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.
Siberia forest fires spark potential ‘disaster’ for Arctic
AFP•July 30, 2019
Moscow (AFP) – Gigantic forest fires have regularly raged through the vast expanses of Russia’s Siberia, but the magnitude of this year’s blazes has reached an exceptional level with fears of a long-term impact on the environment.
As fires sweep across millions of hectares enveloping entire cities in black smoke and noxious fumes, environmentalists warn of a disaster threatening to accelerate the melting of the Arctic.
More than 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) went up in flames on Monday, mainly in the vast regions of Yakutia in the north and Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk in Siberia, authorities said.
The fires, triggered by dry thunderstorms in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), were spread by strong winds, Russia’s federal forestry agency said.
The acrid smoke has affected not only small settlements but also major cities in Western Siberia and the Altai region as well as the Urals such as Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, and disrupted air travel.
“The smoke is horrible. I am choking and dizzy,” pensioner Raisa Brovkina, who was hospitalised in Russia’s third-largest city Novosibirsk, told state television.
On Sunday, the smoke reached neighbouring Kazakhstan.
A “concentration of pollutants exceeding the norm” was recorded in several cities, including the capital Nur-Sultan, said the Kazakh meteorological service.
– ‘Ecological disaster’ –
Aside from health fears for the local population, environmentalists warn the fires may accelerate global warming.
“The forest fires in the eastern part of the country have long stopped being a local problem,” the Russian branch of Greenpeace said in a statement.
“It has transformed into an ecological disaster with consequences for the entire country.”
According to the environmental group, almost 12 million hectares were burnt this year, causing significant CO2 emissions and reducing the future capacity of forest to absorb the carbon dioxide.
“Then there is the added problem that soot falling on ice or snow melts darkens it, thus reducing the reflectiveness of the surface and trapping more heat,” the World Meteorological Organization told AFP in a statement.
Some scientists posted satellite images from NASA showing the clouds of smoke reaching Arctic areas.
Greenpeace Russia expert Grigory Kuksin said the soot and ashes accelerate the melting of the Arctic ice and permafrost — the permanently frozen layer that has begun melting — releasing gases that reinforce global warming.
Kuksin called the impact on the climate “very serious.”
“It is comparable to the emissions of major cities,” he said.
“The more fires affect the climate, the more conditions are created for new dangerous fires.”
Greenpeace has launched a petition demanding Russian authorities do more to fight the fires.
– No resources to fight fires –
But the situation is complicated by the fact that Russia does not have enough money to contain the wildfires, environmentalists add.
The majority of the fires rage in remote or inaccessible areas and authorities make the decision to extinguish them only if the estimated damage exceeds the cost of the operation, experts say.
Otherwise, the role of Russian authorities is limited to monitoring the wildfires, they say.
Kuksin of Greenpeace said Russian officials do not prioritise financial resources to put out fires in remote areas, taking issue with such an approach.
“The maximum amount possible should be put out from the start,” he said.
“We need to plan and allocate resources, but we continue to save money claiming it is ‘economically impractical’.”