It used to be the deterioration of the environment that we were all concerned about and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that almost daily grabbed the headlines, but now we are talking about the possibility of a Third World War and the occurrence of more earthquakes of great magnitudes such as Japan's, triggering tsunamis and radiation that would cause immense loss of lives in all parts of the world.

Barely, a month into 2011 North Africa was suddenly thrust into a spate of street protests followed by identical turbulences in the Middle East. Tunisia's president Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak were forced to resign, paving the way for change – whether for better or for worse remains to be seen. Morocco, the country almost touching Spain, had its share of vocal opposition. The kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia preempted the eruption of hostilities by announcing that they would immediately institute reforms.But Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi remained adamant that he would never resign andordered his army to fire from land and air on the civilian protesters, resulting in the slaughter of thousands upon thousands and the outbreak ofwhat is probably one of the worst civil wars in recent history. The island Kingdom of Bahrain's fate is unsteady as the Al Kalifa dynasty hangs on to power. And all potentates tremble in their thrones as the universal call for change resounds. And the United Nations? When it comes to events of overwhelming political magnitude, it can only be an effete onlooker.

The oil-rich Arab world is itself divided into moderates and extremists. What worries the Western democracies is a possible take-over by extremists. Such situation would mean an alignment of international forces. North America, Western Europe and Australia-New Zealand would be allied with one another against a dominant fundamentalistArab world in Africa and Asia. Communist China has its own friends in Asia and Latin America. Asia has its large share of Muslim radicals, who would align with the Arab world. Russia remains, as ever, an enigma. Democratic stalwarts in Asia are mainly Japan, Singapore, India and Taiwan, although Taiwan is resentful at the democracies that observe the one-China policy.South Korea is democratic but is ever vitiated by prospects of war with communist North Korea. Although predominantly Roman Catholic with a democratic government, the Philippines has its own problems with Muslim extremists in parts of the southern island of Mindanao and with pockets of communist insurgency in remote but vast areas of the entire archipelago.Thailand is Buddhist and the West could attract it to its fold. Even moderate Islamic countries such as Brunei might align with the hard-liners in the Middle East if religion were brought up as a common denominator.Yet, another common denominator is oil, and this, the Arabs possess in abundance. Oil is, in fact, their trump card. Oil makes industrialization possible. Oil makes the manufacture of armaments achievable. Is the world in 2011 on the brink of a Third World War? A next global war would be a nuclear war. Nuclear weapons are manufactured to be used, not to be displayed in museums.

But while wars are empirically avoidable,natural calamities are no match for puny mankind. Haiti, then Chile reeled fromearthquakes, giving rise to talks that the world's tectonic plates are becoming more active.The first time ever earthquake-flash floodsin New Zealand were still not mopped up when the earthquake of 8.9 magnitude that hitJapan, Asia's most progressive country, shocked the entire world. Video footages showedbuildings crumble and multitudes swept away by the ensuing tsunamis that broke through nuclear power plants, causing the emission of radiation levels dangerous to human life.. And scientific predictions are being made as to where the next powerful earthquakes would strike. All of a sudden, the wealthy nations of the world, especially those with nuclear plants, are being jolted out of their comfort zones.

And add to these, the moral decadence that has increased in secular society and the church. It was sad enough to see many church leaders fall from grace. It was bad enough to appoint homosexuals as bishops, but now the sacred institution of marriage has been violated by the legalization of same-gender marriages! The proliferation of drug abuse and obsession with sex is nauseating! What the Bible has warned as immoral are now considered moral or amoral. Does Satan still need to roam around the earth?His evil work seems to have reached its climax! Has any period in history ever been worse than this, politically, environmentally and morally? Has not mankind reached a point of no return?

We, professing Christians stare helplessly at all these abominations. But we can reassuringly tell one another even in the midst of earthquakes and tsunamis and even a nuclear holocaust: "Hang in there! The gates of hell shall not prevail against us. No one can separate us from the love of God, which is ours in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

Yes, the keys of the Kingdom are ours and no one can grab them away from us. But we must also act. We must put our faith into action. We must pull away from danger as many of those who, because of weakness or ignorance, are sinking fast into the morass of sin.

We must act fast.

No one knows the day nor the hour.