Scientists studying unusual quake swarm in SoCal

Here is the news about a quake cluster currently afflicting Southern California.

About 30 earthquakes strike in Southern California 'sequence'
"A cluster of earthquakes that began Tuesday night continued Wednesday in northern Orange County, keeping residents on edge but causing little significant damage. ... This is all part of the same earthquake sequence; they're all in the same area,'' Hutton told reporters at the briefing, which was televised by several TV stations. Experts said more aftershocks are likely. "It shook us pretty good. We’ve felt earthquakes before so it came as no surprise,” said Chris Nordyke, director of marketing at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda."

Southern Calif. shakes from small earthquakes
"Southern California was shaken Wednesday by the second moderate but widely felt earthquake in less than 11 hours, but no harm was reported. ... It was a decent sized shake and it's a reminder for everyone to have a plan for the Big One," said Stone. "How would you and your family survive for 72 hours with no water, no food and no amenities? Think about it. It's a reminder to go home and say, 'What if?' and make that plan."

Making Sense of Earthquake Clusters

"In some cases, one earthquake reduces the probability of subsequent earthquakes; while in other cases, one earthquake might trigger other earthquakes, causing earthquake clusters. The difficulty for scientists, insurers and catastrophe modelers is in understanding the patterns. It is known that a big earthquake releases stress on the fault segment where the rupture occurs. Therefore, on the same fault, the probability of another  earthquake has reduced greatly. In contrast, if a fault has not ruptured for a long time, the stress will  accumulate and thus increase the probability of a quake. This phenomenon is known as earthquake time dependency, which means that the probability of the next earthquake is dependent on the time and magnitude of the last earthquake on the same fault. On the surface, earthquake clusters seem to be contrary to the theory of earthquake time dependency. If the stress is released, why would an earthquake trigger another? In fact, although the stress is released in the segment near the rupture, it can actually increase in other areas. In addition, if the precedent earthquake is small and unable to release the majority of stress on the fault, a subsequent earthquake can happen." (source .pdf)

The scientists are studying this swarm. While they insist the swarm/cluster is far from extraordinary, they admit that a cluster like this has not happened for a few years.

Seismologists studying swarm of earthquakes in Southern California
"At a news conference Wednesday morning, Kate Hutton of the U.S. Geological Survey at Caltech said there had been at least 30 quakes since Tuesday night, but only three could be felt by residents. She said officials are studying the quakes to understand whether it was a swarm or some other type of pattern. "This is all part of the same earthquake sequence; they're all in the same area,'' Hutton told reporters at the briefing. "We haven't had anything in the L.A. Basin in the last few years, but that doesn't mean we're totally quiet, and we certainly have been active in the southern part of the state,'' she added.'

The scientists always minimize the potential or the situation or the effects...I suppose it is their job so as not to cause panic. But if they are studying it so swiftly then that's something to note.

In the Tribulation, earthquakes will happen that no man has ever seen before. There will be the usual kind, just more of them that cause damage, and like birth pangs, one after another until there is overlap and one long bout of pain.

But then there will be other quakes, 'mega quakes' that destroy mountains, divide cities. The Greek word really is megas, meaning mega, or very large in the widest sense. It is used in the verse below to describe the last earthquake:

In Revelation 16:18-12 we read,

"And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake (megas seismos) such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found."

That verse recounts the final judgment, when the angel pours out this one he says "It is done!" It is the seventh bowl, the last of the series of promised judgments. (7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Bowls).

Between the quakes of today to that last mega-quake of Revelation 16, earthquakes will only increase in frequency and intensity. Scientists can study them all they want, but by that last quake of human history, the only data that will matter is, are you saved by the blood of Jesus? Is your soul redeemed by the precious one who shed His blood for you?

As a matter of fact, it is the only data that matters now. Quakes aren't going to subside, go away, or be only minor in intensity. They will increase until the Lord returns. The unnerving thing is not to know when the next quake will occur, but as a Christian, you know they will and more often, too. Non-Christians will wonder what's going on but be just as surprised by the arrival of the earth-shattering commotion that we know as earthquakes as they will be by the earth and heaven shattering event and commotion that Jesus's Second Coming will entail. Don't be surprised. Accept Jesus as savior now, read the bible to see what's ahead. What's ahead for the Christian are blessings untold, the primary one being Jesus Himself.