He looked at Carl. “What’s next?”

Carl looked down at his Bible. “It looks to me to be great earthquakes,” Carl replied. “Which brings us back to where we are, doesn’t it? I mean, I can’t even imagine how many earthquakes this meteor is going to cause. But I know there were plenty before these, weren’t there?”

“Of course, there were,” John replied. “Just as there have been wars throughout human history, there have also been earthquakes.

However, because of the growth of cities near earthquake faults during the eighties and nineties, the damage caused by earthquakes has been much more serious in recent years. As you may recall, the most costly earthquake in history happened in 1995, in Kobe, Japan. Just seven months before that, an earthquake struck Bolivia that was considered one of the most powerful ever recorded. It occurred four hundred miles under the earth’s surface, so no surface damage occurred, but tremors were felt as far away as Toronto.”

“The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ was very active during the last decade— just remember what happened in San Francisco, in Los Angeles, and Northridge, California, and in Kobe, Japan. There’s been an unprecedented amount of earthquake activity during the last two decades. We can’t even conceive of the kinds of shocks that will be hitting the Pacific Basin as a result of yesterday’s meteor. I doubt seriously if there has been anything like it in human history.”

Charley, who had been watching and listening silently for some time, addressed the teacher. “I’m intrigued by all this, and you’re showing me things in this book I never knew were there. But there’s something else I’d like to know. You mentioned that God showed you some things back in 1995 that really opened your eyes to what’s happening now. Is this what you were talking about? And, if so, was there ever any question in your mind where the world was heading?”

John took an unusually long time to answer. Finally, he said, “I didn’t know the exact time or place when things would happen. But I never doubted from 1995 on that God had shown me His program and that everything would take place exactly as the Bible said it would. Of course, it’s easy with the benefit of hindsight to say I knew. The tough part is knowing in advance. Yet, I have to believe that God had prepared my heart and mind, and what you see here at this place is the evidence of that.”

John Edwards continued, “There’s something else very important that I learned was a key sign. It’s there before you—see if you can figure out what it was.”

Carl looked at the Bible, then answered, “It says here, ‘pestilences in various places.’ Is that what you mean? If so, I’m sure not the expert. What’s your take on pestilence?”