News and Bible Prophecy, 12 Feburary 2012

Last night, many of us were shocked to hear that Whitney Houston had died in her hotel room. While her death was a surprise, it was no secret that in the past, she had had problems with cocaine and other drugs. Her death was a tragic loss, made even more tragic that she had had so much going for her, yet seemed to fritter away her gift.

Whitney was discovered when she was singing in church. In her early years, she was seen as a very sweet and wholesome singer. One can only hope that in her early years, she had given her life to the Lord, and the years that she spent as an addict and partier were backslidden years where she had fallen away from God. Only God knows about the status of her soul. That, and Whitney herself, as only her body is dead. Her soul is still alive somewhere.

For optimism's sake, let's assume that Whitney did give her life to God at an early age, and received Christ's forgiveness. This is still a tragedy. Whitney, along with everybody else who has ever lived, will one day have to face Jesus. Christians will face Jesus at the Judgement Seat of Christ, where we will gain and lose rewards.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says that as we live our lives, we are laying aside rewards in heaven. Those rewards can be precious gems and precious metals, or more common elements like wood, hay, and stubble. Our works will be tried by fire. What survives the fire (the precious gems and precious metals) will survive. If we live a selfish life here on earth, our accomplishments will burn up, although we will still be able to go on to Heaven.

What are you doing here on earth? Are you using your gifts for the Lord? If you are not, you may want to start today. As you can see when you read the news, we live in perilous times. The Lord's return may be just around the corner. You do not want to be caught unprepared with works that will burn up.

Greece is in a very troublesome situation. This may be a clear case of "men's hearts failing them for fear." Early Monday morning, the Greek government passed the austerity measures that were necessary to bring the government's spending under control. Unfortunately, these austerity measures will also make things more difficult for the average person.

Greeks already have it difficult. "Starvation cookbooks" are already popular. Some parents that are having difficulty finding work are giving up their kids because they can't afford to take care of them. The austerity measures will only make it more difficult for Greeks, as they will cut pay for government workers, and even benefits for retirees. This could have a ripple effect throughout the economy, as the people will have less and less money to spend.

In protest of this new bill, riots have spread throughout the country. 80,000 people showed up in Athens to protest over the weekend.

Despite these measures, some are afraid that these moves may not be enough, and Greece might default anyway.

More and more, people in Central America are coming down with a mysterious kidney disease. In the past decade in Nicaragua, the number of people that have died of chronic kidney disease has doubled. About a thousand people are now dying annually in that country alone, and it is not the only country that has been affected.

It is unclear what is causing the disease. Is it environmental factors? Some do not believe that is the case, as the disease affects people from many different countries in the region. Some guess that the disease may be caused by chronic dehydration, caused from long hours laboring with little water. One question to ask regarding that hypothesis is why are the rates increasing if dehydration is the case? Have the conditions of these workers changed so much?

The answer may not come soon, but it is something for workers in the area to be concerned about.

Small airplanes flying over your land and taking pictures? It could be coming to a location near you. If you live in some parts of Europe, it might already be the reality.

Governments in Europe are increasingly relying on satellite imagery to make sure that farmers are complying with regulations in order to receive government subsidies. Sometimes, this imagery can be inaccurate because of cloud cover or shadows. More and more, governments are relying on drones to photograph the areas.

Perhaps the answer to this is to not accept government subsidies, but it could be difficult to remain competitive when all your neighbors are getting them.

One of the biggest problems with this is that it could lead to increased surveillance in other areas. There have been discussions on using drones to track illegal immigration and drug runners. While these may be noble uses, the loss of privacy is concerning. Another fact that is concerning is that less than half of people questioned in Australia and the UK were against this kind of surveillance.

In Revelation 13, the Antichrist forces all people to take a mark. If they do not get the mark, they will not be able to buy or sell. I once thought that you could potentially get away from this requirement by being self-sufficient and taking everything underground, farming your own food and the like. With the increased surveillance that we are seeing around the world, during the Tribulation, there might not be that many places to hide.