Blog note. Jesus indicated that ‘fearful sights’ (various natural disasters) would occur leading up to the time known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a combined seven year period of great destruction on earth). Although these types of things have occurred in the past for centuries and thousands of years, they could be identified as the ‘season of the times’ due to the ferociousness of these events. They would be occurring in greater intensity, severity, frequency, size, duration, scope … just like the pains that a woman experiences in labor the farther along she is in the labor process. We are in the ‘season of the times’ that comes just before the seven (7) year Tribulation/Great Tribulation period
… 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)
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.

Tornadoes kill at least 5 as massive storm sweeps U.S. South

By Barbara Goldberg Reuters•April 14, 2019

April 14 (Reuters) – Weekend tornadoes killed at least five people, including three children, in the U.S. South, authorities said on Sunday, as a massive storm system with damaging wind and hail moved across the country and began drenching East Coast states.

A tornado touched down and spun toward Enigma, Georgia, on Sunday, after 17 twisters were reported on Saturday and earlier on Sunday across the South from Texas to Alabama.

“We’ll be seeing severe weather from Florida to New York, with the most unstable parts so far in Georgia,” said meteorologist David Roth of the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center.

Tornado watches, some lasting through early Monday, were issued for most of West Virginia, most of North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland and parts of Ohio and New York. The watches mean conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form.

The affected areas will get heavy rains, winds with gusts of up to 70 mph (110 kph) and the possibility of hail, Roth said.

“Whenever you have a tornado watch, you also have threats for severe thunderstorms,” he added.

More than 100 million people from the middle of the United States to the East Coast were at risk of extreme weather, facing warnings of heavy thunderstorms and another round of tornadoes, said NWS meteorologist Bob Oravec.

Nearly 2,300 U.S. flights were canceled by Sunday evening, more then 90 percent of them at airports in Chicago; Houston, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Pittsburgh; Columbus, Ohio and a dozen major airports on the Eastern Seaboard, according to FlightAware.com.

The storm’s cold front also brought snow to Chicago on Sunday, with 1 to 3 inches (2.5-7.6 cm) reported in central Illinois.

Two children, siblings aged 3 and 8, were killed on Saturday when a tree fell on the car in which they were sitting in Pollok, Texas, said a spokeswoman for the Angelina County Sheriff’s Department.

A third child, Sebastian Omar Martinez, 13, drowned late on Saturday when he fell into a drainage ditch filled with flash floodwaters near Monroe, Louisiana, said Deputy Glenn Springfield of the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office.

In another storm death nearby, an unidentified victim’s body was trapped in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters in Calhoun, Louisiana, Springfield said.

In Mississippi, Governor Phil Bryant said one person was killed and 11 people injured over the weekend as tornadoes ripped through 17 counties and left 26,000 homes and businesses without electricity.

“It could have been much worse,” Bryant told reporters after issuing an emergency declaration for the affected areas, including Monroe County where a curfew was ordered from 8 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. Monday.

In addition, three people were killed when a private jet crashed in Mississippi on Saturday, but Bryant said it was uncertain whether it was caused by the weather.

Soaking rains could snarl the Monday morning commute on the East Coast before the storm moves off to sea.

“The biggest impact rush hour-wise probably will be Boston, around 7 to 8 o’clock in the morning, and around New York City around 5 or 6 o’clock, before sunrise,” Oravec said. (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg and Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Peter Cooney and Chris Reese)