Does Sudden Spike in World Volcanic Eruptions Signal An End of Days?

Glancing at the title, "Largest Underwater Eruption Ever Recorded Gives Birth to Massive New Volcano," tends to capture one's imagination. But it's not just one eruption, but an apparent host of fiery activity across the globe that seems unusually symbolic. Three in Alaska, Hawaii's main island, Caribbean eruptions and a massive conflagration giving vent in the Canary islands. So, one must ask -- Does this sudden fiery global display correlate to a biblical prophecy, or does it portend a secular catastrophe? 

Currently in the Canary Islands, a Spanish principality on the upper west coast of Africa, a massive volcanic eruption threatens the entire beach community of La Palma. Here, after belching up constant streams and fountains of molten rock, the lava finally pushed to the sea where water trades form into endless steam explosions. Overall, the cacophony is deafening, as those burned out of homes depart, while townsfolk scurry about, with haunted, sleepless eyes darting around the deserted streets. 

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano just started erupting yesterday, as numerous vents opened producing towering fountains. This volcano impressively erupted on Dec 20, 2020 and continued for half a year. But the largest activity is underwater:

A huge seismic event that started in May of 2018 and was felt across the entire globe has officially given birth to a new underwater volcano. Off the eastern coast of the island of Mayotte, a gigantic new feature rises 820 meters (2,690 feet) from the seafloor, a prominence that hadn't been there prior to an earthquake that rocked the island in May 2018. "This is the largest active submarine eruption ever documented,"the researchers wrote in their paper. As of May 2019, the extruded volume of the new volcanic edifice is between 30 and 1,000 times larger than estimated for other deep-sea eruptions, making it the most significant undersea volcanic eruption ever recorded. "The volumes and flux of emitted lava during the Mayotte magmatic event are comparable to those observed during eruptions at Earth's largest hotspots,"the researchers wrote.

Alaska has three volcanoes currently erupting, in the Aleutian Ring of Fire. Iceland is currently experiencing extreme volcanic activity with the fiery formation of #, Iceland's newest volcano, marking the longest eruption in 50 years. In April, 2021, La Soufrière volcano exploded in the Caribbean isle of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Said Prime MInister Ralph Gonsalves, "It's like a desert, it's desolate, it's apocalyptic. The whole place is covered in gray ash."

Around the world there are over 50 currently erupting volcanoes including Italy's Etna and Stromboli, seven in Indonesia, six in Russia, four in Papua New Guinea, three in Guatemala, and two in Japan.  Add to this a number of large earthquakes from 2020-2021, with three between 8.0-9.0, including the Alaska Chignik quake, measuring 8.2.

So what to make of all these eruptions? One can use an exclusively scientific explanation, which is certainly valid. And one article warns, "'Huge trouble!' Why researcher fears volcanic chain reaction could mark end of the world." And this is exactly what could be happening now. But, could this also be a spiritual watershed? And John Ross Schroeder observes earthquakes can cause eruptions. Now, in "The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: Earthquakes or Volcanoes?," Sam Lemonick writes,

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"For many, the fire raining from the sky and "dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace" Abraham sees in the aftermath, suggest a volcano was the culprit. But there's little evidence of volcanic activity near the Dead Sea. Therefore, some researchers think a more plausible location of Sodom and Gomorrah is southern Syria, where an eruption did occur at a time when the cities are thought to have existed, around the early or middle Bronze Age. In Syria, southwest of Damascus, large basaltic flows date to within a millennium of the presumed age of the biblical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The flows originated from volcanoes along the Dead Sea transform fault system. Buried under one flow are two settlements with dwellings and numerous animal bones. Large gravesites near the lava are also consistent with a catastrophe. These findings and the paucity of archaeological evidence tying humans to the Dead Sea area at this time make a Syrian location for Sodom and Gomorrah more likely. Scholars, however, now think the story is an amalgamation of real places and occurrences rather than a single historical event."

In Micah, the writer says, "And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place."  Isaiah 29:6 states, "You will be punished by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire." Psalm 144:5 states, "Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke!" In Psalm 18:7-8, called by some the Volcano Psalm, the writer states: 

The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

And significantly, Revelation 8:8 states, "The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood." 

According to Christ's own words, even He doesn't know when the end will come. Mark 13:32,  "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Paul says in I Thessalonians 5:2-3  "For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." Contra, Christ also says that one of the signs of the end times will be, "...famines and earthquakes in various places." Whereas earthquakes occur often in Revelation as a divine sign. 

Overall, no one knows when the end will come. But, certainly according to holy writ, the earth will pass in a fiery conclusion, which much like the original Genesis flood -- could be triggered by the fountains of the deep, like a supervolcano, releasing torrents of lethal magma, gas and earth shattering quakes. For John writes, "I looked when Christ opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood… And every mountain and island was moved out of its place." (Revelation 6:12-14). And Peter writes, "But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10)

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