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Toxic algae bloom might be largest ever


Markinsa
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Toxic algae bloom might be largest ever

Originally published June 15, 2015 at 9:05 pm
 
Updated June 16, 2015 at 11:41 am

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A close up of the diatom that produces the marine toxin domoic acid. (NOAA)

 

Scientists onboard a NOAA research vessel are beginning a survey of what could be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded off the West Coast.

 

By Sandi Doughton

Seattle Times science reporter
 

A team of federal biologists set out from Oregon Monday to survey what could be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded off the West Coast.

The effects stretch from Central California to British Columbia, and possibly as far north as Alaska. Dangerous levels of the natural toxin domoic acid have shut down recreational and commercial shellfish harvests inWashingtonOregon and California this spring, including the lucrative Dungeness crab fishery off Washington’s southern coast and the state’s popular razor-clam season.

 

At the same time, two other types of toxins rarely seen in combination are turning up in shellfish in Puget Sound and along the Washington coast, said Vera Trainer, manager of the Marine Microbes and Toxins Programs at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.

 

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“The fact that we’re seeing multiple toxins at the same time, we’re seeing high levels of domoic acid, and we’re seeing a coastwide bloom — those are indications that this is unprecedented,” Trainer said.

 

Scientists suspect this year’s unseasonably high temperatures are playing a role, along with “the blob” — a vast pool of unusually warm water that blossomed in the northeastern Pacific late last year. The blob has morphed since then, but offshore waters are still about two degrees warmer than normal, said University of Washington climate scientist Nick Bond, who coined the blob nickname.

 

“This is perfect plankton-growing weather,” said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

 

Domoic-acid outbreaks aren’t unusual in the fall, particularly in razor clams, Ayres said. But the toxin has never hit so hard in the spring, or required such widespread closures for crabs.

 

“This is new territory for us,” Ayres said. “We’ve never had to close essentially half our coast.”

 

Heat is not the only factor spurring the proliferation of the marine algae that produce the toxins, Trainer said. They also need a rich supply of nutrients, along with the right currents to carry them close to shore.

 

Scientists onboard the NOAA research vessel Bell M. Shimada will collect water and algae samples, measure water temperatures and also test fish like sardines and anchovies that feed on plankton. The algae studies are being integrated with the ship’s prime mission, which is to assess West Coast sardine and hake populations.

 

 

The ship will sample from the Mexican border to Vancouver Island in four separate legs.

 

 

“By collecting data over the full West Coast with one ship, we will have a much better idea of where the bloom is, what is causing it, and why this year,” University of California, Santa Cruz ocean scientist Raphael Kudela said in an email.

 

He and his colleagues found domoic-acid concentrations in California anchovies this year as high as any ever measured. “We haven’t seen a bloom that is this toxic in 15 years,” he wrote. “This is possibly the largest event spatially that we’ve ever recorded.”

 

On Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, Ayres recently spotted a sea lion wracked by seizures typical of domoic-acid poisoning. The animal arched its neck repeatedly, then collapsed into a fetal position and quivered. “Clearly something neurological was going on,” he said.

 

 

Wildlife officials euthanized the creature and collected fecal samples that confirmed it had eaten prey — probably small fish — that in turn had fed on the toxic algae.

 

Ayres’ crews collect water and shellfish samples from around the state, many of which are analyzed at the Washington Department of Health laboratory in Seattle. DOH also tests commercially harvested shellfish, so consumers can be confident that anything they buy in a market is safe to eat, said Jerry Borchert, the state’s marine biotoxin coordinator.

 

But for recreational shellfish fans, the situation has been fraught this year even inside Puget Sound.

 

 

“It all really started early this year,” Borchert said.

 

Domoic-acid contamination is rare in Puget Sound, but several beds have been closed this year because of the presence of the toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and a relatively new threat calleddiarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP). The first confirmed case of DSP poisoning in the United States occurred in 2011 in a family that ate mussels from Sequim Bay on the Olympic Peninsula, Borchert said.

 

But 2015 is the first time regulators have detected dangerous levels of PSP, DSP and domoic acid in the state at the same time — and in some cases, in the same places, he said. “This has been a really bad year overall for biotoxins.”

 

 

Over the past decade, Trainer and her colleagues have been working on models to help forecast biotoxin outbreaks in the same way meteorologists forecast long-term weather patterns, like El Niño. They’re also trying to figure out whether future climate change is likely to bring more frequent problems.

 

At a recent conference in Sweden on that very question, everyone agreed that “climate change, including warmer temperatures, changes in wind patterns, ocean acidification, and other factors will influence harmful algal blooms,” Kudela wrote. “But we also agreed we don’t really have the data yet to test those hypotheses.”

 

 

On past research voyages, Trainer and her team discovered offshore hot spots that seem to be the initiation points for outbreaks. There’s one in the so-called Juan de Fuca Eddy, where the California current collides with currents flowing from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Another is Heceta Bank, a shallow, productive fishing ground off the Oregon coast, where nutrient-rich water wells up from the deep.

 

“These hot spots are sort of like crockpots, where the algal cells can grow and get nutrients and just stew,” Trainer said.

 

Scientists have also unraveled the way currents can sweep algae from the crockpots to the shore. “But what we still don’t know is why are these hot spots hotter in certain years than others,” Trainer said. “Our goal is to try to put this story together once we have data from the cruises.”

 

Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491 

Marine biotoxins

Marine biotoxins are produced by microscopic algae. Unlike the bacteria or viruses that can also contaminate shellfish, biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing. Also, harmful algal blooms usually don’t color the water.

 

The three biotoxins of concern in Washington are:

 

• Paralytic shellfish poisoning. Symptoms include tingling in lips, arms and legs, followed by trouble breathing and paralysis. Can be fatal.

 

• Domoic acid poisoning, also called amnesic shellfish poisoning. Caused by Pseudo-nitzschia diatoms, symptoms include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps, which can progress to dizziness, confusion and memory loss. Can be fatal.

 

• Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning, caused by the biotoxin okadaic acid. Symptoms are usually short-lived and include vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

 

Source: Washington State Department of Health

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***///

 

Combination of The Ring of Fire heaving like crazy of late,

 

Japan's post-tsunami Nuclear waste contribution,

 

Massive ships that dump waste freely, (thanks to hobummer's new trade bill - expect more of this), <_<

 

the filth & waste from nasty, unregulated, unchecked polluters like China, India, et al

 

have all contributed to turning the Pacific into a stew of bio-hazard waste.

 

 

Mother Nature is pretty pissed off. :angry: 

 

 

 

.

Edited by SgtFuryUSCZ
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Fishing and Clam industry will be greatly effected. . . . Hummmm.  You would think the price of both will be going up.  Wouldn't this be a timely investment?  Just wondering.  

 

Terrible event!  

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***///

 

Combination of The Ring of Fire heaving like crazy of late,

 

Japan's post-tsunami Nuclear waste contribution,

 

Massive ships that dump waste freely, (thanks to hobummer's new trade bill - expect more of this), <_<

 

the filth & waste from nasty, unregulated, unchecked polluters like China, India, et al

 

have all contributed to turning the Pacific into a stew of bio-hazard waste.

 

 

Mother Nature is pretty pissed off. :angry: 

 

 

 

.

 

Actually, it isn't Mother Nature, but God's Judgement on the liberal west coast. 

 


 

2 Chronicles 7:13-14(NASB)

13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

 

.

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I'm not liberal and I live on the West Coast.  I don't read the Scriptures as regularly as you do Markinsa but I'm gonna take a guess and say that either God or Jesus made that comment.  I'll also bet you can't prove he was talking to us "liberals" on the West coast of the United States as of June 23, 2015.  I guess there are no wicked people in San Antonio TX.  That's what I've been trying to tell you for some time.  What gives you the right to make a statement like that?  By the way Mark, God is Mother Nature and Mother Nature is God.  They go hand in hand.  I could go on forever but you will never get it.  You want to preach the word of God but I guess God doesn't want us west coast liberals just because you found some scripture that you think fits the narrative of a toxic algae bloom.

 

Before I make my next comment I would like to preface it with this. Just so others here know.  Mark and I have had several private conversations trying to work out our differences.

 

 

Mark, if you are going to continue saying things like this I would just assume stop having any contact with you.  I do not want to continue to pursue any type of relationship or friendship.  No God would punish 40 million plus people for the actions of a few.  I will stop here except for one more thing.  As I was driving around today I was thinking of you and how long it has been since you have written an offensive post.  It has been quite some time but alas you didn't let me down.  You should apologize to the others who read this thread.

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***///

 

Combination of The Ring of Fire heaving like crazy of late,

 

Japan's post-tsunami Nuclear waste contribution,

 

Massive ships that dump waste freely, (thanks to hobummer's new trade bill - expect more of this), <_<

 

the filth & waste from nasty, unregulated, unchecked polluters like China, India, et al

 

have all contributed to turning the Pacific into a stew of bio-hazard waste.

 

 

[b

:angry:[/b] 

 

 

 

.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

I'm not liberal and I live on the West Coast.  I don't read the Scriptures as regularly as you do Markinsa but I'm gonna take a guess and say that either God or Jesus made that comment.  I'll also bet you can't prove he was talking to us "liberals" on the West coast of the United States as of June 23, 2015.  I guess there are no wicked people in San Antonio TX.  That's what I've been trying to tell you for some time.  What gives you the right to make a statement like that?  By the way Mark, God is Mother Nature and Mother Nature is God.  They go hand in hand.  I could go on forever but you will never get it.  You want to preach the word of God but I guess God doesn't want us west coast liberals just because you found some scripture that you think fits the narrative of a toxic algae bloom.

 

Before I make my next comment I would like to preface it with this. Just so others here know.  Mark and I have had several private conversations trying to work out our differences.

 

 

Mark, if you are going to continue saying things like this I would just assume stop having any contact with you.  I do not want to continue to pursue any type of relationship or friendship.  No God would punish 40 million plus people for the actions of a few.  I will stop here except for one more thing.  As I was driving around today I was thinking of you and how long it has been since you have written an offensive post.  It has been quite some time but alas you didn't let me down.  You should apologize to the others who read this thread.

My friend, Marks post stands strong.

Try Mathew 24:6

Or

Revelation 8:11

...and the waters were bitter.......

We see prophecy unfolding before our very eyes everyday.

Why do you think everyone is becoming so crazy?

The farther one gets from God, the sillier things become.

I make no judgment about your faith, I am simply pointing out

that in this instance it is part of Gods judgment.

As for Texas, what do you think the torrential rains were.

How about the east coast? Remember the horrendous winter snows?

What about Japan? A 7.2 earthquake causing that massive tsunami.

And how can anyone forget the incomprehensible 9.1 earthquake

on Christmas eve.Mathew 24.

My friends open your eye, Eden is burning.

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I'm not liberal and I live on the West Coast. I don't read the Scriptures as regularly as you do Markinsa but I'm gonna take a guess and say that either God or Jesus made that comment. I'll also bet you can't prove he was talking to us "liberals" on the West coast of the United States as of June 23, 2015. I guess there are no wicked people in San Antonio TX. That's what I've been trying to tell you for some time. What gives you the right to make a statement like that? By the way Mark, God is Mother Nature and Mother Nature is God. They go hand in hand. I could go on forever but you will never get it. You want to preach the word of God but I guess God doesn't want us west coast liberals just because you found some scripture that you think fits the narrative of a toxic algae bloom.

 

Both God and Jesus made the comment, since you tell me you are a Christian you should know that. Read John 1:1-17 – Also, “Mother Nature” is a pagan god (Google it), and is therefore demonic in origin and not the God who I worship.

“Liberal West Coast” – Three states President Obama won the last two elections. Three States that have a combined:

 

  3 Democrat   - State Governors

  6 Democrat   - US Senators

 49 Democrat   – US Congressional Representatives

 19 Republican – US Congressional Representatives

 67 Democrat   - State Senators

 52 Republican - State Senators

138 Democrat   - State Representatives

100 Republican - State Representatives

As you can see above, you have three states that are controlled by the Democratic Party which promotes Liberal Policies. The reason why these three states are controlled by the Democratic Party is because the people that live in those states vote and elect those Liberal Candidates. Is everyone in those states a Liberal, absolutely not, but they are Governed and under the authority of Liberals.

 

I made an observation about what I believe the reason for the Toxic Algae, hey I can be wrong, been wrong before, but only God controls the weather, you got a better explanation? I personally feel that California is under judgement for those policies. If you read the Word more, maybe you would see what I’m seeing too? Not my fault you get offended by what I say, when nothing I said was meant to be an offense but an observation. You might enjoy life more if you stopped going around looking for reasons to be offended, and try to see the blessings in things.

 

LGD mentioned the rain in Texas, I don’t particularly think its Judgement, rather and end to the drought here in Texas. The Lakes are filling up and the aquifers are filled. That’s a blessing!

Some folks got killed and some people think that’s tragic, I have a different perspective. If they were Christian, they’re with the Lord, if not, that’s what I think is tragic eternal judgement. The one’s with the Lord, I’m jealous!

 

Before I make my next comment I would like to preface it with this. Just so others here know. Mark and I have had several private conversations trying to work out our differences.

Mark, if you are going to continue saying things like this I would just assume stop having any contact with you. I do not want to continue to pursue any type of relationship or friendship. No God would punish 40 million plus people for the actions of a few. I will stop here except for one more thing. As I was driving around today I was thinking of you and how long it has been since you have written an offensive post. It has been quite some time but alas you didn't let me down. You should apologize to the others who read this thread.

 

I will NOT comprise or change what I believe to please you. Sorry ain’t gonna happen. I do my best to love people and make them laugh, sometimes I fail miserably at it, can’t change what is passed, I can only keep trying, and ask for forgiveness to those who I hurt. I’m not going to apologize for offending you or anyone else for my belief, or the scriptures I post. You talk to God about that, they are His Words.

 

Concerning the punishing 40 million people for the actions are the few, is incorrect, there are more than a few, and if the majority just sits on their hands and do nothing they deserve judgement. Perhaps you need to get out and fulfill the Lord’s Great Commission and convert the Liberals? Anyhow, I’ve spent way to long on this, so I’m just going to close with this:

 

I’m not going to kiss your backside to make you like me, I’ve tried to give you my perspective but it appears not to have gotten through to you. Sometimes people just can’t get along. It happens.

 

 

Have a Blessed Life,

Mark

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My last vote that counted was probably Ronald Regan. So sad. 

 

In my city there are a lot of conservative people.

 

What slants everything is indeed the costside cities; SD, LA, SF, on up to Portland and Seattle.

 

It is highly possible HC has already grabbed thoes 74 electroal votes.

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Healing of the Nations Has Drawn Near

 

HEALING of the nations is very much needed in these days of trouble within nations and between nations. World physicians all realize this fact. The whole world is in a very sick condition. When saying this we do not think of just the human bodies of mankind, but especially of the moral, religious and political conditions everywhere. What will happen if healing of the political nations does not come soon, in our own lifetime? We all have reason to care.

 

2 Outstanding politicians of the world are disturbed. They are trying to act as healers, physicians, of the world. Recently President Achmed Sukarno of Indonesia said a pointed thing. Himself a devout Mohammedan, he is the leader of a nation of eighty-two million, of whom nine out of every ten are Mohammedans. Yet President Sukarno flew 900 miles from the nation’s capital into Sumatra to speak to a gathering of people of a different religion. It was called the Eastern Asia Christian Conference, and the 120 delegates there came from twenty-four nations. They represented the World Council of Churches, the headquarters of which are in Geneva, Switzerland. President Sukarno heard a Protestant minister on the platform say to the crowd of about a thousand persons of many languages: “We will all read the Lord’s prayer—each in his own tongue.” Later that March 17, 1957, President Sukarno addressed the outdoor meeting and he also spoke at his hotel. He explained that one of the five philosophical principles on which Indonesia based is “belief in God.” This world is in a “troubled situation,” he said, and he added that “man spoke with his mouth of world peace but that man was also making weapons of self-destruction.” Like a physician at the bedside of someone dangerously ill, he said: “We are living in the crisis of man.” (New York Times, March 20, 1957) Certainly a clear-headed physician would say that if people said one thing but did just the opposite they would be morally sick and mentally ill, not to speak of being religiously disordered—split personalities.

 

3 Another president has put himself forward as a world healer. The Far East took note of the remedy that he offered. On January 22, 1957, the China Post of Taipei, Taiwan (or, Formosa), came out with a front-page headline: “Ike Pledges US Might, Wealth To Help Heal World Division In 2nd Inaugural Address.” Then with reference to the second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president of the United States of America, this only English-language newspaper of Free China published this CNA-UP news dispatch of January 21, from Washington, D.C.: “President Eisenhower today pledged America’s might and wealth to help ‘heal this divided world’ and bring it peace with justice under law. To achieve this goal ‘will be hard’ and ‘we must be . . . ready to pay its full price,’ the President said. ‘High will be its cost,’ he said, ‘in toil patiently sustained, in help honorably given, in sacrifice calmly borne.’ Eisenhower proclaimed America’s ‘deep involvement in the destiny of men everywhere.’”

 

4 Few men will realize that President Eisenhower’s talk about healing of this divided world had its roots in the Holy Bible, the book sacred to both Jews and Christians. But note these facts: When Eisenhower was sworn into office the second time he had his hand on the open copy of the American Standard Version of the Bible, given him by his mother when he was about to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1915. His hand rested on the scripture at Psalm 33:12, which reads: “Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” This was as if to suggest that the United States of America should be that blessed “nation whose God is Jehovah,” and that, to become blessed, all nations of the earth must each be a nation having Jehovah as its God.

 

5 But Eisenhower’s mention of “healing” for this divided world throws us back to the days of his first inauguration as president four years before this, in 1953. When being sworn in then he had his left hand on two copies of the Bible. The one copy, the so-called George Washington Bible, was opened at Psalm 127:1, which reads: “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” The other copy, General Eisenhower’s gift Bible, with his full name inscribed in gold letters on the black leather binding, was opened at 2 Chronicles 7:14, which reads: “If my people who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”—New York Times, January 20 and 21, 1953.

 

6 Likely General Eisenhower felt that the land of America needed to be healed after the administration of the previous president; but did not the other nations of the world need healing also? Less than two months after General Eisenhower first became president the mighty Russian Communist dictator, Joseph Stalin, died, but has the condition of the nations of the world got better? In President Eisenhower’s second term of office, more than four years after he swore solemnly with his hand at 2 Chronicles 7:14, has the land of America been healed by him and other American politicians, and by business leaders and religious clergymen? Is the divided world being healed, thanks to the might and wealth of the United States of America that were pledged to this?

 

7 The explosion of the first hydrogen bombs by democratic and Communist powers since January 20, 1953; the failure of disarmament conference after disarmament conference; the continued aim of the Communist giant to expand his present domination of one third of the earth to full world domination, together with the grim determination of the noncommunist nations to resist him; the working away by scientists on both sides to bring into existence long-range missiles able to fly with atomic warheads for thousands of miles, even from one continent to another, to reach the far-off enemy with roaring, widespread destruction; the hatreds, jealousies, suspicions and rivalries between nations large and small; the numberless religious differences between peoples and communities; and the spirit of lovelessness, and, seemingly, some unseen, irresistible, superhuman demonic force that steadily drives the nations on in a mad course nearer and nearer to ruin and destruction—all of this eloquently testifies that the remedy of even the richest and most powerful nation on the earth cannot but fail to heal this divided world. Failure to heal means nothing less than the death of this world with all the consequences of that to earth’s population of two billion five hundred million. If the United States of America is to be healed, the rest of the world must also be healed. For today no nation lives to itself. No nation can stand alone. No nation can keep from catching the infectious disease that is bringing the sick nations to their grave.

 

8 How, then, can anyone announce as good news that the healing of the nations has drawn near? We can announce so when we look in the right direction for the healing and when we look into the cases of the hundreds of thousands of all nations that have already received the healing remedy and that are on their way to complete recovery and perfect health. When, with his hand on the open Bible, General Eisenhower swore to be faithful in the presidency he felt he was swearing before God. When he had his hand at 2 Chronicles 7:14 in that sacred Book he had his hand at God’s words to another ruler, who long ago ruled in the Near East all the way from the river of Egypt on the south to the Euphrates River on the north, a territory with many different people in it. God spoke those words to the wisest ruler of ancient times, King Solomon, the son of David, who reigned in the holy city of Jerusalem centuries before the eras of Buddhism and of Confucianism began. King Solomon’s land was then in a healthy condition, for it had the one thing necessary for real health, namely, the true religion, and it was living in harmony with that religion. King Solomon had just built a temple and dedicated it to God, and now God made an appearance to him and spoke these words. God looked forward to the time when King Solomon’s nation would fall away from this healthy condition and when the land would suffer the punishment of plagues. So God told him how the land might be brought back to health.

 

9 But who was this God with the power to heal a nation? Was it Jesus Christ? No; for this Jesus was yet to be a fleshly descendant of King Solomon more than a thousand years later. No, but Bible history itself says at 2 Chronicles 7:12-14 (AS): “And Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my peoples; if my people who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” With inspired authority the Bible says that the one that made such a comforting promise to King Solomon was the God who alone has the name Jehovah.

 

10 He spoke of King Solomon’s people as “my people who are called by my name.” They were the people to whom the president’s inauguration verse at Psalm 33:12 (AS) referred, saying: “Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” And if this people bearing God’s name tried to build a house or guard a city without his help and oversight, it would be just as it was said in the president’s other inauguration verse, at Psalm 127:1 (AS): “Except Jehovah build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except Jehovah keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Long before, in the Sinai Peninsula and near what is now the Gulf of Suez, he had said to this same people these words of meaning for all peoples: “I am Jehovah that healeth thee.”—Ex. 15:26, AS.

 

WHY ALL NATIONS ARE AILING

 

11 From their very beginning all the nations of this old world have been ailing, and that includes the young nation of modern Israel. Their sickly condition is now coming to a grand climax. Why has this serious condition arisen? What is the root of the trouble, that we may know what is the only remedy to be applied for us to be healed? The answer to this vital question is given us in a national example. No, not in the modern-day Israel, whose very existence the Arab world hates, but in the twelve-tribe nation of Israel of more than two thousand five hundred years ago, the nation that produced the lawgiver, Moses, and King David and King Solomon. In the Sinai Peninsula, at Mount Sinai, Moses acted as a go-between between Jehovah God and men and brought these into a national agreement with God. Through Moses, God gave that ancient nation of Israel his special laws.

 

12 Back there Moses told Israel that Jehovah God had not chosen the nation because of what they were in themselves. To the contrary, it was because their great-grandfather was the Hebrew named Abraham, and this Abraham really believed in Jehovah as God and obeyed him and was called for this “Jehovah’s friend.” (Deut. 7:6-9; 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jas. 2:23) God specially promised to his friend Abraham that there was to come a healing to all the nations of the earth, and that Abraham and his offspring or descendants would have a part in that wonderful healing work. God’s promises to Abraham were: “By you all the families of the earth will bless themselves.” “And by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 12:3; 22:18, RS) In view of those promises, let no one today make a mistake and think this means the modern nation of Israel. It is true that the modern Israelis can show they are natural descendants of ancient Abraham, but that mere line of descent does not make them the seed of blessing, not even to the eighty other nations in the United Nations organization to which Israel belongs. Today no one sees the nations of the earth blessing themselves by the nation of Israel and getting healed. The healing of people of all nations has drawn near in our day by means other than that modern nation of this divided world.

 

13 In the days of King Solomon, almost three thousand years ago, it could be said of his people: “Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Ps. 33:12, AS) The nation of the twelve tribes was united in the worship of Jehovah. They worked together in building a glorious temple to him at Jerusalem. They kept their part of their agreement or covenant with him by obeying his commandments. So he kept his part of the covenant by blessing them with protection from their enemies and with prosperity. The history of King Solomon’s reign tells us: “Judah and Israel were many, like the grains of sand that are by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. As for Solomon, he proved to be ruler over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the boundary of Egypt. They were bringing gifts and serving Solomon all the days of his life.” (1 Ki. 4:20, 21) That was a prophetic picture of what it will be like on earth when Jehovah God heals all mankind by bringing the blessing that he promised through Abraham.

 

14 Even the queen of Sheba came a distance of one thousand five hundred miles, from the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula near modern Aden, just to learn for herself about Solomon’s wisdom. After seeing what he had done and how wise he was as a king, the queen of Sheba said to Solomon: “You have surpassed in wisdom and prosperity the things heard to which I listened. Happy are your men, happy are those servants of yours who are standing before you constantly, listening to your wisdom! May Jehovah your God come to be blessed, who has taken delight in you by putting you upon the throne of Israel, because Jehovah loves Israel to time indefinite, so that he appointed you as king to render judicial decision and righteousness.” (1 Ki. 10:1-9) Thus this non-Israelite queen was honest enough to admit that Jehovah God had chosen those descendants of faithful Abraham as his inheritance that he might be their God, and that for this reason those Israelites were blessed at that time, about three thousand years ago.

 

15 But examine Israel’s history after the death of King Solomon. The nation became divided into two kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel with its capital in the north and the kingdom of Judah with its capital at Jerusalem and with the son of Solomon as king. Why was that? Because in his later life King Solomon fell away from his heavenly wisdom and turned away from the God of his father, King David. The northern kingdom of Israel lasted for 257 years. Then it was destroyed by the world power of Assyria. Why? Because it, too, fell away from the worship of Jehovah at Jerusalem and took up the worship of the idol, the golden bull, and later the false god Baal and his consort Astarte, or Ashtoreth. The kingdom of Judah lasted for 390 years after Solomon’s death. Then in the year 607 before Christ its temple to Jehovah was destroyed, its holy city of Jerusalem was razed to the ground, and the few thousands of Israelites who lived through this destruction were mostly taken to Babylon, the land of their conquerors, and the land of Judah was left to become a wild waste, shunned by all who passed by. Why? Because these Jews, or people of Judah, forsook Jehovah, the God of their forefather Abraham. Without Him as God, how could they be blessed?

 

16 Certainly that people then needed healing; certainly their sacred land needed healing. Did the healing come? Yes, seventy years after the destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem. Why? Because Jehovah God did not then cast them off from being his chosen people. As exiles in Babylon, or in what is now the Arab kingdom of Iraq, many of the Israelites sorrowed for having broken their covenant with Jehovah God and they turned again to his worship. For his own name’s sake Jehovah God did then what he had promised to do when they returned to him. He healed them. He healed their land by bringing them back from exile and peopling it with them, that there they might again worship him at a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. In this way the great Physician bound up their broken hearts and blessed their plagued land so that it became like the garden of Eden, like the paradise in which God, the Creator, put the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. (Ezek. 36:32-36) The historical proof is thus before us that Almighty God Jehovah can heal a nation, provided it makes him its one and only God.

 

17 Today, about two thousand five hundred years since then, we look at the hills where the sacred city of Jerusalem used to be located. Where is the temple to Jehovah on the hill or mountain of Moriah? It is not. It was destroyed by the Roman world power in the year 70 of the Christian era. Was this for the same reason as in 607 before Christ? Yes. It was because the Israelites fell away from worshiping Jehovah. For this decisive reason their holy city was besieged for several months and captured and destroyed, along with its temple, and the 97,000 Israelites that lived through the horrible destruction were carried away captive and scattered to the ends of the earth, where many are to be found today. But has not their nation been healed since 1948, when the republic of Israel was set up in the midst of the Arab nations? Has not their land been healed by all the farming and gardening and oil digging that the Israelis are doing? To answer these questions with hard facts we must ask, Has the temple to Jehovah been rebuilt upon Mount Moriah? Is the nation of modern Israel trusting in him for protection against all its enemies? Are the Israelis eating and drinking and rejoicing under Jehovah’s king of the tribe of Judah and of the royal family of David as in the days of King Solomon, the anointed son of David? Is their land flourishing like the garden of Eden? Are they happy as Jehovah’s people, bearing his holy name as his witnesses?

 

18 Why is the answer to all of these questions No? Because they today are not “the nation whose God is Jehovah”; they are no longer “the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Ps. 33:12, AS) To hold on to the unscriptural traditions of their forefathers and to keep following false religious teachers, Israel cast away Jehovah as God. In turn Jehovah cast away that faithless nation as his people and removed his name from them. He has since put his name upon those worthy to bear it and to act as his witnesses.

 

19 Nineteen hundred years ago Jesus Christ himself told those Israelites so. He said to them: “Why is it you also overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition? . . . And so you have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their hearts are far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep paying respect to me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” And a few days before such Israelites put Jesus Christ to death for the sake of their man-made traditions, he told them that they had rejected the promised descendant of King David, whom Jehovah God had anointed and sent, and then he added: “This is why I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.” (Matt. 15:1-9; 21:42, 43) Since it is to be judged by its fruits, we ask, Is the republic of Israel today bringing forth the fruits of the kingdom of God in proof that they are his nation? No; no more than their forefathers nineteen hundred years ago did. Jesus’ sentential words to them continue true until now: “Look! your house is abandoned to you.” (Matt. 23:38) To this day they have no temple at its old location in Jerusalem. To this day they have no priesthood of the chosen family of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Their government is not a theocracy. Their republic is trying to bring forth the fruits of the United Nations organization.

 

And by the way, there is no such a thing as “Mother Nature” period!  

 

Edited by Fly
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Mathew 24:6; are not Gods Judgments, but as stated in verse 8 of Matt 24― “All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.

 

13 In the year 33 C.E., Jesus described in detail ‘the sign of his presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.’ This is recorded in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. While with a group of his disciples in Jerusalem, Jesus had foretold the destruction of the temple there. Then his disciples asked: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”—Matthew 24:1-3.

 

14 In answer Jesus said: “You are going to hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not terrified. For these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” As Luke 21:11 shows, he also mentioned ‘pestilences in one place after another.’ He warned of “the increasing of lawlessness.” And because of this, he said that “the love of the greater number will cool off.” Also, significantly, he foretold: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”—Matthew 24:4-14.

 

15 But the question may be asked: ‘Were not some of those prophecies fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 C.E.?’ Yes, some were. But more was to come, as the prophecies themselves show. True, Jesus was answering a question of immediate concern to his disciples. But he used the opportunity to provide long-range information about the time when “the Son of man” would come “with power and great glory” and when “the kingdom of God” would be near.—Luke 21:27, 31.

 

16 Of course, these things did not take place by the time of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E. The last book of the Bible, written about 96 C.E., shows that these events regarding the Kingdom were yet future. (Revelation 1:1; 11:15-18; 12:3-12) In symbolic language the Revelation shows that the wars, food shortages, and pestilences that Jesus foretold would be yet future events, and on an unusual scale. They would mark the time when Christ would begin and complete his conquest of all opposers of God’s Kingdom. (Revelation 6:1-8) The fact that some portions of Jesus’ prophecy did have a fulfillment in the first century stamped it as truthful, giving sound reason for confidence in everything else Jesus said would happen.

 

17 Have these prophecies seen the greater, complete fulfillment in this 20th century? Uninformed persons less than 70 years of age may feel that our times are normal because they do not remember a time when things were different. But older persons, and also those who are informed on history, know otherwise. As one history book stated concerning the events of 1914: “Only fifteen countries did not get involved in the war . . . But among them there was no great country that would have had the power to act as peace mediator. This had never occurred in world history; no war had ever had such dimensions. The prophecy of the Holy Bible: ‘Nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom,’ was literally fulfilled.”46

 

18 But such things were not the only part of what Jesus stated to be “the sign.” Using an illustration, he said: “Note the fig tree and all the other trees: When they are already in the bud, by observing it you know for yourselves that now the summer is near. In this way you also, when you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.” (Luke 21:29-32) If you were to see just one tree putting forth leaves out of season, you would not think that summer was at hand. But when you see all the trees budding at the right time, you know what it means. Likewise, Jesus foretold that his “presence” and “the conclusion of the system of things” would be marked not just by war but by a number of things all taking place in the lifetime of one generation.

 

19 Have those things occurred? As you examine the accompanying chart headed “What Will Be the Sign?” you may recall reading about wars of earlier centuries. But World War I stands out from all the others as distinctive, a turning point in history. You may recall, also, that food shortages, pestilences, earthquakes, times of lawlessness, and unusual efforts to promote peace and security have taken place before 1914. Yet, no other time in history has seen all these things come on one generation in such overwhelming measure. In all honesty, if the events since 1914 do not fulfill the sign, what more is required? Without a doubt, we live at the time of Jesus’ “presence” in Kingdom power.

 

20 The appearance of features of “the sign” did not mean that God’s Kingdom would immediately sweep wickedness from the earth. As Jesus foretold, “all these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” (Matthew 24:8) Others were to follow. The World Book Encyclopedia states: “World War I and its aftermath led to the greatest economic depression in history during the early 1930’s. The consequences of the war and the problems of adjustment to peace led to unrest in almost every nation.”47 A few years later World War II erupted. It was many times more horrible than the first. Since then, disregard for life and property has grown, and fear of crime has become part of everyday life. Morals have been shoved aside. The population explosion poses problems that are not being solved. Pollution is spoiling the quality of life and even endangering it. And there is also the threat of a nuclear holocaust.

 

21 When did these “pangs of distress” begin? The London Star observed: “Some historian in the next century may well conclude that the day the world went mad was . . . [in] 1914.”48 That year, 1914, had long in advance been marked by Bible prophecy.

 

22 Also among the significant events that Jesus said would mark “the conclusion of the system of things” are the following: “Many false prophets will arise and mislead many; and because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off.” (Matthew 24:11, 12) Jesus associated the increased lawlessness and the cooling off of love with the influence of false prophets—religious teachers who falsely claim to speak for God. Earlier, this book presented evidence that the clergy have backed the wars of the nations, belittled Bible standards of morality as being out of date, and labeled portions of the Bible as untrue. With what result? A ‘cooling off’ in love for God and his laws. This has been a major factor in the breakdown of morality, along with disregard for authority and lack of concern for one’s fellowman.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

 

A Loving just God does not cause these things to happen, though he is allowing them to take place at this time. When God judges prior warring is given along with ample time for repentance, the flood of Noah’s day, Sodom and Gomorrah are Gods judgments. Those perishing in time and unforeseen events are not, they still have the loving hope of a resurrection, those in Noah’s day as well Sodom and Gomorrah have no resurrection hope as they had been judged unrighteous by God, so too in the near future will be at Gods day of judgment, at the conclusion of this system of thing.

 

“The Nations Will Have to Know That I Am Jehovah”

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2012647?q=%E2%80%9CThe+Nations+Will+Have+to+Know+That+I+Am+Jehovah%E2%80%9D&p=par#h=2

 

HOW would you feel if you were accused of a crime you did not commit? And what if that crime caused much suffering to others, including many innocent people? Surely you would want to clear your name! Are you aware that Jehovah faces a similar challenge? Today many wrongly blame God for the injustice and suffering in this world. Is Jehovah concerned about clearing his name? Indeed, he is! Consider what is said in the book of Ezekiel.—Read Ezekiel 39:7.

 

“I shall no more let my holy name be profaned,” Jehovah says. When humans blame him for injustice, they are profaning his name. How so? In the Bible, “name” often denotes reputation. One reference work says that God’s name refers to “what is known of him—his revelation of himself; it also represents his fame, and then his honour.” Jehovah’s name embraces his reputation. What is known of Jehovah when it comes to injustice? He hates it! He also has compassion for its victims.* (Exodus 22:22-24) When humans claim that God is responsible for the very things he abhors, they are sullying his reputation. They are thus “treating [his] name with disrespect.”—Psalm 74:10.

 

Notice that Jehovah twice uses the expression “my holy name.” (Verse 7) In the Bible, Jehovah’s name is associated with the terms “holy” and “holiness” numerous times. The word “holy” conveys the idea of separateness; it also denotes cleanness and purity. Jehovah’s name is holy because the God who bears it is holy—completely separated from anything that is sinful and unclean. Can you see why those who blame Jehovah for wickedness are heaping the greatest possible reproach upon his “holy name”?

 

Jehovah’s purpose to clear his name by means of his Kingdom is the main theme of the Bible. That theme is emphasized in the book of Ezekiel, which repeatedly states that “the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah.” (Ezekiel 36:23; 37:28; 38:23; 39:7) Notice that the nations will not choose whether to know that he is Jehovah or not. Rather, they “will have to know.” In other words, Jehovah purposes to take action that will compel the nations on earth to recognize that he is who he says he is—Jehovah, the Sovereign Lord, whose name stands for all that is holy, pure, and clean.

 

The oft repeated promise “the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah” is good news for those who long to see the end of injustice and suffering. Jehovah will soon fulfill that promise and clear his name of all reproach. He will eliminate wickedness and those who promote it but will preserve alive those who recognize and respect his name and what it stands for. (Proverbs 18:10) Are you moved to learn how you can draw closer to Jehovah, the holy God, who is “a lover of justice”?—Psalm 37:9-11, 28.

     

 

Revelation 8:11

A Star Falls From Heaven

 

28 “And the third angel blew his trumpet. And a great star burning as a lamp fell from heaven, and it fell upon a third of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And a third of the waters turned into wormwood, and many of the men died from the waters, because these had been made bitter.” (Revelation 8:10, 11) Once again, other parts of the Bible help us to see how this scripture applies in the Lord’s day.

 

29 We have already met the symbolism of a star in Jesus’ messages to the seven congregations, in which the seven stars symbolize the elders in the congregations. (Revelation 1:20) Anointed “stars,” along with all others of the anointed, inhabit heavenly places in a spiritual sense from the time that they are sealed with the holy spirit as a token of their heavenly inheritance. (Ephesians 2:6, 7) However, the apostle Paul warned that from among such starlike ones would come apostates, sectarians, who would mislead the flock. (Acts 20:29, 30) Such unfaithfulness would result in a great apostasy, and these fallen elders would come to make up a composite man of lawlessness that would elevate himself to a godlike position among mankind. (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4) Paul’s warnings were fulfilled when the clergy of Christendom appeared on the world scene. This group is well represented by the symbol of “a great star burning as a lamp.”

 

 

30 John sees this particular star falling from heaven. How? The experiences of an ancient king help us to understand. Speaking to the king of Babylon, Isaiah said: “O how you have fallen from heaven, you shining one, son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the earth, you who were disabling the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12) This prophecy was fulfilled when Babylon was overthrown by the armies of Cyrus, and its king made an abrupt descent from world rulership to shameful defeat. Thus, a fall from heaven can refer to losing a high position and falling into ignominy.

 

 

31 When the clergy of Christendom apostatized from true Christianity, they fell from the lofty “heavenly” position described by Paul at Ephesians 2:6, 7. Instead of offering fresh waters of truth, they served up “wormwood,” bitter lies such as hellfire, purgatory, the Trinity, and predestination; also, they led the nations into war, failing to build them up as moral servants of God. The result? Spiritual poisoning of those who believed the lies. Their case was similar to that of the unfaithful Israelites of Jeremiah’s day, to whom Jehovah said: “Here I am making them eat wormwood, and I will give them poisoned water to drink. For from the prophets of Jerusalem apostasy has gone forth to all the land.”—Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15.

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Mr. Markinsa, I think maybe you should re-read some of my posts as I don't believe I have ever said you should change your beliefs and certainly not for me and not to kiss my backside.  To the contrary you have let us all know that those of us who do not prescribe to your brand of Christianity will be doomed.  I learned a very valuable lesson while going through a divorce.  You can't argue with a loon.  It was nice nice of you to give the people that died in the TX floods a passing mention since I'm sure they didn't didn't deserve much more because it wasn't a Judgement event.  It was only so you could have some water, right?  Totally normal, right?  Why didn't God make it rain normally and no one had to get hurt at all?  Oh yeah, as long as they were Christians, they could get to Heaven?  And if they weren't Christians when they died, where do they go?  Hope to see you at the RV party Mark.  It will be my Honor to buy you a nice tall glass of ice water.

 

You know what else is strange Mr. Mark?  I don't see one other Mod here on DV even come close to do what you're doing.

 

Is this the most important position you've ever had in your life?

 

And just so you know, I do know the answers to all the questions I have asked above.  Do I know where to find them in Scripture?  Nope.  Just because I don't study scripture on a daily basis doesn't mean anything.  I know several people that do who are dead wrong in what they believe.

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First let me say I am not a Dr. of Science nor a Bible Scholar.

To put a lighter spin on this, there is a theory that we have to much C02. Maybe, The Good Lord sent the algae bloom to use up some of the C02.  :shrug:  I am also of the thought that maybe the entire US is like Sodom and Gomorrah and God has not destroyed it because there a few good people left and He is waiting. 

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