Extreme Weather
By Chris Cumming
Back in the summer of 2002, Garner Ted Armstrong published a Word From commentary entitled, “Weather in Chaos“ It began, “To atheists and agnostics, weather is merely ‘cyclical.’ ‘Oh, there have always been droughts and floods,’ they say. Or, ‘It is just better reporting.’” He followed with a number of stories of increasingly bad weather and assuring us that the weather would get even more severe as we approached the end of this age. He stated that the prophecies of Jesus Christ make it clear there will be an ACCUMULATION of many world-wide disasters and catastrophes, all occurring AT THE SAME TIME.
Has this come to pass? Has weather and seismic activity increased in its severity in the 27 months since Mr. Armstrong wrote those words? Are the nations of the world just victims of circumstance or is God bringing strong rebuke against the world and most notably the nations of America, the United Kingdom and Australia?
Here are just a handful of headlines from this
time period: Extreme weather
on the rise China in for Extreme Weather as Climate Change Felt Endangered Planet? Natural disasters claiming more lives Whole lotta shakin' going on in 2004 Millions Of Locusts Swarm Into Egypt Get Used To New Weather Patterns Seismologists Alarmed At World's Quakes Ten Major Earthquakes In Five Days Biggest Solar Flare Ever In History These events could hardly be called
“cyclical”. They surely are on the increase and are expected to do so for the
foreseeable future. The Red Cross reported that natural disasters killed 76,806
people in 2003, three times the number of victims in 2002, a rise due in part to
extremes in the global climate. In all, a quarter of a billion people were
affected by drought, floods and earthquakes, which caused at least $56 billion
in damage in 2003, twice the cost of the previous year.
In an article out of China just last month, I read that China can expect more droughts, floods and other extreme weather as it struggles to balance rapid development with environmental concerns. The country is putting aside billions for potent disaster relief and some experts are already stating this is not near enough.
Evidence of Extreme Weather All Around UsIn the article “Endangered Planet?” which appeared in the Scotsman last month, several world-wide disasters are enumerated. “America is experiencing more tornadoes; in 2003, India endured pre-monsoon heat waves of unusual ferocity, which killed 1,400 as temperatures topped 49 degrees Celsius (over 120 degrees F.). In 2002, Australia suffered the longest drought of its recorded history; in the same year, floods killed 80 people in 11 European countries. Such events moved the UN World Meteorological Organization [WMO] to say the world was experiencing a record number of extreme weather events.”
The prophecies of Jesus Christ are clear and on point. The world is surely experiencing an accumulation of disasters and catastrophes occurring all at the same time.
Not Just Numbers, But SeverityThe skeptic might attempt to attribute the increase in the number of these disasters as better reporting, but we are definitely experiencing a severe increase in severity and intensity as well. There have been more than 1,429 earthquakes in last 183 days registering 4.0 and greater. 360 of these were since 3 November and 20 of those over 6.0. The table below records the fact we have had 5 quakes exceeding 7.0 in an 18-day period (11 November to 28 November). The table shows only the quakes 6.0 and higher for this period.
Have we already forgotten one of the most disastrous hurricane seasons in our recorded history? Their names were Alex, Charley, Frances and Ivan, hitting Florida and the Caribbean one right after the other. Newly released insurance industry information has ranked all four of this season's hurricanes among the top ten costliest U.S. hurricanes in the past 25 years. Hurricane Andrew was by far the greatest hurricane of the past 25 years causing over 20 billion in damage in 1992. Taken together, the cost of this season’s storms edges out the cost of Andrew by about $100 million. Scientists say we are in a period of enhanced hurricane activity that could last for decades, ending a 24-year period of below average activity.
Man Seeks To Treat Symptoms and Not the Cause!I was astounded when I saw in the Scotsman article that man was totally missing the point of all these events. In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, better known as the “Blessings and Cursings” chapters, God makes it clear nations will reap bountiful crops and perfect weather for obedience and just the opposite for rebellion. In defiance of God, man chooses the only action he can perceive, treating the symptoms. Notice this from the Scotsman’s article of November 4th:
“Economic losses as a result of freak weather have doubled in the last 20 years to around £6 billion, while thousands of lives have been lost.
“As a result, scientists are anxious to develop an arsenal of ‘weaponry’ they can use against rogue weather. In America, NASA has spent $500,000 on research into how hurricanes can be re-directed or weakened. Researchers have found a satellite beaming microwaves around a storm would heat the water vapour and weaken its strength. A second solution is to disperse a biodegradable oil slick in the hurricane’s path to limit the amount of water it is able to evaporate. Other research is being carried out into how tornadoes can be tackled.”
It is in Proverbs that we read, “the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble (Prov. 4:19).
“The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me” (Deut 28:20).
Breaking News Stories
News Stories used in this commentary - click here
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
