Aticles 2/10/06

"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; 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 21:25-26)

Last month, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported its findings that "nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1995."

Don't let these facts slip by and be absorbed into the white noise of your mind. Think about them. Allow them to have an impact. Also consider that the five warmest years ever recorded were 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005.

And according to NOAA forecasts, we should be able to add 2006 to the list by next January, putting the five warmest years on record all in the 21st century.

NOAA is predicting the trend will continue in 2006, forecasting 17 named storms (twice the average) 9 hurricanes (average 5.9) and 5 major hurricanes (average is 2.3)

It was only a few years ago that phrases like 'hundred year storm' and 'five hundred year flood' had meaning.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew was pronounced a '100 year storm'. And the Midwest Flood of 1993 was pronounced a '500 year flood' -- presumably because such catastrophes ordinarily take place at such widely spaced intervals.

That was the status quo only a bit over a decade ago.

Consider: Everybody remembers Hurricane Andrew. And everybody remembers the 1993 Midwest Flood. That was because they were rare events.

Nothing rare about monster storms or killer floods anymore. In an ordinary year, 2005's Dennis was the major hurricane that should have been the Big One we all remember.

But then came Emily, then Katrina, then Rita. . . images of Andrew's destructive landfall in Homestead, Florida paled in comparison to the destruction of New Orleans, most of the Gulf Coast and both of Florida's coastlines.

Until 2005, 2004 was the deadliest and most costly season Atlantic hurricane season on record. Bonny and Charley were the first two hurricanes to hit the same state twice in 24 hours in a hundred years when they ravaged Florida.

And that was BEFORE Frances, Ivan and Jeanne finished what Bonny and Charley had begun.

Climatologists can't explain why 2005 was so warm. 2005 tied the warmest year ever recorded, 1998, but without the help of the "El Nino of the century'' that pushed temperatures so high that year.

Scientists also are warning that sea-level measurements since 1850 from tidal gauges and more recently from satellite images. From those measurements, they calculate that the sea is rising at twice the rate it was in 1850. Moreover, they have concluded the rise in sea level is a recent phenomenon.

Using measurements from sediment levels, scientists have been able to establish the rate the sea was rising had been more or less constant for the preceding 5,000 years. Now it is rising at the rate of two millimeters a year.

And even if all industrial pollution and auto emissions suddenly ceased today, Earth's climate will warm at least 1 degree by the year 2100 and seas will rise 4 inches, says the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Factor in the melting of glaciers and the ice caps, and seas could rise 8 inches through 2100 in the best-case scenario, says NCAR.

As winters get milder, changes occur underfoot and go largely unnoticed until critical thresholds are reached. Railroad tracks are deformed. Rocky peaks crack apart and spill into ravines. Whole mountainsides lose footing.

Ground in the Northern Hemisphere that's been frozen since the last Ice Age is melting and collapsing. Animals are changing migration and mating habits.

Assessment:

While environmentalists and New Agers blame human activity, science devoid of an agenda tells a different story.

The journal Geophysical Research Letters reported recently that the Sun itself has increased its output, which it says could be as much as 30% to blame for the warming of the globe.

Reports in the late 1980s found the amount of sunlight reaching the planet's surface had declined by 4 to 6 percent since 1960. Suddenly, around 1990, that appears to have reversed. And they admit that nobody knows what caused the apparent shift.

A third study also published in the journal found the Earth has reflected more sunlight back into space from 2000 to 2004 than in years prior.

Yet a fourth study examined what is called albedo, which is measured by the moon's reflection of the Earth. The phenomenon, called 'earthshine', was first noted by Leonardo da Vinci.

Robert Charlson, a University of Washington atmospheric scientist, estimates that while science might be off, "30% in its understanding of global warming, but it could be off as much as 100%" in its understanding of the Earth's albedo. In other words, science hasn't a clue.

To summarize, then, it appears that whatever is coming upon the earth has already, to some limited extent, already arrived.

Jesus warned of signs in the sun, moon and stars. Solar storm activity in recent years has wreaked havoc on our communications systems. The sun itself has increased its output, wreaking havoc on our weather systems.

These signs in the sun, moon and stars are accompanied by the 'distress of nations, with perplexity.'

More than 150 of them agreed in December to sign on to the Kyoto Treaty on global warming -- and 'perplexed' accurately describes their reaction to the US refusal to join them.

Nobody knows what causes global warming, but it appears that the fear of what is coming upon the earth is enough to cause them to all band together and do SOMETHING, even if they don't know what it should be.

It is abundantly clear to the world's scientific community that the 'powers of heaven are shaking -- and that they are at a loss to explain why.

Jesus was addressing a specific question, 'What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?' when He predicted what science called 'global warming' and man's reaction to the threat. But this was only part of the larger scenario.

Jesus tied it all to the budding 'fig tree' (used as a metaphor for Israel 33 times in Old Testament Scripture) saying, "So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."

He warned of wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, likening them to 'birth pangs' or labor pains, increasing in frequency and intensity as the event approaches.

He said the generation that witnessed the restoration of Israel would see the fulfillment of all Bible prophecy, including His Second Coming.

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." (Luke 21:32)

That generational time clock started ticking on May 14, 1948. The generation of the fig tree is pushing sixty.

Tick. . .Tick. . .Tick