What’s happening in California is heartbreaking, catastrophic, and apocalyptic. Yes, we’re living in the Last Days, but you have to step back and ask, “Is God Judging California?” Here, we look at scripture, some videos, and quotes, and hear from Christian pastors located in California—they’re safe so far—and hopefully, we’ll answer the question and have hope for the future. Let’s dig in…
God’s Judgment
First, look at some Bible verses that speak to God’s Judgment, who He is, what He’s done, why He does what He does, and what He has the power to do.
13 “At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you.”
2 Chronicles 7:13 NLT
“No rain falls” — He controls droughts, floods, snowfall, earthquakes, tsunamis, pestilence, and plagues. Nevertheless, we live in a fallen world. God gave us free will to make our choices in life. Choices have consequences. We can choose to follow God or to ignore Him. Other people have chosen to mock God. Watch this video from Ray Comfort of Living Waters, in Bellflower, CA…
Hollywood Mocks God, Then This Happens
7 “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”
Galatians 6:7 NLT
3 “Should I remain silent while you babble on?
Job 11:3 NLT
When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?”
11 “Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?”
Exodus 4:11 NLT
God gave us mouths and free will. Additionally, He gave us the Bible with directions on what to say and not to say, how to act and not to act, and who/what to worship and not worship. Before I get into the judgment passages, here’s something to remember…
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 NLT
Jesus said…
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Revelation 1:8 NLT
Is God Judging California?
Here are some of the judgment passages…
14 “God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”
Ecclesiastes 12:14 NLT
In the Book of Deuteronomy, God laid down the rules for living for the Israelites. These laws apply to all humans. The big HOWEVER is JESUS! He came to save us. I’ll get to that in a bit. Here are some curses that will happen if you don’t follow God. I have the full study on this here.
20 “The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. 21 The Lord will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die.
27 “The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. 29 You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.
45 “If you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed.”
Deuteronomy 28:20-22, 27-29, 45 NLT
The Final Judgment
Jesus died on the cross taking our sins away with Him fulfilling the laws of the Old Testament. Furthermore, since we’re living in the Last Days, we have to know that the birth pains will increase as we get closer to the Great Tribulation and the Final, White Throne Judgment. Everybody will be judged! The living and the dead. Born again or not. (Though the born-again folks are pardoned because they believe the truth that Jesus washed their sins away with His blood.)
3 “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 “They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.”
2 Peter 3:3-7 NLT Click here for a video lesson on 2 Peter 3.
The Perfect Storm
I’m watching the live news from L.A. and a meteorologist said that Southern California is experiencing, “An extreme Santa Ana wind event”—the dry Santa Ana winds that come from the east—the desert—some even at hurricane-force of over 100 mph. Add the driest red-flag conditions ever—it hasn’t rained since March 2024—combined with how easily a fire can be started, and what some are saying is mismanagement of water resources, the fire department, and deforestation—you have an extraordinary catastrophe.
Who’s at fault? We’ll see. One thing is for sure…
22 “For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. 23 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Mark 4:22-23 NLT
Moreover, watch these videos and judge for yourself…
“It’s Los Angeles, but it’s also the corrupt, progressive, liberal, woke mindset that is burning! All the above brought this upon so many good people! Maybe, only maybe, these fires will finally switch on the light bulb in that blue district!”
Amir Tsarfati, Behold Israel, on Telegram
The following videos are from pastors who live in the L.A. area.
Yet, God is Our Refuge…
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.11 I, yes I, am the Lord,
Isaiah 43:2-3a, 11 NLT
and there is no other Savior.
4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Psalm 34:4-9 NLT
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
Here are more Psalms:
Jesus’ Good News
Jesus came to save us—yes, you and me—sinners. There is hope for everyone, anyone, who calls upon the Lord.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17 NIV
Jesus told us…
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NLT
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:3-6 NIV
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:6-9 NLT
I quoted 2 Chronicles 7:13 above, here’s the next verse where God as the “then if”…
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT
Some Stand-Out Quotes from the Videos…
“Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you do not deserve.”
“Persecution causes people to come to Christ.”
“God will not let you get away with anything that displeases Him.”
Pastor Jack Hibbs
“Only God can send a spiritual awakening. Only God can heal our land.”
Pastor Greg Laurie
Is God Judging California?
Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. What do you think? He may not be judging them directly, but He removed His Hand of Protection. Maybe He’s giving California a wake-up call—waking up the woke. Again, I don’t know. Needlesstosay, we can pray for a spiritual awakening. As Peter wrote…
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
2 Peter 3:3-7 NLT Click here for a video lesson on 2 Peter 3.
These Fires are Nothing Compared to What’s Coming in the Great Tribulation
The First Four Trumpets
6 Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.
8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, 9 one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.
10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.
12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
Revelation 8:6-13 NLT
I am so glad I won’t have to go through the Great Tribulation and face God’s wrath! I know I am saved and I have my one-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven when I die or I will not be left behind at the Rapture — whichever comes first.
How about you?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
