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 pains, growing in intensity, frequency, size and duration.

Record-breaking seaweed bloom stretches from West Africa to Mexico

By Zoe Sottile and Ella Hurworth, CNN Updated 3:08 AM ET, Fri July 5, 2019

A record-breaking mass of smelly seaweed stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico has been identified using satellite imagery.

The seaweed bloom, called the great Atlantic Sargassum belt, is the largest ever of its kind, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Southern Florida used satellite imagery to determine that the giant floating mass of seaweed is a whopping 8,850 kilometers (5,000 miles) long. It weighs an estimated 20 million metric tons, or the equivalent of 1.6 million double-decker buses.

Scientists first noticed that seaweed was spreading rapidly across the Atlantic and growing in mass in 2011.

“There’s a huge amount of Sargassum in a place where it’s never been seen before,” said Mengqiu Wang, co-author of the study, which was published in the journal Science.

Wang said the seaweed was of “great ecological value” to marine life such as fish, crabs, shrimps and turtles that use it as a habitat or food source.

But excesses of Sargassum like the recent explosion cause some problems for marine life, as dead Sargassum sinks to the ocean floor and can “smother corals and seagrasses”, according to the university’s press release.

Sargassum also releases a sulfur gas that smells like rotten eggs as it decays, which has caused problems as it washes up on tourist-filled coasts in Mexico and the Caribbean.

The rotting seaweed can attract insects and the gas given off affects asthma sufferers, causing what Wang said was a “public health concern.”

According to Expansion, a Mexican business magazine, hotels in Quintana Roo saw a decrease in visitors in June due in part to the heaps of unsightly, foul-smelling seaweed washing up on the beaches. The local government even declared a state of emergency over the Sargassum situation, local media reported.

The seaweed explosion is also indicative of bigger problems, Wang said. Researchers believe ocean chemistry must have changed “in order for the bloom to occur so quickly,” she said, likely caused by nutrients seeping into the water from widespread deforestation and fertilizer use.

While the effects of deforestation are widespread and contribute to our ongoing climate crisis, Wang said that the Sargassum bloom is primarily a concern for beachgoers and does not seem to be creating any severe problems in the ocean itself just yet.

“If we could effectively block the Sargassum from landing on the beaches, that could be a good way to go,” she told CNN.

Wang added that governments in affected regions could find strategies “to make it useful,” citing seaweed’s potential use as biofuel or fertilizer. More research into the Sargassum may also uncover other uses.

“We still have a lot of work to do to understand the phenomenon,” Wang said

Luke 21:11

Pestilence of water pollution

Pestilence of air pollution

Pestilence of Aquatic Life

Pestilence of Animal Life

Pestilence of Livestock

Pestilence of Crops and Agriculture

Pestilence of plants and bio-diversity

Pestilence of Earth’s Biodiversity

Pestilence of Land

Destruction of Rainforest

Destruction of Seas, Lakes, Rivers

Destruction of Earth’s Biodiversity