(May 13, 2010) A grey whale was spotted off the coast of Israel. (Scientists stunned as grey whale sighted off Israel ) According to this article, “The whale, which was first sighted off Herzliya in central Israel on Saturday, is believed to have travelled thousands of miles from the north Pacific after losing its way in search of food. ‘It’s an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the most important whale sightings ever,’ said Dr Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center which identified the creature. A population of grey whales once inhabited the north Atlantic but became extinct in the 17th or 18th centuries and has not been seen there since. The remaining colonies live in the western and eastern sectors of the north Pacific.”
Of course the most famous “great fish” incident occurred when a whale or some other large sea creature swallowed and then vomited the prophet Jonah onto the shores of Israel:
“15 So they look up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. 17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights…10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” (Jonah 1:15-17,2:10)
God had wanted Jonah to pronounce His coming judgment upon the Assyrian capital Nineveh unless they repented. Jonah hated the Assyrians because of the way they treated Israel and the Jews. Therefore, he did not want the Ninevites to repent because he knew God was merciful and would not judge them if they did repent. God had a great fish swallow Jonah in order to get Jonah’s attention and ultimately his obedience. After leaving the fish Jonah did preach God’s judgment to the Ninevites and they repented and God mercifully spared them.
The article cited above indicates this is a very bizarre incident which caused the whale to end up in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Israel. It reminds me that during the Tribulation Period God’s judgment will also change animals’ behavior towards human beings. God chose to show the End-Times to His servant John. What John saw was a series of judgments that were going to come upon the earth. The first series constituted seven seals of a scroll which after each one is opened a judgment occurs. The opening of the Third Seal leads to famines (it indicates that food will cost a days wages because of shortages caused by famine) which Jesus confirmed as one of the apocalyptic signs in chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew:
“6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:6)
Next John sees the Fourth Seal judgment begin:
“7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:7-8)
Jesus again confirms the End-Times revelations which John observed:
“7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places. 8 all this is but the beginning of the labor pains.” (Matthew 24:7-8)
Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and wars are going to devastate the earth and its natural processes. Scarcity of food will cause even the animals to start attacking and killing humans. For the most part animals are afraid of human beings as their behavior illustrates whenever they encounter people. However, because of God’s judgments upon the world, animals’ behavior will change as John witnessed, “to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” Billions of Humans will die during the Tribulation Period including many deaths caused by animal attacks. Tragically as Jesus declares, “this is but the beginning of the labor pains” that the earth and its inhabitants will endure.
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Tags: Apocalypse, famine, fourth seal, Grey Whale, Jonah, Matthew 24, third seal, Tribulation Period