulation period, the greatest earthquake the world has ever seen will occur. The cities of earth will fall, the planet will be moved out of its orbit, and every island will be moved out of its place. With the December 2004 earthquake, we have already witnessed this on a small scale. The Bible states that things will only get worse. Following the earthquake in Revelation, the inhabitants of earth call upon the rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. Then it will be too late to call for mercy. Call upon Christ now for salvation, while you still have the opportunity.

Revelation 6:12-14
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Source Reuters, Jerusalem Post, Spiegel