Winter "Wonders" - SIGNS OF GOD, OR SINS OF MAN?

March 1, 2011

Dinsmore, Mark

Are this season's extreme weather and mass animal deaths signs of Divine judgment?

The winter of 2010-2011 brought extreme weather not only to the United States but to the entire world. Record-setting rain triggered massive floods and mudslides from Australia to Mexico; bulb-shattering blizzards brought minus temps across most of North America. Despite new records of ice and snow in many states and cities, "global warming" proponents maintain that this extreme cooling trend does not contradict but rather reinforces the scientifically dubious theory of consumer-driven CO2 "pollution."

In addition to many unusual and catastrophic weather events--which are not only claiming lives but contributing to a worldwide food and commodity crisis--there have been bizarre accounts of near-simultaneous animal deaths around the world, including massive "kills" of numerous species of fish, birds, crabs, and even cattle. Over 40 such incidents were reported in less than 30 days between December 17 and January 14, ranging in scope from a few dozen to a few million. The widespread nature and curious chronology of these events is causing many Christians--and even some reporters--to ask if these sudden mass die-offs are natural, man-made, or prophetic in nature.

As many astute observers and biblical watchmen have reported for years, we do see an increase in the "signs of the times" of which Jesus warned in Matthew:24:3-25--first and foremost in spiritual deception, but also in "wars and rumors of wars," as well as volcanic activity and "earthquakes in divers places." Though some argue that this geophysical uptick is simply due to keener instruments of detection, the recent earthquake "swarm" along the New Madrid fault produced over 500 quakes between September and December 2010 alone--prompting some to draw a potential correlation to the animal deaths in central Arkansas. Other researchers point to the fact that Arkansas is home to the nation's largest "fracking" (hydraulic fracturing) operation for natural gas exploration and recovery. Nonetheless, some believers still blame the quakes on the "sinfulness of man," and many others are wondering if these mass animal fatalities are also prophetic indicators of God's impending and/or increasing judgment of the planet.

In a video blog on her website, Latter Rain "prophetess" Cindy Jacobs, founder of the "spiritual warfare" group Generals International, suggested that the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was responsible for the mass bird and fish deaths reported in and near Beebe, Arkansas: "It could be because we've said it's okay for people who commit these kinds of [homosexual] acts to be recognized in our military, for the first time in our history, there is a potential that there is something that actually happened in the land, where a hundred thousand drum fish died...and these birds just fell out of the air."

Though correctly denouncing homosexuality, there are numerous problems with the inferences drawn by Jacobs. For example, how does this explain the dozens of other chronological wildlife deaths around the globe? Additionally, such immature and mystical assertions serve to malign God's character and reinforce negative stereotypes of our Creator as spiteful and capricious. But although Charisma magazine (whose publisher seems enamored with Latter Rain heresy) continues to provide such false teachers a platform in the church, the liberal media understandably had a heyday with Jacob's correlation--though not quite to the degree that it did when Pat Robertson blamed the catastrophic 2010 Haiti earthquake on that nation's history of vodoun (voodoo). Such shameful declarations do not disqualify God's Word but rather prove the biblical warning: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you...by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of" (2 Pt 2:1-2).

Unfortunately, the false prophets of the Latter Rain movement aren't the only ones implying an apocalyptic explanation for this winter's extreme weather and unexplained animal deaths. Many otherwise doctrinally sound Christian leaders, writers, and readers seem to be coming prophetically "unhinged" at events like these. But could this sequential die-off be related to other unexplained animal fatalities, such as the catastrophic honey bee "colony collapse disorder" that began in 2006 and continues to threaten U.S. crop pollination and production?

As most astute readers would agree, the answer of "global warming" (allegedly resulting in "freak freezing" and weather-related animal fatalities) fails to explain the extent of these events. Since scientists cannot determine a biological or chemical cause in the vast majority of these unexplained and apparently "unrelated" deaths (according to mainstream media reports) it is understandably tempting to assign some divine significance to make sense of them. However, because we are clearly not living in the "great and terrible" day of the Lord (Joel:2:11,31) Bereans must look for either a natural or a man-made explanation. Fortunately (or unfortunately), there is plenty of evidence that points to some logical--though disturbing--explanations for extreme weather as well as recent and ongoing wildlife fatalities.

If chemical, biological, and "divine judgment" causes are not the most reasonable explanations for the strange animal fatalities, then one is left to look for another unseen source--namely, things that can travel invisibly through air and water and are generally undetected by humans. Space does not permit a full report and analysis of known government programs, but readers should at least be made aware of several that daily impact our world. Alaska's HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project) is capable of "shooting" earth's ionosphere with 3.6 megawatts of power, bouncing this concentrated energy beam back through the atmosphere, even penetrating the ground. (This incredible jolt is equivalent to eight hours' output of Hoover Dam--enough electricity to supply power for 1.3 million people in a typical work day.) It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this invisible "ray gun" could pose serious side effects for the environment as well as all living creatures--especially those that God created with sensitive receptors for navigation and communication (like birds, bees, bats, and even fish).

Most of us are aware, to some degree, of the bombardment of our airwaves and our bodies with above-ground radiation--but what about the earth's bodies of water? In a disturbing report, Rosalind Peterson documents government destruction of marine life in the recently expanded "sonar training exercises" affecting "literally every coastal state and the Gulf of Mexico":

The United States Navy will be decimating millions of marine mammals and other aquatic life, each year, for the next five years, under their Warfare Testing Range Complex Expansions in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Marine Fisheries Service...has already approved...more than a dozen...Warfare Testing Complexes, and is preparing to issue another permit for 11.7 million marine mammals (32...species), to be decimated [by sonar and explosives] along the Northern California, Oregon and Washington areas of the Pacific Ocean. (News With Views, 8/11/2009)

On December 29, in the midst of the mysterious animal deaths, another exceedingly curious event took place in Victoria, Canada. For several hours, the GoldstreamRiver ran bright green--the color of antifreeze. Local reports called the mystery "solved" when the color source was identified as the "non-toxic" chemical, fluorescein. Nontoxic? Used in radiology, a medical source says "fluorescein injection can cause severe allergic reaction, shortness of breath, hives, severe itching or circulatory collapse...and in rare cases, death." Most news stories suggested that it was merely an elaborate "prank," indicating that "the chemical is usually used to trace leaks from septic tanks and can be bought online." However, no ongoing or subsequent investigation revealed how or why the costly ($11.50/oz) chemical was delivered into the river, or by whom.

These examples are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full range of military-industrial abuse of the environment (while simultaneously purporting to be concerned about its protection). With the U.S. government and other global super powers all battling "invisibly" for supremacy and control over space, the airwaves, the oceans, and even the weather (all in the domain presently given to Satan--Eph:2:2, Job:1:7, etc.) the fact is clear that sinful man continues to meddle with God's created order in ways that are not natural--and, are, in fact, potentially destructive on a global scale. Armed with the knowledge of such known operations, should believers automatically spiritualize every "unexplained" event and ascribe such "acts of God" to the Lord?

There is no doubt that we live in increasingly perilous times--and that birth pangs of things soon to come are being seen and felt in many ways. But as even the limited evidence we've presented suggests, this winter's extreme weather, animal deaths, and even earthquakes are not the beginnings of God's divine judgment, which will occur post-rapture (1 Thes:5:9). Rather, these events appear to be the consequences of entropy, in conjunction with the wickedness of men (Ps 2, Gal:6:7, 2 Tim:3:13) devising an antichrist dominion over the earth--which is itself a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

-Mark Dinsmore

Mysterious Animal Death Chronology

Below is a partial compilation of strange or unexplained animal deaths reported world-wide that some say are "prophetic" signs of the times. In reverse date order:

Jan 17-Hundreds of dead seals washed ashore in Labrador, possible overpopulation
Jan 14-200 cows found dead in Wisconsin, allegedly caused by a virus
Jan 14-100 dead carp found in U.K. pond, unknown causes
Jan 14-730 African grey parrots died during flight, blamed on carbon monoxide
Jan 13-300 grackles dead on highway in Alabama, blamed on blunt force trauma
Jan 11-Thousands of gizzard shad fish washed up near Chicago, blamed on cold weather
Jan 10-Countless fish dead in U.K. brook, unknown causes
Jan 08-100 starlings found dead on highway in California, allegedly all hit by a truck
Jan 08-Dozens of dead starlings turn up in Romania, blamed on "drunkenness"
Jan 07-More than 1,000 dead turtle doves found in Italy, unknown causes
Jan 06-40,000+ dead Devil crabs washed ashore in the U.K., unknown causes
Jan 05-Hundreds of dead birds fall to ground in Kentucky, unknown causes
Jan 05-Hundreds of dead birds found on highway in Texas, unknown causes
Jan 05-Hundreds of dead snapper washed up on New Zealand beaches, unknown causes
Jan 05-Up to 100 jackdaw birds dead in Sweden, unknown causes
Jan 04-Several dead manatees found on Florida coast, unknown causes
Jan 04-Thousands of dead fish washed up on creek bank in Florida, unknown causes
Jan 04-Hundreds of dead fish found on St. Clair River in Canada, unknown causes
Jan 04-Hundreds of blackbirds dead in Louisiana, from internal injuries and blood clots
Jan 03- Thousands of dead octopuses washed ashore on Portugal beach, unknown causes
Jan 03-Two million dead fish washed up in Chesapeake Bay, MD, blamed on cold water
Jan 03-100 tons of dead fish washed ashore in Brazil, unknown causes
Jan 03-100,000+ dead drum fish found in Arkansas river, unknown causes
Dec 31-5,000+ birds dead in Arkansas, massive trauma and blood clots
Dec 29-Canada's Goldstream River mysteriously flowed neon green for several hours
Dec 28-70 bats found dead in Tucson, AZ, unknown causes
Dec 27-Scores of dead fish washed ashore in a lake in Haiti, unknown causes
Dec 23-Hundreds of dead starfish, jellyfish washed ashore in SC, blamed on cold water
Dec 23-Ten tons of mostly dead fish found in fishing net in New Zealand, unknown causes
Dec 22-100+ dead pelicans drop in North Carolina, unknown causes
Dec 18-Thousands of dead fish turned up in bay in Philippines, unknown causes
Dec 17-Dead fish washed ashore at lake beach in Indiana, blamed on winter storms
Dec 15-Thousands of dead fish washed ashore on Florida beach, blamed on cold weather
Dec 13-Thousands of dead barramundi fish washed up in Australia, unknown causes