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.

Call the ‘Men in Black’! Huge cockroaches invade Russian resort of Sochi

Published time: 30 Jul, 2019 15:09Edited time: 30 Jul, 2019 15:40

They sowed fear in moviegoers after being seen bolstering an alien invasion in ‘Men in Black’ and now American cockroaches have been spotted in the Russian resort of Sochi. Scientists warn they won’t be going away.

With their body length reaching up to 5cm and a full length of 9cm with whiskers, the American incarnation of the bugs are considered the largest common cockroaches on Earth. They have wings and are very skilled at flying, something their Russian counterparts never do.

The insects are dangerous pests; they spread diseases, cause allergic reactions in humans and damage not only food supplies but also the buildings that they infest.

These are the new neighbors that residents of Sochi, the famous resort on the Black Sea will have to get used to from now on. Numerous red-brownish bugs have been spotted in homes and green areas of the 2014 Olympic capital, scientists from Sochi National Park said.

As for how an invasion by an alien species occurred, they explained that “the American cockroaches are often held in terrariums as an exotic large insect and also used as a food for terrarium animals: lizards and certain species of snakes.” The scientists believe that roaches simply escaped from their terrariums to start populating Sochi.

The species, which got its name after being transferred to America on trade and slave ships in the 17th century, originates from tropical Africa. So, the conditions in Sochi are perfect for it. The Russian resort has a humid, subtropical climate, with the thermometers reaching plus 30 Celsius in summer and annual average temperature of plus 18.4 Celsius. American tourists, who visit the resort often, refer to it as “Russian Miami.”

Despite its being new in Sochi, the adaptive American cockroach has spread across the globe in areas with tropical climates. It’s often encountered in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with the nickname of a “little hard-to-kill pest” given to the insect in China.

The Asians have even learned to derive benefit from the pests. The roaches are an important ingredient in Chinese medicine, with one pharmaceutical company operating a farm that breeds around six billion of them every year. Restaurants in China, Vietnam and other countries also serve their customers a range of dishes that offer American cockroach as a protein.

In the 1997 sci-fi comedy hit ‘Men in Black,’ the American cockroaches were allies with an extraterrestrial bug, who landed on Earth to capture the powerful device called the Galaxy. But it was his soft spot for the local insects that eventually allowed Agents K and J to defeat the alien and foil his plans.

The residents of Sochi are unlikely to be using the roaches to diversify their diet, but they are, of course, no strangers to exotic insects. Sochi National Park had recently shared pictures of rare sawyers, which were made on its territory. Those bugs are also considered pests due to feeding on trees or wooden structures, but some of them look absolutely beautiful.

Established in 1983, the Sochi National Park is the second oldest in Russia. It covers a vast area of 1,937 sq km, starting from the Black Sea shore and going all the way up to the Caucasus Mountains. The reserve hosts a variety of rare plants and animals, with the Persian Leopard reintroduced there in 2009.