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.

The insect apocalypse is coming. Here’s what you can do about it

By Katie Hunt, CNN Updated 7:35 AM ET, Thu November 14, 2019

It’s being called the unnoticed apocalypse: The number of insects is declining rapidly and 41% of bug species face extinction, scientists say.

“If these massive declines continue, the ramifications are enormous,” said Dave Goulson, a professor of biology at the University of Sussex in the UK and the author of a new report on insect decline for the UK Wildlife Trusts.

“Three quarters of our crops depend on insect pollinators. Crops will begin to fail. We won’t have things like strawberries,” he told CNN.

“We can’t feed 7.5 billion people without insects.”

However, the report says we can all act as first responders and take relatively simple steps to help reverse what the report describes as a “catastrophic decline in the abundance and diversity of insects.”

“Insects live in our parks and gardens. Gardeners can really make a difference,” he said.

“The bigger challenge is making farming more wildlife-friendly. Pesticide reduction targets. That would help enormously.”

Insect populations are declining

Collapses in bug populations have been reported in Germany and in Puerto Rico. And a global scientific review published earlier this year estimated that, on average, the number of insects is declining by 2.5% each year, with more than 40% of insect species threatened with extinction.

In North America, the report said five bumblebee species have undergone massive declines in range and abundance in the last 25 years, with one, Franklin’s bumblebee, going extinct. In Ohio, the butterfly population has fallen by a third.

In Britain, on which the report focuses, the overall abundance of larger moths fell by 28% in the period from 1968 to 2007 and butterflies have also seen big declines.

Goulson said there were more than 70 studies showing declines in insects and other invertebrates in one place or another but there were “huge data gaps,” particularly outside Europe and North America.

“Information about insect populations in the tropics, where most insects live, is sparse. We can only guess what impacts deforestation of the Amazon, the Congo or South East Asian rainforests has had on insect life in those regions,” the report says.

Birds, which often depend on insects as food and are better studied, also are in decline in many places, Goulson noted.

He said habitat loss was the biggest culprit in declining insect populations globally, but pesticide use in farming and climate change were also contributing.

What you can do in your own backyard

The report suggests a number of things people can do to help bug populations recover. In the UK, people’s gardens and backyards make up 430,000 hectares of land — a much greater area than what is protected by national parks, Goulson said.

* Mow your lawn less frequently and allow part of it to flower. View weeds such as dandelions — which are great for bees — as wildflowers and let them grow.

Grow plants that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, such as lavender, catmint and buddleia.

* Make a bug hotel or provide a log or brush pile. These attract humble insects and invertebrates like woodlice, which recycle nutrients and act as food for birds and small mammals.

* Dig a pond and watch as it attracts dragonflies, pond skaters and whirligig beetles.

* Urge local authorities to plant native trees that flower on streets and parks and plant wildflowers in road medians.

* Avoid using pesticides and encourage authorities to do the same.