Greetings from Tyler,
First the good news. NASA predicts the large asteroid they’ve been watching will miss the earth.
On the other hand, the locust plague in East Africa is being described in Biblical terms. Billions of locusts have swarmed crops in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and observers are worried that it is spreading to neighboring countries. This is the worst locust outbreak since the 1950s, so it’s not as if this phenomenon is unique in all of history. But the headlines are full of panic. This time last year stories were being written about skies that were blackened by enormous swarms of locusts in Saudi Arabia, even in Mecca. Still, there are concerns that the locusts may continue to multiply into a full-blown plague. Aerial spraying may be the only solution, and that raises concerns about soil contamination. But never fear, the UN is on the case. (sarcasm)
In other apocalyptic news, the coronavirus is not under control. Desperate measures are underway in China, things that could never happen in any nation not under fascistic communist control. There are reports of people being dragged from their homes and interned in camps where they’re sure to contract the disease whether they had it in the first place or not.
One headline reported that eight planes had been “locked down” at Heathrow Airport in London. In fact, one flight was held for twenty-five minutes while health officials arrived to determine whether one passenger, isolated in the back of the plane, actually had contracted the virus. The other seven flights (described in the headline as “locked down”) simply had to wait. We don’t know how big the coronavirus will become. The headlines would lead us to believe that the world is facing an imminent pandemic. A Harvard Health professor is warning that “if this becomes a pandemic,” up to seventy percent of the world’s population will become infected.
Yes, and if the global warming projections had panned out, we’d all be dead by now.
A “Bible scholar,” quoted on one of the world’s preeminent Internet blogs is saying that the outbreak of the locust plague, combined with the continued spread of the coronavirus satisfies prophecies of end-time events and that the Second Coming is imminent. And then I saw his picture.
These events might well serve as warnings as to what to expect. But regardless of what the “Bible scholar” says, the scenario we see today is not complete. There is no “king of the south” at present, or for that matter a “king of the North.” There is no ten-nation or ten king power in the heart of Europe controlling the activities of individuals all over the civilized world, “that no man might buy or sell” without the Mark of the Beast.
There have been events in history (like the Spanish flu in the early 1900s) that killed tens of millions but didn’t portend the end of the age. We know that fortunes are being made with dire predictions, just as they’ve been made with the “global warming” nonsense. In Jesus’ prophecy of end-time circumstances in Matthew 24, He says, “See that you be not troubled, for the end is not yet.”
The media is making merchandise of us all. Their record of deception, particularly in recent years is undeniable. They’ve kept us on the edge of our seats for three years, pumping out manufactured bunk around the clock. It’s reached the point where you can barely believe anything you read, and everything has to be verified by multiple sources before you react. We’re not going to cry “wolf” every time the media sets out to create a panic. If we did, we wouldn’t have any more credibility than they do.
So regardless of the suddenly famous “Bible scholar” or the Harvard Health professor’s dire predictions, we intend to rest on the Sabbath tomorrow and give thanks for our many blessings and the fabulous creation that God has given us to enjoy.
Mark
P.S. Mr. Terry Gooch is at home and recovering from surgery. We’d appreciate continued prayers on his behalf.
Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php
[Disclaimer]
