Due to the accelerating problems on the national and
international level, I feel a need to return and make you aware of these
fast-moving developments for they are making known the end of this age is
fast approaching!
Our wonderful and caring God never does any major thing
unless He first makes it known to His servants:
“Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, UNLESS He
reveals HIS SECRET to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
Further, God makes know that He uses His servants to
foretell these major future developments to His chosen people, Israel:
“Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is
sure” (Hosea 5:9).
God’s late apostle in raised voice THUNDERED
(as described by Time News Magazine) out the WARNINGS
faithfully and continually for well over 50 years in this past
century of what we are now seeing taking form and shape making known we
are nearing the very time of the end.
In view of what is almost immediately before us it is
essential that we continue to WATCH AND PRAY as Jesus said we must -- IF
we hope to escape the horrors that are just before us, and then to be able
to stand before the very presence of Jesus Christ in all of His awesome
glory (Luke 21:36).
To be able to do this there would have to be a change from
the mortal beings that we now are to born-again Spirit Beings for no one
will be able to stand before Christ as He will appear in His glorified
form unless that one has been changed into His likeness and also glorified
for no human can look upon Him as such and live (Exodus 33:20).
Famine and Disease Epidemics the Forerunner —
“Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD IS AT
HAND; it shall come as DESTRUCTION from the Almighty. Is not the food CUT
OFF before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God (Joel
1:15)?
“Here the prophet Joel is thrust forward in vision to the
time of the end” (CC 44). What Joel sees here is coming just a very few
years AFTER the end of the Work by God’s late apostle. Often God gives a
space of time before the prophecy is fulfilled.
As an example, there was a 39-year space of time from the
prophesied fall of Jerusalem by Jesus Christ until it actually fell in
total defeat and ruin along with the killing and torture of hundreds of
thousands of the Jewish people in 70 A. D. (Luke 19:41-44).
To follow in time order is the ALARM OF WAR; the Military
Invasion and Conquest of Israel as also made known by Joel (2:1, USP, page
218, 1980 printing).
How Close? —
As to how close let us notice some of the news articles
that are presently appearing that are fitting into a pattern that reveals
we could well be in the fullness of the famine before very much longer.
Drought has already set in many places in recent past here
in this country and other nations of Israel as well and is closing in on
us. Consider the following Banner Headline on the front page of our local
major newspaper:
The Record, Stockton, California, Monday May 3,
2004:
Vast changes across West may hit Valley hard
AP Consequences of shift in climate may hit valley hard
FLAGSTAFF Arizona – Just outside this mountain
town, where the acres of ponderosa pine turn into a Christmas green blur,
Tom Whitman eyes the weary struggling forest. DEATH IS EVERYWHERE. Their
limbs bare and bark brittle, the trees quickly turn this forest into an
aching reminder of the devastation of drought and a massive bark beetle
infestation. Whitman pulls his pickup over and gestures to the dead trees
– 75 percent in this area alone.
Forget talk of global warning and speculation of what it might do in 50
years, or 100. Here and across the west, CLIMATE CHANGE already is
happening. Temperatures are warmer, ocean levels are rising, mountain
glaciers are disappearing and a six-year drought is killing trees by the
millions. ...
The west is unique in that it DEPENDS so heavily on snow-pack -- melting
snow provides three-fourths of the water in streams. Over the past 35
years, temperatures across the region have inched up 1 to 3 degrees,
causing the snow to melt as much as 3 weeks earlier, said Kelly Redwood,
regional climatologist for the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno.
...
Warmer temperatures lead to a huge surge in woody plants that thrive in
warm wet conditions. Glaciers are retreating, roads are buckling in
Alaska and shifting some supports on the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil
pipeline.
Already low reservoirs are called upon to water fields and quench thirst
for longer and longer periods after the seasonal snow-pack is gone. “The
west has become habitated because of the ability to store and have
reliable water supply,” said Martin Hoerling, a research meteorologist who
studies climate for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Simply the temperature effect is going to put a much greater strain on
water availability.”
Bennie Hodges of the Pershing County Water Conservation District in rural
Nevada, said the drought has forced him to allot farmers such a meager
amount of water that they can only farm a fraction of their land. The
county’s only water reservoir is at 17 percent capacity.
Environmentalists preach conservation, especially with an uncertain
snow-pack and peak runoff occurring earlier. If that continues, “you
would have a real problem that the current reservoir systems aren’t
designed to handle,” said Daniel Lasbof of the Natural Resources Defense
Council’s Climate Center. “It’s sort of like a cancer,” he said. “We
still have an opportunity to avoid the most severe consequences, but we
have to act now.”
Smaller snowpack could bring desert winds, drought
by Don Thompson The Associated Press (The Record Monday
May 3, 2004 - an accompanying Banner Headline on the same front page)
“... something is happening to the snowpack,
according to measurements Frank Gehrke has collected for 20 winters as
chief of California’s water survey program. Near record snows are melting
under record-setting temperatures this year, a harbinger of the Sierra
Nevada spring – and of a trend that is bringing vast changes across the
west.
The snow that piles up in the Sierra, the Rockies and the Cascades forms
an immense frozen reservoir that drives western power turbines, waters
crops and cattle, and flows hundreds of miles to thirsty lawns and throats
in desert cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Albuquerque.
Snowmelt provides roughly 70 percent of the West’s water flow. But the
icy trickle is becoming a roar earlier, as spring has crept into what used
to be winter over the past century. ...
The economic and social impacts flow downstream along with the earlier
snowmelt. “That’s where the river really meets the road .. you’re talking
about affecting a lot of lives, a lot of people’s livelihoods.”
Agriculture could be hard-hit as increasingly scarce water is funneled to
urban areas, as already is happening in Southern California. ..”
The New York Times
National Drought Settles In, Lake Shrinks and West’s
Worries Grow
(To grasp the seriousness of this very real problem, please
open up and read this article from the New York Times
The Beginning Impact in the USA —
These news articles point out the dwindling use of farmland
due to the lack of sufficient water supplies here in the west. What
affects California has a fallout that reaches into the other states in
this nation. A large percentage of fruits and vegetables, nuts, etc, are
freighted by truck and train from this state to help feed the people of
this country.
It also had a downside impact on our exports to other
nations.
California is the leading state for exports so said this
nations Secretary of Agriculture. On a talk show this past week she said
California exports $59 billions of dollars annually. Texas is in second
place with $30 billions of dollars annually.
There are now 36.1 million people now living in California.
The many people living here are very dependant on the annual rainfall and
the snowpacks. To not receive the normal rainfall for two consecutive
years could really put everyone in real need.
Other Nations of Israel —
The World Today - Monday, 9
December , 2002
Reporter: Alexandra Kirk
JOHN HIGHFIELD: Well, the big dry is expected, it seems, to continue
through to next Autumn, March at least; the Federal Government has today
acknowledged that, and also acknowledged that existing exceptional
circumstances assistance measures won't be enough to get farmers, small
business and farm workers in the regional areas through the drought.
Cabinet has today put the final touches on a new
package worth $368 million; the centrepiece, a new category of interest
rate subsidies and fast-tracking the EC drought relief measures.
That comes on top of 360 million dollars the
Government has already committed to.
The package also includes a new work category, a
for the dole scheme to be called drought force, to enable rural workers to
stay on in regional areas so they can be there when the drought breaks.
Alexandra Kirk in Canberra.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: The Federal Government's already
set aside nearly 400 million dollars for exceptional circumstances drought
aid.
But with expectations that this is shaping up as
Australia's worst drought on record, the Government understands its
current drought assistance scheme falls short of what's needed.
The Prime Minister says even if it rains soon, the
effects of the drought will be prolonged, announcing extra help worth 368
million dollars over the next three years.
JOHN HOWARD: It recognises the crucial importance
of maintaining the capacity of Australia's farmers to recover when the
drought ends.
The current advice we had from the experts is that
the drought may not break until March or April of next year, and then of
course there's no guarantee of that.
It is already the case that in many areas of New
South Wales this is the worst drought in a hundred years. 75 per cent of
Australia, or very close to it, is suffering either a severe or major
rainfall deficiency, and on any criteria this is an abnormally severe
drought, and one that therefore requires abnormally strong and supportive
measures.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: The existing scheme's been
criticised widely for relying on each district being assessed often in
painstaking detail, to ensure strict criteria are met.
The responsibility currently lies with the States
signing off on each application before sending it to Canberra. Add to that
a long-running dispute between the Commonwealth and states over how much
state money has to be spent before Commonwealth assistance kicks in.
Primary producers are exasperated by the delays and
bureaucratic bickering, causing a lag between when the drought starts to
bite, and when they qualify for federal welfare assistance and interest
rate subsidies.
In Canberra, the Federal Government's just signed
off on a new drought relief package, fast tracking the exceptional
circumstances qualification, so that once 80 percent of a state is EC
declared, the whole state will now be covered.
New South Wales and the ACT meet the new trigger,
but other states like Queensland and Victoria aren't quite there yet.
The Government's brought forward interim income
support, and a new interest rate subsidy; farmers, graziers and small
businesses needing to borrow up to 100 thousand dollars, will pay five
percent below the going rate, with the Commonwealth picking up the tab.
It's the first time that small businesses will
qualify for the same assistance that farmers do.
JOHN HOWARD: We must not only provide income
support for people who are left without income, but we must also provide
them with the wherewithal to maintain their breeding stock and also lay
the basis for recovery.
It is equally the case that a drought of this
severity robs country towns and their businesses of the liquidity and
purchasing power that is in the hands of farmers when they are enjoying
better times, and it's therefore very important that small businesses in
areas that are declared as being in exceptional circumstances receive some
kind of support.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Out in far western New South Wales,
the town of Brewarrina, which both Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and
Labor leader Simon Crean visited recently, hasn't had decent rain for 2
and a half years.
Brewarrina Shire Mayor, Angelo Pippos, who also
runs a cafe, says this is the greatest news the town's heard in a long
time.
ANGELO PIPPOS: Brewarrina has experienced the worst
drought I think they've ever, every gone through.
It's not only affecting the graziers, it's
affecting the businesspeople of the town; anybody like the shearers who
rely on the grazing industry, anybody that works for the grazing industry,
and it's had a devastating affect on the whole town.
With these announcements been made this morning, I
feel that it will go a long way towards helping the problems of the town,
especially the interest subsidy for the businesses.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Have businesses had to close so
far?
ANGELO PIPPOS: We've lost a couple of businesses in
town. We haven't a chemist here at the moment, he has left. The Holden
dealership has closed down, a couple of other shops have closed in town.
We need some help out here, and this might be a
step towards it.
JOHN HIGHFIELD: Angelo Pippos is the Mayor of
Brewarrina, just up the road from Bourke in far North Western New South
Wales.
1. More news
Tue 5 Nov
Australia's drought
worse after October
The Bureau of Meteorology announced today that the
area of Australia experiencing severe rainfall deficiencies has expanded
as a result of a very dry October. Nearly half of Australia recorded
October falls within the lowest 10% of records with much of NSW
registering record low totals. Also recording their driest October on
record were parts of the Upper North and Northeast districts in South
Australia, as well as scattered patches through southern and central
Queensland.
For the seven-month period from April to October, serious to severe
rainfall deficiencies cover about 70% of the country, the most notable
exceptions being western Tasmania and northwest WA where average to above
average falls occurred. Some parts of the southwest of WA are affected for
the third successive year. The deficiencies in northern areas of Australia
are not as significant as those further south as the April to October
period is largely in the seasonally dry time of year, although early wet
season falls have been very poor.
Pockets of lowest on record totals for the April to October period, in a
record dating back to 1900, are scattered across the country. Some of the
more noteworthy areas include regions in southern WA and a strip through
eastern NSW from Wollongong to Tamworth.
For the eleven-month period from December to October, some additional
areas around Cairns and Cooktown in far north Queensland, and along the
coast from Mackay to Grafton have experienced rainfall deficiencies. There
are also some patches between Longreach and Rockhampton that appear on the
longer period, and deficiencies are slightly more extensive in southwest
Victoria and southeast SA as well.
Satellites Reveal Drought Conditions In 20 Percent Of The
World
World moisture and thermal conditions taken on September 30, 2001.
Washington - Oct 4, 2001
A new satellite-based method for early detection, monitoring and analysis
of drought shows that nearly 20 percent of the world's landmass has been
stricken by drought over the past two years, according to scientists at
the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Scientists at NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and
Information Service in Camp Springs, Md., used solar radiation detected
from an instrument onboard NOAA's polar orbiting satellites, called the
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. The solar radiation was observed
in three wavelengths of the solar spectrum -- visible, near infrared and
thermal -- to study vegetation health, moisture, and thermal conditions.
"Satellite data are important to our understanding of the world's climate,
particularly in regions of the world where routine surface measurements
are sometimes difficult to obtain," said Felix Kogan, the NOAA scientist
who developed the new drought detection methodology. "This method has been
tested worldwide for eight years and has proven to be an excellent vehicle
for early drought detection and monitoring, as well as for assessing the
impacts of droughts."
NOAA is providing information on drought to customers around the world.
Many countries in Africa, Asia and North America experienced the effects
of two-year droughts.
Long, intensive spring and summer dryness developed in the southern and
western United States (and neighboring regions of Canada) during 2000 and
2001 with Texas experiencing severe droughts. Satellite data identified
large areas in the Northwest that were vulnerable to intensive fire
activity. During the two-year period, active fires consumed large areas of
forested land.
In the Horn of Africa, early drought signs were recorded in January 2000.
Over the next four months, the drought expanded and intensified, creating
food shortages and outbreak of disease that affected millions of
inhabitants in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and other regions.
In Asia, crop producing regions and rangelands of Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Iran, India, Mongolia and China were severely hit by spring and summer
dryness during 2000 and 2001. The worst situation was observed in
Afghanistan and Pakistan where approximately 60 and 40 percent of these
countries, respectively, suffer from intensive drought in 2001. Unusual
summer dryness also affected countries in the Caspian Sea region.
The new method of drought detection and monitoring has been recognized by
the global scientific and operational community and has been publicized by
the American Meteorological Society, UN-based organizations and
international remote sensing publications.
NESDIS is the nation's primary source of space-based
meteorological and climate data. NESDIS operates the nation's
environmental satellites, which are used for weather forecasting, climate
monitoring, and other environmental applications such as fire detection,
ozone monitoring, and sea surface temperature measurements. NESDIS also
operates three data centers, which house global data bases in climatology,
oceanography, solid earth geophysics, marine geology and geophysics,
solar-terrestrial physics and paleoclimatology.
Closing in on Israel —
The time will soon be here when other related prophecies
will be fulfilled as we can see from two of them as quoted here:
“Also I gave you cleanness of teeth (nothing to
eat due to famine) in all your cities; yet you have NOT returned to
Me,” says the LORD. I also withheld rain from you when there were still
three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain
from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain
the part withered. So 2 or 3 cities wandered to another city to drink
water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have NOT returned to Me, “says
the LORD (God controls the weather, Jeremiah 51:16). I blasted
you with blight and mildew (plant diseases). When your gardens increased,
your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees, the locust devoured
them. Yet you have NOT returned to Me,” says the LORD. I sent among you
a plague after the manner of Egypt; your young men I killed with a sword (pestilence
and smaller wars, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Iraq) along with
your captive horses (war equipment); I made THE STENCH of your
camps come up into your nostrils (a lack of water to carry the refuse
away), yet you have NOT returned to Me,” says the LORD. “I over threw
some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a
firebrand plucked from the burning (possibly due the acts of
terrorists) yet you have NOT returned to Me,” says the LORD.
“Therefore thus will I do this to you, O Israel: and BECAUSE I will do
this to you, PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GOD, O ISRAEL! “(Amos 4-6-12).
The effects of the lack of rainfall as described in these
Scriptures leads up to the second coming of Christ, just before the final
destruction by the revitalized Roman Empire that is presently positioning
itself for the false prophet to bring it altogether and then bring about
the conquest of the nations of Israel, the great tribulation, and slavery
for the survivors, as also foretold by the prophet Joel.
FIRES OUT OF CONTROL ----
With the lack of rain comes tinder-dry grass, trees and
forests, and sets this nation up in particular for unquenchable raging
fires that will devour everything in their path:
“O LORD, to you I cry out; for
FIRE has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
and A FLAME has BURNED all the trees of the field. The beasts of
the field (cattle, sheep, goats, horses, wild life) also CRY OUT to You,
for the WATER BROOKS ARE DRIED UP, and FIRE HAS
DEVOURED THE PASTURES OF THE WILDERNESS” (Joel 1:19).
The prophet paints a most pathetic and heart-rending
picture of this coming time when mankind along with animals and creatures
will be crying out for water, and very little to be found.
Next in time order – the alarm of war (Joel 2:1); the
military invasion and defeat of Israel (see the United States and Britain
in Prophecy, Page 218, (1980 printing), Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.
Despising Prophecy —
Brethren, what I have written here is soon to be seen and
experienced by all of us to one degree or another. I realize there are
those who do NOT want to hear sermons or read of these terrible things
soon to befall us just as Judah did not want to hear their coming horrors
from the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:4).
To such people, the apostle Paul makes known we are NOT to
despise prophecy (II Thessalonians 5:21). It is in this context that God
warns His people:
“Where there is NO PROPHETIC VISION the people CAST
OFF RESTRAINT; but happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18).
They prefer to hear the prophets of peace. Unless all of
them WAKE UP they will be left behind to experience all of these things in
their fullness.
“A prudent man FORESEES evil and hides himself, but
the simple pass on and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).
We are living in the end-time and we need to keep ourselves
fully aware of these awful times that are almost on top of us. Not to do
so can catch us unawares and find ourselves as the simple who pass on and
are then punished in the coming hard and trying times and then the Great
Tribulation, and conceivably not be accepted by Jesus Christ upon His
returns to this earth.
To be Continued —
Next time I will plan on writing some about the
advancements in Europe that continue to be seen to fulfill their part
toward their fulfillment and will fulfill numerous prophecies.
Until next time, our love and prayers to all of you,
Don Billingsley
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