The Eruption of Mount Pelee, St. Pierre, Martinique, 1902

Eruption of Mount Pelee, 1902

Bible-exposition.com:

At the beginning of this century, the French island of Martinique was a prosperous colony in the Caribbean and was known as the Paris of the West Indies. The capital St. Pierre had a population of some 30,000 and lay at the foot of Mount Pelée, an old dormant volcano. During 1902, boiling water and steam were seen erupting from the crater and on April 25th, a scientific expedition was sent up to investigate. The island’s newspaper, Les Colonies published the findings and told the inhabitants that there was no reason to be afraid.

However, some individuals began to get worried, but were mocked by various editorials of the newspaper.  Day by day, life became unbearable on the island. A hideous odour of sulphur filled the air and birds dropped out of the air asphyxiated by the ash and sulphur.

By May 3rd businessmen and prudent individuals moved to the Southern part of the Island. However, the newspaper continued to mock, and on May 7th it published an interview with Professor M. Landes which read, “Mont Pelee presents no more danger to the inhabitants of St. Pierre than does Vesuvius to those of Naples.” The Newspaper added, “We confess we cannot understand this panic. Where could one be better off than in St. Pierre?”

On the morning of May 8th, at 7:52 AM exactly, the Volcano erupted and exploded. There was no warning as the side of the mountain ripped out. Super heated steam at a temperature of 1000 degrees Centigrade blasted out at hurricane speed obliterating the whole town and incinerating 30,000 people. Only two men survived the destruction, a prisoner, who was in the town dungeon and a cobbler who hid in his cellar.

How like many in the world today who treat God like an extinct volcano. They doubt His existence, mock at the thought of hell and judgment, laugh at the Bible, and continue in their sinful ways, all the while neglecting the salvation of their souls.

The Bible tells us:

“the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1).

The good news of the gospel message is that you can be saved from the wrath to come by hiding in Christ. He bore the judgment of God against sin, when He died upon the cross. He rose again from the dead and is in heaven today. He is a refuge for sinners who put their faith in Him. To neglect Christ is to put yourself in danger for God will judge this sinful world. The Bible warns us “Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6v7)

Victor Hugo Street Before Eruption

_____

May 8, 1902, account of a catastrophe:

VOLCANO DESTROYS WEST INDIAN TOWN

St. Pierre, Martinique, Entirely Wiped Out

DEAD MAY NUMBER 25,000

It is Said that All the Inhabitants of the Town Have Been Killed

May 8 7H50 in the morning, Saint-Pierre and the Preacher are wiped off the map

May 8, it is the catastrophe. The stopper of lava which blocks the crater resisted the pressure of the gases which then make burst the most fragile part of the Mount Pelé. Gas clouds charged with ashes and with sulfur, heated with 1000°, descend on the city at more than 200 km/h. A little before 8 hours in the morning, the volcanic cloud strikes Saint-Pierre. The pressure of gases, projected at high speed, reverses all on its passage. In a few seconds any trace of life disappears. Houses and monuments are puffed up. Solid walls of stone, broad of one measures, break down. 30,000 people die instantaneously, thrown out of gear, asphyxiated on the spot by the violence of the shock. Heat causes the explosion of thousands of rum barrels piled up in the multiple warehouses and factories of the city. The explosions follow one another, still a long time after the passage of the cloud. Floods of ignited liquid run out in the streets, completing to calcine the bodies. The shock wave reaches the sea. A tidal wave of 3 meter high falls down on the ships at anchor, at the same time as the gas cloud. Capsized or set fire to, a score of boats run. The city and the neighbourhood are shaven. Small pieces of rock torn off with the volcano are projected to Fort-de-France. A shroud of hot ashes covers all the island with Martinique. The “Small Paris of the Antilles” ceased existing.

http://www.zananas-martinique.com/en-saint-pierre-martinique/pele-mount-eruption-1902.htm

Victor Hugo Street After Eruption

_____

Summary of sermon by Rev Erlo Stegen:

I recently read the story of the French island of Martinique. In 1902, it was noticed that Mt. Pelée was giving off smoke and had minor eruptions. Scientists gave soothing predictions but, on 8 May 1902, they were buried along with a population of about 30,000 who were wiped out in the cataclysmic eruption.  Many islanders had been mockers of God. Over Easter, some had “crucified” a pig. Little did they expect a literal fiery hell that was soon to swallow them.

St. Pierre Before Eruption

 

St. Pierre After Eruption

_____

[from Conservapedia]
Eruption of Vesuvius:    Destruction of Pompeii, 79 A.D.:

One notable aspect of Pompeii which archaeologists have abundantly evidenced is its pervasive eroticism, which, as was typical, was associated with pagan religion (even the gladiator games began as honoring pagan gods).

The discovery of this lewdness shocked researchers from Christian influenced English society, as one expressed:

Ancient relics . . . are full of objects so indecent, if we compare them to modern compositions, that the brush or needle of our Artists hardly dares to reproduce them for us.  The word chosen for their classification was pornography, a word formulated by German art historian C.O Muller, who’s alluded in his book, Handbuch der Archaolgie der Kunst, 1850, to “the great number of obscene representations . . . to which mythology gave frequent occasion.”

Scott Ashley informs that:

Up to several dozen buildings have been identified as likely houses of prostitution. Some, due to the explicit wall paintings and graffiti found in them, leave no doubt as to their purpose. Even in private homes, wall paintings and mosaics depict all kinds of sexual activity, and many common household objects such as lamps, dishes, vases and fountains have been found with sexual motifs. Recent excavations at one of Pompeii’s public baths indicate that one floor of the structure may have been a brothel.

Due to its pervasive immorality, prior to or shortly after the destruction of Pompeii, someone wrote “Sodom and Gomorrah” onto a wall near the cities central crossroads. The early church leader Tertullian defended Christians against the charge that their neglect of pagan worship resulted in pagan gods causing natural disasters, by indicating that no Christians lived in Pompeii when it was destroyed. Many Christians have since invoked the destruction of Pompeii as an example of God’s judgment against rampant immorality.

http://conservapedia.com/Pompeii

_____

Famous Last Words:

“However, the newspaper continued to mock, and on May 7th it published an interview with Professor M. Landes which read, ‘Mont Pelee presents no more danger to the inhabitants of St. Pierre than does Vesuvius to those of Naples.’ The Newspaper added, ‘We confess we cannot understand this panic. Where could one be better off than in St. Pierre?’”
_____

Sodom and Gomorrah. Pompeii. St Pierre. Las Vegas.

Mt Pelee
Wikipedia
How the Lord Will Protect the Righteous When America is Attacked
Fulfilled prophecies: Paris pays price
Las Vegas Earthquake
It’s Time For Justice