November 12, 2008
Steven Collins
While many Christians are aware of trends and events which indicate that we are living in the biblical “latter days,” it is possible to miss some small fulfillments of latter-day prophecies even though they may be harbingers of what is to come. This blog is devoted to two such events. These links were sent to me by readers of this website who wish to remain anonymous (but their contributions do need to be acknowledged).
Revelation 6:5-6 prophesy that food shortages will characterize the latter days. Much of the world already experiences hunger, although those of us who live in the western world don’t really grasp the scope of this problem. Previous blogs have discussed how this prophecy can be fulfilled via such trends as climate change, weather events such as drought, floods and early frosts, the loss of essential crop pollinators in the honey-bee die-off and even by such mundane trends as global overfishing. The first two links describe one other food-reduction factor which we in the western world rarely consider or even remember as a possibility: grasshopper/locust plagues.
Did you realize that some regions of Oregon experienced a grasshopper plague so severe that one Oregon State Senator likened it to “a plague of biblical proportions.” Numbers of insects exploded to such numbers that one County commissioner said one “road was absolutely moving with grasshoppers.” Experts are warning that this plague of grasshoppers could get worse in 2009 (possibly expanding to other states), and the Oregon Legislature is taking actions to prepare for it. The damage to food crops and food supplies from such an explosion of grasshoppers is obvious. This is something which bears watching next year!
In Matthew 24:7, Jesus Christ prophesied that one sign that his second coming was drawing near would be “earthquakes in diverse [various] places.” The third link below documents that: “Earthquakes have indeed skyrocketed in frequency and over magnitude in the last 19 months to an alarming and unprecedented level.” Christ’s prophecy is being fulfilled.
My article/research paper entitled “Are We Living in the Biblical Latter Days?” examines many biblical prophecies about the latter days which have been fulfilled in modern world events–indicating that we are living in the prophesied time just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. My article (which I urge you to read at this website if you have not done so) notes that some biblical prophecies will be fulfilled in “splashy” ways which make world headlines while others may be fulfilled in a “stealth” manner which even believers don’t notice. Christ’s parable in Matthew 25 about the “ten virgins” reveals that many believers in the latter days will be very surprised at Christ’s “early” return because they thought it would not occur until well into the future. If all biblical prophecies were fulfilled in “splashy” world headlines, no one would be caught unawares. This parable reminds us we need to monitor small fulfillments as well.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/grasshoppers_descend_on_easter.html
http://www.bakercityherald.com/2008101377824/News/Business/Grasshoppers-worse-in-2009
http://www.thehorizonproject.com/news.cfm#quakeupdate
