Blog note:

… And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. (Luke 21:11).

… And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations,with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)

… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken; (Luke 21:26)

… This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2 Timothy 3:1)

(Emphasis Added).

Jesus is giving a series of prophecies about what to look for as the age of grace comes to a close. These verses are several of many such prophecies from throughout the Bible. 2017 was the worst year in recorded history for the intensity, frequency, severity, duration and occurrence of a large number of severe natural disasters worldwide. Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, torrential flooding, unprecedented wildfires in unusual places, devastating droughts, excessive/scorching heat setting records everywhere, record snowfalls in Europe and Russia. Snow in the Arabia. This list can go on. Most studied eschatologists believe these ‘fearful sights’ and massive natural disasters are all part of the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of signs that this Biblical and prophetic age is closing. Most people who study prophecy are familiar with the routine reference(s) made that these things will be like a woman having labor pains that occur in greater severity, frequency, size and duration prior to giving birth. End of note.

Congo health workers face violence as Ebola virus spreads

By Jennifer Hauser and Susannah Cullinane, CNN. Updated 1:47 AM ET, Sun November 18, 2018

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to rise as violence hampers health workers’ efforts to battle the virus. There are now 358 cases of Ebola and 213 deaths since the outbreak began in August, according to the nation’s Ministry of Health.

Conflict between militant groups and government forces has made it difficult for health workers to access some of the hardest-hit areas.

Operations suspended. On Friday evening, an armed group tried to attack UN peacekeepers in the city of Beni in North Kivu province — the epicenter of the outbreak. The attack occurred near the Ebola Response Emergency Operations Center and hotels where many Ebola health workers are staying, according to the health ministry.

The peacekeepers were able to push the attackers back after several hours of clashes but all field activities were suspended in Beni Saturday due to the violence. The Emergency Operations Center remained closed and teams had to stay in their hotels. Earlier in the week, at least seven peacekeepers were killed and 10 others were wounded in a coordinated military attack on rebel forces, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said. The peacekeeping outfit has partnered with Congolese armed forces in an operation to dislodge the rebel Allied Democratic Forces and “restore peace and stability in the Beni area,” the UN said in a statement. Deadly violence in the Congo’s North Kivu province has hampered efforts to stamp out the Ebola virus, the country’s Minister of Public Health Oly Ilunga Kalenga said.

Infants among dead. The outbreak — the second this year — began in North Kivu province before spreading to Ituri province in the east of the country. This is the 10th time since 1976 that Ebola has struck the Congo. Of all the reported cases, 311 so far have been confirmed as Ebola and 47 are probable. Among the deaths, 166 are confirmed as having been caused by Ebola and 47 are probable, according to the nation’s health ministry. Among those killed in the outbreak are pregnant and breastfeeding women, newborns and infants, the World Health Organization reported. More than 30 health workers also have been infected, according to the WHO.

Fear of spread. Congo shares borders with nine nations, and the United Nations fears the Ebola epidemic could spread to South Sudan as well due to the influx of Congolese refugees.

Doctors Without Borders is on the ground in the Congo and has also deployed teams to neighboring Uganda, though no cases have been confirmed there so far. Still, the World Health Organization said Thursday that “the risk of the outbreak spreading to other provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to neighboring countries, remains very high.”

Kalenga, the health minister, posted a video on the Health Ministry’s Facebook page early Saturday calling for communities to be vigilant and report any signs of illness. “Community-based surveillance is at the heart of the new response strategy against #Ebola. Each inhabitant, at his level, can protect his family and neighborhood against the virus by reporting any alert and suspicious cases to emergency teams. All the leaders of the #beni neighborhoods work alongside us in the response,” he wrote

The virus. Ebola first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and Congo, and gets its name from a river in the latter nation. It is one of the world’s most virulent diseases and is transmitted through direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids of infected people.

Ebola causes fever, severe headaches and in some cases hemorrhaging. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or objects contaminated by someone ill with the disease. In some cases, the virus is spread through contact with someone who has died from the disease. The virus enters the body through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth. It can also spread through sexual contact.