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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ006126S
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00:23 One hundred percent pure New Zealand.
00:28 It's unparalleled scenic beauty and amazing outdoor activities 00:32 make it one of the most desirable places to live 00:36 on earth. In fact Auckland the largest city in New Zealand 00:40 top set ranking but Auckland has an ominous secret. 00:46 Can you believe it sits on over 50 volcanoes? 00:51 New Zealand still has 10 active volcano's scattered across 00:56 it's North Island. You see New Zealand sits on the 01:01 Pacific Ring of Fire which is a 40,000 Km horseshoe-shaped belt 01:06 of the active volcanoes on the very rim of the Pacific Ocean 01:10 75% of the world's volcanoes are in this ring of fire. 01:16 All these volcanoes and thermal activity intrigue and 01:21 fascinate us. So join me on an Incredible Journey 01:27 as we look at some of the most devastating volcanic eruptions 01:31 to hit New Zealand in recent times of the warning signs 01:35 that were disregarded and of the bravery and heroism 01:39 of those who rushed to help even at the risk of 01:42 their own lives. 02:08 This is the steamy heart of the charming town of Rotorua 02:13 about three hour drive south of Auckland 02:16 and if you were born here in this city, you could boast 02:20 that you were actually born in a volcano. 02:23 You see, the city of Rotorua is actually built inside 02:28 the crater of a dormant volcano. 02:31 It's an amazing place of fire and fumes of spurting 02:36 volcanic craters and smoke belching thermals. 02:40 A place of bubbling mineral springs, therapeutic 02:45 hot mud pools, dramatic eases, and a buried village. 02:49 This famous geothermal activity simmers and belches 02:54 under approximately 12 square kilometers of the city 02:59 of Rotorua. This volatile place is created when rainwater 03:05 seeps down through the cracks and is heated by the 03:08 hot volcanic rock. The boiling water is stored underground 03:13 and bubbles up through the steaming hot pools, hot springs, 03:17 and geysers. 03:18 In fact the largest geyser in the southern hemisphere 03:22 is found here at Rotorua. Pohutu means big splash 03:27 or explosion and the Pohutu Geyser certainly lives up to 03:32 its name. The thermal activity is scattered all around Rotorua 03:38 steam can be seen rising from gutters beside the road 03:42 small steaming pools pop up in private and public land 03:47 and the distinct smell of sulfa is everywhere and it's important 03:53 to watch your step and be prepared for the unexpected. 03:56 In 2022, a tourist was walking along a footpath near 04:03 the Living Maori Village when a two-meter wide hole 04:07 suddenly opened up in front of her, she fell into 04:11 the sinkhole and her husband and others nearby rushed 04:14 to her rescue, they were able to pull her out but not before 04:19 she was badly burned by the boiling water. 04:22 Now a sinkhole is known as a fumarole, it belches out steam 04:28 and volcanic gasses. Often the temperature is up to 04:32 400 degrees Celsius. 04:39 Among the famous places known for their thermal activity 04:42 is the Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland featuring the 04:46 Lady Knox Geyser which bursts 20 meters or nearly 70 feet 04:52 into the air and erupts for an hour at a time. 04:56 There's a trick here though, the park ranger encourages 05:00 the Lady Knox Geyser to erupt at least once a day by 05:04 pouring a bag of soap down its vent. Warning signs are at the 05:10 entrance of the attraction and everywhere inside the 05:13 thermal wonderland park, fences surround the most dangerous 05:18 areas and people are warned to stay on the paths. 05:22 Every visitor coming in the gates is warned to obey the 05:26 signs and staff regularly walk the tracks to keep an eye 05:30 on things. 05:32 Amazingly, however, some people ignore the dangers, 05:36 they go into prohibited areas, they even climb barriers 05:41 either through ignorance or because they just don't care 05:45 and refuse to heed the warnings. 05:47 There was a volcanologist who ventured into a forbidden area 05:52 to take a close-up photograph and fell into a steaming pool 05:57 he was so badly burned that he spent three months 06:01 recovering in the Waikato Hospital. 06:04 Then in the early hours of the morning of the 10th of June 06:09 1886, Henry Roche, a surveyor camped at Te Puna a Tuhoe 06:15 he heard a mighty roar that he thought was an approaching 06:20 tornado, he looked outside to save his tent and was surprised 06:24 to see a clear sky. But then he saw a thin column of smoke 06:29 rising into the air from the direction of Mt. Tarawera 06:34 Roch was witnessing the eruption of Mt. Tarawera, the largest 06:40 volcanic eruption to occur in New Zealand. 06:43 The ground trembled at Te Wairoa on the other side of 06:47 Lake Tarawera and hot stones smashed the windows of the 06:51 local hotel. The mountain roared and scoria rained down on 06:57 the inhabitants, some buildings caved in or were set alight. 07:02 Men from Rotorua rushed to the scene and began digging out 07:08 those who had survived. A number of settlements were buried 07:12 and completely wiped out including Te Wairoa 07:16 which is now known as the buried village and a popular 07:20 tourist destination. It has been estimated that 120 people 07:26 died on that fateful night. 07:33 A volcano can be a temperamental creature and despite modern 07:38 detection systems and careful monitoring, it's still difficult 07:42 to know just when a volcano is going to erupt. 07:45 There are usually warning signs but they are sometimes ignored 07:50 and tragic consequences occur as happened in December 2019. 07:56 Whakaari or White Island is an active volcano in the 08:01 Bay of Plenty just here off the North Island of New Zealand 08:05 and has been a popular tourist destination eager customers 08:10 book a cruise or helicopter ride for the chance to see 08:14 an active volcano. Many find it really exciting to see the steam 08:19 vents and hot springs and to peer down into the throat 08:23 of a volcano that'd recently erupted. 08:26 In fact in December 2019 ash still covered the ground on 08:31 the island from the 26th steam eruption, 08:34 a grim reminder that this slumbering giant could awaken 08:38 at any moment. 08:40 Despite the obvious danger of an eruption leading up to 08:44 December 2019, more than 18,000 adventurous people visited 08:49 White Island every year and tourism was booming. 08:53 Scientists kept a close watch on the seismic activity 08:57 but the temperamental volcano seemed to be fairly peaceful, 09:01 however, there were some warning signs. 09:05 In October 2019 there was a marked increase in volcanic 09:10 tremors and sulfur dioxide gas levels and then a 09:15 strong earthquake shook the island a month later in November 09:18 and was felt even as far south as Christchurch. 09:22 Scientists elevated the danger level on the island to a 09:26 volcanic alert level 2 indicating moderate to 09:31 heightened volcanic unrest but as the island had been placed 09:35 on this level before and nothing had happened the tour operators 09:40 weren't overly worried and it was business as usual. 09:43 However, ignoring the warning signs proved to be a fatal 09:49 mistake. Helicopter excursions buzzed over the island, 09:55 small tourist boats circled the island and some even dropped 10:00 passengers on the shores of White Island. 10:02 On this particular day the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas 10:07 was anchored near the island and offered an on-shore visit 10:11 to White Island. Thirty-Eight passengers took the excursion 10:15 to the island on the morning of the 9th of December 2019, 10:19 once on the island tour guards led the people along the path 10:24 to the bubbling, steaming, crater pointing out the various 10:28 features of an active volcano. There was nothing unusual at that 10:33 point to indicate the impending disaster. 10:39 But at 2:11 p.m., tourists in the catamaran who were departing 10:46 from the island and heading back to the mainland saw to their 10:50 horror a white cloud of ash erupt from the crater 10:54 billow up into the sky and tumble over the edge 10:57 of the cliff. It engulfed the island and darkened the sky 11:01 as it rolled and rumbled into the sea. 11:04 The catamaran immediately turned back to help those 11:08 who were still on the island. 11:10 No one knew at that stage exactly how many people 11:14 were on the island but it was a terrifying thought to know 11:19 there must be people in the middle of that deadly cloud 11:22 consisting of steam up to 300 degrees Celsius. 11:26 Rocks flew into the air 11:28 traveling up to speeds of 100 meters or 300 feet per second 11:33 a helicopter on the island was blown off its landing pad 11:37 and lay in a mangled heap. 11:39 The island turned gray as ash rained down but despite the 11:45 danger tour operators launched inflatable dinghy's and 11:50 raced to the shore to rescue those waiting at the landing. 11:53 They returned with 23 survivors all of whom had been badly 11:59 burned by the steam. Mark Law a commercial helicopter pilot 12:04 from nearby Whakatane was driving along the coast 12:08 when he noticed the ominous column of cloud erupting from 12:13 White Island he knew straight away the volcano had erupted 12:17 and without a second thought, raced back to his helicopter 12:21 he was well aware of the danger but there were people 12:25 to be rescued and that's all that mattered. 12:28 Law was at White Island within an hour, he guided his helicopter 12:34 to the island's landing pad strapped on a gas mask 12:38 and leaped out into the deep ash. 12:41 He raced up to the crater and found 12 people, 12:45 sadly eight had already died. Two more helicopters arrived 12:52 piloted by Graeme Hopcroft, Cal Imillian and Sam Jones 12:57 and these brave men also leapt out to help 12 people 13:03 were gently loaded into three helicopters and taken to 13:07 were taken to Whakatane Hospital. 13:08 Unfortunately, only two survived the trip due to their 13:14 horrific injuries. It turned out that there were 47 people on the 13:19 island on that fateful day, most of them international 13:23 tourists, 22 of them didn't survive and the rest were 13:28 all injured in varying degrees by the boiling steam and 13:33 acidic fumes. It was such a tragic event comes the inevitable 13:38 questions, why were people still allowed on the island 13:42 when the warning signs indicated impending disaster? 13:46 No one knew just when the volcano was going to erupt 13:50 but there had been warnings, why were these warnings ignored? 14:00 What can we learn from this tragedy? 14:02 We live with warning signs every day, 14:04 these warning signs are there for our safety and protection. 14:08 Warning signs tell us a road is closed or that swimming 14:13 may be dangerous due to Crocodiles or strong currents 14:17 There are often warning signs before a heart attack or stroke 14:21 or before an accident occurs. It's important that 14:25 we pay attention to these signs and take action 14:29 before it's forever too late. 14:30 When Jesus was on earth He often talked about the 14:34 Kingdom of Heaven and how one day He's going to 14:38 come back again. The disciples were enthusiastic and impatient 14:43 and wanted to know just when this was going to happen. 14:46 In the Bible book of Matthew Chapter 24, it tells us that 14:52 one day the disciples came to Jesus as He was sitting on the 14:55 Mount of Olives and said... 15:05 Maybe they were hoping for an exact date or a specific sign 15:09 but Jesus dashed their hopes by saying... 15:20 We will never know the exact date but Jesus proceeded to 15:26 give His disciples specific signs that are like flashing 15:30 beacons for us today to tell us when the time His coming is near. 15:34 He says... 15:41 In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus gives His followers the signs, 15:46 warning signs that would immediately precede His return 15:51 at the end of human history as we know it. 15:54 Jesus divides these warning signs into four main categories 15:59 Firstly: 16:03 Secondly: 16:06 And then Thirdly: 16:10 And Finally: 16:13 Firstly, He focuses on the religious world 16:29 Jesus is telling us what's going to happen before He returns 16:32 three times he warns that false christs and false prophets 16:36 will become common just before He returns. 16:40 Further on He says... 16:47 And then thirdly... 16:58 Jesus says the last days will see the appearance of many 17:04 false religious leaders. The last days will be characterized 17:07 by voices coming from different corners of the religious world 17:11 saying follow me. 17:13 I'm a voice from Heaven, many people will claim divine light, 17:17 prophetic powers, and even to be Jesus Christ Himself. 17:22 That's exactly what we see happening today called groups 17:28 are springing up all over the world training to have 17:31 new divine messages. 17:33 Recently National Geographic Magazine published an article 17:37 on the modern phenomena of cult leaders around the world 17:41 claiming to be Jesus Christ 17:44 They featured individuals in Brazil, Japan, Africa, and 17:49 Russia who think they are the Messiah. 17:52 These individuals have gathered large groups 17:55 of followers around them. 17:56 Jesus warned us that this would happen. Jesus continued with 18:03 other warning signs and moved on to the second category. 18:06 The last days Jesus said would be characterized by worldwide 18:12 Political conflict. He said... 18:24 Jesus pointed to International War as one of the signs of 18:29 the last days. Now the last century has seen war on a scale 18:35 never seen before. 18:36 We've had two World Wars and an estimated average of 30 wars 18:42 on the planet every year. 18:44 Now, to give you some idea of just how nations are preparing 18:48 for war and engaging in it, world military spending 18:53 has reached an all-time high of over 2.1 trillion dollars 18:58 a year. There is a massive arms buildup taking place 19:01 and to put it into perspective in just one area consider this. 19:06 The world's nuclear arsenal is equal in destructive power 19:11 to four tons of TNT for every man, woman, and child on this 19:16 planet. The major powers alone have enough nuclear weapons 19:21 stockpiled to destroy every person on earth 150 times. 19:27 Jesus said that the last days will be characterized by 19:33 the nations preparing for war with nation rising against 19:36 nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 19:39 There will be wars and rumors of wars and the world will be 19:44 in turmoil. 19:46 Then Jesus moved on to the third category 19:50 It outlines Signs in the Natural World 19:53 that will multiply and causing suffering and anguish. 20:04 Here Jesus lists three particular signs in the natural world 20:08 that will occur with increasing frequency as we near the 20:12 coming of Jesus. 20:17 Jesus said that we will see an increase in these areas 20:21 as we near the time of His return. 20:24 Now, consider famine, the United Nations reports 20:28 that 45 countries today are facing severe food shortages 20:33 mainly due to famine. One billion people worldwide 20:37 are undernourished and chronically hungry every day. 20:41 And rising food prices may drive another one hundred million 20:45 into poverty and hunger. Every day 25,000 people including 20:51 10,000 children die from hunger and hunger-related causes. 20:56 Jesus also predicted an increase in pestilences in the days 21:01 leading up to His second coming. 21:03 Now pestilences are contagious or infectious epidemic diseases 21:09 that a virulent and devastating and kill large numbers of 21:13 people. They are diseases that devastate crops and herds 21:17 or that run rampant among human beings. 21:20 And then we just recently experienced a Coronavirus 21:25 Pandemic with 800 million cases worldwide and 7 million 21:29 deaths. Jesus said the last days would be characterized 21:35 by an increase in pestilences. 21:38 Jesus also mentioned frequent earthquakes in the last days. 21:42 Now there has been a huge increase in major earthquakes 21:47 in recent times. 21:48 Prior to the 20th century, they were relatively few 21:52 major earthquakes over six on the Richter Scale that had been 21:56 recorded. This century has seen the year with the largest total 22:01 of major earthquakes greater than or equal to magnitude seven. 22:06 In the past 20 years, we've seen four of the top earthquakes 22:10 ever recorded, the number of disasters caused by earthquakes 22:15 and the number of people affected by earthquakes 22:17 has been increasing. 22:19 This indicates that something out of the ordinary is going on. 22:25 Jesus then gave warning signs in the Social World. 22:30 Jesus said the last days will be similar to another period 22:34 in Earth's history. 22:42 Jesus said the last days would be like it was in Noah's day. 22:48 Well, what was it like in Noah's day? 22:52 We want to know because Jesus predicted that the last days 22:57 would be just the same. 22:58 To find out, let's go back to the very first book in the Bible 23:03 Genesis... 23:17 So what was it like in Noah's day? 23:19 Well, two things are implied here... 23:27 Jesus indicated that the last days would see a great population 23:32 growth. 23:42 Let's look at the population first. Did you know that it took from 23:46 Creation to the year 1800 AD to reach a world population of... 23:52 1Billion. Then it took 130 years to 1930 to reach 2 Billion. 23:58 It took 30 years 1960 to reach 3 Billion. 24:03 It took +14 years to 1974 to reach 4 Billion. 24:08 It took 13 years 1987 to reach 5 Billion. 24:14 It took +12 years1999 to reach 6 Billion. 24:18 It took +12 years 2011 to reach 7 Billion and now we have 24:25 reached over 8 Billion. 24:27 Jesus also indicated that evaluation of marriage 24:31 would occur just before He returns. 24:34 One area that highlights this is the divorce rate. 24:38 In 1870 there was one divorce for every 34 marriages, 24:44 by 1900 there was one divorce for every 12 marriages, 24:49 by 1930 there was one divorce for every six marriages, 24:53 and today, there is one divorce for every two marriages. 24:58 We are witnessing the warning signs that Jesus predicted. 25:03 They're happening all around us in the religious world, 25:07 the political world, the natural world, and in the social world. 25:12 Now these signs in this kind of society sounds frightening 25:18 but we don't need to be afraid these are the warning signs 25:23 that Jesus has given us to tell us that the end of this world 25:28 as we know it is near. 25:30 Luke Chapter 21 verse 28 says... 25:43 Jesus is our rescuer, He loves us and is longing to take us 25:48 home with Him to the mansion He is preparing for us 25:51 in Heaven. What a glorious thought as we look forward 25:56 to the second coming of Jesus. Take note of the warning signs 26:00 and recognize them as a loving yet urgent alert from 26:05 our Heavenly Father. It's time to Prepare. 26:09 If you'd like to learn more about the signs of Jesus' 26:15 return and ways to prepare for the second coming of Jesus, 26:18 then I'd like to recommend the gift we have for all our 26:22 Incredible Journey viewers today. 26:25 It's the booklet Signs of His Return. 26:29 You'll be astounded at the accuracy of these warnings. 26:33 This booklet is our gift to you and it is absolutely Free. 26:36 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever 26:41 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive 26:45 your Free gift today. 26:47 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia or 020.422.2042 26:59 in New Zealand, or 770.800.0266 in the United States. 27:05 Or visit our website at tij.tv, or simply scan the QR code 27:12 on your screen and we'll send you today's Free Offer 27:15 totally free of charge and with no obligation 27:18 You can also write to us at GPO Box 274 Sydney NSW 27:24 2001 Australia, or PO Box 76673 Manukau Auckland 27:32 2241 New Zealand, or PO Box 888717 Atlanta, GA 30356 USA 27:41 You can also email us at info@tij.tv. 27:46 Don't delay, call or text us now. 27:49 Our Father in Heaven, We thank you for letting us 27:54 know that Jesus is coming soon. We are grateful that we don't 27:59 need to be afraid knowing that you will be with us to the end 28:03 of the age. We ask for under- standing and courage 28:07 as we face the future and pray that our loved ones will 28:12 all be ready for that wonderful day. 28:14 In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen! |
Revised 2024-07-11