“You will also hear about wars and rumors of wars. See, do not be horrified, for all this must happen, but this is not the end yet: for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in places; yet this is the beginning of diseases” (Matt. 24:6-8)

At the time Jesus spoke these words, there was no media like there is now. Today, people can instantly know what is happening in the world, including various military activities. Any war, of course, is a great tragedy and something terrible and frightening. But Jesus said: “See that you are not dismayed, for all these things must come to pass.”, that is, wars are another sign of the end times. Jesus continues: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Interethnic conflicts will multiply, when one nation, in order to rise, will try to humiliate and enslave another, as well as interstate wars.

Any war begins because of the vices of people, some kind of political ambitions and vanity. And, despite great progress in the field of science, technology and education, there are no fewer vices in the world.

No matter how educated and literate people are, this will in no way affect the world for the better. Only God can change a person's character and heart. Moreover, the closer to the end, there will be more and more vices. The Apostle Paul wrote: “In the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unfriendly, unforgiving, slanderers, intemperate, cruel, not loving what is good, traitors, insolent, pompous, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God who have a form of godliness, and denied his powers” ​​(2 Tim. 3:1-5).

Jesus also says that “There will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in places.”

The problem of hunger will remain until the coming of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that there is not enough food in the world. Now there is more of it than ever, but the cause of hunger is still the same - the vices and selfish motives of people. According to statistics, if you take all the money spent on weapons, advertising, entertainment, etc., you can feed all the hungry and provide them with food for decades to come. But due to the selfishness of people, in order to maintain the price level, a large amount of food is simply destroyed, and vast areas that can be sown with wheat are empty.

Various epidemics and mass diseases will also continue. Despite the high level of world medicine, diseases that cannot be treated will still appear.

Regarding earthquakes, according to statistics, there have been more wars and earthquakes in the last 100 years than in the entire 2000 years since Jesus spoke about it. All this shows that we are living in the last days, and everything is coming to an end.

This whole picture is rather bleak, and it is written that “people will die of fear and anticipation of the disasters coming to the universe”(Luke 21:26). But nevertheless, the Bible says that even after many disasters that will come to this earth, many people will not repent of their deeds and will not come to their senses in order to give glory to God.

Rejecting God, people will reap the fruits of their errors, but Jesus Christ encourages all who believe in Him: “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near"(Luke 21:28).

The earthquake in Japan in March 2011 with a magnitude of 8.9 caused a great resonance in the world. It seems that not so long ago people were worried about those killed in Chile and Haiti, and now the Earth is shaking again, bringing grief and destruction to its inhabitants.

Very often on the news we hear about yet another tragedy associated with natural disasters. And sometimes it even seems that such information becomes frighteningly regular.

Many Christian believers perceive the recent occurrence of earthquakes as a definite sign from above. After all, Jesus Christ in the Bible predicted that the time before His second coming would be characterized by climatic disasters, famine and disease: “There will be great earthquakes in places, and famines, and pestilences, and terrible phenomena” (Gospel of Luke 21:11, see also Matthew 24:3-7).

Let's see if there is any cause for concern.

It is difficult to talk about famines and pestilences, because people have always died from malnutrition and disease. But the fact remains: even today in poor countries people continue to die by the thousands from hunger and epidemics. And in developed countries, death claims many still relatively young people due to cancer, heart disease, vascular disease, and stroke, despite the achievements of modern medicine.

What about earthquakes and terrible events? Indeed, statistics say that recently the number of natural disasters in the world has increased significantly.

The statistics on earthquakes are eloquent:

Until the 20th century, large earthquakes for centuries were counted in single units.

In the 20th century, 46 significant earthquakes were recorded.

In just over a decade of the 21st century, there have already been more than 30 major earthquakes.

Not only earthquakes, but natural disasters in general have become much more frequent. Storms and hurricanes, earthquakes and typhoons, floods and severe droughts, torrential rains, avalanches, landslides, volcanic eruptions, snowfalls in warm latitudes, thaws in cold latitudes, etc. and so on. – news about these events does not leave our screens. But this is not a struggle between channels to increase ratings by broadcasting heart-warming materials. The fact that natural disasters are becoming more frequent is confirmed by impartial statistics.

According to data provided by Rob Vos, director of the analytical department of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, natural disasters occur in the world four times more often than 30 years ago, and the economic damage from their destruction has increased sevenfold.

Over the past 48 years, more than seven thousand natural disasters have been reported, resulting in the deaths of at least 2.5 million people. The consequences of disasters are becoming more and more destructive. About 30 million people annually become “climate refugees” - people are forced to change their place of residence due to deteriorating environmental conditions, lack of resources, and natural disasters.

With sad thoughts and sorrowful feelings, the apostles followed the Lord from the temple. They no longer dared to disturb the silence of their Teacher; they silently ascended to one of the heights of the Olivet, which was directly opposite the temple. At the top of the mountain everyone stopped: the Lord sat down to rest. Not without a sense of fear, the closest and most beloved apostles of the Lord - Peter, Andrew, James and John, witnesses of the most secret deeds of the Teacher - taking advantage of the distance of the others, approached Him and, seeing that His gaze was fixed on the temple, they decided to offer Him what was tormenting them question: WHEN WAS HE SITTING ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, THEN THE DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM PRIVATELY AND ASKED: TELL US, WHEN IT WILL BE? AND WHAT IS THE SIGN OF YOUR COMING AND THE END OF THE WORLD?“We started in private,” says St. Chrysostom, “because we had the intention of asking about such important subjects. For they were impatient to know about the day of His coming, since they greatly desired to see that glory which would be the cause of countless blessings.” Moreover, they were so confident in the immutability of Old Testament institutions that two events: the destruction of the temple and the end of the world were combined into one in their thoughts. The Lord was not pleased to give a direct answer to their question. Later, after the resurrection, He told them directly that it was not their business to know the times and seasons that the Heavenly Father had ordained in His power; and now he only made it clear that His Second Coming and the end of the world would not follow very soon after the destruction of Jerusalem. He clearly said that in vain the Jews think that the Messiah will come to liberate their holy city: Jerusalem will not escape God’s judgment for its sins. With one line He means the continuation of time between the judgment of Jerusalem and the judgment of the world, but how far this line extends - He alone knows. “Jerusalem,” He said, "will be trampled underfoot by the heathen"(as a captive is trampled upon by a conqueror), "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" ().

This instruction, although vague, was enough to warn the disciples against many temptations and troubles. For them, the time was coming for separation from the Lord, after which they were to become teachers and leaders of all believers, the entire Church of Christ. And the first Christians, in all their sorrows, found consolation in anticipation of the imminent coming of Christ. It was necessary to warn them so that they would not be drawn into deception by any false Christ, so that the unfulfilled expectation of the imminent coming of Christ would not cool their faith and extinguish their hope, and would not shake the very foundations of the Church of Christ. And the Lord gives these warnings, these instructions in His prophetic conversation about the destruction of Jerusalem and the last days of the world. Both of these events in the Lord’s speech are depicted as if in one picture: many of the most distant events that are about to take place at the end of the world seem to be contemporary with the destruction of the holy city, and this is because God’s judgment over Jerusalem was a prototype, a foreshadowing of the coming final Judgment of God over the world . Then the fate of the Old Testament Church ended, and in the last Last Judgment of God the fate of the New Testament Church will end. The connection between these two great events is inextricable, and therefore in the prophetic speech of the Lord they are depicted inseparably, so that sometimes it is difficult to determine with precision which event these or those words of the Lord refer to, and not all, even ancient, interpreters explain some of the sayings of Jesus in the same way Christ themselves point out this difference. We must remember at the same time that in the eyes of the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The main thoughts of this speech, its main tone lies in four instructions: “Beware!” , "Look!" , "Be patient!" , "Pray!" . JESUS ​​SAID TO THEM IN ANSWER: It is not in vain that you worry about the future; After separation from Me, many temptations and enticements really await you. BEWARE, SO THAT NO ONE DECEIVES YOU regarding My Second Coming. Soon I will go to My Father; then the lies and deception will intensify to the point that impostors-false Christs will appear: FOR MANY WILL COME IN MY NAME, AND THEY WILL SAY: “I AM CHRIST”, the time of the Messiah has come. There are many who will believe them and be deceived: AND SHALL DECEIVE MANY. But don't follow them - beware! This prophecy of the Lord came true soon after His ascension: many false Christs and deceivers appeared. “The country,” says the Jewish historian Flavius, “was full of sorcerers who led the people into the desert to show miracles, supposedly performed by the power of God.”

These were Dositheus the Samaritan, who called himself Christ, Simon the Magus, also a Samaritan, who wanted to buy the gifts of the Holy Spirit with money and boldly argued with the Apostle Peter; Menander, a disciple of Simon, Theudas, who led many Jews with him to the banks of the Jordan, promising to divide the waters like Elijah and Elisha; some Egyptian mentioned in the book “The Acts of the Holy Apostles”, and others. “The war, as the Lord says, will be of two kinds: from the seducers and from the enemies; but the first is much tougher, because it will be revealed under vague and terrible circumstances, when people will be in fear and confusion” (St. John Chrysostom). ALSO HEAR ABOUT WARS AND WAR RUMORS. LOOK, and no matter how scary these rumors are, DON'T BE TERRIFIED, FOR ALL THINGS MUST BE. Do not be afraid that in this turmoil the preaching of the Gospel will cease: everything that I have said will come true without any harm to it. “If events happened by chance,” says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “then it would be impossible to set a limit to fear; but when you know that all events, not only favorable, but also capable of disturbing and frightening, what are the news about "wars and war rumors", happen as “should be”, under the invisible control of God’s Providence, in the direction towards the good goals of the Divine world government, then even if all the nations of the world rose up to frighten you, this fear, if you trust in God, can be as small as small before All nations are God, and they, according to the word of the prophet, “like a drop from a bucket and... like a speck of dust on the scales”(). So, keep faith, truth, trust in God, and do not be fearful, entrusting yourself to God’s Providence...” “See, do not be horrified, for all this must happen.” Saint Philaret of Moscow notes: “An inquisitive mind can say: how should events such as battles, disasters, and suffering of even the best of people “should be,” and this under the control of a wise, righteous and good Providence? This objection may seem strong, but in fact it is only daring, because through it the dust of the earth attempts to fly up to heaven, judge the Creator and Judge of the world and comprehend the secrets of His world government. Let's give the questioner a short answer. Have you not heard that Christ said about the battles and misfortunes of His followers: “all this must be”? Can you doubt that Christ is the very Wisdom, the very Truth, the very Goodness? How can you doubt that if something, according to His provision, under His dominion, “should be,” then it will certainly happen and will be in accordance with wisdom, truth and goodness? You can see this in the events themselves if you look with a clear eye.”

“The Lord speaks of those wars that took place in Palestine, and not in all places in the universe. For what need do His disciples have for them?” – notes Saint Chrysostom. BUT THIS IS NOT THE END YET, not suddenly after this the end of the temple and the city will come. Even greater disasters will come: FOR PEOPLE WILL RISE UPON PEOPLE, AND KINGDOM ON KINGDOM; AND THERE WILL BE FAMINES, MORA(famine and pestilence) AND EARTHQUAKES BY LOCATION and there will be great signs in the heavens. But these horrors, which many will take as a decisive sign of the coming of the Messiah, will in fact be only the beginning of birth pains, the first birth pangs of the great disasters to come. STILL THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF DISEASES. “The Lord predicts all this,” says St. Chrysostom, “to certify that He Himself will rise up against the Jews and will fight against them with famine, plague, and earthquake; He Himself will allow wars to happen, and all this will not just happen, but because of the wrath of God. Therefore, he says that this will not happen by chance or suddenly, but with signs.” And all this happened exactly. Before the destruction of Jerusalem there was unrest and strife everywhere. Having rebelled against the Romans, the Jews quarreled among themselves and before the battle with the enemies, their blood flowed from civil strife. In Rome, after the death of Nero, three emperors were replaced in a year and a half, and each change was accompanied by indignation of the army and people. Rumors of these disturbances reached Judea, and a resident of Jerusalem might think - there is bloodshed everywhere; The end times have come! In the book “The Acts of the Apostles” we read that the prophet Agabus predicted a famine in Judea, which, according to Josephus, was so severe in Jerusalem that many people died from it. From 41 to 45 AD, therefore, seven or ten years after the Ascension of the Lord, there were four famines in Rome, Greece and Palestine. There were also devastating plagues, as historians of those times write (Joseph and Tacitus). There were also earthquakes that destroyed the cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis and Colossae, and from which Smyrna, Chios, Miletus and Samos suffered. In addition to these disasters, the Lord showed special, miraculous signs of His justice over Jerusalem: for a whole year a comet like a sword was seen above it, daylight was seen in the temple at night; a lamb was born from a cow brought to sacrifice on the Feast of Unleavened Bread; the eastern gates of the temple, lined with copper, opened at midnight by themselves, whereas usually twenty people could hardly open them; chariots and troops were imagined in the clouds; on the day of Pentecost, as the priests entered the temple, an extraordinary noise was heard and finally a separate voice: “let’s get out of here!”

Thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled: “There will be great earthquakes in places, and famines, and pestilences, and terrible phenomena, and great signs from heaven.”(). The Lord compares all these disasters, all these terrible signs with the pangs of birth in their severity and sensitivity. Predicting them, He tells His disciples: do not be afraid of these disasters, they are inevitable according to the destinies of God. First of all, you yourself are in great danger: be courageous! Even before the general disasters begin, you will have time to experience all kinds of misfortunes. Despite all your innocence, the hatred of all nations, the malice of Jews and pagans, will turn on you. THEN they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, THEY WILL GIVE YOU UP TO TORMENT, they will lead you to kings and rulers, they will beat you, and imprison you. In a blind frenzy of prejudice, your closest relatives - parents, brothers, friends - will become your persecutors, traitors, murderers. AND will KILL YOU; AND YOU WILL BE HATED BY ALL NATIONS, but at the same time rejoice, for you will endure all this FOR MY NAME. Your very name - Christian - will be hated by Jews and pagans; but do not be discouraged; the Providence and love of the Heavenly Father will be above you; without His almighty will not a single hair will fall from your head. AND THEN MANY WILL BE TRIGGERED, and will fall away from the faith; What will be more painful and more dangerous than all the persecutions is that at this time love will cool even among one’s own, discord and enmity will open up, traitors and traitors will appear even among those close to the faith: AND THEY WILL BETRAY EACH OTHER Those who renounce the faith will betray those who remain faithful to please the persecutors; they will point to their former brethren, to their homes and refuges, so that the persecutors can either tempt them, or torture and kill them. AND THEY HATE EACH OTHER, those who have rejected the faith will hate those who firmly remain in the faith, for the latter with their firmness will expose their betrayal; AND MANY FALSE PROPHETS WILL RISE, both among the believers themselves and among the Jews, AND THEY WILL DECEIVE MANY with their false teachings and heresies. Mutual trust will diminish, friendship and love will become scarce: AND, BECAUSE OF INCREASING ILLEGALITY, depravity of morals, IN MANY LOVE WILL COOL: the more sins there are, the less love there will be, so that faith itself will be eclipsed. There will be difficult times, but you, My chosen ones, must redeem souls with patience: HE WHO SURVIVES TO THE END WILL BE SAVED. He who maintains faith, despite all temptations, will be saved. All these predictions of the Lord were fulfilled by the apostles and believers of the first times of Christianity; but all this will be repeated to a greater extent in the last times of the world before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

O 144 - Earthquakes; O 145 - Global earthquakes; O 146 - Famines and pestilences; O 147 - Weather; O 148 - Latter Rains.

Natural signs are divided into earthquakes, famines, diseases and weather conditions.

O 144 – Earthquakes

PROPHECY

Luke 21:7, 11 (32 A.D.)

“And they asked Him: Teacher! When will this be? and what is the sign when this should happen?... There will be great earthquakes in places, and famines and pestilences, and terrible phenomena and great signs from heaven.”

1. From the above it is clear that the Great Tribulation period will be characterized by many great earthquakes. It can therefore be assumed that the number of large earthquakes will increase as the Lord's return approaches.

2. Frequency of large earthquakes since the end of the 2nd World War (earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 points and above are indicated): 1947-56. - 7; 1957-66 - 17; 1967 - 17; 1968 - 19; 1969 - 21; 1970 - 24; 1971 - 34. In July 1979 it was reported that in the first half of 1978 there were 47 recorded earthquakes above 6 on the Richter scale. Seven of them were above 7 on the Richter scale. It should be noted that during the decade 1967-76 there were 180 earthquakes above 7 points.

3. In the early 1980s, it was reported that the earth wobbles on its axis; its movements reach 15 cm. In addition, the frequency of major earthquakes is found to correlate with the maximum burst of sunspots, which repeats once every 11 years. For example, of the 8 largest earthquakes that occurred in the last 150 years within a radius of 80 km from the Golden Gate Bridge, each earthquake occurred during two years of maximum sunspot activity.

4. The main area of ​​earthquakes is the Pacific Ring of Fire, another line of earthquakes runs through the Middle East, Iran and Burma. About 80% of earthquakes occur near the Ring of Fire, 15% in the Middle East, and the remaining 5% are scattered throughout the rest of the world.

5. More earthquakes were recorded in the 20th century than in the previous 5,000 years. Of the 13 largest earthquakes known to history, 10 occurred this century.

6. We have listed the most significant earthquakes:

856 - Greece

1556 - China

1737 - India

1755 - Portugal

1883 - Dutch Indies

1902 - Martinique

1915 - Italy

1920 - China

1923 - Japan

1927 - China

1932 - China

1934 - India

1935 - India

1939 - Chile, Türkiye

1948 - Japan

1949 - Ecuador

1960 - Chile, Morocco

1962 - Iran

1968 - Iran

1970 - Peru

1972 - Iran

1972 - Nicaragua

1974 - Pakistan

1976 - Guatemala, China, Philippines, Türkiye

1978 - Iran

1980 - Algeria, Italy

7. At the beginning of this century there were large earthquakes every three years. Nowadays there are many large earthquakes every year.

8. Another area of ​​seismic activity is volcanoes. In the early 1980s, Mount St. Helens literally exploded, causing widespread disaster. In addition, a new island was formed in the ice due to volcanic activity.

9. An international British Airways flight to Australia was interrupted by a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. The plane lost power to four engines and fell for six miles until they started up again.

10. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, His feet will touch the Mount of Olives. There will be an earthquake and the Mount of Olives will split in two, allowing those in Jerusalem to escape (Acts 1:10-12, Zechariah 14:4-5).

11. Recent events:

1978 Anti-earthquake devices worth $6.5 billion were installed in Tokyo.

1979 Scientists warn that disasters are inevitable by the end of the century due to significant movements of the San Andreas crack.

1985 A wave of earthquakes measuring up to 8.1 on the Richter scale devastated Mexico City, killing more than 10,000.

1987 Between 1931 and 1982, 6,200 earthquakes above 6 on the Richter scale occurred.

1988 In December, the city of Leninakan in Armenia was destroyed by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake, killing at least 55,000 people.

1989 In 1988, the earth entered an era of increased seismic activity. During 1988 there were 16 earthquakes above magnitude 7.

1989 The earth continues to shake. Within a few weeks, 22,000 tremors were recorded on Japan's Shimuzu Peninsula.

O 145 – Global earthquakes

PROPHECY

Haggai 2:6-7 (520 BC)

“For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, and it will be soon, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this House with glory, says the Lord of hosts.”

1. This prophecy refers to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the great earthquake that will then occur.

2. The Lord shook the heavens, the earth, the seas and the dry land before the previous worldwide judgment through the flood. That the flood was worldwide is shown in Genesis 6:17.

3. The relationship between the flood and the Second Coming is demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:37-41 (A.D. 32): But as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man: for as in the days before They ate and drank by the flood, married and were given in marriage until the day Noah entered into the ark, and they did not think until the flood came and destroyed everyone that so will the coming of the Son of Man; then there will be two on the field: one is taken and the other is left; two grinding millstones: one is taken, and the other is left.

It should be noted that this passage of Holy Scripture, which is often considered to describe the Rapture of the Church, refers to the Second Coming. Those who remain are blessed because they move into the Millennial Kingdom to repopulate the earth, but those who are taken away are condemned.

4. The shaking of the earth during Noah caused the earth's axis to shift from its original position of 5 degrees to 23.5 degrees. At the Second Coming, perhaps the axis will move back to its original position. We know, however, that there will not be a repeat of the global flood, when the water that gushed out from under the earth and onto the earth was added to the water of the firmament that was above the earth (Genesis 9:15). The judgment at the Second Coming will be by fire.

O 146 - Famines and Pestilences

PROPHECY

Matthew 24:7 (A.D. 32)

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in many places.”

1. Hunger and world population growth are two sides of the same coin. Even producing wonderful varieties of staple crops that greatly increase yields does not win the war against world population growth. The population explosion can best be seen in a table showing the date when the world's population crossed the billion mark:

The current world population is therefore approximately 5.2 billion people. (1989), and it doubles every 35-40 years.

2. Production of products. The following facts are relevant to this:

a) To feed more people, food production will need to quadruple between 1975 and 2000.

b) To maintain the current low level of food availability, 10-20 million hectares of new farmland must be developed annually.

c) Every day 10,000 people around the world die from hunger or malnutrition.

d) Most of the world's cultivable land is pasture or has already been developed.

3. Hunger and food production are largely influenced by weather conditions, which many meteorologists agree are unstable and unpredictable.

4. A thinking person, seeing a large increase in the world's population and data on food production, comes to the conclusion that famine is inevitable. In fact, in the 1980s we see increasing hunger, especially in Africa, despite the joint efforts of Bendeid and Sportade.

5. With the greenhouse effect, people cut down forests, while population growth requires an increase in the number of arable lands for production.

6. In 1975, the World Food Conference in Rome stated that 57 million died from hunger that year, or 156,000 every day of the year. The number of deaths from hunger in 1975 was three times higher than in 1970. At a food conference in Manila in 1978, it was stated that one in three babies would never reach the age of five due to malnutrition.

7. The UN says we are in the grip of the worst food problems the world has ever seen.

8. The only countries where there is extra food are in Europe, the United States and Australia.

9. Ninety percent of the world's food is grown in regions where a 5% change in rainfall would make crops less productive.

PROPHECY

Revelation 11:3, 6 (A.D. 96)

“And I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth... They have power to shut the heavens, that it may not rain upon the earth in the days of their prophecy, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite them. the earth with every plague, whenever they want.”

1. Two prophets who ministered during the first half of the Tribulation caused a drought throughout the land.

2. Drought causes famine and great hardship.

3. This situation is also shown in Joel 1:15-20, where the great famine with its attendant horrors is shown in connection with the day of the Lord.

4. In days of extreme distress, cannibalism sometimes occurs (Isaiah 9:19-20).

5. The Time of Great Tribulation without the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit will be a time of great cruelty and violence.

6. Diseases:

a) Although the scourge of smallpox was eliminated from the world, many other diseases became more resistant to medicine and began to counterattack. New diseases such as AIDS have emerged and are causing concern throughout the world.

b) In 1976, a meeting was held in the United States between leading American and British experts, where great concern was expressed about the diminishing effect of antibiotics because the immunity of organisms that cause disease had increased.

c) In 1965 it seemed that with the use of DDT, malaria would soon be eliminated. However, by the 1980s, malaria had made a major comeback in Africa, Asia and Latin America, causing 120 million cases per year. In India, in 1966 there were 40,000 cases of malaria. In 1972 the figure rose to 430,000 and further rose to 5.8 million in 1976.

7. Recent events:

1978 China's worst drought in 100 years.

1979 12 million of the world's children die every year from diseases that are preventable but not enough.

1984 13,000 cases of AIDS occurred worldwide in August.

1984/5 It is estimated that 2 million people have died of famine in Africa, 100 million are starving.

1986 At least 250 million people will become infected with malaria this year.

1987 The UN World Food Program listed 15 African nations in need, estimating their need at 2.7 million tons of food. These are Angola, Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

1987 Global Plan 2000 calls for a population reduction of 2 billion by the year 2000.

1987 FAO predicts that if nations develop as they currently do, 64 countries will be critically food insecure by the year 2000.

1987 UNICEF reports that 40,000 children die every day as a result of poverty and malnutrition.

1987 Several new AIDS-like viruses were found in West Africa and Europe. One of the HIV-2 viruses cannot be detected by blood tests currently used. It is considered unlikely that an AIDS vaccine will be found by the mid-1990s. By the year 2000, one in two sexually active adults in Uganda will be infected if the disease continues at its current rate.

1987 More than 500 species of insects are immune to insecticides. About 15 species resist them so well that they are very difficult to kill.

1988 Unless populations begin to decline, some of the world's greatest cities are expected to be in dire straits within the next 40 years. By 2025, Mexico City will have a population of 37.5 million, Shanghai 36.1 million, Beijing 31.9 million, Sao Paulo 29.6 million.

1989 The number of people infected with AIDS doubles every year, with 600,000 cases this year.

1990 World population is 5.3 billion. Current estimates are that it will double to 10.6 billion in 35 years.

O 147 - Weather

PROPHECY

Luke 21:25 (A.D. 32)

“And there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, and on the earth there will be despondency of the nations and bewilderment; and the sea will roar and be troubled.”

1. During the Great Tribulation, there will be extreme and disastrous weather changes. In the last ten years, weather conditions have changed and become highly variable, according to data from different regions.

2. It is predicted that the weather will change due to the greenhouse effect, when rising temperatures will cause sea levels to rise.

3. During the first half of this century, the world enjoyed better weather than in the previous thousand years. Since then, however, the weather has changed around the world to a less pleasant norm. It was during this period that the population increased by 2 billion. Changes in weather will affect food production and bring hunger to many.

4. Current events:

1978 The heaviest rains India has ever experienced.

1979 Scotland recorded the lowest temperature drop in its history and the sea froze. Moscow is hot, a heat record for this century. The most severe hurricane of the century in the Caribbean.

1982 Ice caps were reported to be melting, causing sea levels to rise. This phenomenon is believed to be caused by the greenhouse effect.

1983 El Niño causes weather problems in the Pacific region, including drought in Australia. Jet Stream increased from 100 to 150 km.

1986 A severe hail storm in China destroys 100,000 homes, killing at least 120 people.

1987 More than 15 million trees were swept away by the October 1987 storm that hit south-east England.

1989 International Conference on Climate Change held in Nairobi in July, focusing especially on the greenhouse effect.

O 148 - Latter Rains

PROPHECY

Hosea 6:3 (780 BC)

“Let us therefore know, let us strive to know the Lord; His appearing is like the dawn, and He will come to us like rain, just as the latter rain waters the earth.”

1. Here the latter rain refers to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

2. According to rabbinic tradition, since the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, rainfall in Israel has become intermittent.

3. Since 1948 there has been a significant increase in the amount of rainfall in Israel, with an increase of 200 cm or 8 inches in the mountains and coast since that time.

4. The annual average rainfall in Israel (in mm) is as follows.

"...There will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in places..."

(Matt. 24:7)

Over the past 200 years, 150 animal species have become extinct. The next 600 species of the animal world are on the verge of extinction.

On July 13, 1788, a hail wave swept across France, from southwest to northeast at a speed of 70 km per hour. The width of the hail zone in some places exceeded 20 km. The weight of one hailstone reached 250 grams. There was a layer of ice several centimeters thick on the roads and in all the depressions in the soil. Trees were stripped bare, crops were knocked out, small livestock were killed, and large livestock were wounded. All the vineyards were destroyed. Birds disappeared from the forests for a long time. Millions of tons of ice fell from the atmosphere at this time.

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Heavy hail was observed on May 27, 1843 in Russia. The hail distance was 1600 km long and up to 700 km wide. In this area, the hail did not fall in a continuous mass, but hit individual areas. The weight of one hailstone in some places reached 300 grams.

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On May 11, 1929, heavy hail fell in India. There were hailstones with a diameter of 13 cm and weighing up to one kilogram.

This is the largest hail ever recorded by meteorology.

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In 1837, on the Virnia Islands in the Caribbean, a hurricane destroyed the fortress that protected the approaches to the port. Giant waves tore up huge fragments of rocks from the bottom of the sea and threw them ashore.

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In 1881, a hurricane threw a large ship onto rocks that rose three meters above sea level.

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One of the powerful typhoons that swept over the shores of Japan was reported in newspapers in 1949.

About 1,300 small fishing boats sank at sea. Several thousand fishermen went missing.

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In the 17th century and most of all, during the 30 Years' War (1618-1648), 60 million people died from smallpox in Europe.

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99 percent of the creatures that previously lived on earth are now extinct.

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Perhaps only when the last tree is destroyed, the last river is poisoned, the last fish is caught, will you be convinced that you cannot feed yourself with money.

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In the 14th century, humanity experienced one of the worst epidemics (black smallpox). For three years, unprecedented droughts were followed by floods everywhere. Locusts aggravated hunger, people died from disease and natural disasters. Thousands of people wandered, finding no shelter, suffering from hunger and cold.

In Europe, dozens of cities and hundreds of castles were destroyed by earthquakes. People turned their gaze to the sky, trying to find an explanation for what was happening.

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Massive mental disorders of the same type and crazy dancing engulfed Paris in 1418. People danced until they were completely exhausted on the streets, squares, balconies and rooftops. Thousands of distraught people danced in Parisian cemeteries.

In the 16th century, a similar madness gripped the inhabitants of Lisbon.

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In 1910, in connection with the appearance of Halley's comet, rumors of the end of the world literally turned into a mass mental epidemic. Some even made coffins and lay down in them.

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On the night of February 1, 1953, a storm broke through the levees and dikes of Holland. A wall of water, nine meters high, rushed deep into the country and penetrated 60 kilometers. Hundreds of Dutch villages were destroyed, Rotterdam and many other cities were flooded.

About five centuries ago, the waters of the North Sea flooded almost all of Holland, Rotterdam and Amsterdam with its shipyards. And even earlier, on January 13, 1362, most of the Dutch island of Nordstrand was flooded. The city of Rungelt, the capital and port of the island, went under water forever.

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In 1811, an earthquake in the US state of Missouri sharply lowered the soil by three to five meters over an area of ​​​​several thousand square kilometers. Of these, five hundred square kilometers were flooded. A new lake was born - Reelfoot. To this day, thousands of tree trunks from the dead forest stick out from the water.

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One of the most powerful earthquakes of our century was the Chilean earthquake, which occurred on May 29, 1960. An area larger than Great Britain has been reduced to ruins. A huge strip of coastline was swallowed up by the Pacific Ocean.

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On November 1, 1755, Lisbon solemnly celebrated All Saints' Day. Suddenly the ground began to tremble under our feet. Churches, palaces, and houses began to collapse from powerful tremors. The tremors continued. All twenty thousand houses in the capital collapsed, covering the streets and squares with their rubble.

Those who were lucky enough to survive reached the pier, which seemed to be a safe refuge. Suddenly new tremors began and the pier began to settle and sink into the water. The abyss swallowed up people distraught with horror.

Following the second earthquake, another disaster came, the most destructive. Giant waves poured in from the ocean. A seething wall, six meters high, rushed onto the coast of Portugal, sweeping away everything in its path. Then 50,000 people died.

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The eruption of the Moi Pele volcano on May 4, 1902, on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, destroyed the city of San Pierre with a population of 30,000. At the same time, only one person remained alive. He served his sentence in an underground prison.

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In 1125, half the population of Germany starved to death.