The unusually cold weather is continuing to cause havoc around the world, as China suffers its worst snowstorms in fifty years. Weather forecasters are expecting the freeze to continue until the end of the week. So far over 60 people have been killed in the treacherous conditions, and millions have been left stranded as snowdrifts blocked roads and rail tracks. The blizzards are also adversely affecting Chinese crop production, and in some areas they are already experiencing food shortages due to the disruption to deliveries.

Quote: "The snowstorms, which began on 10 January, are the worst for half a century. The weather has affected nearly 80 million people across 14 provinces in the centre and south of the country. By the end of Tuesday, at least 38 people had been killed in snow-related accidents such as house collapses and falls, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said, and more have died in traffic accidents. A top agriculture official has also warned of a serious impact on crop production in the south. "The impact on fresh vegetables and on fruit in some places has been catastrophic," Chen Xiwen, deputy director of the Communist Party's financial affairs team, told journalists. In some areas, people are already experiencing shortages of food as the weather delays deliveries of key commodities. More than a dozen provinces have also been hit by blackouts due to missed coal deliveries for power stations and rising demand amid the cold. Half a million troops have been deployed to help the relief effort. The army is also distributing quilts and padded coats.

The Middle East is also experiencing unusually cold weather. Heavy snowfall in Israel yesterday forced the closure of many schools and universities, and public transport was also affected. Conversely, farmers in Israel have welcomed the snow, saying that the water will help to increase crop yields in the Spring. But scientists are divided as to whether this recent cold spell will spell the end of the global warming theory. Some have said that the heavy snows have been caused by a La Niña event, which has brought moisture across China during a period of very cold winter temperatures. They say that 'climate change models' are not predicting an increase in events of this nature, and that the present bad weather is unrelated to the phenomenon of global warming. But other scientists dismiss the idea that carbon emissions play any great part in global warming, and believe instead that changes in the sun are what predominantly affect the temperatures on earth.

Quote: "According to the scientist, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has risen more than 4 percent in the past decade, but global warming has practically stopped. It confirms the theory of "solar" impact on changes in the Earth's climate, because the amount of solar energy reaching the planet has drastically decreased during the same period, the scientist said. Had global temperatures directly responded to concentrations of "greenhouse" gases in the atmosphere, they would have risen by at least 0.1 Celsius in the past ten years, however, it never happened, he said. "A year ago, many meteorologists predicted that higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would make the year 2007 the hottest in the last decade, but, fortunately, these predictions did not become reality," Abdusamatov said.

As many have stated, it has only been a few decades since scientists were predicting that the earth's climate was actually cooling down rather than heating up, and that if the trend continued, the world would face something of a thermonuclear winter. And as others have mentioned, climate change on Mars seems to prove there is a link between global warming and changes in the sun's radiance, for there is no life on Mars to affect temperature change. That is, apart from the three inch high Big Foot, but even he tells me that carbon emissions on the Red Planet are at an all time low. The Bible does indicate that the seasons on earth will continue, just as God has created them to do.

Genesis 8:22
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

I have heard many Christians say that before the Lord comes, we would not know the seasons, because they would become so mixed up. There is no doubt that is happening to an extent. But I have never found the verse where this is stated. The book of Revelation does say that during the tribulation period, there will be various plagues and pestilences that will be cast upon the earth. In Revelation 16:8-9, the fourth angel pours out his vial of God's judgement upon the sun, and he is given power to scorch men with great heat. This may indicate that changes in the sun do affect the global temperature of earth. But this does not mean that the plagues in Revelation are a result of global warming. In Revelation 16:21, the seventh angel pours his vial of God's judgment into the air, and there is a plague of hail, every stone about the weight of a talent (size of a football). So there will be extremes of heat and extremes of cold during the tribulation period. Clearly these 'climate change models' are wrong in that regard.

During the tribulation period, men will realize that God is in complete control of the weather systems of earth, and they will recognize that these things are coming upon them because of their sin. But instead of repenting of their sin, they will blaspheme the God of Heaven who has power over these plagues. Friends, the extreme weather conditions we are witnessing around us are just one indicator that we are rapidly approaching the time of the end. The extreme weather is not due to carbon emissions, as popularly believed in the world. The real cause is cardiac emissions, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies", Matthew 15:19. Have you had your cardiac emissions checked? Have you had your sins forgiven? Jesus Christ died upon the cross, so that your sins might be forgiven. All that God requires is that you put your faith in His Son for salvation. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness", Romans 4:3. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Source BBC, YNet News, Reuters, MNWeekly, Telegraph

Buried deep in a remote island within the arctic circle lies the world's first biogenetic storage facility. It has been called the "doomsday vault" and the "Noah's ark for plants", and it is hoped that it will prevent the extinction of many of the world's species of plants pending a global ecological catastrophe. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located in the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Protected by armoured doors and entombed underneath one hundred metres of rock, the facility has been designed to withstand the ravages of climate change and global nuclear war. It will be capable of housing around 4.5 million seed samples, which are able to be preserved for upwards of 10,000 years, thanks to the thick permafrost that caps the mountain. 

Quote: ""The seed vault is the perfect place for keeping seeds safe for centuries," said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust, which has worked with the Nordic Gene Bank on the establishment of the vault. "At these temperatures, seeds for important crops like wheat, barley and peas can last for up to 10,000 years." He said that with its capacity to hold up to 4.5 million seed samples, the vault will eventually house virtually every variety of every important food crop in the world - and that it would serve as an "insurance policy for the planet".

Seeds have a remarkable ability to survive in the harshest of conditions. Only recently, 2000 year old date palm seeds were discovered by archaeologist Ehud Netzer in the mountain-top fortress of Masada, near the Dead Sea in Israel. The Judean date palm was thought to be extinct. They were once prized throughout the Middle East for their medicinal properties and their ability to grow in almost drought-like conditions. But following the diaspora, the forests of date palms that once covered the Jordan valley were all but destroyed. When botanist Elaine Solowey heard about the existence of the seeds, she asked if she would be allowed to grow some. And one plant named Methuselah has sprouted from a 2000 year old seed. 

Quote: "Once the seed sprouted, samples of seeds excavated from the same cache on Masada were sent to the University of Zurich for radio-carbon dating. The results came back last week, showing the samples were 2,000 years old, plus or minus a margin of error of 50 years, placing them during or just before the Masada revolt. "Perhaps one of our ancestors was sitting there on the battlements of Masada eating his dates while the Roman armies were preparing for the final siege and perhaps nonchalantly spitting out a pip," said Sallon. "Two thousand years later, here I am at Kibbutz Ketura and it's grown."

This is not just a modern 'miracle', it is a sign of the fulfilment of God's promises to the nation of Israel. For just as this date palm has sprouted into life after two millennia have run their course, so God has kept His promise concerning the nation of Israel, in regathering the Jewish people to their ancient homeland after nearly two thousand years of exile (Hosea 6:2). And surely that is the greater miracle. God promised that when He brought back the captivity of His people, the desert would blossom as the rose (Isaiah 35:1).

Isaiah 41:17-20
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

Well I hadn't intended this article to turn out this way. I was going to comment on how the tribulation period will bring such cataclysmic disasters upon the earth, that it may be just as as well they are building a 'doomsday vault'. Jesus Christ said that unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. Jesus Christ was that corn of wheat. He came down to earth to bleed and die upon a cross. Through His atoning death, He has provided a way whereby all who believe on Him may have eternal life in heaven. Through believing on Jesus Christ for salvation, we become part of His harvest, which will be brought into His barn at the end of this world (Matthew 13:30). Believing about Jesus is not enough. You need to put your faith in Him for salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

John 12:23-24
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 

Source Telegraph, SF Gate

According to a new report by an international team of scientists, the ice in the Antarctic is melting faster than previously thought. The rate of ice loss has increased by almost 80 billion tonnes in a decade. Using satellite radar readings, scientists have observed that in "parts of the continent the rate of loss has speeded up by 140 per cent since 1996".

I don't personally subscribe to the gobal warming theory since 400 hundred scientists poured cold water on the theory (pardon the pun), and especially since we have been experiencing global cooling. I personally believe that this is just further evidence (should we need it) that we are in the 'end of days' and that the unusual weather the world is experiencing is exactly what it  says in the Bible regarding the 'last days'.

"The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him." Revelation 16:8-9

Source Times Online , Washington Times, Prophecy in the News

Dear Fellow Servants,

Season's Greetings from Finland in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This new year 2008 hasn't started too well for the "warming prophets". We have heard of weather warnings of up to 1.5m of snow falling across the Sierra Nevada of America. There have been heavy snow blankets in Romania and Bulgaria: the Foreign Ministry said 1,300 Romanian tourists were stranded in the neighbouring country because of the weather... In Bulgaria, two days of heavy snow and high winds cut electricity supplies to more than 300 towns and villages, the country's Disaster and Emergency Ministry said. More than 30 villages were without supplies of drinking water". An avalanche killed at least 16 people in the mountains of Tajikistan on Saturday while more people remained trapped under snow, an Interior Ministry official said. The avalanche occurred after several days of heavy snowfall. More than one million homes are without power in California after a massive winter storm brought snow, rain and strong winds. Northern Ireland was hit by heavy snow. On top of the snow, a thunderstorm cut electricity supplies to thousands of homes in Down and Antrim. In Turkey's capital, Ankara, snow caused traffic jams and accidents, but no injuries were reported. Temperatures in Greece fell to 1 below zero in the north, where snow blanketed roads. In Western Europe, ice and snow disrupted traffic. The Mont-Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy was closed to trucks until today because sharp temperature differences between the two sides threatened to disrupt the tunnel's ventilation, traffic authorities said. A Boeing 737 arriving from Marrakech, Morocco, slid off an icy runway at an airport in Deauville, northern France, airport authorities said. The plane, operated by Atlas Blue, came to a halt in grass. The 169 passengers were evacuated unharmed. And metres of snow has been coming in Morocco - and Iran:

Quote: "At least 28 people are reported to have died in Iran's heaviest snowfall in recent years. Eight people froze to death as severe blizzards left 40,000 people stranded in their cars, authorities said. Although most have now been rescued, another 20 people are reported to have died in car crashes caused by the weather, officials said. Tehran has declared two days of national holiday, urging people to stay at home to avoid the bitter cold. The temperature has been down as low as -24 degrees Celsius, and for the first time in living memory there has been snow in the country's southern deserts"

In all this, is there a solemn remainder for the whole world - and especially, for the wicked? As Chris commented previously, last October the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marked the Iranian al Quds Day in a televised address to the nation, in which he repeated calls for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map. Tens of thousands of people marched through Teheran during the event, first established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khameini, chanting "Death to America! Death to Israel". But death has now come to that country - literally falling from the skies. And the Lord still keeps Israel as the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32:10). Today, snow fell on Baghdad for the first time in living memory, and delighted residents declared it "an omen of peace".

... "an omen of peace". But do they listen, what God Almighty is speaking through His Creation today? Do they know what His inspired Scriptures describe of His reserves, yet to fall upon the wicked? "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?" (Job 38:22-23). Do you believe in God? Are you prepared to meet your Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ? Don't make no mistake about it. And don't waste any minute in uncertainty of it!