Author: Parameciumcaudatum

There were five erect columns at the door of the Tabernacle Of Meeting. “You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.” Exodus 26:36-37. (NKJV). The door of the Tabernacle of Meeting represents Christ. “Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” John 10:7. The colors of the screen portray different characteristics of the Saviour. The blue symbolizes His royalty. The purple His Priestly Ministry and the red his atoning sacrifice. The five pillars at the door of the Holy Place represent the five wise virgins. Jesus referred to them when He spoke about those who would be ready for His appearance at the end of time. Five is a number that appears repeatedly not only in the Tabernacle Of Meeting, but also within the Outer Court, and The Fence around the Court. The five sockets of bronze signify that only those who accepted the gospel of Moses would be permitted to enter The Tabernacle of Meeting.

What exactly is the meaning of this number? Because the twenty Posts on the northern and southern sides of the fence and those on the eastern and western sides of the same. Are not only 5 cubits high, but are also 5 cubits apart. Furthermore, The Brazen Altar’s dimensions are 5 cubits by 5 cubits. The only rational conclusion is that the number 5 represents the five books of Moses. Namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. All of the Posts in The Fence around the Outer Court are covered with brass. The Altar of Burnt Offering is also covered with Brass. Upon the four sides of this very same Brazen Altar, the blood of the Burnt, Trespass, and Fellowship offerings are continually sprinkled. The blood of the Sin-offering is always poured out at its base. The total length of the longest sides (North and South) of the Fence around the Court is 100 cubits. The total width of the two shortest sides (East and West) is 50 cubits. The number 100 is easily obtained by multiplying 10 X 10.

Why have I selected the number 10 for this purpose? Because it’s a recurring number throughout the Bible. The Patriarch Job had 10 children. Jehovah sent rain upon the antediluvian world for 40 days and 40 nights, 10 X 4. The Lord Almighty predicted that ancient Israel would be subjected to Egyptian bondage for 400 years, 40 X 10. Twelve spies went into the land of Canaan but 10 returned with a negative report. Although there were twelve tribes of Israel, 10 went down into apostasy. Moses was driven out of Egypt at the age of 40, 4 X 10. He was given a divine commission at the age of 80, 8 X 10. Members of the Human Race have 10 fingers and 10 toes and God gave us 10 Commandments to govern our lives. Ancient Israel was sentenced by the divine potentate to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, 4 X 10. He also sent 10 plagues upon ancient Egypt. Ten is the number that represents Humanity.

Since the brazen Altar is continually being sprinkled with blood to cleanse it. It’s also the same dimension as the brass-covered posts around the Fence. Then it’s rational to conclude that they are one and the same people. At different stages in the salvation continuum. Furthermore, the posts are covered/enclosed with a white fabric made from goat hair. The blood of the animals being sprinkled represents the blood of Christ. The white fabric/cloth surrounding the posts represents the righteousness of Christ. There is a clear and distinct declaration being made when one carefully observes this arrangement. Viz., MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN RACE, WHO KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (10X10), AND WHO ARE ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN THE GOSPEL OF MOSES (5), ARE THOSE AND ONLY THOSE WHO WILL BE CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS AND COVERED WITH HIS LIFE. What a sobering, frightening and terrifying thought? This is the only methodology of salvation taught in scripture! There is no other thoroughfare to Heaven!

This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that the tribe of Levi alone was camped around the four sides of the Outer Court. This was the only tribe that remained faithful to the worship of Jehovah during the apostasy beneath Mount Sinai. When Aaron was prevailed upon by a large mob, to construct a golden calf. Which Israelites from eleven of the other tribes actually worshipped. Leading The Lord Almighty to threaten the extermination of the entire nation but for Moses’ intercession. The prophet Moses and the priests were camped on the Eastern side of the Outer Court. The other four families encamped on the Western, Northern, and Southern sides were all Levites. It is interesting to note that the Outer Court is shaped like a parallelogram. Accordingly, the total area of this figure can be easily calculated by adding all four sides together. 100+100+50+50 = 300. This number (300 cubits), was the length of Noah’s Ark. The width of the Outer Court was 50 cubits, which was also the width of Noah’s Ark. These numbers imply that this Court and all the rites and ceremonies performed therein. Is God’s final warning/invitation to Humanity. Once probation closes there will be severe and catastrophic judgments without mercy. Just as occurred after Noah and his family entered the Ark.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Daniel 7 makes it abundantly clear that before Jesus returns to Earth there will be a pre-advent investigation of the life of every Christian believer. To determine if he is meritorious of eternal life. All those who are vindicated as a result of this judgment will become candidates for Heaven. Accordingly, immortality will be conferred upon them when The Saviour returns in the clouds of heaven. “Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1Corinthians 15: 50-54.

The partition on the right, in the picture above, illustrates the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary. This apartment was known as The Holy Place (a representation of the Christian Church). This structure was constructed by Moses in the wilderness, in obedience to the divine command. While the children of Israel journeyed to the promised land. There are three important pieces of furniture that illustrate the responsibilities of every believer during the period of Investigative Judgement. The first piece of furniture is the Altar of Incense. The Aaronic High Priest himself (a representation of Christ The Saviour). Burned sweet-smelling incense upon this altar twice daily. Morning and evening. The burning of the incense represents prayer. Predictably, we should pray to our heavenly Father no less frequently than at least two times each day. The incense had a sweet-smelling, incomparable fragrance. Its replication by anyone for personal use was strictly forbidden by divine decree. This fragrance was a symbol of the exceeding unparalleled righteousness of Christ our Saviour.

It is Christ’s perfect Righteousness that is intermingled with our sin-polluted prayers that make our supplications acceptable to the Heavenly Father. Individually, when any child of God stands before His throne of judgment, then He needs to have no fear. Because Jesus our Great High Priest stands there with Him as His Advocate. Therefore, God does not see the sins of the penitent believer. Rather (if everything else is in place), He sees the spotless righteousness of His beloved Son. Thus the repentant sinner is fully Justified in Heaven’s high bar of jurisprudence. This Incense Altar was very close to the Most Holy Place (Symbolizing Heaven). Representing the fact that believers maintain their closeness to Heaven through daily intercession.

The next piece of furnishing in The Holy Place was the Table of The Shew Bread. There were 12 flat loaves of bread on this table. Six loaves were arranged on top of each other on the left side of the table and six were similarly arranged on the right. These loaves were eaten daily by the priests (the sons of Aaron). All the loaves were unleavened bread. Meaning they were baked without yeast since, in Israel’s economy and theology, yeast is a symbol of sin. The loaves essentially were a representation of Christ (The Sinless One).  “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16. He is also The Bread of Life. “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.'” John 6: 35-36. Just as the Old Testament priests fed daily upon the Shewbread, even so, must New Testament believers feed daily upon Christ the Living Bread through Bible study.

The third piece of furniture is the golden candelabra with six branches. The main stick is made of solid gold and so are the six branches. The main stick represents Christ the Saviour. The six branches are a representation of converted and penitent sinners. Their holiness, relationship with God, and fitness for Heaven are maintained only by being embedded in Christ. As long as they are connected with Him they will be able to shine brightly in the darkness of this sinful world. As Jesus, Himself stated, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5-8.

(TO BE CONTINUED).

All life could have been snuffed out on this planet long ago by any of the aforementioned calamitous possibilities. Was it not for the fact that we are in the hands of a loving and omnipotent God? A God who is always mindful of his children. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, the Lord pities those who fear Him.  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103: 11-14. God’s guidance and forbearance have one great objective in view.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. Although we are under constant threat from two seemingly impending natural catastrophes, and one man-made calamity. We have not been wiped out by volcanic eruptions, destroyed by meteoric strikes, or annihilated by nuclear holocaust (all of which are distinct possibilities), consequent upon a specific divine decree. As the Son of The Lord Almighty promised over two thousand years ago, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14. All divine agencies are working strenuously toward the realization of this grand finale in human history. As men endeavor to preach the gospel from shore to distant shore, that is the supreme mission of heaven. Angels are also engaged in the all-important ministry of salvation.

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” Revelation 14:6-7. The flash floods, the earthquakes, the tsunamis, the threatening asteroids and meteors, the erupting small volcanoes, and the giant volcanic monsters that can now erupt at any time and destroy all life on this planet. Are all under the restraining control of mighty angels. Nevertheless, their activities make one distinct, and unmistakable proclamation, ‘Jesus is coming soon therefore, prepare to meet him in peace.’ That is the event that we really need to fear. Not, the possible eruption of the monstrous, Yellowstone supervolcano.

“After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” Revelation 7:1-3.

The seal of The Living God is His sacred law, the Seventh Day Sabbath included. Enshrined in the minds, hearts, and characters of God’s people. Heaven’s insignia and The Lord Almighty’s stamp of approval. Placed upon those who love, fear, obey, and worship Him. The Son of God did not die upon Calvary’s tree to give us a license to continue living in sin. Apart from satisfying the claims of God’s sacred law, which demanded the death of every sinner. Christ’s death also paid for the divine grace that would be imparted to every candidate of salvation to empower him to live above sin. As we read in scripture, ^“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13.

In spite of the activities on display in our world affected by all the natural phenomena demonstrated by nature from time to time, there is at present a judicial proceeding in heaven. All of these natural calamities are designed to let us know that our destiny hangs in the balance. Woe unto those people who are only concerned about the size of their bank accounts. Woe unto those people whose only interest is in the direction that the stock market takes. Woe onto those people whose only concern is the latest ruling of the Supreme Court of The United States. Woe unto those people who are continually obsessed with political issues. I have said it before and now let me say it again, JESUS IS COMING SOON!!!

“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9-10.

This is where all of the real action is folks. This is what is really important. Everything else is insignificant in comparison to this all-important judgment. Where the life of every person that has ever lived from Adam and Eve until Jesus comes. Will be placed beneath the divine review. To see if he merits eternal life or eternal death. When this Judgement is concluded Jesus will be given His kingdom with all of His subjects and He will return to earth not only to put down sin but also to inaugurate His reign of righteousness.

“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

Since initiating what appears to most countries of the world, to be an unjustified and unprovoked war with Ukraine. The Kremlin has threatened many times to use nuclear weapons. “Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said he was moving his “deterrent forces” – meaning nuclear weapons – to “combat ready” status. This has raised fears that Moscow could use “tactical” nuclear weapons – not an all-out nuclear war, but still a dramatic development.”

What are tactical nuclear weapons?

“Tactical nuclear weapons are those which could be used over relatively short distances. This distinguishes them from “strategic” nuclear weapons. In the Cold War, these were the bombs that the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, could launch over long distances at each other’s homeland. The term “tactical” nevertheless incorporates many types of weapons, including smaller bombs and missiles used as “battlefield” weapons.” (BBC NEWS: Ukraine War, Could Russia Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons? By Gordon Correra, 26 April 2022).

After September 11, 2000. The U.S. Secretary of State Ms. Condeleeza Rice threatened to use nuclear weapons against any adversary that would dare to make further terrorist attacks upon the American mainland.

During the Cold War, the United States maintained a “triad” of ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers in a strategic nuclear arsenal of more than 10,000 warheads. During the 1990s, the United States reduced the size of this arsenal to around 7,000 warheads but maintained all three legs of the triad. The Bush Administration has announced that the United States will further reduce its arsenal to between 1,700 and 2,200 “operationally deployed” warheads, but that it will not eliminate many delivery vehicles while reducing its force and it will retain many non-deployed warheads in storage as a “responsive force” that could be added to the deployed forces if conditions warranted. The Bush Administration has also announced that it will resize and modernize the infrastructure that supports U.S. nuclear weapons so that the United States could respond to unexpected changes in the status of its arsenal or the international security environment. (EVERY CRS REPORT.COM: U.S. Nuclear Weapons, Changes in Policy And Force Structure).

China has often threatened to use nuclear weapons against Australia

“China has gone all out in its tantrum against Australia, with a top academic warning that we are now a target for “nuclear war” because of our submarine deal with the United States and Britain. Victor Gao, who was once communist leader Deng Xiaoping’s translator, said the AUKUS pact announced last week was a “gross violation of international law” that will have “profound consequences” for “brainless” Aussies. Following top-secret negotiations with Britain and the US, Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week announced a deal for eight nuclear-powered submarines – aimed at dealing with “threats to regional stability”. It comes as Chinese ships have been forcing their way into Japanese and Indonesian waters and making threats to invade Taiwan. However, Mr. Gao said that by signing up to the submarine deal, Australia has placed itself in the firing line.” (NEWS.COM.AU, ‘Brainless Australia’ A Target For ‘Nuclear War,’ Warns Top China Expert).

China itself also maintains a large nuclear arsenal

China is accelerating its development of strategic nuclear warheads in an effort to amass 700 by 2027 and 1,000 by 2030, more than doubling last year’s estimate, according to the U.S. Defense Department’s 2021 China military power report. Viewed alongside recent revelations about the construction of at least 250 new missile silos in northwestern China, the annual report highlights a concerning nuclear buildup. Last year, the Pentagon estimated that Beijing had a total nuclear warhead stockpile in the low 200s and projected it would at least double over the next decade. China is “investing in, and expanding, the number of its land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support this major expansion of its nuclear forces,” according to the report, which covers developments through 2020. (ARMS CONTROL ASSOCIATION: Pentagon Sees Faster Chinese Nuclear Expansion, By Shannon Bugos, December 2021).

The country of India is now positioning itself to construct nuclear missile silos that can launch nuclear strikes against every major city in China.

New Delhi: India’s nuclear doctrine and its strategic force posture have been evolving with a rapidly changing threat environment as perceived by New Delhi. Questions of targeting and no-first-use policy are now being discussed more critically with rising belligerence from China. While the Indian nuclear posture has traditionally been geared towards handling Pakistan, according to new research, there are indications that India is now focusing more on managing threats from China and as such, strengthening its ability to bring entire Chinese territory within its nuclear strike range. Inducting deep strike capable fighters, longer-range ballistic missiles and sea-based ballistic missiles (SSBNs) are indicative of this trend. Such increased delivery capability, incidentally, also has implications for India’s nuclear dynamics with Pakistan, by widening the nuclear power gap between New Delhi and Islamabad. Agni V missiles and Rafale jets will be a game-changer for India’s new defense strength, hints a recent report authored by Hans M. Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project in the Federation of American Scientists. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, the top nuclear scientist spoke at length on “India’s Nuclear Forces 2020 and ahead”.

There are also nuclear bombs in NATO countries.

Near steep vineyards of Riesling grapes, in an underground vault at an air force base in western Germany, sits an American nuclear bomb. More than one of them, actually. Each bomb is about the length of two refrigerators laid down end to end and as heavy as the average adult male musk ox. The bombs are slender and pointy and little more than a foot wide. Experts estimate that there are about 100 such bombs stored among five NATO countries, ready to be loaded on jets and dropped by the United States and its allies — old-school style, parachute and all — toward an enemy target. One version of this bomb can carry the explosive equivalent of 11 Hiroshimas. The bomb’s family name is B61. Over the past half-century, in various modifications, B61s have been sent to Europe to deter Russia and reassure the NATO alliance, and they remain there for those reasons. Scenarios for their detonation seem far-fetched — but perhaps not as far-fetched as they seemed a month ago. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggers another round of anxiety about World War III, the B61 remains the only U.S. nuclear weapons system based in Europe, a forward-deployed reassurance for NATO at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is rattling his own nuclear saber. (THE WASHINGTON POST: Meet The Nukes The U.S. Keeps In Europe, Waiting Not To Be Used, By Dan Zak, March 25, 2022).

These doomsday weapons are among the mind-boggling and mind benumbing phenomena of the twenty-first century. They cannot be simply wished away. Because they are the ultimate revelation of the depths of human wickedness. After years of painstaking negotiations by military experts from Europe and North America these weapons of mass destruction are their fait accompli. What a disappointment! What a sad commentary upon human failure! All these nukes await the time when some mad man decides to make the first strike against some perceived enemy. At that time the curtains will inexorably fall on human history. The fact that this has not already occurred is a wonderful mystery. Just like a time bomb these weapons of mass extermination are sitting in the very heart of human civilization.

Obviously, it’s not enough for the Human Race to be under constant threat of annihilation by volcanic eruptions or meteoric strikes from outer space. We also have to contend with the fearsome possibility of a nuclear holocaust. Which if it occurs would be equally devastatingly catastrophic to all living things on this planet. How exactly did we arrive at this juncture? Are we to conclude that this triad of possible destructive alternatives is completely accidental. If we rush to such a rash conclusion, then our solar system’s very existence and the orderly movement of the planets around the sun must also be completely coincidental. No sensible person who engages in rational thought would countenance such a reckless assessment. Is it at all possible that these frightening possibilities have been organized/permitted by a transcendent, all-knowing omnipotent God?

(TO BE CONTINUED).

The possible catastrophic eruption of supervolcanoes is not the only cataclysmic problem that mankind needs to be concerned about right now. Present in our solar system are thousands of rocks of various sizes flying around in space and from time to time some of them have actually crashed into planet earth. There are huge craters in South Africa (Morokweng Crater), Nenetsia, Russia (Kara Crater), Yucatan, Mexico (Chicxulub Crater), and Siberia, Russia (Popigai Crater). According to scientists, these huge depressions on the earth’s surface were formed eons of time ago when gigantic meteorites (some as large as Mount Everest) struck the planet. Approximately 61,000 meteorites hit our planet each year or 17 each day. Some of these impacts were so monstrous that they calamitously led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Most times meteorites are seen as shooting stars or brilliant beams of light racing across the sky. However, many of them are so large that they could snuff out all life on our planet.

Asteroids, orbit the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Comets are snowballs made of frozen gases, rock, and dust. They orbit the Sun and when they get too close they start to melt. This releases a giant cloud of dust and gas that can be larger than most planets. There are approximately 3000 comets in our solar system. The Chelyabinsk Meteorite exploded over Russia in February of 2013. It had a diameter of 17 meters. It was relatively small compared to others but the impact caused a lot of damage. There was an accompanying explosion that had the kinetic energy equivalent of 500,000 tons of TNT. That’s about 30 times as powerful as the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. twelve hundred people were injured and an enormous amount of property damage was caused. Of all the objects that could collide with us, Omuamua has one of the more interesting shapes. This rocky, cigar-shaped object is about 400 meters in length. NASA classifies it as a comet. But it also exhibits traits of an asteroid. It has no apparent attachment to any star system. Therefore we don’t know where in space it originated. In 2017 it passed planet earth at a distance of 41 million kilometers. While we were safe from the impact on that occasion, it could have resulted in a lot of destruction. If this interstellar guest crashed into earth, darkness would cover our planet. If the dust and debris stayed in the atmosphere for a long time. It would kill many plants, animals, and humans that depend on the sun.

Bennu is not only an asteroid that we should worry about; it is the asteroid that should really concern us. It has a 1 in 1700 chance of colliding with our planet in September of the year 2182. At only 0.5 kilometers wide it’s relatively small. But remember how significant the Chelyabinsk impact was? With that in mind, you might be somewhat nervous. Since it makes a close approach to Earth every six years. Shoemaker Levy-9 has no chance of ever hitting the earth since it already collided with Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system in 1994. But you can just imagine the destruction this 2 km comet would have caused on our home turf. It broke into twenty pieces as a result of Jupiter’s gravity. The collisions from these fragments were so powerful, that they were similar to the detonations of about 300 million atomic bombs. Plumes of debris shot as high as 3000 km and the atmosphere heated to scorching temperatures of 30,000 to 40,000 degrees Centigrade. The world is pretty relieved that Shoemaker-Levy 9, never hit us. It is also interesting to note that the planets of our solar system are arranged in such a way that they all act as barricades to protect the planet Earth from unwelcome intruders that would otherwise crash into us and destroy all life in our world.

Last but not least is an asteroid so big that technically it’s classified as a dwarf planet called Ceres. It’s the largest object in the asteroid belt. In fact, it makes up about 25% of the belt’s total mass. The radius of Ceres is 476 km (296 miles). That size makes it over 60 times larger than our ancient friend Chicxulub. If Ceres collided with the earth there wouldn’t just be devastation. There would be no earth. The size of Ceres alone would block out the sun as it approached, and then the impact would remove 10 Km (6 miles) of the earth’s crust. Hypersonic shock waves would ripple across the globe. Everything in its path would be incinerated and leveled. Nothing would stand a chance of surviving. Our planet would essentially turn into a glowing ball of fire and melted rock. If by some miracle or secret underground bunker some people survived. They wouldn’t last long. Soot in the atmosphere would result in something like a nuclear winter.

Are we to assume that all of these sobering realities are the result of blind coincidence? That it is a mere chance that these asteroids and comets threateningly approach our world from time to time but turn away at the last moment sparing us the threatened catastrophe. Because all life on this planet can be wiped out at any time were it not for the fact that an invisible hand continues to guide us through space. As we read in scripture,

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in… “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.” Isaiah 40: 21-22, 25-26.

Because The Lord All Mighty is merciful and gracious we have much to be thankful for.

We live on a planet that is continually moving and changing. The earth’s surface is cool and solid but deep in the belly of our planet is a thick layer of hot, molten rock (Magma) that is always churning. Some of the most dramatic features of our planet are volcanoes, named after Vulcan The Roman god of fire. They are among the most powerful and spectacular forces on earth. They can build or destroy but where do they come from? There are two main ways that volcanoes are formed. First, volcanoes may form at the boundaries of tectonic plates. Such plates are sections of the earth’s crust that float on the layer of magma beneath, known as the mantle. Where two plates meet they may either pull apart allowing magma from the mantle to come up, or they may push together shoving some of the crust beneath to be melted into magma and pushing other pieces of the crust up to form new mountains. The new magma beneath the crust starts creating pressure, and once enough pressure has built up it can burst through the crust as an erupting volcano. The second way volcanoes may form is due to ‘hotspots.’ Scientists believe that when a volcano forms away from the edge of a tectonic plate, it is either because the mantle beneath is unusually hot or the crust in that area is unusually thin, allowing the magma to melt its way through to the surface. Magma that reaches the surface is called ‘Lava.’ Either way the result is the same, volcanoes.

THE FIVE BIGGEST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN RECENT HISTORY ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Tambora

April 10, 1815

The Tambora eruption was the largest in modern history. According to the Global Volcanism Program, it was the only eruption in at least 1,000 years to rate a VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) 7. The eruption of Mt. Tambora in what is now Indonesia cast a veil of ash around the world, lowering global temperatures by more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The result was the “year without a summer” in 1816. A foot of snow fell in Quebec City, Quebec, in June. Crops failed worldwide in what historian John Post called “the last great subsistence crisis of the Western world.” The eruption is also tangentially credited with the invention of the bicycle, as the cost of maintaining horses rose, both because of the cost of oats and the death of many horses.

Krakatoa

Aug. 27, 1883

The obliteration of the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in a series of eruptions ending on Aug. 27, 1883, is, in many ways, the most famous modern volcanic cataclysm. The sound of the explosion was heard some 3,000 miles away, across the Indian Ocean on Rodrigues Island. The VEI 6 eruption created a tsunami 150 feet tall, and a ship 50 miles away reported being blasted by hurricane-force winds from the eruption. Volcanic ash blown high into the earth’s atmosphere circled the earth in two weeks, and its lingering effects for years afterward caused brilliant sunsets that inspired artists from North America to England. In recent years, some experts have posited that the dramatic sunset in Norwegian artist Edvard Munch‘s “The Scream” was inspired by the effects of the Krakatoa. Scientific study into how the Krakatoa’s ash spread, later led to the understanding of atmospheric winds worldwide, including the jet stream.

Novarupta

June 6, 1912

The largest explosion of the 20th century happened in such a remote area of the Alaska Peninsula that scientists trying to identify exactly which volcano erupted were mistaken for nearly a half-century. Only through studying local geology were they eventually able to pinpoint the eruption to Novarupta. The VEI 6 Novarupta eruption threw out more material than all other Alaskan eruptions in history – and 30 times more than Mt. St. Helens – a VEI 5 eruption. Across the Shelikof Strait on Kodiak Island, ash fell for three days, accumulating one foot in the main town. The eruption also caused the top of Mt. Katmai, some six miles away, to collapse. As the magma chamber under Mt. Katmai emptied through Novarupta, the weight of Mt. Katmai made it fall in on itself, forming a crater two miles wide and 800 feet deep.

Pinatubo

June 15, 1991

As the most recent VEI 6 eruption, Mt. Pinatubo demonstrated the role that science can sometimes play in limiting the damage of eruptions. Located in the Philippines on the island of Luzon, Mt. Pinatubo had not seen any major activity for at least 500 years. But thousands of earthquakes and minor eruptions through April and May of 1991 suggested that Mt. Pinatubo was likely to erupt. Further readings suggested that gases were building within the volcano, raising the possibility of a major eruption. Three evacuation zones were drawn up around the peak, and by the time the major eruption happened, some 66,000 people had been evacuated. Some 850 people were killed in the eruption, as compared with an estimated 92,000 after Tambora. Curiously, direct observation of the eruption was hampered by the fact that typhoon Yunya hit the island on that same day.

Santa Maria

Oct. 24, 1902

The least powerful of the VEI 6 eruptions recorded since the beginning of the 1700s, the Santa Maria eruption hit the Pacific coast of Guatemala. The 1902 eruption was the first in the recorded history of the mountain, spewing ash that was detected as far away as San Francisco. (THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: The Five Biggest Volcanic Eruptions In Recent History, by Mark Sappenfield, April 18, 2010).

No serious student of history would be ignorant of the erupting volcano on the Island of Pompeii.

Around noon on August 24, 79 CE, a huge eruption from Mount Vesuvius showered volcanic debris over the city of Pompeii, followed the next day by clouds of blisteringly hot gases. Buildings were destroyed, the population was crushed or asphyxiated, and the city was buried beneath a blanket of ash and pumice. For many centuries Pompeii slept beneath its pall of ash, which perfectly preserved the remains. When these were finally unearthed, in the 1700s, the world was astonished at the discovery of a sophisticated Greco-Roman city frozen in time. Grand public buildings included an impressive forum and an amphitheater; lavish villas and all kinds of houses, dating back to the 4th century BCE, were also uncovered. Inside were some preserved remains of people sheltering from the eruption; others lay buried as they fled; bakeries were found with loaves still in the ovens. The buildings and their contents revealed day-to-day life in the ancient world—and stirred 18th-century interest in all things classical. (BRITTANICA: Pompei, Ancient City, Italy).

Scientists believe that right here in the USA, there is a dormant monster, the sleeping giant supervolcano of Yellow Stone National Park. That can erupt at any time and snuff out all life on planet earth. First, it would destroy America, and the Volcanic ash spewed into the atmosphere along with the poisonous gases produced would lead to the death of all wildlife and the destruction of vegetation. This cataclysmic event would block out all sunlight world wide thus enveloping our world in a nuclear winter that would last for at least a decade. Under such circumstances, no human life would survive. Scientists also believe that there is an Alaskan version of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Namely, the mountains of Cleveland, Carlisle, Herbert, Kagamil, Tana, and Uliaga are all tips of one gigantic magma chamber. If this supervolcano were to erupt it would also lead to worldwide catastrophe. “If their predictions are right, Alaska’s Aleutian Arc – the line of islands stretching across the Bering Sea towards Russia’s coast – could be harboring a monster on the scale of Yellowstone’s mighty supervolcano. The entire chain contains around 80 volcanos in total. Dozens of them have erupted repeatedly in recent history, too, so it’s no secret that it’s a geologically active part of the planet.” It is also believed that the eruption of this Alaskan supervolcano brought about the downfall of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt and also the fall of the Roman Empire. (SCIENCE ALERT, Geologists Think They have Found An Alaskan Version of Yellowstone’s Supervolcano)

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Since time immemorial various people have been predicting the end of the world as we know it. Whether these predictions resulted from disillusionment, desperation, otherworldliness, delusions, and hallucinations no one really knows. But those who made such forecasts were convinced in their own minds that their prognostications were true. All those who believed and followed them were similarly persuaded. Some of the most notable end-time predictions that failed are as follows.

2012 Maya Apocalypse

December 21, 2012, signified the end of the first “Great Cycle” of the Maya Long Count calendar. Many misunderstood this to mean an absolute end to the calendar, which tracked time continuously (they thought) from a date 5,125 years earlier, consequently, doomsday predictions emerged. End-of-the-world scenarios included the Earth colliding with a concocted imaginary planet called Nibiru, giant sun flares, an interplanetary adjustment that would cause massive tidal catastrophes, and a realignment of Earth’s axis. Preparations for the end of the world as we know it included a modern-day Noah’s ark built by a Chinese citizen in China and extensive sales of survival kits.

Harold Camping

Among the most extravagant modern predictors of end times, Harold Camping has publicly forecasted the end of the world as many as 12 times, based on his interpretations of biblical numerology. In 1992, he published a book, ominously titled 1994? which predicted the end of the world sometime around that year. Perhaps his most high-profile prediction was for May 21, 2011, a date that he calculated to be exactly 7,000 years after the Biblical flood. When that date passed without incident, he declared his math to be off and pushed back the end of the world to October 21, 2011.

True Way

Taiwanese religious leader Hon-Ming Chen formulated Chen Tao, or True Way, a religious movement that blended elements of Christianity, Buddhism, UFO conspiracy theories, and Taiwanese folk religion. Chen prophesied that God would appear on U.S. television channel 18 on March 25, 1988, to announce that he would arrive on Earth the following week in a physical form resembling Chen. The following year, he predicted, millions of demons, together with massive flooding, would result in the mass destruction of the human population. Followers could be spared by buying their way aboard spaceships, disguised as clouds, sent to rescue them.

Halley’s Comet Panic

Halley’s comet shoots by the Earth approximately every 76 years, but the proximity of its approach in 1910 led to the hysteria that it would destroy the planet, either by a celestial collision or through the poisonous gasses it was believed to contain. A worldwide panic ensued, stoked by the media and such newspaper headlines as “Comet May Kill All Earth Life, Says, Scientist.” A group in Oklahoma attempted to sacrifice a virgin to ward off the anticipated impending doom, and bottled air became a hot commodity. The Earth probably did pass through part of the comet’s tail, but with no apparent effect.

Millerism

Religious leader William Miller began preaching in 1831 that the end of the world as we know it would occur with the second coming of Jesus Christ in 1843. Because he thought that such was a correct interpretation of “And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14 (NKJV). He attracted as many as 100,000 followers who believed that they would be carried off to heaven when the date arrived. When the 1843 prediction failed to materialize, Miller recalculated and determined that the world would actually end in 1844. Adventists later reinterpreted this passage to mean that the cleansing of The Heavenly Sanctuary would commence with the Investigative Judgement in 1844. Follower Henry Emmons wrote, “I waited all Tuesday, and dear Jesus did not come … I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain—sick with disappointment.”

Joanna Southcott

Commencing when she was 42 years old, Joanna Southcott revealed that she was hearing voices that predicted future events, including the crop failures and famines of 1799 and 1800. She began publishing her own books and eventually developed a following of as many as 100,000 believers. In 1813, she announced that in the following year she would give birth to the second messiah, whose arrival would signal the last days of the Earth—despite being 64 years old and, as she told her doctors, a virgin. She died before a baby could be born.

The Prophet Hen of Leeds

In 1806, a domesticated hen in Leeds, England, appeared to lay eggs inscribed with the message “Christ is coming.” Great numbers of people reportedly visited the hen and began to despair of the coming Judgment Day. It was soon discovered, however, that the eggs were not in fact prophetic messages but the work of their owner, who had been writing on the eggs in corrosive ink and reinserting them into the poor hen’s body.

Great Fire of London

Because the Bible calls 666 the number of the Beast, many Christians in 17th-century Europe feared the end of the world in the year 1666. The Great London Fire, which lasted from September 2 to September 5 of that year, destroyed much of the city, including 87 parish churches and about 13,000 houses. Many saw it as a fulfillment of the end of the world prophecy. Given such a large amount of property damage, though, the death toll of the fire was remarkably low, reportedly only 10 people–not quite the end of the world.

The Great Flood

Johannes Stöffler, a respected German mathematician and astrologer, predicted that a great flood would cover the world on February 25, 1524, when all of the known planets would be in alignment under Pisces, a water sign. Hundreds of pamphlets announcing the coming flood were issued and set in motion a general panic; Count von Iggleheim, a German nobleman, went so far as to build a three-story ark. Though there was light rain on the day of the predicted flood, no actual flooding materialized.

Montanism

Montanism, a 2nd-century schismatic movement of Christianity, began in Phrygia (modern Turkey). Based on the visions of Montanus, who claimed to speak under the influence of the Spirit, Montanists believed the second coming of Christ to be imminent. Many Christian communities were almost abandoned when believers left their homes and migrated to a plain between the two villages of Pepuza and Tymion in Phrygia, where Montanus claimed the heavenly Jerusalem would descend to Earth.
(BRITTANICA: Paraphrased from 10 Failed Doomsday Predictions).

THE DISTRESS OF NATIONS WITH PERPLEXITY

Many third-world countries today are in a desperate predicament. Primarily because it’s impossible for them to balance their external trade accounts. They are incapable of producing enough desirable goods and services to sell abroad. To enable them to earn all the foreign exchange that they need. To purchase the capital goods, food, and medicines, which their nationals are so anxious to consume. Predictably, presidents and prime ministers go to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Cap in hand to beg for loans, which cannot solve their economic problems but are merely a debt trap. Because in order to obtain such financial assistance. They in turn have to drastically devalue their own currencies. Further impoverishing their citizenry and compounding the problem. Unfortunately, most of these loans are used not to facilitate capital development. So that at some future date the country would produce more wealth to pay for its consumption. Instead, such loans are utilized for overhead expenses. Consequently, the relationship with foreign International Financial Institutions, instead of being a brief affair, becomes a permanent marriage. Goodbye colonialism and welcome to neocolonialism. “The more things change the more they remain the same.”

The heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank warned Wednesday that rising interest rates are squeezing the world’s poorest countries as they struggle with the coronavirus and soaring food prices. There is “a huge buildup of debt, especially in the poorest countries,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a press conference. “As interest rates rise, the debt pressures are mounting on developing countries, and we need to move urgently towards solutions.‘’ IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters Wednesday that 60 percent of low-income countries were in or near “debt distress” — an alarming threshold reached when their debt payments equal half the size of their national economies. Countries that strain to pay their creditors will also struggle to help their poorest citizens at a time when the Ukraine war is disrupting food shipments and pushing food prices higher. Countries around the world piled on debt to shield their economies from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns meant to contain it. The IMF forecasts that government debts in low-income countries will surpass 50 percent of gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — this year, up from less than 44 percent in the pre-pandemic year 2019. (ALJAZEERA: IMF, World Bank warn of ‘huge buildup of debt’ in poorest nations, 20 April 2022).

Perplexity is a part of this global equation because there seems to be no rational way out of this distressing continuum.

THE PHENOMENAL INCREASE IN PESTILENCE

In Thesaurus.com Pestilence is defined as:

1. A deadly or virulent epidemic disease.

2. bubonic plague.

3. Something that is considered harmful, destructive, or evil.

Since Jesus made that pronouncement in the first century C.E., various health catastrophes have afflicted the human race down through the centuries of time during the course of the last two millennia. Each succeeding pestilence was more devastating than the previous one. Initially, hundreds of lives were lost but as the years rolled by each new plague claimed thousands, then hundreds of thousands in succeeding eras. Now such losses run into millions of lives. History’s seven deadliest plagues are as follows:

Plague of Justinian: 30-50 million people (541-549 A.D.)

The disease – now confirmed to be bubonic plague – reached Constantinople, capital of the Late Roman or Byzantine Empire, in 541 AD. It was soon killing 10,000 people a day. Corpses littered public spaces and were stacked like produce indoors. It was perhaps the first major outbreak of bubonic plague the world had seen and the record suggests that it extended across continents, reaching Roman Egypt, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula. 

Black Death: 75-200M (1334-1353)

The second pandemic of the bubonic plague likely sprang up in north-eastern China, killing maybe five million, fast. It moved west, through India, Syria and Mesopotamia. In 1346 it struck a trading port called Kaffa in the Black Sea. Ships from departing Kaffa carried trade goods and also carried rats, who carried fleas, who carried Yersinia Pestis. In October 1347, 12 such ships docked at Messina in Sicily, their hulls full of dead and dying sailors. By the time harbour authorities realised what the ships brought, it was too late. Over the next five years, the Black Death killed almost half of Europe.

The Third Plague: 12 million (1855 – 1959)

It had never completely gone away, but the bubonic plague resurged violently in 1855. Beginning in Yunnan, China, it spread to the port cities of Guangzhou and Hong Kong by 1894. Outbound ships seeded burgeoning clusters in Bombay, Calcutta, Cape Town and San Francisco by the turn of the century. It didn’t stop there: before 1959, some 12 million people across the world – half of them in India – would be dead. But science was catching up, meaning that this would be the final pandemic of the bubonic plague. The causative bacterium, Yersinia pestis, was identified in 1894 in Hong Kong.

1918 flu: 50-100 million (1918-1920)

Five days after the pandemic influenza of 1918 made landfall at Brevig Mission, a remote village in Alaska, 90 percent of the community was dead. In Philadelphia, priests collected corpses in horse-drawn carts. In parts of India the devastation was so complete that bodies were left out for the jackals to pick at. It arrived in Bombay in June 1918 on troop ships returning soldiers from the battlegrounds of World War I and, by year’s end, had claimed possibly as many as 18.5 million lives in South Asia. Freetown, Liberia, lost four percent of its population in three weeks. Persia may have lost as many as 22 percent of its people. 50 to 100 million people the world over died before rising immunity blunted the virus’s threat.

New World Smallpox: 25-56 million (1520 – early 1600s)

Smallpox had been a familiar scourge in many parts of the world for centuries when the first Europeans arrived on American shores. 20-60% of those it infected in Europe died. Survivors emerged immune. But the pre-Columbian indigenous people of America were immunologically naïve to the variolavirus that landed aboard a Spanish ship at present-day Veracruz, Mexico in April 1520, hidden in the body of an infected, enslaved African man. The continent was perfectly vulnerable. The outbreak seeded by first contact was catastrophic, but it was only the first volley. Waves of infection broke on the continent for decades. Whoever didn’t die of smallpox was killed by the imported influenza that chased the smallpox or the measles epidemic that surged in its wake. A mind-blowing 90 percent of the indigenous population perished.

HIV/AIDS: 27.2-47.8 million (1981 – current)

The HIV virus may have first crossed over from chimpanzees to humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo via blood contact around 1920. It spread more-or-less undetected until 1981, when a virulent pneumonia and rare cancer called Kaposi’s Sarcoma began to crop up among gay men in the US. By year’s end, there were 270 reported cases. 121 of them had already died. It’s possible, however, that by 1980, HIV was already on five continents, infecting between 100,000 and 300,000 people. By 1987, when the WHO launched the Global Program on AIDS, an estimated 5-10 million people worldwide were living with HIV. Today, despite massive advances in the treatment and management of HIV, it remains incurable. The number of people infected stands at around 38 million, with more than two-thirds of those patients living in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

COVID-19: 5-17 million (2020 – current)

You probably know this one: in December 2019, a series of unusual pneumonia cases cropped up in Wuhan, China. At first, health officials offered reassurance: the new coronavirus wasn’t being passed from human to human. That quickly proved false. In late January 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global health emergency. By March, there were cases in 114 countries. Nations around the world cascaded into lockdown. A year and a half later, 17 million people are estimated to have died; many survivors have lingering symptoms. The risks of the pandemic – of the social and economic disruptions, the psychological toll on healthcare workers across the world, the deepening global inequality due to uneven vaccine access – are still resolving. (VACCINES WORK: History’s Seven Deadliest Plagues by Maya Prabhu ,  Jessica Gergen 15 November 2021).

These scourges are not the result of blind coincidence. They are judgments, the manifestations of divine displeasure. Intended to bring humanity to repentance. To turn man towards The Creator of Heaven and earth. So that he might accept Jesus Christ as Saviour from Sin and obey the divine mandates (The Ten Commandments). Unfortunately, however, we read:

“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelation 9:20-21. (NKJV).

AN INCREASE IN FAMINES

Famine and hunger have existed since ancient times. We are informed in sacred history of that sobering reality.

“Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt, there was bread. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.” The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.” Genesis 41:53-57. (NKJV).

Jesus warned his disciples that as we approached the end of human history famines would increase in severity and frequency.

“And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” Luke 21:11 (NKJV).

The world is facing one of the largest food crises in over 70 years, with an estimated 76 million people in need of emergency food assistance. For more than 30 million people in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen severe hunger is a daily reality. For some, the risk of starvation is even greater. More than 20 million people in northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen are at immediate risk. Since late 2016, conditions in northeast Nigeria indicate that famine has occurred and might be ongoing. In South Sudan, a famine occurred in early 2017, and the risk of future famine is still high, and in Somalia and Yemen, there is also a high risk of famine in 2020. Without immediate support, 1.4 million of those at imminent risk of death are children. (MERCY CORPS: The Facts: What You Need To Know About Famine, July 26, 2017).

AN INCREASE IN THE FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF EARTHQUAKES.

Not only have earthquakes increased in frequency and severity during the last 100 years. They have caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, they have devastated large geographical areas, and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Many earthquakes have caused killer tsunamis when the seawater receded and then washed ashore wreaking havoc and great destruction of lives and property.

1. The west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Richter Scale: 9.1
Date: December 26, 2004

2. Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan

Richter Scale: 9.0
Date: March 11, 2011

3. Chile earthquake, Chile

Richter Scale: 8.8
Date: February 27, 2010

4. Nias Earthquake, Indonesia

Richter Scale: 8.6
Date: March 28, 2005

5. Indian Ocean earthquakes, Aceh, Indonesia

Richter Scale: 8.6
Date: April 11, 2012

6. Southern Sumatra, Indonesia

Richter Scale: 8.5
Date: September 12, 2007

7. North coast of Peru

Richter Scale 8.4
Date: June 23, 2001

8. Hokkaido, Japan region

Richter Scale 8.3
Date: September 25, 2003

9. Kuril Islands

Richter Scale 8.3
Date: November 15, 2006

10. Okhotsk Sea Earthquake

Richter Scale: 8.3
Date: May 24, 2013

All of the abovementioned earthquakes were far-reaching and severe. But they are meant to prepare us for the catastrophe of catastrophes. The mother of all earthquakes will strike every country on earth simultaneously and no one will escape. Furthermore, we are warned about this calamity in scripture and it will end all human life as we know it on planet earth.

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.  Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (Revelation 16:17-20). (NKJV). 

WARS AND PREPARATIONS FOR WAR

The most powerful countries on planet earth today continue to prepare for war at a pace that is unprecedented in human history. Nations talk of peace and sign important treaties claiming to herald a new world order in which military conflicts are remote events of the distant past. Wars solve nothing and change nothing. Today Germany is a united country once again. Russia by and large is bereft of its satellite states. Great Britain has divested most of its colonies and is well on its way to becoming another Island nation among a community of nations. But during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there have been more conflicts on earth, than at any other period of time in earth’s history. This phenomenon is not only a fulfillment of prophecy it is also one of the signs that we are living at a time when human history will be brought to a catastrophic end.

Top 10 Countries with the Highest Military Expenditures (2020):

• The United States — $778 billion.
• China — $252 billion [estimated]
• India — $72.9 billion.
• Russia — $61.7 billion.
• United Kingdom — $59.2 billion.
• Saudi Arabia — $57.5 billion [estimated]
• Germany — $52.8 billion.
• France — $52.7 billion.

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:4-8 (NKJV).

THE RISE OF FALSE PROPHETS AND PROSPERITY PREACHERS

During the sixties and seventies, there were worldwide evangelists that traveled globally preaching the gospel. Their core message was that man was a sinner and that he needed salvation which could only be obtained by trusting in Jesus Christ. Proponents of this Biblical New Testament Theology included Rex Hubbard, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts. However, in the recent past things have changed. Now we have what is known as prosperity preachers. They have moved away from the message of humanity being sinful at the core and in desperate need of transforming grace. Their new focus is self-actualization and self-realization. With a great deal of emphasis on the attainment of wealth and prosperity. Heaven and happiness in the hereafter are de-emphasized and health, wealth, and success in the present are promoted. Let me not forget to mention the rise of religious extremists. Some of them claim to be Christ and consequently seduce their followers into mass suicide or sexual promiscuity. Many preachers today claim that God’s Moral Law is no longer binding and people can be saved despite their sins. A piece of theology that is neither found anywhere in scripture nor did it come from any of the teachings of Christ.

James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, political activist, preacher, and faith healer who between 1955 and 1978 led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement. In what he described as “revolutionary suicide”, Jones and his inner circle orchestrated a mass murder–suicide in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978. Jones and the events at Jonestown have had a defining influence on society’s perception of cults. (WIKIPEDIA: Jim Jones).

In more recent memory are the Davidians in Waco, Texas that were all followers of David Koresh.

Federal agents rammed armored vehicles into the fortified building as flames engulfed religious cult leader David Koresh and over 75 of his men, women, and child followers. Most died in the smoke and fire, with their beliefs that the world would end. A fulfilled prophecy of sorts.

That was April 19, 1993, in Waco, Texas.

People across the country tuned into national news stations to see agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and FBI descend upon the Branch Davidian compound called Mount Carmel in search for illegally amassed weapons. They watched the initial shootout between the two parties evolve into a 51-day standoff and the botched negotiations that ended with images of citizens willing to arm themselves and fight to the death against a tyrannical government. (ROLLING STONES: Waco Cult Showdown Ends In Disaster)

GLOBAL WARMING

One of the new and brutal realities of living in the 21st Century. Is the recognition that the earth is heating up and the atmosphere is getting warmer. This phenomenon has been accompanied by aberrations in the weather pattern and also catastrophic storms. Scientists allege that the predominant reason for these changes in our environment is the increasing use of fossil fuels.

Since 1900, the average surface air temperature has risen 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius). The steepest rise began in the 1970s and continues today. We know this warming is happening because we have measurements of temperature from weather stations. In some places, recorded temperature measurements go back to the 1880s. Estimates of temperature changes in the further past are made from tree rings and ice cores. Today, surface temperatures are monitored at thousands of places, over both land and oceans. An increase of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit may not sound like a lot. On average, Earth is only 7 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer today than it was during the last ice age. The recent increase in the average temperature of only a couple degrees is already leading to global changes in precipitation, snow and ice extent, and extreme weather, such as heavy rains, heatwaves, and severe storms. (The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine: Humans Are Causing Global Warming).

The effects of global warming have been compounded by large-scale deforestation and the destruction of thousands of species of animals and insects that were placed in this ecosystem to promote the safety of humans. Furthermore, the recent melting of millions of tons of icebergs in the Arctic Region and the resulting rise in sea levels worldwide, along with the new threat posed to communities located near waterfronts and seaports are all extremely serious and alarming.