"Pestilences in Various Places..."

As mentioned in the last post, we've detoured from the prophecies we're studying in Matthew 24 to include a few related prophecies in Luke 21. While Matthew 24:7b says, "There will famines and earthquakes in various places," Luke adds "pestilences":

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven (Luke 21:11, NIV).

A "pestilence" (or plague, as the NLT translates it) is more than just an illness. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines pestilences as this:

noun: a disease that causes many people to die 

Full Definition

1: a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating; especially: bubonic plague

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Part of the reason for this blog is to talk about what prophecies have been given concerning the "End Times,"(Tweet that!) meaning the times just before the return of Jesus and the end of human history as we know it now. Another reason for this blog is to see if these prophecies are being fulfilled in our current times. (Tweet that!)

So let me ask you. Do you see any pestilences taking place today?

Here are some recent news stories that came to my mind:

• "Ebola Crisis in West Africa Deepens With 539 Dead" July 14, 2014, ABC News from Associated Press 

• "Colorado man has rare airborne strain of plague" July 13, 2014, Seattle Times 

• "If Tuberculosis Spreads…" July 8, 20141, The New York Times 

• "CDC: Up to 86 workers possibly exposed to anthrax" June 23, 2014, CNN 

• "Docs look for clues to whooping cough epidemic" June 19, 2014, USA Today 

• "U.S. measles outbreak sets record for post-elimination era" May 29, 2014 The Washington Post 

• "CDC Confirms Activation of 'Emergency Operation Center' in Response to Immigrant Influx" July 2, 2014, InfoWars.com 

• "Phil Gingrey: Border kids could spark epidemics in U.S."July 8, 2014, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This last article seems to make fun of the fear. While it quotes a letter from U.S. Representative Phil Gingrey, who introduces himself as "a physician for over 30 years," addressed to Thomas Frieden, director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control, there is no reporting on any response from the CDC.

E. coli
Courtesy Morguefile.com

Online many articles express concern about what diseases this influx of an estimated 100,000 unaccompanied minor children might be bringing into the United States accompanied by an equal number (at least) of articles claiming these fears have been "stoked" by "conservative media" and "anti-immigration activists" and claiming these fear has been "wildly overstated."

What do you think? (Tweet that!)

Related Articles:

• July 3, 2014 "Wars and Rumors of Wars"
• July 5, 2014 "There will be Famines…" 
• July 8, 2014 "There will be… Earthquakes in Various Places" - Part 1 - USGS Statistics
• July 10, 2014 "There will be… Earthquakes in Various Places" - Part 2 - Fracking and Man-Made Earthquakes 
• July 12, 2014 "There will be… Earthquakes in Various Places" - Part 3 - Recent Earthquakes and Resources
• July 15, 2014 "Roaring and Tossing of theSea" - Hurricanes and Tsunamis?

Coming Next:

• July 19, 2014 "The Beginning of Birth Pains"