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.
‘The saddest dive of my life’: A diver’s before-and-after photos reveal the death of a coral reef
Aylin Woodward. Business Insider•August 13, 2019
When Luiz Rocha, a diver from the California Academy of Sciences, explored a reef near Tahiti in March, he had no idea that it would be the last time he’d see the coral alive and healthy.
Rocha spent two weeks diving in reefs around the island of Moorea, while based at a research station run by the University of California, Berkeley. He told Business Insider that he was pleasantly surprised by the reef’s health, which he captured in the photo below.
But the water, he recalled, was quite warm.
Just weeks after he returned to the US, disaster struck.
In late April, reports come in from Tahiti that the reef was bleaching, and fast.
Coral bleaching happens when warm waters cause corals to expel the algae living in their tissues and turn white. It’s an increasingly dire problem, given that oceans absorb 93% of the extra heat that greenhouse gases trap in the atmosphere. Recent research revealed that the world’s oceans are heating up 40% faster (on average) than the prior estimate. In 2018, the world’s oceans were the hottest ever in recorded history.
At present rates, it’s expected that 60% of all coral reefs will be highly or critically threatened by 2030, and 98% of reefs will be exposed to potentially fatal conditions every year. As of last year, more than half of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was dead as a result of bleaching.
The consequences of coral bleaching extend beyond the reef itself, since a quarter of all fish species spend some part of their life cycle in reefs, despite the fact that reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor.
Rocha, who’s been diving since 1986, is no stranger to sights of dead coral reefs, with their bleached, pearly skeletons devoid of fish and marine life. He decided to return to the Tahiti research station in mid May to observe what was happening to the coral there in real time.
When he arrived, the reef wasn’t quite dead yet — it had expelled its algae and was suspended in a state of slow, inevitable decay.
“When corals are bleaching, they can still survive for a few weeks,” Rocha said. “It’s only if water temperatures don’t go back to normal and they don’t re-acquire algae that they die.”
“It struck me this time because I’ve never seen it bleaching, I’ve only seen the aftermath of dead coral,” he said, adding, “I’ve seen pictures of coral mid-bleaching before, but it’s not the same thing as seeing it up close like that. You’re swimming, swimming, swimming and it’s the same thing reef after reef.”
For the last couple weeks of May, Rocha watched helplessly as the coral colonies around him died.
Following a dive on May 17, Rocha posted this message to his Twitter account: “After more than 7,000 hours underwater, today I did the saddest dive of my life.”
Now, he said, between 50% and 70% of the coral on the entire island of Moorea is bleached and dead.
“It was like seeing the immediate aftermath of a car crash versus coming upon a wrecked car left on side of road,” he said. “Seeing the wreck isn’t the same as seeing a car with the victims still inside.