Sunday, March 2, 2014

The Quake of Amos 1:1

The words of Amos, ....in the days of Uzziah king of Judah,.....
two years before the earthquake.
Amos 1:1
So how bad was that quake?
And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains;
for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:
yea, ye shall flee,
like as ye fled from before the earthquake
 in the days of Uzziah king of Judah:
and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Zechariah 14:5

"So, the evidence points to a single large regional earthquake that occurred about 750 B.C. The accompanying map displays the site intensity (Modified Mercalli Intensity from archaeology or literature) and lines of equal intensity of shaking (isoseismals). The epicenter was clearly north of present-day Israel, as indicated by the southward decrease in degree of damage at archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan. The epicenter was likely in Lebanon on the plate boundary called the Dead Sea transform fault. A large area of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah was shaken to inflict "general damage" to well-built structures.Based on this method, the earthquake in question was at least magnitude 7.8, but more likely was 8.2. This magnitude 8 event of 750 B.C. appears to be the largest yet documented on the Dead Sea transform fault zone during the last four millennia. The Dead Sea transform fault likely ruptured along more than 400 kilometers as the ground shook violently for over 90 seconds! The urban panic created by this earthquake would have been legendary." ICR