by Michael G. Mickey
(5-6-08)

Odious: Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.

Recently, an atheist wrote to tell me that one of the reasons he doesn't believe in God is because I'm a fat, odious human being. A pretty sorry excuse and a lie no doubt, but I often draw that kind of criticism from individuals who have a problem with the message I'm sharing with a world that has forgotten its God.

What, exactly, is the message I'm sharing that's so troublesome to the atheistic community which wants to deceive everyone into believing there is no God? That Jesus Christ is coming soon and there is ample evidence in the world around us in support of it.

The earth waxing old like a garment

As prophesied in the Bible, the world of the last days in which we are presently living is waxing old like a garment (Hebrews 1:11) in preparation of being changed.

Regardless of what one believes concerning global warming, the Associated Press is reporting that our world is on thin ice - literally - in the Arctic with the same expected to begin occurring in the Antarctic as well. Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University is quoted by the A.P. as saying, "The long-term prognosis is not very optimistic." I'm anything but surprised to hear that.

Nature lovers who enjoy camping in Colorado and Wyoming are going to have few places to pitch their tents this year. Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona could be impacted as well. And why? According to the Associated Press, warming temperatures and an abundance of aging lodgepole pines that haven't been thinned by fires have led to a population explosion of bark-eating beetles. The end result of that? "Swaths of 60-foot trees killed by the quarter-inch bugs" pose a threat to campers. The trees could come crashing down onto people or their tents with little to no disturbance to them occurring.

As with the melting ice, we see a factor in the tree deaths via beetle infestation has to do with rising temperatures, at least in part. The same is said to be true of the oxygen-depleted bodies of water I've commented on before called dead zones.

Make no mistake about it, our world - all creation even - is groaning for the redemption of its body. All the universe, corrupted by sinfulness run amok, is awaiting the Savior's return, pleading for it even!(Romans 8:22-23)

Nature becoming aggressive

Revelation 6:8: And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

In the early Tribulation Period to come, the ride of the third apocalyptic horseman will see a fourth of mankind die with the beasts of the earth playing a prominent role in that. Exactly how that will come to pass is unknown but come to pass it assuredly will.

Bearing that in mind, the Guardian is reporting the following, in part:

Two deaths in the waters off California and Mexico last week and a spate of shark-inflicted injuries to surfers off Florida's Atlantic coast have left beachgoers seeking an explanation for a sudden surge in the number of strikes.

In the first four months of this year, there were four fatal shark attacks worldwide, compared with one in the whole of 2007, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

There are any number of potential explanations provided in the article as to why we have seen such a dramatic increase in fatal shark attacks in the last year but, in light of Bible prophecy, we shouldn't overlook the possibility that this trend is but a foretaste of things to come.

In addition to the increase in shark attacks, lambs, calves, and sheep across Britain are now being maimed and killed by killer ravens which "flock together to attack their victims in scenes which some describe as reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds", according to the Telegraph.

The following is an excerpt from the article:

Johnny Hall, the head of rural policy for the National Farmers Union of Scotland, said his members had been hit hardest by the resurgence of ravens.

Recently the birds had become more brazen, he said, attacking adult livestock as well as the young.

"It's not just an issue with them taking lambs. We have substantial evidence of them attacking adult sheep and calves too. The attacks are so horrific that it's causing mental suffering to people who find the animals," he told The Observer.

As I believe the article sufficiently explains, this is anything but typical behavior in the species. An ominous sign of things to come? Quite possibly.

And then there's another way that "the beasts of the earth" may play a role in fulfilling end times prophecy that I have discussed here on a number of occasions - through zoological disease, a prime example of which is bird flu.

A Reuters report indicates that "the risk of a human influenza pandemic remains real and is probably growing as the bird flu virus becomes entrenched in poultry in more countries." And folks? The threat posed by a bird flu pandemic is genuine. Why do I say that? Because discussion is already being held concerning who doctors should try to save in the event of a pandemic occurring and who they should simply allow to die, as seen in an Associated Press article.

Luke 21:11: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Given the above in total, it isn't hard to see how Luke 21:11 quite possibly ties in to Revelation 6:8's description of the beasts of the earth playing a role in the deaths of a quarter of mankind, is it?

Lastly, I want to discuss some bizarre Luke 21:11-like earthquake activity that is presently confounding the scientific community in Reno, Nevada.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, Mogul, Nevada which is located on the outskirts of Reno has been struck by over 1,000 earthquakes since February. Not only that, scientists are calling the seismic sequence there "unusual." Why? Because the Reno area quakes are unusually shallow in depth and are occurring in a reverse sequence to what typically occurs.

Normally, according to the article, a primary quake will be followed by a series of weaker aftershocks. In the Reno area however? As noted earlier, there have been over 1,000 quakes since February with the largest one coming a week ago, measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale.

Great earthquakes in diverse places. (Luke 21:11) Perplexing earthquakes even! Just ask the folks in Reno.

While I am considered an odious sort of fellow to a lot of my detractors, all I'm doing is calling it like I see it. The Bible tells us that certain conditions are going to be present in the last days leading up to Christ's return for His Church. As I look at the world around me, I believe I see those conditions - and in abundance.

Quite frankly? I believe that many of God's most outspoken critics are hearing what I'm saying and it's beginning to get under their skin.

Mission accomplished.

God says, in Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."