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.

6 in 10 Infectious Diseases Come from Animals. The CDC Is Most Worried About These 8.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu, Staff Writer | May 7, 2019 06:50am ET. Live Science.

More than half of the infectious diseases that affect people come from animals. Now, for the first time, the government is releasing a list of the top eight illnesses spread from animals — called zoonotic diseases — in the United States.

The list includes some strains of the flu, Salmonella infection, West Nile virus, the plague, emerging coronaviruses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome, rabies, brucellosis (a bacterial infection) and Lyme disease, according to the list, released May 6 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Experts from the CDC, along with experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, came up with the list during a workshop held last December in Washington, D.C.

The eight illnesses were chosen based on the potential for the disease to cause an epidemic or pandemic, the severity of the disease, the economic impact, the potential for the introduction or spread of the disease in the U.S., and the potential for bioterrorism. (An epidemic refers to when a disease affects more of a given population than expected; a pandemic refers to a worldwide epidemic.) [10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species]

Take the flu, for example. The flu can sicken many different animals, including cats, dogs and bats. And though certain strains of the virus are typically contained within certain species, the strains change all the time. In rare cases, the virus can mutate in a way that allows it to hop from whichever animal it usually infects to humans, and from there, spread to other humans.

Flu pandemics typically happen as a result of this hop from animals to humans, Live Science reported in March. For example, the 2009 flu pandemic — the swine flu — came from pigs. And the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed millions of people around the world, originated in birds.

Other zoonotic illnesses on the list include salmonellosis, caused by Salmonella bacteria, which leads to about 1.2 million illnesses every year in the U.S., according to the CDC. People can become infected by this bacterium if they eat food contaminated with the bacteria.

Also on the list is a very rare, yet very serious zoonotic infection known as rabies, which is caused by a virus that can spread from animal bites.

The list also includes the West Nile virus, which can be transmitted from mosquitoes, and Lyme disease, an illness that comes from the bite of infected ticks. The plague (yes, it still exists) can be transferred to humans who have handled animals infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The plague, unlike in the Middle Ages, is now treatable with antibiotics. Even so, the report concluded that one form of the plague — the deadly pneumonic plague — has the potential to spread until it’s an epidemic, and the bacteria could also be used as a bioterrorism agent.