Catastrophic Events Since August 21st Solar Eclipse

There have been many catastrophic events that have taken place since the solar eclipse on August 21st. With only 10 Days until Christmas, I hate to write such a depressing post. I have felt led to write this post several times, but with so many devastating tragedies occurring since August the timing for this post always seemed inappropriate. Even though we are about to celebrate Christ’s birth in 10 days, I believe it is important that we are reminded that Christ will return soon. The tragic events which have taken place this year should compel us to tell everyone we know of Christ’s return. Are you ready for His return? Are your friends and family ready for His return? Does the church in America resemble the church in Acts?  In case you have not been keeping record of the events which have occurred since August, I will remind you of many of them. It all began with the eclipse.

As I looked at the television coverage of the eclipse on August 21st, I had a feeling this was a major event on God’s prophetic calendar. We have had many eclipses in my lifetime, but none which captured the attention of the nation like this one. I was amazed at how God could take a single event like this and captivate an entire nation. God placed this awesome wonder in the sky for all to see, but what did it mean? Was this just another eclipse or was God trying to tell us something? It did not take long for me to realize that this eclipse was a sign of judgment. According to Jewish tradition, an eclipse is a sign of judgment on the Gentile nations, whereas, a blood moon is a sign of judgment for Israel.

On August 25th, the eclipse was soon forgotten because the city of Houston was hit by Hurricane Harvey. The flooding which occurred during this hurricane was catatrophic. We watched for days as people were rescued from their rooftops. Yet again, the Lord had the entire nation captivated over an event He created. We don’t like to think that God creates natural disasters, but He describes His command over nature in Job 38 and 39. He also says in Isaiah, “The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these” Isaiah 45:7 (NASB). Many do not like to think that God would cause bad things to happen, but we can see his judgment all throughout the Old Testament. God eventually punishes sin and sometimes does this through natural disaster. Why He chooses one city over another, we don’t know. Every city in America deserves judgment, so we should be thankful when He preserves our own city. We then should pray for the cities under judgment.

After Hurricane Harvey the disasters have continued one right after another. I will list them below:

Hurricane Harvey – hit US on August 25th
Hurricane Irma – hit US on September 10
Hurricane Jose
Hurricane Maria
2017 was one among top 10 most active hurricane seasons in history according to the Weather Channel
2017 one of most severe years of California wildfires.
Blizzard of the South – December 8th with record amounts of snowfall

Not only have we seen devastating natural disasters since the eclipse, but we have also seen an unprecedented amount of mass shootings in 2017. According to ABC News, there have been 317 this year. Las Vegas (October 1st) and Sutherland Springs (November 5th) were the worst, but there have been many others. Lawlessness has increased tremendously this year as is shown with the increase in mass shootings. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold” Matt. 24:12 (NASB). God has turned many people over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper as described in Romans 1:18-32.  He has exposed prominent sexual predators in record amounts since the eclipse. If you keep up with the news, a new one is exposed daily.

Would you agree that 2017 is the year of the offended? It seems that everyone is offended over something, from refusing to stand during the National Anthem, sexual harassment and political correctness. I even found an end time verse for the offended. “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” Matt. 24:10 (KJV).

So what does this mean all of this mean? I believe it means we are living in the end times. No one knows how close, but the end is closer today than it was yesterday. Here are the end time signs described in the book of Acts:

I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved. Acts 2:19-21 (NKJV)

As I read this scripture this morning, I asked the Lord about each phrase and it’s meaning. When I read blood, the mass shootings came to mind. The fires and vapor of smoke made me think of the wildfires. The sun turning into darkness refers to a solar eclipse. The phrase moon into blood refers to a lunar eclipse or blood moon. I realize that these things have been happening all throughout history, but never at the level we see them occurring now.

For those of you who did not see my posts on the solar eclipse, I also want to remind you that the celestial sign of Revelation 12 occurred on September 23, 2017. If you want to learn more about the blood moons and solar eclipse see my post, Solar Eclipse, September 23, 2017 and Celestial Signs of Revelation 12.

Are you ready for Christ’s return? The Bible says we should be, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” Titus 2:12-14 (NKJV).

The world is not ready for Christ’s return and the church is mostly asleep. It is time to sound the alarm. We need to be telling everyone we know what our Savior and Lord this Christmas season. I hate to disrupt your Christmas festivities with bad news, but it is time to go to battle.

“Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near” Joel 2:1 (NASB).