Tag Archives: volcanoes

Where to Go When the End is Upon Us

Here we are folks, on the fourth day of this new year and things are about as dismal for the country – indeed for the whole world – as I’ve ever seen in my 72 and 1/2 years here. As of this post California is enduring some of the worst flooding and coastal erosion they’ve ever had. The Pacific Ocean seems to have declared war on the whole west coast. Even as far up as Alaska, there have been record snowstorms that have actually dropped so much snow that sailboats are sinking in harbors from the sheer weight of the accumulations.

Arrival of heavy rain means risk for structures, boats and avalanches ...

The north central parts of the US are experiencing snow squalls and blizzards the like of which have not been seen in our lifetimes. The UP of Michigan, and much of the rest of the state are buried in feet of snow, as are Upstate New York and other areas around the lakes. For some odd reason(s) no one seems to be able to explain, the water level of Lake Erie is dropping drastically.

Lake Erie lowest water levels, seiche

In other parts of the world, the massive time bomb of Campi Flegrei in Italy keeps cooking inside and raising the land of Pozzuoli as it threatens to explode in what might be a cataclysmic super eruption. If it goes off, no one knows how much of the western flank of Italy will be obliterated, nor what effects it will have on the rest of the world. Volcanoes, many of which were deemed to be dormant have exploded with unexpected eruptions. There have been some 60 eruptions around the world in the past year. Many extremely powerful eruptions such as the Hayli Gubbi in Ethiopia, the big volcanoes in Kamchatka, and Sumeru and others in Indonesia are currently erupting or have recently. I’m no geologist, but if the Tambora eruption of 1815 could create atmospheric conditions that caused an entire year without a summer, is it too farfetched to imagine that dozens of big volcanoes going off simultaneously such as are today might do the same thing? Might that be why we’re seeing such extreme winter weather in the northern US, Europe, and Russia?

Image result for free pics of volcano eruptions
Image result for free pics of volcano eruptions

Widespread droughts, such as the ones in the southwestern US, Iran, and places in Africa are making water a valuable resource. Rivers around the world, many being lifelines through nations, are drying up at a phenomenal rate. Even the Mississippi has seen periods in recent years where it has become unnavigable for the volume of traffic it has served. Perhaps runoff from the voluminous snows in the high Sierra this winter will help with water shortages next spring in Lakes Mead and Powell, but that’s not a permanent solution for the huge requirements of agriculture out west that keep increasing with populations.

Light colored “bathtub ring” around the edges of Lake Mead as the water level drops

As if weather-related or other natural phenomena weren’t enough to foment worldwide pessimism, we also have war, pollution, and other man-made issues that do not bode well for humanity’s future. If a fraction of money and resources were dedicated to improving our lot as are to destroy each other’s nations and kill people, I have no doubt that mankind could drastically improve our collective world, but as long as wealth can be concentrated into the hands of the few who crave more and more, that’s not going to happen. The recent invasion of Venezuela in preparation for massive oil theft won’t be the last act in this production. Satan has a plan for all of humanity, and it doesn’t look good at all for those who opt to face the last days of our future without the benevolent guidance of Jesus Christ – rich or poor.

We have a great and passionate Savior who desires our fellowship and is willing to give us the support and compassion that will take us safely through these troubled times. He promises to give us rest, to give us a reason to hope, not especially for this time of trial, but beyond it. We too often make the mistake of imagining the end of this life to be a huge dark wall representing the end of all things, but there is hope on the other side and we need to be thinking about the other side of it and not about the piteous remains of this side. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that we are facing problems in this world that are of such monumental proportions that we cannot overcome them – neither the natural ones, nor the manmade. Jesus Christ promises that He has something reserved for us on the other side of the big fearsome wall. There is a gate through it, a narrow gate that we must direct all of our energy towards finding. It can be found, but only if we but listen and heed the words of Jesus, but if we continue to ignore His offer of salvation, there is indeed a dark future ahead.

As the darkness approaches, we have crucial choices ahead of us – we can continue to hope to survive whatever the world throws at us, but whatever existence we might come to, no one in their right mind could imagine it to be a prosperous, enjoyable existence. At best we might all become beggars or slaves, watching our loved ones perish for lack of food or medical help, or become tribal hunter-gatherers with hardly a chance at long-term survival, or we can resolve to follow the only One who offers us real hope of an eternal future. Jesus came to save the world, but only if we give Him the keys and let Him take us where we need to go. That’s the only way to real survival – in a very real paradise of eternal joy where there will be no worrying nor suffering of any kind. Jesus is preparing a mansion there for each of us who choose to answer His calling. [John 14:2-4]: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

With the condition of the world deteriorating around us like it is, it’s beyond irrational to continue to hope for things to get better here in the world, but if we set our sights on the promises of Jesus, we have every reason to hope for the (long-term) future. Get right with Him today – for a far brighter future than anything we can hope for here.

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us as the time draws near.

MK

The Fiery Voice of the Mountains Calls to Us

300+ Free Volcanoes & Nature Photos - Pixabay

Folks there’s something afoot. Or if you’re willing to suffer a bad pun – underfoot. I’ve been watching some geology news sites, but you don’t have to get every expert’s opinion to get a rudimentary understanding of the incredible contortions the earth is undergoing right now. Since January there have been something like 65 volcanic eruptions from 58 different volcanoes – imagine that! Just in one year, and some of them have been extraordinarily violent. A couple of weeks ago that one in Ethiopia, Hayli Gubbi, erupted; a volcano that had been previously classified as extinct! In scientific geological classifications that means for all intents and purposes – dead. That thing cut loose with a tremendous eruption for the first time in recorded human history after sleeping some 12,000 years – totally unexpectedly.

I’ve mentioned in other posts about the super volcano Campi Flegri showing signs of stirring to life. That one is supposedly capable of serious earth-threatening eruptions and there are about three million people in and around the danger zone. That’s only the people in the immediate area of threat, but if it launches a super eruption, who knows what kind of threat it poses to all of the planet? Campi Flegri sits within a few kilometers of Mount Vesuvius, the big one that wiped out Pompeii and Herculaneum back in 79 A.D. Scientists are now speculating – with good evidence – that both Vesuvius and Campi Flegri are connected in their underground magma plumbing, and there’s evidence that Flegri and Vesuvius have erupted simultaneously in the past, and they think both share a capacious magma chamber so if either of them goes off, there might be a twofer. That would undoubtedly take out the whole area, including the approximately three million people living in and around Naples!

Volcanoes are classified according to their potential for explosive eruptions, presumably based on prior eruptive activity. The scale used is expressed in the volume of material they eject, and they use many inputs to arrive at this. It’s called the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)and there are charts to show just how potent their past eruptions have been. The eruption power is calculated using the presumed volume of ejecta and that comes from studying the land strata around the volcano, sometimes the material, or tephra, is even found in other countries even around the world if the eruption was powerful enough. The tuft from given volcanoes has some kind of signature elemental composition so it can be identified as to where it came from.

Volcanoes - frequency and distribution

Using the above chart, you can see that Mt. Saint Helen’s 1980 eruption was classified as a VEI 5, so even though it was colossal to see on video, it’s sort of minor compared to a super volcano like Yellowstone – or Campi Flegri. Campi Flegri is really the one that scientists are concerned about as of now due to the activity – earthquakes, steam vents, and gas content being released from the (growing) number of fumaroles indicate that an eruption may be in the offing sometime soon. The lives of potentially millions of people could be at risk if it goes off in a super eruption. There is the possibility that it might erupt in some less explosive event, say a minor eruption, or even a VEI 1 (notice on the chart VEI 1 is described as “gentle”???), but any eruption at all would threaten hundreds of thousands of people, especially if there was no “warning”.

As far as a warning goes, I can’t think of anything else the Flegrean Fields could possible do, short of announcing it’s intention over a loudspeaker of the precise moment of eruption. Everything a restless volcano can do to indicate an impending eruptive event has been done. Precursory activity including melting roads, buildings so hot they burn your hand, constant earthquake tremors cracking walls and ceilings – all have been going on for a while now. Authorities have understandably been reluctant to sound the evacuation alarm – especially when they have done so in past years when the ground uplift became extreme but nothing happened. Residents left and went to other places only to see that after a while the subsidence reversed and nothing happened. This is the danger of the “boy who cried wolf” attitude of the folks who live there and most of them are willing to gamble that it will once again be a false alarm. But what if it ain’t?

If there is a super eruption at Campi Flegri that kills hundreds of thousands of people, the history books (assuming that the cataclysm doesn’t wipe out humanity – ash clouds creating volcanic winter, etc.) will no doubt be replete with accusations that no one gave the people any warning, or that folks just didn’t understand the magnitude of the threat. Considering the status of events in and around Pozzuoli and the Bay of Naples with the extreme and rapid rate of land rise – there’s actually some areas of boiling water in the bay – and repeated earthquakes, folks, especially folks with kids, need to consider the possibility of existence in some other place. Vesuvius has already taught lessons in Pompeii and Herculaneum of what it can do, but if Flegrei bangs out a super eruption, it’s going to make Vesuvius’ 79 AD event look “gentle”.

There are other considerations regarding all of the volcanoes erupting in the world recently. Maybe the Almighty God has finally decided to deal with a human race that has completely turned away from Him. We are told in the Bible that this age of mankind will end in fire. [2Peter 3:7]:“But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and [b]perdition of ungodly men.” and again in verse 10: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. and verse 12: looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Peter obviously had been foretold of the coming end of humanity and the very world we live on for he quite plainly said that the world would end in fire. With the simultaneous eruptive activity of all the volcanoes, that might just be the plan. It’s still hard to imagine the heavens being dissolved, but he’s talking about the physical heaven, the sky, rather than the Spiritual Heaven which will never be ended.

When you get time, research the Siberian Traps, a time in geologic history during the Permian/Triassic boundary when the whole world was almost emptied of all life due to monstrous volcano activity in Siberia. The event lasted for two million years! Volcanoes can end the world in a cataclysmic holocaust, and it may just be getting started. This might indeed be the way God chooses to disrupt evil and put an end to a world which has chosen to try to exist without Him.

This old hillbilly has made his choice. [Joshua 24:15]: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

No matter how ominous the threat(s) we face in this life – wars, earthquakes, floods, or even these horrible volcanoes – such dire events need be of little consequence to those of us who follow Jesus Christ, for He alone is able to preserve us. We might come to a nasty end on this side, but when we walk through that glorious door, He will be standing there smiling to welcome us to our real home, the one He prepared for us before human time began. He will tell His own [Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ” And for those of us who believe, we have nothing at all to fear, He already conquered death, so even though in this upside down life we’re conditioned to believe we should fear it, it is not a threat to us.

There are a lot of terrible things happening in the world around us – the prophets told us it would be this way; Jesus and the apostles said these days would come upon us. Do not be alarmed nor afraid. When Jesus Christ has your back, you’re going to be ok, just keep the faith; spread the Word – He is coming back (I believe very soon), so be ready. Bring as many with you as will come, right now that’s our main focus: [Matthew 9:37,38]: “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” He’s sending us right now. We gotta be those laborers! Forget worldly pursuits and everything else – time is short! The mountains are starting to bubble up. Let’s find as many of His sheep as we can round up. Share this post anywhere you think it might do some good.

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK

Volcanoes, Weather Aberrations and Gardens

In the last few days I’ve been trying to get my garden growing, but this year there is something different going on. It seems as though every morning when I begin stirring, it’s a lot colder out than normal for this time of year. All of my eggplant seedlings have died, and none of the young plants are growing like they should. I think it’s the cool nights – down in the forties every night – that are causing the problem.

While pondering the reason for the cooler than normal weather, I recalled seeing several news sources reporting on an exceptional number of volcanoes currently erupting. This along with scientific evidence that the aerosols injected into the atmosphere interfere with the natural warming of the sun by reflecting heat – well that just might be an explanation. If so – and several geologists are predicting more and possibly larger eruptions currently being brought to boil – we might be seeing the beginnings of climate cooling, at least to some degree.

Image result for volcanic eruption images free

There is geologic evidence of some pretty catastrophic weather fluctuations caused by major eruptions in the past, in fact, probably the most devastating volcanic activity took place in Russia in what they call the Siberian Traps, which fortunately for humanity happened millions of years ago. There were volcanoes that covered a massive area that apparently erupted continually for around two million years and sulfur dioxide polluted the world’s atmosphere to the extent that it caused a great extinction they call the Permian-Triassic extinction that almost wiped out life on the whole planet. There are areas over there where entire cliffs of large basaltic columns that formed as the volcanic material cooled and have stood for millions of years in silent testimony to that near life-ending event.

Much later in the earth’s geologic history, in fact, within recorded history, there have been humongous volcano eruptions that affected the climate for varying periods of time, depending on the size and severity of the event. Tambora, Krakatoa, and Pinatubo come to mind. The “year without a summer” in 1816 was precipitated by the major 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora. This event caused crop failures and food shortages across the whole Northern Hemisphere. The world suffered the coldest summer in human history in 1816.

Today Mount Etna in Sicily continues to burp out Lava and ash, The big Hawaiian shield volcano of Kilauea continues to pump out rivers of lava, Iceland’s volcano near Grindavik is alive and pouring. There are others, such as Karymsky on Kamchatka, Semeru in Indonesia, and Santiaguito in Guatemala to name a few, which are currently active and erupting. Campi Flegrei, a super volcano, Santorini, and Mount Vesuvius have recently undergone earthquake swarms, which some scientists believe to be precursors of volcanic activity. If Campi Flegri has a major eruption, there will be hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in imminent and immediate danger, with unforeseeable – but ever problematic – consequences to the world’s climate.

1610 Free CC0 Snow Stock Photos - StockSnap.io

I’ve mentioned in other posts some of the volcanic calderas such as Campi Flegrei, Lake Toba, Mono Lake, and of course everyone knows about Yellowstone, but any of these dormant monsters could wreak havoc on the whole planet if they were to undergo a major eruption. There are a lot of pieces to what looks like a great geologic puzzle, and even though there are a lot of smart folks studying it, not all of the disciplines of geology, astronomy, and physics are able to connect the dots. For instance, do the guys who study the earth’s geology take into account the effects of solar radiation, especially in light of the undisputed weakening of our magnetic field? It seems like there’s just too much going on for any one discipline to understand how everything connects.

Campi Flegrei caldera at Pozzuoli, Italy

One scientist whom I watch with some degree of regularity says he has evidence, that if properly interpreted suggests that as part of the earth’s magnetic polarity reversal (which we are currently undergoing) there might be an “unlocking” of the crust from the mantle. This means that the entire crust will shift around on the semi-liquid inner parts of the world and all the surface features of the planet will relocate to other places. He says it could even result in entire oceans and continents moving somewhat rapidly and that the axis of rotation – what we now know as the north and south poles – would end up like in the Sahara and the western Pacific or some such. Of course, he thinks great tsunamis would accompany such crustal displacements such as would wash over low areas of entire continents. I’m not a geologist by a long stretch, but increases in volcanic activity around the world such as we are seeing these days would seem to be a reasonable indication of something big going on beneath our feet, whatever it might be.

I guess we can but wait and see what God has in store and how He chooses to end it, but the Bible says the world will end in fire, so volcanoes just might bring about the end, and maybe not in the form of a volcanic winter, but in a hellish nightmare of fire and lava. Volcanoes could indeed account for the darkening of the sun in prophecy, and the burned-down modern-day Babylon. But the details and timing of it all remain a mystery.

Meanwhile I’m going to keep trying to grow eggplants…

MK

Following Faith or World Leaders

Wildfires creating dangerous situations never before seen in South Korea. Wildfires in Japan following record blizzards which buried the north of the country. Tornado outbreaks in the southeastern US, wildfires around Los Angeles burning off tree growth and causing flash floods and mudslides. Countless natural destruction, floods in various places in Europe, protests which are become increasingly violent in Turkey and Serbia. China’s getting some major floods, too.

Italy is sitting on the time bomb of Campi Flegri, a super volcano that has the potential to inflict severe devastation on the whole planet. Next door, Greece’s Santorini, the volcano that is thought to have taken out the whole of the Minoan civilization around 1600 BC, appears to be rumbling to life. Scientists say the earth is undergoing a magnetic pole shift, which among other things, causes the planet’s magnetic shield to significantly weaken as the fields undergo reversal and leaves animals (including humans) more vulnerable to cosmic radiation from the sun. The pole flip may cause unimaginable changes to the earth’s crust, and oddly enough we are currently experiencing some 75 erupting volcanoes with more which have been dormant beginning to stir. God only knows the potential that various countries’ military satellites could wreak on the world of men.

Unlike the people of Ninevah when Jonah warned them of God’s impending wrath, the earth’s people show no signs of repenting from their evil ways and getting right with God. So, it’s no surprise, at least to this writer, that the countries who are committing the greatest acts of evil today seem to be the very places that are getting the worst of the “natural” disasters. The nations who support genocide and starvation of children, those who ally themselves with such countries as Israel or the US are being struck. Especially the folks of the US who still support an administration such as this Trump circus of evil. Look at the destruction in the Trump states – the whole midwest and southeast is being destroyed by tornadoes, the Carolinas are burning. It’s just too coincidental to be a coincidence. As I write this, south Texas is preparing for major flooding – a place, I might add where there’s a megachurch that espouses devotion and allegiance to the very country which is murdering and starving innocent children. The Zionist governor and Zionist senators of Texas support genocide also. Nothing could be further from the teachings of Jesus Christ, but we are not even supposed to mention that name in the company of nationals from that place, as we send them money, adulation, and best wishes. Good luck with the rainfall, south Texas. Things do not bode well for the modern-day Babylon, either, once God reveals to us exactly which place it is.

The wrath of God is indeed being, or about to be unleashed on this world of evil and immorality. Especially here in the west where our governments support Israeli genocide. Jesus offers us a way out, and His way is indeed a two-edged sword. We have the evil time here on earth, but a vastly different experience promised in the life to come. We must resign ourselves to stand firmly in the faith regardless of what the evil leaders of Israel, the US, Germany, France, etc., choose to do, even when our faith dictates that we must risk everything (on this earth) to follow Jesus. Yes, it will come to that, in fact, for many of our brothers and sisters in Syria, the Congo, occupied Palestine, and other places, it already has. They are being martyred for their faith in Christ, and it won’t be long until it happens here in the good old land of the brave. Count on it – the Canadian government has already begun locking people up for speaking out against the Synagogue of Satan. Trump has begun deporting people from the US for speaking out against genocide – in fact, such is his adulation and support for the rich Zionists of the world, he has begun killing innocent people in Yemen because of their military supporting the hapless Gazans against the murderous occupying regime. When Netanyahu comes to the US, watch as Trump embarrasses the American public as he grovels before him as a good servant must. Now wonder why the US and our allies like South Korea and Japan are being devastated by tornadoes and wildfires, and why the UK is undergoing civil disobedience and even riots.

Because of his hubristic and evil actions, I can say without doubt that if you support this monster in the white house, you are asking for the wrath of the almighty God upon you and yours. The beast system is upon us, and you are choosing your side now. Choose carefully. Do not for an instant think that I’m saying Biden was any better. This isn’t a Democrat of Republican thing; it’s a good vs evil thing. Jesus does not, nor has He ever advocated the persecution and killing of innocent people, and just because the perpetrators and their supporters have a lot of money, it doesn’t make support for them any less egregious. After seeing what this man has done, and who he supports, if you still sing his praises, you’re going to end up in the same furnaces of hell that he’s going to be cast into, but that’s your choice; choose carefully. The Bible tells us that the antichrist will have many supporters in the world, so if you are so easily persuaded that people of the caliber of this man and many of our other past and present leaders are good and decent men, then I pity you, because folks like you will line up to get their mark. You still don’t (won’t) see their deception.

The world isn’t living in the days of the Old Testament. Since Christ came, God no longer puts human life in the hands of other humans. (Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.) The world is headed for destruction, and everyone can plainly see it coming. There is no excuse for being on the wrong side of things. If you support the evil taking place, you are either racist, you enjoy bloodshed, or you are a greedy person who envies the rich and holds those in contempt who have nothing – all of which qualify you as a person who needs to repent, for no Christian could possibly support the evil that the current US leadership supports. Be ye separate. We are in for a rough ride, folks – hang on! The sky grows dark and Campi Flegri rumbles…

For those who have chosen to serve Jesus, hold fast to your faith – it is all you need to endure the tough times before the end. Jesus, as He promised, will be right there beside you to the end, and moreso after the end of this evil age. Do not allow those who would turn you from your faith to prevail on your sensibilities. That especially applies to mega churches led by false preachers. Evil threatens to frustrate even the most faithful, but do not give up! Right now, we have faith and hope; so hang on to what you have. It’s your eternity that’s at stake. Do not listen to anyone who advocates supporting genocide of innocents or the nations who commit it. This world teeters on the brink of the abyss, and only the children of God who trust Jesus Christ will prevail!

If you have not made the decision to follow Christ, by all means get to know Him. He can guide you through these hard times the world is facing. Without His help though, it will be impossible to gain victory and inherit that eternal life in paradise that He offers – with all your heart, come to Christ! It will be a decision you’ll never regret, but if you reject Him, you’ll spend all of eternity regretting it, and in the most horrific circumstances you could ever imagine. You have the choice today, don’t blow it!

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

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MK