In 2009, pastor and author John Piper said that God sent a tornado to Minneapolis, Minnesota to warn the country’s major Lutheran denomination not to approve the ordination of openly gay pastors at their convention. Now, Piper is telling the victims of the recent tornado storms in the South and Midwest that “God gave the command” for the tornadoes that left at least thirty-nine people dead. Piper said he disagreed with televangelist Pat Robertson, who said that the tornadoes resulted from a lack of prayer rather than being God’s doing, and maintained that God sent the tornadoes because of the sins of the region:
God's "fierce fingers" are all over the deadly storms that ripped through the Midwest and South over the past weekend, popular preacher and author John Piper said.
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"We do not ascribe such independent power to Mother Nature or to the devil," he penned on his ministry's blog. "God alone has the last say in where and how the wind blows."
"If a tornado twists at 175 miles an hour and stays on the ground like a massive lawnmower for 50 miles, God gave the command," he shared, in direct opposition to Robertson, the host of "The 700 Club" who said on Monday that God that was not to be blamed for "doing something foolish" and that He did not send tornadoes to hurt people.
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"This is a word to those of us who sit safely in Minneapolis or Hollywood and survey the desolation of Maryville and Henryville. 'Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish' (Luke 13:4-5)."
Every deadly wind in any town is a divine warning to every town, he emphasized.
The warning especially rings true to God's own people.
Quoting the Scriptures, Piper shared, "It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" The disastrous storms were calling "every person of every religion or non-religion" to turn from sin and come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and eternal life.
"Jesus rules the wind," the Bethlehem Baptist Church preacher affirmed. "The tornadoes were his."
