Superstorm Sandy- the Angry Fury of God’s Wrath

The Exceptionality of Superstorm Sandy                 

Hurricane Sandy was an exceptional tropical storm in many ways and respects.  As she moved north across Jamaica and Cuba and into the Bahamas, Sandy was truly a late season hurricane with the hurricane season officially ending on Nov 30.  Generally, late season developing hurricanes are not so intense in size and wind speeds, and they tend to dissipate more quickly as they head north into cooler waters.  Only warm tropical waters can sustain the integrity of a strong hurricane, so it was just ‘a surprising coincidence’ that the 27C or 80F degrees warm water needed in the Gulf Stream was found so far north off the New Jersey coastline to sustain Sandy’s strength.  It was unusual for Hurricane Sandy to have kept her integrity as a tropical system, but she did.  Sandy, as she approached closer to the US coastline became a unique and unusual hybrid storm, and as a result was renamed Superstorm Sandy, a ‘freak storm’ with a small tropical hurricane morphed into a much larger developing winter low over the East Coast, intensified by warm moist air moving in from the south!

Superstorm Sandy was unusually large in size, with its 90 mph destructive winds, and widespread heavy rains extending 1000 miles across, and affecting 21 of the 48 contiguous states!  Sandy also produced heavy early snowfall, as much as 3 ft along her western periphery over the Appalachians, and the Great Lakes region.  Sandy had an extremely low central pressure of about 943 mb near Atlantic City, which is unusually low for that region.  Generally speaking, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm winds are!  Long open ocean swells generated by Superstorm Sandy’s strong easterly winds, produced unusually high surf and storm surges over a large area from Cape Cod through RI, CT, NY, NJ, MD, VA, and the NC shorelines, and brought much salt water flooding far inland over low-lying areas.  A full moon also caused tides to be 20% higher than normal, and thus emphasizing the already very destructive storm surges much further inland!  Record storm surges up to 15 feet were recorded along exposed shorelines!  Many homes were damaged or destroyed, either by the wave action along the coasts, heavy rain flooding, strong winds, falling trees, or by fires caused by downed power lines and broken natural gas lines.  Roadways, subway stations, and rail tunnels were flooded with brackish water and rendered unusable in New York, in a transportation system used by 8.5 million people daily.  Fire destroyed 110 homes in a borough of Queens in New York, and lower Manhattan lost power and was darkened for several days.

The resulting brackish salt water far inland is very corrosive to cars and to all electrical equipment of the transportation and subway systems.  Normally flood damages are not covered by insurance, so later there will be a big battle with the now beleaguered property/casualty insurance industry whether a shoreline property was wind damaged or flood damaged by the ocean waves.  The 1938 New England Hurricane over Long Island and at Bridgeport and Providence had many similarities to Superstorm Sandy, both being very intense in a blocking High pattern, hooking northwestward into the south coastal region of New England.  Many people drowned or were shot by police and National Guardsmen while looting stores during the Great Depression.  Nearly 1000 people lost their lives in that storm.

Bottomline, Superstorm Sandy was an unusually severe, large, and late hurricane season, ‘freak monster’ storm, impacting close to 100 million people in 40% of the states in the US.  So far, over 115 people were reported dead in the US, and about 70 elsewhere.  About 20,000 flights were cancelled, surface transportation grounded to a halt with flooded roadways and tunnels, and power outages to over 8 million households or about 25 million people.  Many cities were shutdown with people unable to get to work, and schools closed!  Thousands were trapped in floodwaters unable to travel or stuck without elevator service, and many suffered in the cold weather without heat and power.  A severe gasoline shortage developed due to short supplies or pumps being inoperative, with cars lined up for miles and hours.  In some places, there were looting and rioting among the desperate people.  Many people were hungry without food and water. 

The misery, mess, and devastation are heartbreaking.  Presently, over 30,000 people are now without housing, and there is a great need for someplace for them to stay!  The problems caused by Superstorm Sandy will last for many months, even as Hurricane Katrina did so in New Orleans in 2005!  Businesses in retail sales, restaurants, shops, hotels, tourism, and entertainment will suffer great losses.  Insurance companies will also be hard hit!  And for the US Federal Reserve Bank to step in now will require the printing of even more money, further exacerbating our over $16 trillion national debt, a problem that Congress could never control!  Though many people will be needed for cleanup in the aftermath of this storm, unemployment will also soar.  Superstorm Sandy was truly a monster storm visiting destruction upon America, spoiling everything in her deadly path.  Thus far, Sandy may prove to be the costliest storm ever in America with damages amounting to over $100 billion when all the numbers are finally tallied.

The Spiritual Significance of Superstorm Sandy- God’s Judgment Upon America

Proverbs 14:34 states ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people’.  That Superstorm Sandy was a unique hybrid and exceptional storm is well accepted in scientific circles.  But while some scientists claim that it was a storm caused by global warming due to the excessive burning of fossil fuel, it does not explain why Superstorm Sandy happened just then in late October; where it would strike, and why it became such an intense and huge storm, instead of just weakening!  There is a more spiritual and supernatural reason for Superstorm Sandy- God’s wrath upon our land, for it is God who controls the weather, the tides, the moon, the stars, and holds the whole world in His hands.

In the Bible, about 4000 years ago, God made a covenant with Abraham, and told him that He would make Abraham a great nation, and would ‘bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee..’ Ge12:2,3.  God revealed Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Ex3:15, De6:10.  God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel, meaning ‘a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed’ Ge32:28.  Since there is no nation called Abraham or Isaac, Israel is that nation that God said He would make great, and bless those that bless her, and curse him that curse her.  It is established that blessing comes to a nation who supports Israel, and curses to those who reject Israel.  The Bible is very clear on this matter!  Israel will always prevail over her many enemies, for God will always fight for Israel Zech14:3!

Superstorm Sandy- America’s Curse for the Rejection of Israel

America is under God’s curse because of our leadership’s rejecting Israel!  In order to stop Iran’s development of their nuclear weapons, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently sought the political support of America in drawing a ‘harder red line’ against Iran, to halt their plans for further nuclear development!  Pres. Obama not only refused to do so, but also snubbed Netanyahu who wanted to meet with him while visiting the United Nations in New York on 27 Sep 2012.  To further exacerbate the issue, Obama had authorized $1.5 billion financial aid to Egypt, who recently threatened to march on and take Jerusalem.  Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi both had called for the annihilation of Israel.  Because of America’s disdain for Israel, our lack of support of Israel, and our support of her enemies, America has incurred the wrath of God, and God created a very special storm, Superstorm Sandy, to chasten and humble us!  Significantly also, Sandy was spawned in the Caribbean during the 3^rd presidential debate on 22 Oct 2012, while the two leaders discussed US policies toward Israel and Iran!

Superstorm Sandy- the Handwriting of God

Much like the mysterious handwriting on the wall during the days of the prophet Daniel, Superstorm Sandy had the signature of God written all over her.  America was ‘weighed in the balances and found wanting’ Da5:22!   God spoke from heaven and delivered a very powerful message for America– His displeasure with our treatment of Israel.  It is the finger of God that had brought judgment to America in a superstorm of His own making– to chasten and punish us for not heeding His warnings about Israel, and for forsaking Him and rejecting His ways.  There has never been such a cataclysmic storm of such apocalyptic proportions in America as Superstorm Sandy, so widespread in destruction, affecting over a third of the states in the US.  But God specially concocted a special storm to show His disdain for our mistreatment of Israel.  Besides lives lost, the economic damage to America will run in the billions of dollars to many states already hard pressed financially, and some may never recover!  (Please see blogs America in Decline and Under God’s Judgment and Israel’s Role in the Endtimes).

Jeremiah- a Prophet of Judgment to America

God used His servants the prophets to declare His judgment upon the people.   Amos3:7 declares ‘Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets’.  A prophet represents God, and brings God’s message to the people.  A prophet urges people to repent, to turn to God, and calls people to holiness and righteousness.  A true prophet is often despised and people feel they can do without him.  Jeremiah was such a prophet.  Before Jeremiah was born, God called and sanctified him to be a prophet to the nations of the world Je1:5.  A study of the book of Jeremiah reveals the judgment and destruction not only upon the land of Judah, but against ‘all  the nations‘ including America Je25:13.  Jeremiah also said the judgment is  ‘for the latter days’ Je23:20.   We are certainly living in the last days.  God put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth Je1:9.  ‘And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced..  all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations’ Je25:13.   Jeremiah spoke of judgment and desolation ‘..the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant’ Je4:7.

God’s Judgment By Hurricanes- the FURY OF GOD 

Jeremiah spoke of a ‘CONTINUING WHIRLWIND’- a hurricane to visit our lands.  Je30:23 states ‘Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in Fury, a Continuing Whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked’.  Je25:32 says ‘Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised upfrom the coasts of the earth’.  Jer23:19,20 state ‘Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in Fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.  The anger of the LORD shall not return , until he has executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly’.  Here we are told that God is angry against the wicked, and with the nations, and He will send a grievous continuing whirlwind to chasten us; that we should consider this PERFECTLY in the last days!  We are living in the last days before Jesus returns.  Superstorm Sandy was such a storm that the prophet Jeremiah warned about!  But there will be more to come as America and the world plunge into greater wickedness and debauchery!

Past Rejection of Israel and Past Judgment

Israel is God’s prophetic time clock.  Significant events in Israel tell us how close we are to the end of this age.  Here are a few more scriptures regarding God’s attitude toward His chosen nation Israel.  Earlier it was stated that there is a curse on any nation that comes against Israel.  Israel is the apple of God’s eye!  Zec2:8 states ‘..he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye’.  Ps121:4 states ‘He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep’.  Ps122:6 tells ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee’.  God will defend, deliver, and preserve Jerusalem Is31:5.  In his book, ‘Eye to Eye – Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel (see video)’, William Koenig documented that whenever the US applied major pressure on Israel to divide her land, major catastrophes would occur within days to our shores.  In 2004, major pressure by Pres. George W.  Bush to divide Israel’s covenant land, and to advocate the eviction of the Jews from the West Bank and Gaza settlements ignited an extraordinary chain of events, culminating in the powerful devastation of Florida by four hurricanes.  Four powerful hurricanes slammed into the state of Florida.  First it was Hurricane Charley, then Frances, then Ivan, and then Hurricane Jeanne.   In Sep 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a then category 3 storm of about 120 mph with stronger gusts, caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas; mainly due to high storm surges.  It also leveled the city of New Orleans, causing over 1800 deaths.  It was then the costliest natural disaster recorded in the US at around $80 billion.  Koenig conjectured that the destruction by Hurricane Katrina was caused by the US administration trying to force then Israel prime minister Ariel Sharon to vacate the West Bank settlement in Israel.  In 2002, Pres. Bush was the first president to explicitly call for an independent Palestinian State, an affront to God’s word, and a betrayal to Israel’s integrity!

America’s Disastrous Gulf Oil Spill of 2010

On Apr 19, 2010 Israel celebrated its INDEPENDENCE DAY.  Also that same day, Pres.  Obama announced that the US will no longer automatically exercise veto powers whenever any ANTI-ISRAEL resolution arises for a vote in the UN Security Council.  This was a major US policy shift against Israel’s 62 years existence.  The next day, on Apr 20, 2010, a fiery explosion on the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 people and caused a mega oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 40 miles off Louisiana.  It took over 75 days to contain the problematic massive oil spill, striking the Louisiana coasts and West Florida coast.  According to Pres. Obama, the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill then was the greatest environmental disaster America had ever faced, costing over $20 billion in damages.  The BP ‘busted pipeline’ a mile beneath the ocean, caused considerable damage to the ecosystem, environment, and our economy.  Much wildlife was killed, including birds, mammals like sea otters and whales, fish, shrimp, crabs, etc.  The oil spill and the chemical dispersants used polluted the ocean and affected our entire food chain.  Pristine beaches were spoiled, and the nearby marshes polluted.  There was a great loss of jobs and income among oil workers, fishermen, shrimpers, cannery workers, truckers; in restaurants, tourism, shops, hotels, shippers; creating a recession there.  Property values fell sharply and business slowed by 80% in some areas.  Also since becoming president in 2009, Obama has distanced, isolated, and marginalized Israel, and has publicly humiliated Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu.  He has also encouraged and supported Israel’s enemies!

In conclusion, no man or nation is greater than God Almighty, who sees and controls the affairs of all mankind.  Superstorm Sandy was not just a coincidence of nature or of global warming, but a direct consequence of an angry God against America for rejecting the nation of Israel- for rejecting Him and for forsaking His ways.  Superstorm Sandy was just a warning of more evil to come to America unless we repent!  America is truly in decline, and under God’s judgment.  Our only hope is to REPENT of our sins, RETURN to God, and REMAIN with God Ez3:17-21.  Otherwise, like past great nations, America will be just a footnote in the history of mankind!