earthquakes

bible, earthquakes, prophecy, sinkholes, year in review

By the Numbers 2015: top trends, charts, earthquakes, and more

Posted on December 31, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The year 2015 is over and we are looking at 2016. I’m personally excited to see what 2016 will hold. A group of men I’ve been praying for have planted a new church and it is going to be a God-honoring, expositional, doctrinally pure (as it can be), Reformed church. We are having a pre-launch prayer meeting January 10 and the first service will be January 31. It’s being planted at the border of a city of 166,000 and a town of 160. The proximity to both city and rural counties means we can reach people of various backgrounds. There is a demographic of diversity in the area from farmers to young families to new arrivals from other countries to established city families. Since Christ’s bride will be multiethnic (Rev 5:9), the leaders of the new church would like our church to begin to reflect the diversity of heaven and selected this location. God then provided the facility.

The pastor-teacher of our new church is a man whom I have had the privilege of seeing God mature quickly over the last few years. He is an astounding expositional preacher, and I’m not kidding when I say it’s like a mini-Pentecost every time he opens the Word and preaches it. The elder men have nurtured and discipled him for ten years and the elders believe he is ready. Now is the moment.

It is a huge relief to know I have a church to go to, after the years of seeing what failure to employ church discipline does to a gathering, after seeing what spiritual abuse does to a congregation, after seeing plagiarizing pastors go unchallenged. The emails I’ve received from women thirsty and crying for Godly men and a church that at least majors in the majors has had my voice silently added to them all the while. Now, please rejoice with me to praise God for what He is doing and what He will do in our section of rural Georgia in and through the people He will bring to our new church.

I was saved in 2004 and then moved to GA in 2006 and the Lord put a heart for prophecy in me. I was firmly convinced in 2006 that 2006 would be the year of the rapture. I was convinced of it in 2007 and 2008 and 2009 and 2010 and 2011 and 2012 and 2013 and 2014 and 2015 and I say now, that 2016 will be the year of the rapture. Am I discouraged that these years have passed with no trumpet calling me bodily home? Not at all! I am MORE excited than ever! It just means that for ten times I’ve had the privilege of waiting and hoping expectantly for my Lord! It’s going to happen. It could happen any second! The Doctrine of Imminence is true. More on that in another blog essay here!

I live with the thrill of knowing this. I live with the hope of knowing His return is imminent. The Lord has declared it and it will come to pass in His timing. This is a sure thing.

If you’ve followed this blog for very long you know I have a fascination with earthquakes and sinkholes. I don’t live in a highly seismic area, though we had a house-shaker in here Georgia last year, this year was quiet. It’s just the notion of the ground which seems so solid suddenly turning liquid. Or shaking and opening up in cracks. Nothing else in my opinion shows the sovereignty of the LORD as much as earthquakes do. On a daily, regular visible, basis that is.

Jesus said that the time of the end will contain more quakes and in diverse places. (Matthew 24:7).

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” (Hebrews 12:26)

Let’s look at a long-term trend of global quakes. I update this table every year. Click to enlarge.

The average trend is still a heightened number of quakes. In 2003 we saw the beginning of meeting or exceeding the USGS number of average quakes, an average the USGS has settled on since beginning to track quakes in 1900. The first year where all four of the major magnitudes’ averages were smashed was in 2009. The number of quakes has stayed high every year since. 2012 showed a slight lessening, with “only” two of the four magnitudes averages falling below the USGS number of average quakes for that year. 2014 saw a smashing of the average in the 5.0-5.9 magnitude category. In 2015 that trend is continuing.

Time will tell what 2016 will bring.

Oklahoma continues to be shaken daily by quakes. This is from a report in Tulsa World on November 23, 2015

Oklahomans remain shaken up as the state blasts through its earthquake record from only a year ago. In August Oklahoma surpassed 2014’s banner year of 584 earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater. In 2015, Oklahoma Geological Survey data show a staggering 802 quakes of those magnitudes through Sunday afternoon. …Through Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma has been rocked by 31 magnitude-4 or greater earthquakes in 2015, according to Oklahoma Geological Survey data.

Chart by EPrata generated from USGS data

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Other trends and numbers:

Florida population tops 20 million

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida’s population has now topped 20 million people. … At last, on Tuesday, the census made it official: Florida’s population in 2015 reached 20,271,272. Only California (39,144,818) and Texas (27,469,114) had more people, according to the bureau. That means Florida — which until the middle of the 20th century had the smallest population of any Southern state — now has more people in it than the nation of Chile. Look out Syria and Sri Lanka, you’re next.
But before you start packing your bags, the Sunshine State is also “No. 1 for sinkholes, lightning strikes, shark bites and concealed weapons permits.”

Speaking of Sinkholes…The Siberian Times reported this past May-

Sinkhole gets bigger in city plagued by giant craters
Officials promise to monitor situation after four-fold increase in size since February.

Closer to home, this happened in Brooklyn. Now, oftentimes sinkholes occur because of leaking water mains underneath the ground. This is a natural effect of water, and I never post those kind of sinkholes or comment on them. But the mysterious sinkholes, or at least, the ones experts have not yet been able to explain, those are the ones that grab my attention. Imagine, just walking along and suddenly falling into a hole that the ground had opened up under your feet! Nothing in this life is solid, except the faith in Jesus Christ in His persevering hand. So the ground opening up suddenly is representative of just how vaporous and insubstantial to his life really is!

The Holy Land is not immune.

Dead Sea sinkholes increasing in number as water level recedes

Sinkholes are gathering up fast on the banks of the Dead Sea, posing danger to tourists drawn by the healing powers of the mineral laden waters. This is happening because fresh groundwater is rising up and dissolving the salt to leave behind large cavities underground. The sinkholes are forming above this, Hanan Ginat, a geologist and academic chairman of the Dead Sea and Arava Research Center, in Israel told Live Science. The Dead Sea water surface is currently receding by about three feet (one metre) per year mostly due to diversion of water from the Jordan river and mineral mining in the south. First observed in the 70s, the number of sinkholes along the Dead Sea banks is now increasing and there are almost 4000 today.

Yet God has a great restoration in store for the Dead Sea!! This passage is called The Millennial River, written by MiddleTown Bible Church

A key test for whether a person interprets the prophetic Word literally is the river that is described in Ezekiel 47 and in other places in the Old Testament. This amazing river will originate from the house of the LORD (compare Joel 3:18) as a very shallow stream.

Gradually the stream will get deeper and fuller until it is over a man’s head. It eventually travels east until it empties into the Dead Sea which will then be a terrible misnomer because the waters of the Dead Sea will be turned into fresh water teeming with fish (see Ezekiel 47:1-10). It will be the Living Sea!

In Zechariah 14:8 we learn that half of this river will empty into the Dead Sea and half of the river will empty into the Mediterranean Sea. This river is also mentioned in Psalm 46:4 (and notice the context in Psalm 46:9-10 which clearly speaks of the kingdom).
Manfred Kober has provided the following illustration of the future topography of the Holy Land showing this amazing river of life flowing into the two great seas:

I do not endorse Middletown Bible Church but merely place the illustration here
as a visual enhancement to the prophecy of the Millennial River in Ez 47

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APOSTASY

Every generation endures an increasing level of apostasy. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, Matthew 24:12). That is because Jesus foretold it in the end times, and the end times occur between His ascension and His return. So it stands to reason that within an 80 year lifespan, a man would notice things getting worse. I listen to S. Lewis Johnson, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and other men who preached in the early part of the twentieth century, and I also read Spurgeon who preached in the 1800s. These men all mourned the rising apostasy. Spurgeon was famous for preaching against the Downgrade.

However, I personally believe that the last 15 years has seen not only an acceleration of the apostasy but an exponential increase. Even in the 1990s when the fundamentals were being watered down, the American church never would have tolerated the silliness that passes for preaching and ministry today. Pastors zip-lining into the sanctuary? Preachers demanding a jet? Women being regularly ordained as pastors in mainline denominations? Acceptance of homosexuality in leaders and pastors? Visions and ecstatic utterances passing for worship? No. In my opinion the Lord is showing us how inflated the false church has really become.

Since true Christianity is declining, our institutions are being eroded at a rate that has passed a tipping point in my opinion. Absolutely crumbling. This includes the institution of marriage. Picture a dam that has withstood rising flood waters, but underneath the rushing waters there have been massive holes punched through. All of a sudden the dam collapses. The suddenness of the collapse sparks a flood, but the erosion had actually been going on a long time.

Here is one just such a silly article.

Divorced Influential blogger bemoans five reasons why the age-old institution of marriage “just doesn’t work anymore”
His reasons,

1. There’s not enough sex
2. Marriage is too expensive
3. Marriage is boring, dude
4. Social media diverts attention away from my own fame
5. Social media distracts him from having a good time on vacation, or something

But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:20b-24)

Marriage is an institution ordained by God. Problems are rampant, but can be overcome in Christian marriages where attitudes of patience, sacrifice, and the devoted choice of love can be cultivated by the Spirit. Without the Spirit’s strengthening and guidance, and union under Christ’s headship, marriages have little chance today, I admit. With fewer true Christians around and more secular marriages happening, it’s no wonder that it seems like marriage as an institution is failing. Women are taught in secular life that it is a 50-50 institution. But that’s wrong. In Christ, marriage is a 100-100 exchange, or that is the goal anyway. How can a marriage survive when half of what a person has in them is held back, selfishly? No wonder the poor guy is bemoaning his marital loss.

Are Americans giving up on marriage?
May 2015

So what does marriage in the U.S. look like these days? A recent study from the Pew Research Center found a number of interesting trends in their most recent look at marriage in America. For one, the study found that after years of declining marriage rates, the percentage of Americans who have never been married has reached a historic high point.
The research indicates that about one in five adults in the U.S. (adult in this case meaning 25 years old or older), or about 42 million Americans, have never been married. Compare that to data from the 1960 Census when just one in ten adults 25 or older had never been married, or about 9% of all American adults; clearly, marriage isn’t the institution it once was.

It’s interesting to note that while divorce rates in the U.S. hit an impressive 40-year low in 2009, it may not have been for all the warm and fuzzy reasons we all might have liked. Bloomberg notes that the primary reason divorce rates took a nosedive during the recession was because most people could not afford them. Divorce necessitates more expenses than just legal fees, after all. Often the separated parties are looking for new housing or new jobs on top of adjusting out of a failed marriage. In this sense it’s logical that as the economy stabilizes, people who have long been unhappy are taking the opportunity to jump ship. The data supports this, as the number of Americans getting divorced rose for the third year in a row to about 2.4 million in 2012.

How about the Bible? How’s it faring? Good news–

Record number of Bible distributed by Bible societies

2014 saw the highest number of printed Bibles ever distributed by Bible Societies around the world. Nearly 34 million full Bibles were distributed, a rise of 6% over 2013’s figures, and 14% higher than the number distributed in the first year of the decade.

Source

Bad news!

According to a Barna State of the Bible report for 2015, 88% of American households own a Bible. However, practically no one reads it. (Note, Barna includes Catholics in their statistics as part of the faithful)

The total proportion of Bible readers—that is, those who read the Bible at least three to four times a year—is 52%. One in seven adults say they read the Bible daily (14%); a similar portion spend time in Scripture several times per week (14%); 8% read it once a week; 9% read the Bible once a month; and 6% read it three to four times a year. Slightly more than one in four adults say they never read the Bible (28%). One in 10 read the Bible less than once a year and another one in 10 report reading the Bible once or twice a year. These three segments combine to represent “nonBible readers” (48%), a segment that has grown by two percentage points since 2014.

BibleGateway puts up a pretty thorough roundup at the end of each year in a year end review. Here is their list of most-searched-for Bible verses, in order.

MOST-POPULAR BIBLE VERSES IN 2015

Here are the overall most-popular Bible verses in 2015 on Bible Gateway:

Rank Verse Text (NIV)
1. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
2. Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
3. Phil 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
4. Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
5. Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
6. Phil 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7. Rom 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
8. Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
9. 1 Cor 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
10. Prov 3:6 In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

BibleGateway posted the top 100 most popular Bible verses in 2014 also, and not one had the word “repent” in it. In 2015 at least coming in at 53 was the verse in 2 Chronicles where the LORD said if His people repent from their wicked ways and humble themselves… Other than that verse, the word ‘sin’ didn’t make the top 50. Or the top 60. The first time a searched-for verse mentioned sin was number 75, in Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death.

Not surprisingly, the top 25 search terms did not have any of the following searched-for terms in the list: wrath, sin, wicked, repent, or any version of judge/judgement. Like Joel Osteen, people only want the good news, not the bad news of our sin and depravity. Christianity Today summarized the trend.

These verses are predominately of reassurance and comfort. They fit with the most common keyword searches at Bible Gateway. “Love,” “faith,” “peace,” and other positive and comforting search terms dominate that list, which has a strong devotional focus and shows little sign of the “culture war” rhetoric you might expect from the tone of American cultural and political discourse this year.

Overall, I’m encouraged by these statistics. To be sure, they point to challenges for the church. There’s a clear disconnect between Bible readers and parts of the Old Testament. That’s not surprising news. More noteworthy is the very clear inspirational focus of the most-popular verses. It is wonderful to see the resonating power of these beautiful verses confirmed so strongly in our report. But reading through them, I can’t help but notice that while these verses certainly reflect what most of us want to get out of God’s Word, they’re not thematically representative of the entirety of the Bible.

Years ago, Collin Hansen noticed this trend while reading through popular verses from Bible Gateway’s 2011 list (a list that overlaps heavily with 2015’s):

Overall the list represents a nice cross-section of Scripture and tells an uplifting story of God’s work in the world. From this list we learn that when most people turn to Scripture, they’re often looking for encouragement. They cling to these verses trusting that God is working for their good, giving them strength, planning their hopeful future, and calming their anxieties by answering their requests. If nothing else, these results help those of us who regularly preach and teach the Bible understand how many Christians and even non-Christians use the Bible…. [But] you won’t learn from this list why God needs to redeem the world he created. You won’t learn why his love is so significant.

There’s a good challenge there. We don’t necessarily want to convince you to switch your favorite Bible quote from John 3:16 to a downbeat verse from Lamentations. But there is value—and theological significance—in venturing outside those familiar, comfortable verses and into the less popular corners of Scripture. In 2016, try searching out the justice-obsessed sermons of those neglected Old Testament prophets.

So…people own Bibles, don’t read them, and when they do, search out only the personally uplifting verses. Got it.

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Culture

With rising apostasy, diminishing reliance of God-honoring institutions like marriage, and biblical literacy increasing, it is no wonder the culture is growing dark too. The Huffington Post reported at mid-year the highs and lows of cultural attainment thus far.

Here are some of my own lowlights

Bruce Jenner turned into Caitlyn
TV Family Man Bill Cosby rape allegations
Fifty Shades of Grey movie
Duggars
Topless Women Day in NYC
Trump/politics
Tullian Tchividjian
Obergefell v. Hodges- SCOTUS says gay is OK, (marriage that is)
Mark Driscoll

Oi, need I go on! No I don’t! We all know we’re living in Corinth. Or Pergamum where satan’s throne is. (Rev 2:13).

Fortunately, Jesus’ robes are white and He has declared us clean. His church is clothed in righteousness and it is spotless. The Year 2016 will be spectacular for the main reason is that Jesus still saves. Souls will be reconciled to His bosom, hearts of stone will melt like wax and refill with love for Jesus. Mighty works will be done is His name and He will be pleased. No matter how large the false church gets (and it’s pretty big) there remains a true church of Jesus Christ, waiting His return in glory and triumph. Happy New Year!

Here are 10000 sparklers lit up for the joy of His name! (Or, otherwise a funny Youtube video by some Russian guys)

earthquakes, michigan earthquake, prophecy, volcanoes

Rare quake shakes Michigan, "strongest ever". Other earth updates

Posted on May 2, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

What Was That Rumble? Officials Confirm 4.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Michigan
May 2, 2015 12:42 PM

Source

KALAMAZOO (WWJ) – If you thought you felt an earthquake on Saturday — you did. And It was one of the strongest quakes ever experienced in Michigan. Officials with the United States Geological Survey said an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 and a depth of focus of 5.9 km was measured around 12:23 p.m. about nine miles southeast of Kalamazoo. Multiple residents in several different regions beyond Kalamazoo — from Mount Pleasant and Sterling Heights to Lansing and even as far as Cleveland, Ohio — reported feeling a rumble and the ground shake for between five and 10 seconds. No damage or injuries have been reported. The strongest earthquake in Michigan history was a 4.6 magnitude in nearly the exact same location in August 1947.

History of earthquakes in Michigan
The U.S. Geological Survey says the earliest record of earthquake tremors in Michigan came from a series of shocks in Missouri about 1811.

In 2010 a large earth crack appeared in Upper Michigan.
One day the land was flat and filled with trees shooting straight into the air. Twenty-four hours later there’s a 600-foot-long crack, 4-feet deep twisting its way through the woods – and those vertical trees are now pointed 30 degrees left and right where the earth has mounded 15 feet high. No, it’s not a disaster movie; it’s what happened Monday at the home of Eileen Heider on Bay de Noc Road in Birch Creek. Heider was sitting in her recliner watching TV at about 8:30 that morning. “The chair shook for a few seconds and I thought the spring in the chair went,” she said. … The next day Heider’s friend, Doug Salewski, found a hole in the ground and a 200-yard crevasse a short ways away which wasn’t there before. Heider went to investigate and said the crack was three-feet wide and about five-feet deep in spots.

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Steve Herman, reporter for Voice of America, Asia, reports, USGS: M6.1 #quake SE of #Japan (Too small to trigger significant tsunami).

LONDON: An earth tremor of magnitude 5.7 struck 185km south-southeast of Japan’s Izu islands on Saturday (May 2), the United States Geological Survey said. The USGS at first put the quake at 6.1, but later revised it to a weaker reading. The tremor was at a shallow depth of 10km.

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Underwater Volcano May Be Erupting Off Oregon
An underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon has risen from its slumber and may be spewing out lava about a mile beneath the sea. Researchers were alerted to the possible submarine eruption of the Axial Seamount, located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) off the West Coast, by large changes in the seafloor elevation and an increase in the number of tiny earthquakes on April 24. Geologists Bill Chadwick, of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Oregon State University, and Scott Nooner, of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, successfully forecast the eruption in a blog post in September 2014.

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You might remember the Japan 9.0 Quake of 2011 shifted the earth off its axis, shortened the day and moved the island 8 feet. Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Jeremiah 32:27).

Nepal Earthquake Shrank Mount Everest, Lifted Areas Near Kathmandu 3 Feet
Nepal’s massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake transformed the land the was shaken by the natural disaster, pushing areas near the city of Kathmandu higher in elevation and making Mount Everest slightly shorter. It won’t be enough to unseat Everest as the world’s tallest peak, but according to studies performed after last weekend’s temblor, the mountain is now an inch shorter than before the quake. On the other hand, some locations just outside Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu were lifted 3 feet higher than before the tragic event, the study also found.

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Lava lake on Hawaii’s volcano overflows in spectacular show
HONOLULU (AP) — A lake of lava on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has been rising over the past week and, at times, overflowing in a spectacular show. Video posted online by visitors shows lava splashing over the side of the vent rim. Janet Babb, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said Thursday that this is the first time lava from this vent has come into view from a public platform within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii’s Big Island. “It’s always been out of view for visitors who were in the park public viewing areas,” she said. But this past week, because of lava is rising inside the volcano, the lava lake rose high enough that it was visible, she said. The last time molten lava was visible in the crater was in 1982 when a fissure erupted. The last time there was a lake was in 1974.

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Chile’s Calbuco Volcano erupts for third time in 8 days

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Bulusan volcano erupts
Mount Bulusan in the province of Sorsogon erupted on Friday morning, causing an explosion of steam and ash that lasted five minutes followed by 40 volcanic quakes, government seismologists said. While the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) did not raise the alert level at the volcano, it warned the public against venturing into Mount Bulusan’s four-kilometer permanent danger zone because of possibility of sudden explosion. Ed Laguerta, Phivolcs resident volcanologist, told The Manila Times that the explosion scattered ash in Puting Sapa and Sangayon villages of Juban town and in Cogon, Gulang-Gulang and Tinampo villages of Irosin town. “This is just a minor explosion [that] coincided with Labor Day celebrations. We’re closely monitoring the [volcanic] activity if it will escalate in the coming days,” he said.

Around 10:30 a.m., when the crater became visible, dirty-white steam was seen coming out of it. Phivolcs seismologists said Mount Bulusan, one of the most active volcanoes in the country, exploded at 8:09 a.m. The volcano has erupted 15 times since 1885 and is considered as the 4th most active volcano in the Philippines after Mayon, Taal and Kanlaon. Bulusan last erupted in 2011.

earthquakes, ebola, prophecy, signs, weather

News roundup: Ebola in US, Japanese volcano eruption, quake swarm at Mammoth

Posted on October 1, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

PESTILENCE

CDC confirms first case of Ebola in US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a patient being treated at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case diagnosed in the United States. The patient left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the United States on September 20, CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. It’s the first patient to be diagnosed with this particular strain of Ebola outside of Africa.“[The patient] had no symptoms when departing Liberia or entering this country. But four or five days later on the 24th of September, he began to develop symptoms,” said Frieden. The patient, who was in the U.S. visiting family in Texas, initially sought care on September 26, but was sent home and was not admitted until two days later. He was placed in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where he remains critically ill, according to Frieden.

The assurances we’ve been receiving from officials since the outbreak in Africa spread have not made much sense to me.

“The risk of the spread of Ebola in California is low.”

“and the past-president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told weather.com Americans should not fear the disease. “We see the risk as essentially zero,”

If an ill traveler arrives in the U.S., CDC has protocols in place to protect against further spread of disease.

The problem is, the patient in Dallas was not showing any symptoms. Secondly, he had traveled to Liberia and when he arrived at the Dallas hospital for treatment, he was sent home. It doesn’t seem those protocols are working.

Granted, one patient isn’t an outbreak. But the worry is that he was ill, AND showing symptoms and walked around Dallas for days. The CDC press conference last night never did answer the question as to whether the patient’s family has been quarantined. However, several medical workers are now quarantined:

Paramedics, ER staff under Ebola observation in Dallas

DALLAS — Three Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics and several emergency room workers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital are off work and under observation after making contact with the patient being treated for Ebola. Perhaps the most tangible evidence of Ebola in Dallas is an ambulance parked in a city lot in Pleasant Grove, an area about 15 minutes southeast of downtown Dallas. It’s quarantined and roped off with red tape warning of a biohazard. Ambulance No. 37 carried the Ebola patient to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday morning.

So on September 26 the patient walked into the hospital seeking care, and just three days later had to be taken by ambulance. It seems that this is either a very rapid progression, or symptoms were evident on the 26th and were missed. Neither scenario are particularly comforting.

The ambulance used to transport the Dallas Ebola patient is now a biohazard,
and the paramedics are quarantined. Source

But the CDC assures us, still, that everything is just fine. But just in case, they issued Ebola guidelines for US funeral homes. The article’s opening poses the following question:

ROSWELL, GA (CBS46) – CBS46 News has confirmed the Centers for Disease Control has issued guidelines to U.S. funeral homes on how to handle the remains of Ebola patients. If the outbreak of the potentially deadly virus is in West Africa, why are funeral homes in America being given guidelines?

They asked the question because the article was initially published on September 29. The news did not break about the Dallas Ebola patient until September 30. Now we know the answer.

All I can say is that the same thing is on many peoples’ minds. First is Mark Davis’ tweet

Fred Butler summed it up.

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WEATHER

I love spooky clouds. Or non-spooky clouds. I just like clouds.

PSU meteorology student & storm chaser Jacob DeFlitch ‏@WxDeFlitch tweeted this pic yesterday, “Incredible photo of clouds this morning over NYC from the air.” [Via: Angela Wang]

Ginger Zee, Chief Meteorologist at ABC News; re-tweeted this photo yesterday morning.

“Great capture! “@TheNan08: Heading into NYC crazy looking clouds @Ginger_Zee @Evansweather”

Denver severe weather dumps massive amounts of hail

An impressive hail storm slammed into the Denver metropolitan area around 2 p.m. MDT, dropping hail as large as golf balls. Photos posted to social media show what looked like snow, but was actually a thick sheet of hail covering highways and grassy areas. Denver’s 9 News reports Cherry Creek schools delayed dismissing students because of the weather. Hail drifts several feet deep were reported in some towns, according to AOL.com.

South of France hit by devastating floods

Around 60 towns in the south of France have been officially declared natural disaster sites following severe flooding caused by torrential downpours, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced on Tuesday.

Scientists are grappling for reasons as to why the weather is worsening so palpably. This is from NOAA weather:

New report finds human-caused climate change increased severity of 2013 heat waves in Asia, Europe and Australia September 29, 2014. The report, “Explaining Extreme Events of 2013 From a Climate Perspective,” can be viewed online. (Credit: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society) A report released today investigates the causes of a wide variety of extreme weather and climate events from around the world in 2013. Published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, “Explaining Extreme Events of 2013 from a Climate Perspective” addresses the causes of 16 individual extreme events that occurred on four continents in 2013. NOAA scientists served as three of the four lead editors on the report.

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QUAKES

The Weather Channel ‏@weatherchannel posted the following yesterday,
“JUST IN: M4.2 #earthquake near Perry, OK at 10:01pm CDT; shaking felt from Wichita KS to Norman OK.”

4.2 is pretty big for Oklahoma.

Mammoth Lakes in California has been experiencing the “most intense” quake swarm of the last decade. LA Times has mapped them in a .gif

Watch 900 earthquakes erupt during Mammoth swarm

There were 947 total quakes

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VOLCANO

Mount Ontake, a Japanese volcano, erupted unexpectedly, unfortunately killing and injuring climbers. A hiker who was on scene filmed the terrifying event. Below is a screen shot and below that, the video.

I truly hope those poor people made it out!

UK Daily Mail

The search for at least two dozen victims of Japan’s worst volcanic eruption in decades has been called off again today amid fears that another deadly steam explosion is imminent. Hundreds of military searchers had been preparing to enter Mount Ontake by foot and helicopter to resume the recovery of at least 24 people caught in a deadly rain of ash and stone after the peak erupted without warning on Saturday when it was crowded with hikers, including children. Twelve bodies have been recovered from the 10,062 feet peak but at least 36 are feared to have died, with the recovery hampered by high levels of toxic gas and ash piled hip-high in places on the still-smoking mountain. At least 69 people have been injured, 30 of them seriously.

UK Daily Mail(as usual, great photos)

Mount Sinabung Spouts Off

Mt. Sinabung in Sumatra let out a long roar on Wednesday, erupting for a full 907 seconds, or just over 15 minutes – about 0.0028% of the year since it first started acting up. Daily eruptions, which started last November and lasted for months, coated the countryside in gray ash and forced tens of thousands of people from their villages.

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CULTURE

Video: Fla. commissioner walks out of meeting when Pagan delivers bizarre ‘satanic,’ singing invocation

A Florida pagan was given the opportunity to offer the invocation at an Escambia County Commission meeting Thursday, but one commissioner wouldn’t stick around to hear it. By law, the commission had to allow David Suhor, a self-described Agnostic Pagan Pantheist who worships nature, to give an invocation, according to ABC affiliate WEAR-TV. When Suhor recited the pagan prayer in song calling of the directions north, east, south, and west, Commissioner Wilson Robertson walked out. “People may not realize it,” Robertson told WEAR. “But when we invite someone, a minister to pray, they are praying for the county commissioners, for us to make wise decisions and I’m just not going to have a pagan or satanic minister pray for me.”

Good for him. The law may require that equal opportunity be given to all religions, but that does not mean we have to accept the prayer in the ‘spirit’ in which it was intended. I hope the commissioner prayed for the pagan man to repent and come to Jesus.

earthquake map, earthquakes, prophecy, signs, usgs

New Insight on the Nation’s Earthquake Hazards (USGS map is updated & released)

Posted on July 17, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Excerpts from the information accompanying the new USGS earthquake hazards map, last update 2008. Thank you scientists for your hard work on behalf of the US population. Christians, we know the hazards are increasing and we know why. Be prepared.

The USGS recently updated their U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps, which reflect the best and most current understanding of where future earthquakes will occur, how often they will occur, and how hard the ground will likely shake as a result.

42 States at Risk; 16 States at High Risk

Students conduct the “drop, cover, hold on” safety procedure during an earthquake preparedness drill. Photo Credit: Jessica Robertson, USGS

While all states have some potential for earthquakes, 42 of the 50 states have a reasonable chance of experiencing damaging ground shaking from an earthquake in 50 years (the typical lifetime of a building). Scientists also conclude that 16 states have a relatively high likelihood of experiencing damaging ground shaking. These states have historically experienced earthquakes with a magnitude 6 or greater.

The hazard is especially high along the west coast, intermountain west, and in several active regions of the central and eastern U.S., such as near New Madrid, MO, and near Charleston, SC. The 16 states at highest risk are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. [Since the last map, 2008] Several areas have been identified as being capable of having the potential for larger and more powerful earthquakes than previously thought due to more data and updated earthquake models. The most prominent changes are discussed below.

Changes: East Coast

The eastern U.S. has the potential for larger and more damaging earthquakes than considered in previous maps and assessments. As one example, scientists learned a lot following the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck Virginia in 2011. It was among the largest earthquakes to occur along the east coast in the last century, and helped determine that even larger events are possible. Estimates of earthquake hazards near Charleston, SC, have also gone up due to the assessment of earthquakes in the state.

Central U.S.

The New Madrid Seismic Zone has been identified to have a larger range of potential earthquake magnitudes and locations than previously identified. This is a result of a range of new research, part of which was recently compiled by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

West Coast

In California, earthquake hazard extends over a wider area than previously thought. Most notably, faults were recently discovered, raising earthquake hazard estimates for San Jose, Vallejo and San Diego. On the other hand, new insights on faults and rupture processes reduced earthquake hazard estimates for Irvine, Santa Barbara and Oakland.

New research on the Cascadia Subduction Zone resulted in increased estimates of earthquake magnitude up to magnitude 9.3.

Earthquake hazard also increased for Las Vegas because of new science.

Full report here

birth pangs, earthquakes, prophecy

"This year there was a typical pattern of quake activity up until the end of March, and then things went bonkers"

Posted on May 16, 2014 by elizabethprata

In the last two weeks there have been 15 ‘major’ earthquakes in the world. Major quakes are considered above 6.0. The month of May seems to be continuing the pattern for an increased number of large earthquakes. The Atlantic reported the following about April’s earthquakes:

April Had a Record Number of Big Earthquakes
This year there was a typical pattern of quake activity up until the end of March, and then things went bonkers.
In a typical month, the planet is shaken by an average of one or two medium-to-large earthquakes. This past month was not typical. Things were running on track up until the end of March, and then the ground went totally bonkers. There was an incredible 13 quakes of magnitudes 6.5 or higher in April. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issued bulletins for each one, says that is “easily a record for this institution.” Five of these temblors were powerful enough that the center also put out tsunami warnings.”

If as the article says, the globe is shaken once or twice a month by a large-ish quake, then what of 15 large-ish quakes in 15 days? And what of the information reported in these two articles?

Northwest Alaska–
Unusual Arctic earthquakes intrigue scientists
“In recent weeks, two powerful earthquakes have rocked the Northwest Arctic, leading some to ask why, and if these two are a sign of things to come. On April 18, the first quake rang in at a magnitude of 5.6, while on May 3 a second quake shook the region at 5.5. Before the first one in April, it had been more than 30 years since an earthquake that strong struck the region, said Mike West, a seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center. “This got our attention,” West said. “It’s not unprecedented, but it is unusual.“

Reno, NV-
Study: 300 Earthquakes In Parker County Since December
There have been more than 300 earthquakes reported in Parker County since December, according to just-published research conducted by an earthquake study team. In preliminary findings released Wednesday, the team reported that the quakes show a complex fault system in the area near Reno and Azle, which started experiencing quakes for the first time in November.

Prophecy is packed with predictions of earthquakes. At this late stage of history, we read the last book of the age, Revelation, which contains predictions of at least five major earthquakes, the final one being so large that ‘none like it has ever occurred on the earth’. You might remember the recent 9.0 quake at Japan that sparked the tsunami, devastated millions across continents, jogged the earth off its axis, and shortened the astronomical day. The one in Revelation will be worse. Read this account from Tacitus in his Annals, where a large quake occurred sometime between 16-19 AD, and a dozen Asiatic cities crumbled.

In the same year, twelve important cities of Asia collapsed in an earthquake, the time being night, so that the havoc was the less foreseen and the more devastating. Even the usual resource in these catastrophes, a rush to open ground, was unavailing, as the fugitives were swallowed up in yawning chasms. Accounts are given of huge mountains sinking, of former plains seen heaved aloft, of fires flashing out amid the ruin

The last predicted earthquake is a judgment poured out from seventh bowl of wrath and the description of what is to occur is similar to what happened in Tacitus’ day. Except for one thing. It will be much, much worse.

The Seventh Bowl
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. (Revelation 16:18)

There are people who say that the bible doesn’t teach that earthquakes will increase throughout the end of the age. By the way, we are in the end of the age. It has been the end of the age since the Messiah was announced at Pentecost. The Messianic age, or the Age of Grace, began at the resurrection of Jesus and will end with His return.

It is true, the bible doesn’t directly state that earthquakes will increase at the end of the age. But the bible doesn’t directly state that God is a Trinity, either. That doesn’t mean the concept isn’t indirectly taught.

Jesus said that a sign of His coming will be earthquakes. In prophecy, this is a two-fold event. The five or so major quakes predicted in Revelation are one such concrete sign. Jesus said so in Matthew 24:3,7. Certain, specific quakes are predicted which will kill a certain, specific amount of people or do certain, specific damage.

However He also taught that earthquakes in general will occur and they will increase as time goes on. How? In The Olivet Discourse, He spoke to the Disciples on the Mount of Olives as a long response to their query as to the signs of the end of the age, that the end of the age will be like birth pangs. (Matthew 24:8). Paul echoes this analogy in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, where he is also discussing the Day of the Lord-

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

The notion here is compared to the Days of Noah or the Days of Lot. Just as the people of Noah’s day were thinking themselves secure and happy, all things going along as they had been, sudden destruction came in the form of the rains and the wells of the deeps opening up to drown them. Or in Sodom, all things were going along as they had been, and suddenly brimstone rained down from the sky and destruction came.

And yet, all things had not been going on as they had been, in Noah’s day sin was getting worse and worse and worse from the time of the expulsion from the garden and one murder (Abel, Genesis 4:8) to the situation where all men were always thinking and doing evil continually. (Genesis 6:5). This time period was around 1500 years. (source)

In the days of Lot the outcry against the sins of the cities of the plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim) was reaching God’s ears. Between the time of the Flood’s subsiding with 8 righteous people left upon the earth, and the four cities’ destruction for sin, it was about 433 years. (source). Both were situations were things descended gradually but inexorably from a state of near-perfect righteousness to almost all men exhibiting a deep rebellion.

Well if there are metaphorical birth pangs, there must be a metaphorical pregnancy. If there is a pregnancy, there must be a gestation. In gestation, it takes time for the babe to grow and grow and grow. The water breaks. The pains begin. The bloody birth. And then new life.

Even within the birth pangs, they begin spaced apart, then grow in intensity and painfulness as the climactic moment approaches. Jesus could have used any metaphor but in specifically answering the question about the signs of the end of the age, including earthquakes, He said it will be like birthpains. Not only that, but the earthquakes being the beginning of the birth pains, indicating once again that things will intensify as events unfold. The quadruple judgments of Revelation show us this The judgments themselves intensify and increase in frequency as the Tribulation proceeds. (Seals, Trumpets, Thunders of Revelation 10:3-4, Bowls).

I could be wrong of course in interpreting the birth pangs this way. But I’m not wrong about saying that sin begins small and grows widespread, as seen between the time between Adam and Eve’s expulsion to the Flood, or the advancing and retreating pattern of sin-judgment-repentance evidenced by Israel in that cycle shown to us as a demonstration of God’s long-suffering. Or the outcry against Sodom growing to the point where God sent His angel to judge it. Sin and rebellion grows to a certain point and then God decides to judge in His timing. So birth pangs are an apt description. Things get worse and worse and worse, then destruction.

Earthquakes are an interesting sign of the end of the age. Jesus declared they are a sign in Matthew 24:7. Earthquakes in prophecy are a sign of power and sovereignty of God. Isaiah 29:6 says

“the LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.”

It is wise, I believe, to watch the earthquakes. Don’t read too much into them, but as a sign, if Jesus said they are a sign then they are a sign. That they are verifiably increasing is a fact.

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:11)

And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;…before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. (Acts 2:19, 20b)

I believe the earthquakes increasing is one sign among many others that show the time is growing short. I’ll close with the next verse from Acts 2:20:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

earthquakes, earthquakes are increasing, end time, God, science

The month that shook the world: Incredible time-lapse reveals planet as it was rocked by record-breaking earthquakes in April

Posted on May 4, 2014 by elizabethprata

UPDATE: Rare Earthquake Warning Issued for Oklahoma “We’ve never seen this before“
“Mile for mile, there are almost as many earthquakes rattling Oklahoma as California this year. This major increase in seismic shaking led to a rare earthquake warning today (May 5) from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey. In a joint statement, the agencies said the risk of a damaging earthquake — one larger than magnitude 5.0 — has significantly increased in central Oklahoma.”

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An article appearing earlier this week at NBC posed the following question:

Does it seem as if there have been more earthquakes in recent weeks? Some scientists thought so. … Ross Stein, a senior U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist who studies how quakes interact, got so excited that on April 12 he fired off an email to colleagues that started with this: “Guys, seems like a lot of big quakes have been popping off around the globe over the past week. … Experts for years have known that the seismic waves from one quake can trigger a quake somewhere else — a process known as “dynamic triggering.” … Lay’s own research has found that over the last decade the number of major quakes, those measuring 8.0 or bigger, is nearly triple the rate for the 1900s, but whether that’s just a random cluster or a sign of dynamic triggering is unclear.”

‘Dynamic triggering’ is a scenario in which the scientists who study earthquakes say that one big earthquake triggers other, smaller ones. A shaking the tree effect, where one big quake shakes out not one apple from the tree but a bunch, all over.

So even though the data says that the number of major quakes has tripled, they’re not sure if that means there are more quakes. In fact, this scientist in the discussion concluded that it’s an illusion.

“Stein, like Lay, also counted quakes but looked instead at moderate and large quakes (4.5 magnitude or greater) in the 10 days before and after the April 1 quake that struck Iquique, Chile. In his email to peers, Stein concluded: “I do not see a global increase in activity post-Iquique, at least for moderate and larger quakes — the ones that matter for hazards.”[It] seemed like a lot of big quakes” after Iquique, he later told NBC News, “but it’s largely an illusion.””

Um…Okayyy. If there are more earthquakes, there are more earthquakes. In my opinion they should study why this is happening, not get busy creating more theories as to why the data doesn’t really mean there are more earthquakes.

Still, the scientist found something else that perplexed them,

“Stein, for example, told peers in his email that he had found something “very unusual” about the Iquique [Chile 8.2] quake: The area near the epicenter saw an unusually high number of “foreshocks” to the mainshock on April 1. “Maybe only 5 percent of quakes have what, in retrospect, we would call foreshocks,” he says. It turns out that the Iquique foreshocks covered an area almost as large as the area of the Iquique aftershocks. That, Stein adds, is “extremely rare and worthy of study.”

An interesting article and video came out this week also, on the topic of whether there are more quakes, This time, the data is from the Tsunami Warning Center.

The month that shook the world: Incredible time-lapse reveals planet as it was rocked by record-breaking earthquakes in April

Earth shown as calm until April 1 when huge earthquake rocks Chile
Another huge earthquake shakes Solomon Islands in the South Pacific
The activity doesn’t let up all month with larger-than-normal quakes all in Nicaragua, Mexico, Canada, and even an unusual one in the South Atlantic
According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues alerts for tsunamis, there were 13 major earthquakes in April

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake that jolted parts of Indonesia today served as a reminder of just how active the seemingly-solid ground beneath us can be. And these reminders have become increasingly frequent. On average, the world only sees one or two earthquakes per month that are 6.5-magnitude or higher. But April produced a higher-than-normal number of the major seismic events, as revealed in this incredible time-lapse video.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), which issues alerts for tsunamis, there were 13 major earthquakes in April. Five were higher than 7.8, which prompted tsunami warnings. Moderate-to-large earthquakes are less common, but last month was ‘easily a record for this institution,’ according to the PTWC. The time-lapse takes you on a journey of all recorded large and medium-sized earthquakes that took place from January through to April of this year.

The video is worth watching in its entirety. The first 2 minutes show the rather regular popping of small to medium earthquakes all over the world, and mostly in the same places. You get lulled. Then when the large 8.2 in Chile happens, the screen goes pop-pop-pop and it reminded me of popcorn, when the bag in the microwave really gets going and things are popping all over the place.

The USGS people say that more earthquakes happening [despite the data showing otherwise] is just an illusion, while the Tsunami Warning Center people say that April broke a record.

I respect the work of scientists and I am a happy beneficiary of their work, but the end of the end time means that at some point, God’s work in His creation will far outstrip what science can deal with, or what scientific but unsaved minds are prepared to deal with. At the height of the Tribulation men will see what is happening, be unable to comprehend, and fear will overtake them and they will die on the spot. (Luke 21:26).

How will the scientists explain 100 lb hail? (Revelation 16:1). No wind anywhere on earth or sea? (Revelation 7:1). No rain for three years? (Revelation 11:6). A third and only a third of the earth’s grass and trees burned? (Revelation 8:1). Men who are scorched and combust with heat from the sun’s rays just by going outside? (Revelation 16:10). People who try to die, but can’t? (Revelation 9:6)

We are headed toward the time of intersection. Man believes he has made gains in understanding our world and the universe and how it works. And he has. But mans falsely believes that–

–he will continue to make gains in understanding
–once understanding, he can control what happens

Mankind will discover that he does not understand as much as he believes he does and that though he is always learning he is never able to come to knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:7) The truth is not in many of them. That truth is that God created the universe and He is in control of every dustmote and every atom. Albert Einstein came close when he said,

“Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”

Not “an” invisible piper, but God, YHWH, and He is not invisible,

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:15-16).

For those people who repent of their sins and claim Him as supreme Lord of all, they will see Him, and they will finally know as they are known. For the rest, what lies ahead is a continual restlessness of mind and soul, seeking the answer to life’s mysteries, and never able to discover the glory that exists right here, in Jesus, in knowing Him, and in the security of our eternal future.

And just for fun, 90s throwback

earthquakes, encouragment, news, prophecy

Lightning strikes on the rise, quakes this week, ground shift in WY, Heaven tourism books, New Jerusalem

Posted on April 12, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

From a good science essay which discusses a comparison of DNA between apes and humans and shows why Christians don’t have to worry about the theory of evolution. “How Similar are Humans & Apes?“

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Here’s why Christians don’t need to worry about the Jesus Wife papyrus fragment. Or listen to this 15 minute podcast on Issues, Etc, with Dr Craig Evans.

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I’ve often published essays reporting on the statistics which show increasing numbers of earthquakes, or storms, or strength of storms, or sinkholes, etc. But I’ve never been able to discover whether lightning strikes are more common now than before, until I read this article in an Israeli news outlet.

Lightning strikes a warming planet
They say lightning never strikes twice, and that getting struck by lightning is as rare as winning the lottery. But such folk wisdom may no longer be true, report scientists studying global lightning patterns. A cross-country research project published recently in the American Journal of Climate Change suggests that in developing countries especially, lightning strikes and death by lightning appear to be growing. Asked to comment on the story by the BBC, Price said: “The underdeveloped world is where you have the maximum frequency of lightning and thunderstorms — in places like the Central African Republic and DR Congo, the Amazon region of South America, the Indonesian islands and Borneo in South East Asia. “When you add the figures up, there may even be more people killed or injured by lightning than most of the other natural hazards we have on the earth today.” A rising world population also means that there are more people who have the potential to get hit by lightning.

According to Price, the increase in lightning activity will be seen especially in areas that become warmer and drier –– like the Mediterranean region and the southern United States. From 2012 research, he already concluded that the storms of the future will be more violent. For example, the Brazilian city of Manaus, in the middle of the Amazon, has witnessed a 50% increase in lightning strikes over the last three decades. The city now gets about 13.5 strikes per kilometer per year.

There have been several major earthquakes over the last day. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), there was a quake at

Nicaragua, 6.6
Papua New Guinea, 6.5
Papua New Guinea, 7.1
Chile, 6.0
Nicaragua, 6.1

In Chile there have been 61 quakes this week.

Of interest is the continuing quake swarm at Oklahoma. This week there have been 50 quakes, including a large (for the area) 4.1.

In France, a rare 5.0 earthquake occurred this week. Strong earthquakes are rare in France.

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Dozens evacuated in Wyoming as ground shifts
Dozens of Jackson residents who were evacuated after land began shifting on a hillside in this Wyoming resort town are waiting to find out if and when they can return home. Assistant Town Manager Roxanne Robinson said today there is still no word on what is causing the East Gros Ventre Butte land to shift, but officials have taken steps to ensure there is no catastrophe. Geologists are on the scene, and other geologists are being brought in to get a better idea of what is happening. A road and parking lot of a Walgreens pharmacy have been distorted and buckled by ground movement, which was also the cause of breaks in nearby water pipes last weekend.

“When you see these kinds of scenes out of Washington state and the landslides in the canyon, it’s not to be trifled with,” he said, so the officials are monitoring carefully, but despite many rumors as to the reason this is occurring, in the article “Worry Mounts as Butte Slips, he continued, “I don’t know if anybody knows exactly what the issue is,” Barron said.

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Understanding the times and knowing what the church should do. Seven things to keep in mind.

Pastor David Platt speaks with clarity and beautiful fervency and discernment of the demonic deception of the surge in heavenly tourism books. They’re fanciful accounts, frivolous features and juvenile attractions. 4-minute video. Please watch

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In light of the two blog essays I’ve written recently about adopting a heavenly perspective and being of heavenly good, let’s finish with Nathan Busenitz’s essay on the physicality of the heavenly city of New Jerusalem. It is an essay titled The New Jerusalem.

earthquakes, oklahoma, prophecy, rapture

Oklahoma: "We have already crushed last year’s record for number of earthquakes"

Posted on April 6, 2014 by elizabethprata

I’ve written about earthquakes a lot lately. This is why. It is an excerpt of an article that reports the quake swarm occurring in OK as it has been since 2009. The rest of the article proposes that hydraulic fracturing of rocks in oil extraction could be the cause, but this has been debunked elsewhere. I’m amazed at all the things the Lord is in control of and how He handles the events that will eventually bring us to His point when all history constricts down to one moment: the Rapture.

Please read the news article below and see what you think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Series of small earthquakes rock Oklahoma in record seismic activity
Earthquakes rattled residents in Oklahoma on Saturday, the latest in a series that have put the state on track for record quake activity this year, which some seismologists say may be tied to oil and gas exploration. One earthquake recorded at 3.8 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey rocked houses in several communities around central Oklahoma at 7:42 a.m. local time. Another about two hours earlier in the same part of the state, north of Oklahoma City, was recorded at 2.9 magnitude, USGS said.

Those two were preceded by two more, at 2.6 magnitude, and 2.5 magnitude, that also rolled the landscape in central Oklahoma early Saturday morning. A 3.0 magnitude tremor struck late Friday night in that area as well, following a 3.4 magnitude hit Friday afternoon.

Austin Holland, a seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey who tracks earthquake activity for the USGS, said the earthquake activity in the state is soaring.

“We have had almost as many magnitude 3 and greater already in 2014 than we did for all of 2013,” Holland said.

Last year’s number of “felt” earthquakes – those strong enough to rattle items on a shelf – hit a record 222 in the state. This year, less than four months into the year, the state has recorded 253 such tremors, according to state seismic data.

“We have already crushed last year’s record for number of earthquakes,” Holland said.

earthquakes, end of days, end time, oklahoma, prophecy

USGS says "Significant rise in Oklahoma quakes" since 2009; other seismologist says fracking isn’t the cause

Posted on March 22, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There have been a lot of earthquakes in Oklahoma this week. There has been some ‘spillover’ in that there have been quakes in bordering Kansas (four of which are on this map). Here is a map showing quakes in Oklahoma in the past 7 days.

Here is a news spot about the OK quake swarm.

Magnitude 4.0 earthquake hits central Oklahoma, follows six other quakes Friday
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook central Oklahoma shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake followed two other earthquakes — a 2.8 and a 2.6 magnitude — that were centered near Langston just minutes earlier and four other earthquakes ranging from 2.7 to 2.9 magnitude near Guthrie, Yale and Crescent on Friday afternoon and evening, the Geological Survey reported. That makes seven earthquakes of magnitude 2.6 or greater recorded in the state on Friday.

Since January 2009, more than 200 magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes have hit central Oklahoma, marking a significant rise in the frequency of the seismic events, the Geological Survey reported. A study released last year shows that one to three magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes occurred yearly in Oklahoma from 1975 to 2008 but that the average grew to around 40 earthquakes per year from 2009-2013.

In this map of earthquakes recorded by the US Geological Survey in the past thirty days (each quake is marked by a dot on the map), Oklahoma is a clear hot spot. (USGS)– (source)

source

This article states, “[T]here have been more than 500 earthquakes in Oklahoma this year and 150 last week. (As of 2/19/14) … No one is disputing that such a dramatic spike is unusual. The question is why it’s happening now, and science suggests that the fracking boom may be, at least in part, to blame. Researchers say the toxic wastewater, stored thousands of feet underground, reducing friction along fault lines, which can trigger earthquakes.”

Or does it? This scientist said six months ago of the connection between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and earthquakes in OK:

Seismologist: Fracking doesn’t cause earthquakes
“Frohlich cited six earthquakes since 2008 in Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio and Oklahoma, ranging from magnitude 3.3 to magnitude 5.7. Their locations show that human-caused earthquakes are geographically widespread and geologically diverse, but “very rare,” given the amount of petroleum produced and the amount of waste being disposed of. Why some injection wells cause earthquakes and others don’t remains unclear, he said. Frohlich hypothesizes that quakes occur when a “suitably oriented” fault lies near an injection site.”

“Texas has 10,000 injection wells, Frohlich said, and some have been in use since the 1930s. That effectively makes the state a giant research lab for the shale-gas drilling issues now facing Appalachian states including West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. If injection wells were “hugely dangerous,” he said, “we would know.” “Texas would be famous as a state that just rocks with major earthquakes,” Frohlich said. “That is not true.“”

Scientists will debate this and that. Whether all the quakes in Oklahoma are from fracking or not isn’t the issue. The issue is where can we find truth? The bible has it. We are told that in the last days there will be earthquakes in diverse places, and we are in the last days. We have been in the end times since Jesus ascended. (Hebrews 1:2).

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Mark 13:8)
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More than 150 earthquakes in the past week in Oklahoma "not normal" says OGS, issues position paper (Updated)

Posted on February 22, 2014 by elizabethprata

Yesterday I wrote a blog essay covering the news that a “first of its kind earthquake” had hit Oman. I also reported about the large-ish quake that had struck the UK, where quakes occur, but not all that frequently.

Today KOCO of Oklahoma City published a news article about the earthquake swarm that has been going on in Oklahoma. The KOCO article had the following headline:

OGS: 150+ quakes in one week in Oklahoma
“There have been more than 150 earthquakes in the past week in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS). That’s not normal. Before 2009, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported Oklahoma would typically get three or fewer 3.0+ magnitude quakes a year. In the last few years, the average jumped up to about 40 significant quakes a year. Less than 2 months into 2014, Oklahoma has had more than 25 quakes registering 3.0+ magnitude in Oklahoma. Michael Lewchuk, an earthquake expert with Casady School, told KOCO, “For Oklahoma that is an unusually large amount. We typically have somewhere between 50-100 in one full year.”

The quake swarm is so perplexing and problematic (for geologists AND for homeowners/residents) that the Oklahoma Geological Survey has released a position paper specifically addressing it.

There has been a significant increase in seismic activity (earthquakes) in Oklahoma since 2009. And although the majority of these earthquakes are not strong enough to be felt, the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) recognizes that the increase in “felt” seismic activity is of interest to the citizens of the state. …

–Since 2009, the earthquake activity in Oklahoma has been approximately 40 times higher than in the previous 30 years.
–Based on reported “felt” earthquakes prior to the establishment of the OGS network, this recent level of seismicity is significantly greater than the past 100 years.
–The energy released by earthquakes is thousands of times greater than the energy that may have been added by water disposal, which demonstrates that the earthquakes themselves are, ultimately, the result of the release of natural stresses. [Ed Note: as opposed to fracking]
—The “Jones Earthquake Swarm” appears, in part, to have shown some activity that statistically deviates from the regional stresses and other general observations of seismicity in Oklahoma.

“The earthquakes keep coming in Oklahoma. Many of Oklahoma’s temblors are too small to be felt by humans, but their frequency and intensity seems to be growing.” (source)

So the upshot is, since 2009 Oklahoma has had a monster increase in earthquakes. The Geologic Society recognizes that residents are spooked. They are looking into it. They haven’t come to a reasonable conclusion as to why OK is jumping and cracking.

“According to the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS), there were more than 2,800 earthquakes in Oklahoma in 2013. That’s twice the previous high, established in 2011.” (source)

If these unusual quakes aren’t part of the birth pangs, then I don’t know what! (Matthew 24:8).

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Further Reading

The Beginning of the Birth Pains

The End of the Age

Opinion Editorial: The State of Oklahoma needs an earthquake task force