In 1866 , a well-educated native Hawaiian named Joseph Kaona had asked Paris to use the new Lanakila church to store some bibles . At first , Paris welcomed the help . Kaona had grown up in the area , and served in the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii as a district judge and in its House of Representatives in 1853 . However , Kaona 's erratic behavior alarmed Paris . Kaona claimed he was a prophet sent to warn of the end of the world . He predicted a lava flow would soon destroy everyone except his followers ( called Kaonaites ) after the earthquakes of April 1868 . He had also predicted destruction a few earlier times , but after the appointed day passed , postponed it . Paris learned that Kaona had been sentenced to an asylum a few years earlier after claiming he could raise someone from the dead . Paris tried to lock the Lanakila Church , but the door fell off its hinges and Kaona claimed it was a miracle . When the Kaonaites occupied the church and refused to leave , a local judge ordered it closed and the occupiers evicted
earthquakes of April 1868
1868 Hawaii earthquake
John Davis Paris