Before we go on to other subjects, I thought I would give some insights into The Martinique Shadow, now that you have had a chance to read it first for yourself.
My belief is that God did not stop communicating to us with the writing of the last word in Revelation. We know that God “is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” and since his communication was relatively constant up until two thousand years ago, it seems to make sense that He probably did not stop then. We also know that up until today He does continue to communicate to mankind in prayer, situational direction, dreams, visions, etc. Before you jump up and down, though, please be certain that I realize that the Bible is the final word on any matter. And know also that it would be easy to go way overboard in trying to read things into every historical event. But when something seems to have God’s hand so openly in it, even down to the timing being on the Day of Ascension, it might be worthwhile to explore some possibilities.
Our Father orchestrated historical events to tell us things in the shadows or pictures within the events themselves, such as those in the book of Ruth that we “searched out” so meticulously in Unlocking God’s Shadows. Those “shadows” were a form of prophecy. After 14,000 hours of research I have come to believe that virtually every event described in the Bible contains these shadows, including even the miracles of Christ, our Savior.
For instance, although I will not go into all the details now, even the two stories of the feedings of the multitudes are full of such shadows, indicating the old and new covenants. For example, the two baskets used to pick up the remaining fish were different Hebrew words, one describing a basket used exclusively by Jews, and the other describing one used by Gentiles. Reread those miracles sometime and notice how even the numbers are different. Twelve of the Jewish baskets were retrieved in one feeding, obviously representing the twelve tribes of Israel, whereas seven of the Gentile baskets were filled at the end of the other feeding, representing the seven churches, as in the seven churches mentioned in Revelation.
With the knowledge that God indeed orchestrated all of the Biblical events in order to tell us things, my feeling is that some events since then could, in fact, be loaded with “types and shadows” and prophecy. The story we saw in The Martinique Shadow may be a prime example. Most of you, of course, saw the wrath of God and Judgement Day played out in that story, but could there have been more? Although no one else in the past hundred years seems to have noticed, I for one believe there well might be much more.
God’s overall story to us is a fairly simple one in many regards, and because of that, most Biblical stories contain types and shadows that portray the same themes over and over. Personally, I see many of the exact same ones in the Martinique story. You may feel that what I am going to share is a stretch, but humor me a moment. Below are the “types and shadows” that jumped out at me:
1 - The wrath of God and Judgement Day. That one is too obvious to discuss.
2 - Could the traditional church on the island represent the end time church that Jesus said He would spit out of His mouth in His letter to the Church of Laodicia in Revelation? As we know, that church, which is probably our church age, was said to be luke warm. It became a completely apostate (unbelieving) church during the Tribulation.
3 - I see the small church of on-fire believers that was led to leave as a shadow of the rapture. We know that God always takes His children out of the way before He shows His wrath, as was the case of Noah’s family during the flood and Lot’s family before the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah. That, by the way, is just one of the many, many reasons I foresee a pre-tribulation rapture instead of a mid-tribulation or post-tribulation rapture as being the only viable timing for the rapture. As an aside, an interesting question for mid-trib or post-trib believers is, “Why would an engaged man beat up his fiance right before the wedding feast?” Obviously he would not. And Jesus will not torture His believing church by making them go through the tribulation either. Actually, as we discussed in Unlocking God’s Secrets, His bride will be attending the marriage feast at the same time the tribulation will be occurring on earth.
4 - One of the most obvious “types” in the Martinique story is that of the two Canadian men who came to witness, but whose message was not wanted. They clearly represent the Two Witnesses in Revelation who will be sent to preach the Gospel but will be hated to the point that their killing is a time for celebration worldwide.
5 - Speaking of that small band of believers that left before the eruption in our story, could Rev. Hartman represent the Holy Spirit? He obviously was the overseer of the small church, and he was kept away during the wrath and fury. You may think that to be a stretch, but ponder it. Similar “types” for the Holy Spirit are found in other Biblical stories.
6 - The leader of the blasphemous citizens looks to me like a “type” of the Antichrist.
7 - And the defiant act that he committed with the pig was to me an obvious shadow of the of the “abomination that causes desolation” spoken of in places such as Daniel, Mark, Matthew, and Revelation.
8 - The actual fire itself seems extremely representative, since God tells us over and over that He will cleanse the earth of sin the second time with fire, not a flood. The heat of the fire on Martinique surpassed a thousand degrees centigrade. Everything was completely destroyed.
9 - And in mentioning the fire, notice that after the total ”cleansing” on Martinique occurred, the island came back as a completely lush paradise. This to me is a “shadow” of what we are told will happen to the earth after it is cleansed by fire when the Millennial Kingdom is over, so that heaven can then be on this earth.
10 - Another “type” that springs to mind is the murderer in the dungeon who survives the devastation. I can see him as representing Satan. At the end of the tribulation, when unbelievers are destroyed, Satan is put in a dungeon and allowed to live on until the end of the Millennial kingdom when he is released for a short time.
11 - The mountain splitting in two is a perfect picture of what we are told will happen to the Mount of Olives on the day that Jesus will return.
12 - What about Jesus? Is there a “type” of Him in this story? I actually see Him twice. First, I think the crucifix that was thrown into the pit represented what happened to him for three days following His crucifixion. Second, I see the forceful eruption on the Day of Ascension as representing His power, which we seem to forget to think about way too much.
Virtually every story, event, parable and miracle in the Bible is rich with the symbolisms of “types and shadows” which foretell future events and people. God orchestrated things that way up until two thousand years ago. Did the Father change His ways then. I don’t believe so. It is still His earth. It is still “His story.”
Above I listed just twelve of the things that I saw in the Martinique story that I think were “types or shadows” that God gave to those of us who “search out the matter.” You may see more. If so, please tell us in the comments section below.
If you did not get a chance to read the story when it was first posted, or if you want to read it again, this time with different slant on things, I have included just the actual story below. Again let me warn that we should not be looking into every event that occurs as if there are secret messages within them, but if God truly is talking to us in some rare historical events, we need to be listening. It is His story, and our future.
In Christ’s love, Bob Morley
The Actual Martinique Story:
Our story begins on the beautiful Caribbean island of Martinique in 1902. Although traditional Catholic and Protestant churches had been a part of that French island’s culture for many years, what few Christian believers remained had become quite apathetic towards the majority view, which held that the Christian religion was out of date. The dwindling population of believers could be described as luke warm at best. Most of the citizens either did not believe in God at all, or if they did believe He existed, He had just become an object for ridicule and mockery.
There was, however, a small group of new believers who were on fire for God. They had come to their beliefs under the teaching and evangelism of an itinerant missionary from Barbados named John H. Hartman. Several times a year Rev. Hartman would travel from island to island on a small inter-island steamer to visit his various congregations in the Caribbean, including the little church that he had planted on the island of Martinique. This year, though, was different.
In a journal written by Dr. V. Raymond Edman, former missionary to Ecuador, who was for many years the beloved and highly respected president of Wheaton College, we can read Rev. Hartman’s own words: “Only once did (my wife) Mrs. Hartman ever ask me not to go on one of those trips. Many a time she was ill with some tropical fever, to be sure; but only on one occasion did she beg me not to go as I had planned. I explained to her that I had no alternative but to go. The steamer went only once a month. The previous month I had sent letters to each congregation along the way to inform them that on the boat’s next trip I would come for some services. The steamer remained in a given harbor for a day or two, sometimes more. Each local congregation knew approximately the day of arrival and would send word about my coming to the members and friends scattered in the towns, villages and plantations. In those days we had no wireless or radio service, and, of course, no air mail. I had to go, or else disappoint every congregation throughout the islands.”
But on this one occasion, Mrs. Hartman expressed great apprehension for him. Though she was seldom discouraged, worried, or blue, she had a foreboding about this trip, scheduled for early May, 1902, and she felt that if he started out he would never return. It was such a strong impression, that Rev. Hartman reluctantly agreed to stay in Barbados.
Back on the island of Martinique, things had progressively gotten uglier. Rev. Hartman later related further to Dr. Edman: “With this mounting wickedness and depravity, there came increasingly violent persecution of the believers. They were subject to physical harm and imprisonment as well as insolence and insults from their fellow citizens, filled with strong drink and heady with sordid pleasures. Finally the persecution grew so intense that the Christians felt they could no longer remain in the city. As a result they gathered together what few belongings they could take with them and went as a group from St. Pierre. They obeyed literally the words of the Savior, ‘When ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet… When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another’ (Matthew 10:14, 23).”
The anti God feelings on Martinique seemed to be played out even more forcefully during the Christian holiday seasons, and 1902’s season of Lent and Easter saw the depravity hit new lows. The things that happened made some of the shameful things we might see today at Mardi Gras seem tame in comparison.
In fact, we read from Days and Nights in the Tropics, by Dean Harris, which was published 1905, “in parody of the Christ’s journey from Pilate’s house to Calvary, with a rope around its neck they dragged a living pig outside the city. Here they nailed it to a cross, lifted it on high, and with shouts and curses, apostrophized it. They hailed it as Jesus Christ, crowned its wretched head with thorns, pierced its side and put a board above it with the inscription ‘J.C., King of the Christians,’ and yelling and dancing like fiends, carried it through the streets.
Then, at about the same hour, another procession of human devils, ascended the mountain behind the city, uprooted a great crucifix that had stood there for many years, and amid obscene rites and blasphemous songs, cast the sacred figure into the crater, their leader yelling as it sank out of sight, ‘Go where Thou deservest to go, into Thine own hell.”
At the same time that these atrocities were occurring, there were two missionaries in Canada who felt a strong pull to go to Martinique as two witnesses of the Gospel. They boarded a ship and headed for the Caribbean. When their ship reached its destination, the immigration officer naturally asked them what their plans were on the island. When told that they planned to preach about Jesus, he refused their entry, making them remain on board the ship until it left the harbor. Martinique had no desire to hear the Gospel.
Early in the morning of May 8, 1902, the Canadian missionaries’ ship pulled out of the harbor. As it was leaving, the steamship that should have been carrying Rev. Hartman came into port.
It was the Day of Ascension, the day of celebration held annually forty days after Easter Sunday to commemorate the ascension of Christ into heaven. What new ideas the blasphemous citizenry had for that afternoon to try to top their earlier activities during Easter we can not know. What we do know is reported to us by the people on a cable repair ship that had the city in direct view.
At exactly 7:52 that morning of the Day of Ascension, the mountain behind the city violently split in half and a dense black cloud shot out horizontally. A second black cloud rolled upwards, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud, completely darkening the sky for a fifty mile radius. The initial speed of both clouds was later calculated to be over 420 miles per hour.
According to Wikipedia: “The horizontal cloud hugged the ground and sped down towards the city of Saint-Pierre, appearing black and heavy, glowing hot from the inside. It consisted of superheated steam and volcanic gases and dust, with temperatures exceeding 1075 °C. In under a minute it reached and covered the entire city, instantly igniting everything flammable it came in contact with.
A rush of wind followed, this time towards the mountain. Then came a half-hour downpour of muddy rain mixed with ashes. For the next several hours, all communication with the city was severed. Nobody knew what was happening, nor who had authority over the island, as the governor was unreachable and his status unknown.
One eyewitness said “the mountain was blown to pieces, there was no warning”, while another said “it was like a giant oil refinery”. One person even went as far to say that “the town vanished before our eyes.” A warship approached the shore at about 12:30, but the intense heat prevented it from landing until about 3 PM. The city burned for several more days.”
The two missionaries from Canada who were turned away witnessed the unbelievable sight from miles away. The steamship Rev. Hartman was suppose to be on was totally destroyed, as was every other ship in the harbor. Only one resident in the city survived to tell the tale. The rest of the population of over 30,000 people perished, incinerated in the first few seconds, as was virtually all of the animal and bird life. The sea literally boiled for miles out from the island. The lone survivor in the city was a murderer who had been in a dungeon like jail cell under the ground. The air in his underground chamber literally roasted his skin, but he lived to relate his story.
The small Christian church watched the devastation from their new home. The ship carrying the two Canadian Christian witnesses was burning from stem to stern when it reached the next island of St. Lucia; however, the two missionaries were not injured. Fire fell from the eruption down on neighboring islands as far as 125 miles away, from the volcano that was Mt. Pelee, the mountain where the large crucifix had been tossed in six weeks earlier, with the heinous shout, “Go where Thou deservest to go, into Thine own hell.”
The editor of The Dominica Guardian, on May 28, 1902. wrote, ”The profanities on last Good Friday at St. Pierre were but the repetitions of similar profanities and sacrilegiousness of which we know too much. But an outraged Divinity having hushed up the actors forever we will say no more about them.”
Rev. John H. Hartman and his small congregation of believers were reunited, and Martinique is today the lush paradise it was intended to be.
