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.
Mediterranean basin badly hit by climate change: study. 600 (6) scientists. 250 (5×5) million ‘water poor’ people. 15 (5+5+5) nations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Droughts will become “more frequent and/or more intense.” Water and food resources threatened in the Mediterranean basin.
AFP•October 10, 2019
Barcelona (AFP) – Temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are increasing much faster than the global average, threatening food and water supplies, scientists warned Thursday in a new study.
“We are one of the regions most impacted by climate change worldwide,” said Nasser Kamel, the secretary general of the Mediterranean Union, presenting the study by the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) which groups more than 600 scientists.
The Mediterranean basin covers portions of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa — comprising a region that has mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
Temperatures in the region have risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial period, above the global average of 1.1 degrees Celsius, according to the study.
By 2040 temperatures are forecast to rise here by 2.2 degrees Celsius — with the increase in some areas of the basin hitting as much as 3.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, it said.
Droughts will become “more frequent and/or more intense”, it added.
This rise in temperatures will be accompanied by a “reduction in precipitation in the coming decades”, with a fall in rainfall of up to 30 percent in some areas such as the Balkans and Turkey and at the same time more frequent episodes of torrential rains.
The combination of rising temperatures and lack of rain “contributes to a strong tendency towards the drying up of the climate”, the study said.
All of this threatens water and food resources in the Mediterranean basin.
The number of people in the region considered to be “water poor” is expected to rise to over 250 million in the next 20 years from 180 million in 2013.
Crops may also be affected by lower soil quality or losses from droughts or heatwaves, while fishing will be hurt by overexploitation and the disappearance of some species due to the warming of the sea.
“The inevitable calamities of climate change are looming across the Mediterranean at a faster rate than we thought,” said Kamel.
The Mediterranean Union groups the 28 nations that make up the European Union as well as 15 other nations in the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.