Shocking reports of another major catastrophe gripped the whole world as the news was spread abroad that Italy was again the victim of an earthquake, believed to be more powerful than the one that destroyed Messina in 1908, when 100,000 lives were lost. The headlines took up the story: “Entire Countryside Laid Waste; Towns Razed in Worst Temblor Since 1908 Disaster; Populace Parades in Prayer;” “Forces of Nature War on Homeless Thousands at Both Ends of Kingdom With Tidal Wave and Volcano Menace Hanging Over Naples.”
Touching scenes were graphically described by many who witnessed the disaster. One will suffice: “A group of black-shirted Fascisti were ‘digging like men possessed amid the ruins of a collapsed house, spurred on by a woman’s voice calling for help from under the wreckage. Two shifts of Fascisti had been digging in turns, without being able to reach the woman. The work had to be continually interrupted to prop up the tottering walls, threatening to fall in.’ After three days of frantic labor she was rescued, only to succumb a little later to her injuries.”
GREAT DESTRUCTION
The quake, the first heavy shock of which was felt at 1:15 A. M., centered around the cone of the spent volcano, Mt. Vultura, south of the city of Melfi. This city was destroyed, with casualties of 181 dead and several hundred injured. The neighboring city of Ariano was also destroyed, with a death list of ten. In the near-by towns of Montecalvo and Altavilla Irpina, sixty were killed. The principal areas where the shock was felt were in the provinces of Puglie, Campania, and Basilicata. However, it was felt as far north as Abruzzi and Molise, where some property damage was caused. The cities of Rome and Naples were also shaken.
A pitiful group of homeless refugees seeking encouragement from an emergency relief worker. Right, a wrecked home in which the sleeping family was tumbled from beds to death below.
The account given by the San Francisco Chronicle continues: “Melfi, the city which was destroyed, had a population of 20,000, and is situated in a lateral crater on the slope of Montevulu-Pio, the center of the wine trade. The town was razed by an earthquake in 1851. The famous castle of Frederick II there was destroyed. Four or five hundred houses were wrecked, including the railway station.
“At Salerno, on the coast near Naples, the famous cathedral, which dated from the year 1080, was damaged, and numerous other buildings were cracked open.
“Reports from the prefects of the stricken area, and urgent appeals for aid, began to arrive in Rome early this morning, along with details of harrowing scenes enacted in the darkness. At the first sensation of the quake, the inhabitants of the small inland towns, who were in bed, rushed screaming into the streets amid crumbling ceilings and walls. The towns were plunged into darkness, for the quake cut off electric currents.”
A scene at Melfi, Italy. Tragic human figures, robbed of many of their loved ones, to say nothing of all their earthly goods,—these stricken citizens roam idly through the scene of destruction where Italy’s disastrous earthquake has left an indelible mark.
PEOPLE INVOKE HELP OF SAINTS
“Heroic deeds were performed in rescuing people from piles of masonry under the menace of further crumbling walls. Most of the people were in their night clothes.”
“The people rushed as soon as possible into the open fields, where they prayed and invoked the powers of the saints. Religious processions were formed by priests, with the images of saints borne at their heads. The people besought the saints to stop the disaster.”
Commenting on the damage done by this latest catastrophe, one account reads: “Naples, metropolis of the area, lying under the glowering menace of Mt. Vesuvius, was under a war régime to-day. Soldiers were on guard, convoys of food and medical supplies rushed through the streets, buildings lay in ruins as though struck by shells, and flags everywhere flew at half-mast.
“From Naples almost as far as the plain of Apulia, on the other side of the Apennines, at least eighty-five towns and villages lay desolate.”5
Statistics given out a few days after the rescue work began, gave 2,142 as the number killed and 4,551 injured. The reason that the number of casualties was not as appalling as in many previous disasters is the fact that the center of the quake was in the middle of the peninsula, where the towns are smaller, otherwise the losses might have run up into the hundreds of thousands.
One item of unusual interest in reviewing the whole account is that scarcely had the news of this great calamity been voiced abroad when numerous offers of assistance poured in to King Victor Emmanuel and Premier Mussolini. Although these offers were refused, they demonstrated in a tangible way that the entire world was sympathetic and ready to lend a helping hand.
All this serves to bring to our minds once again the fact that the earthquake is still one of nature’s uncontrolled forces, against which man, with all his proud scientific achievements, is completely helpless and powerless, inasmuch as it is still an untamed, little-understood natural phenomenon, ominous in its implications, terrible in its results. And yet, on the other hand, the very action of the people in the midst of this awful calamity seems to point to an intuition that revealed to them the origin of these occurrences. It seems to convey the idea that the people afflicted realized that the devastating hand of this destroyer could be stayed by divine power, so they offered prayers to the saints, hoping thus to allay further destruction.
DEFINITE CAUSES UNKNOWN
The causes of earthquakes have been a matter of speculation since very early times. The reason for the difficulty in arriving at the solution is the fact that the origin of the disturbances lies within the hidden depths of the earth, and the exact conditions there can only be inferred. Two causes, however, are generally recognized as important factors in the earthquake problem. One, called tectonic, refers to crustal dislocations, particularly the differential movements along fissures known as “faults.” Throughout a period of time stresses accumulate in the strata to a point where the elastic limit is exceeded, resulting in a rupture or a slip, which once again restores the equilibrium. The other main cause, known as volcanic, is traceable to concussions within the volcanic conduit, produced probably by the gases in their progress toward the surface. Most of the imprisoned energy, of course, finds release in the eruption. There may be other contributing causes, but it seems that the day is still quite distant when the geologists and seismologists can tell us definitely just what causes earthquakes.
The student of the Holy Scriptures sees in the whole affair the accomplishment of one main objective, namely, the fulfilling of the word of prophecy that Jesus spoke stating definitely just what the conditions would be before His coming. “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.” Mark 13:8. Christ did not leave His disciples with this dismal outlook, however, for He told them, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.
FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
Surely we need not dwell on the famines or pestilences that have held the world in their throes with especial violence since the World War. The terrible famine of 1919 in China, in which 13,000,000 were destitute of food, followed by the tragic one that convulsed Russia from end to end, and more recently the famine in China within the last year, coupled with the epidemics of influenza and malaria that took a toll of human life to be counted in the millions, are suggestive of the exact fulfillment of that phase of the prophecy.
While it is true that there have been numerous earthquakes in ages past, the most disastrous ones have occurred within the last two decades, two of which took a toll of nearly 300,000. These were the quakes in the Kansu province in China, in 1920, in which 200,000 lives were lost, and the Japanese quake and fire in 1923, which destroyed 99,331 lives.
While scientific minds study the origin of this grim destroyer, probing around, and delving into the mysteries of the earth, let us candidly state that it also has a higher origin than a mere physical disturbance, and that is a moral one, sin. Had it not been for the entrance of this fearful moral malefactor, God would not at this time be trying to warn the world of the nearness of His kingdom. Yet that is what it implies beyond the shadow of a doubt. Man has become so wicked, so selfish, so self-centered, that it takes a major disaster to arouse him from his spiritual lethargy and renew his search for the Lord while “He may be found.”
UNDERWOOD PHOTOS
The prophet Isaiah testifies, “When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Isaiah 26:9. This has been proved time and time again. It wasn’t until the people of Nineveh were threatened with immediate destruction that they repented in sackcloth and ashes. The antediluvians did not make an attempt to enter the ark that Noah had built until they felt the first drops of the rain that was going to submerge the entire world. In like manner, the apostle Paul said the last days would be filled with “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” Such is the condition of the world at the present time. Men are so engaged in playing the stock market, attending prize fights, dances, moving pictures, and other like attractions that the thought of God has been entirely crowded out of their minds.
CHRISTIANITY A CLOAK
True it is that there are more elaborate churches now than ever before, but the church has become merely a place to show off a new ensemble or to announce a social function. Christianity has become a sort of cloak that can be taken off during week days and that is not always worn on Sundays. In view of these conditions, is it any wonder that God should permit the world to be afflicted by such calamities as the one we have just witnessed within the last few weeks?
But should we blame God for all the disasters and calamities that keep our lives in peril from the moment we first see the light of day? Is God a merciless tyrant that is pleased to see the people of the earth destroyed as long as they disobey His express commandments? Most emphatically, no. “I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” Ezekiel 18:32. Satan is the originator of all these plans to destroy mankind. In the Garden of Eden, he told Adam and Eve that he was working in their interest; that if they would obey him, they would live forever. The contrary, however, was the case. Death, with all the6
The “Black Hand”
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causes that produce it, invaded the earth, and the archenemy of humanity has been busily engaged in destroying mankind ever since. You ask why God permits this nefarious work to continue unhindered? God does hinder it; if He had never exerted a restraining influence, the world would have been destroyed ere this.
SATAN IS TO BLAME
The history of this world is a record of a conflict that has waged between the forces of good and evil under the leaderships of God and Satan. God permits Satan to have his way to a great extent in controlling the elements of nature and in bringing on disease, sickness, and death, in order to prove to the entire universe that God is love and that His ways are best. Had God destroyed the devil the very instant that he declared himself ruler of this earth, usurping divine rights, God’s justice might have been questioned, and the created beings might have come to the conclusion that, after all, Satan had been right, and God was a despot instead of a God of justice and peace.
The enemy of mankind still holds sway over this earth. God still permits him to cause earthquakes, pestilences, and famines to take their awful toll; but the day is coming and is now very near when Jesus will again make His appearance. When that event takes place, it will be to every one’s advantage to have lived in harmony with the commandments of God, because the just Judge will reward every one according to his works.
Disasters like the one that has just taken place in Italy should be a forceful reminder that God is still looking after the destinies of mankind; and if He seems to be a little distant and slow in showing His protecting power, it is because He is still allowing Satan to expose his destructive nature and vent his wrath against the work of God’s hand. There is still time for man to forsake his evil ways and “the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:7.
