Record-breaking temperatures are cooking the East and Midwest in the United States as millions of people struggle to stay cool without power. A major storm knocked out electricity from North Carolina to New Jersey and west into Illinois. The stifling heat has pushed thermometers into the 100s and will continue for several more days. A severe weather storm is also to blame for at least 18 deaths, mostly from trees falling on homes and cars. The windstorm that caused the damage is called a “derecho” (Spanish for “straight”) known for widespread, long-lived, and violent gusts ...

“In Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency, the storm knocked out the 9-1-1 system. O'Donnell said the storms caused the most widespread, non-hurricane-related power outage in that state's history. A wastewater treatment plant in Lynchburg lost power and discharged at least 250,000 gallons of water into the James River. ‘This is not a one-day situation," McDonnell said. ‘It is a multiday challenge.’” [1]

“A strong derecho occurred June 29, 2012 starting in Illinois and progressing eastward. It cut through Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland in about twelve hours (~11AM in Chicago, ~11:30PM in Washington, D.C.) leaving millions without power. A representative for Appalachian Power said it caused the worst power outage the company had ever seen. In Virginia it caused the worst power outages in commonwealth history for any weather event outside of past hurricanes and tropical storms. At least 13 people were killed by the storm, most by falling trees.” [2]

“The June 2012 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest derecho was an intense progressive derecho that tracked across a large section of the Midwestern United States and across the central Appalachians into the Mid-Atlantic States on the afternoon and evening of June 29, 2012 and into the early morning of June 30. It resulted in at least 17 deaths, widespread damage and millions of power outages across the entire affected region. This was one of the most deadly and destructive derecho events in U.S. history.” [3]

The Bible speaks about deadly winds blowing on our earth. “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree” (Revelation 7:1). The number four in Scripture is associated with the four directions of the compass (north, south, east and west). It speaks of things that are universal. The Bible also ties the four winds with the coming of Christ and the judgment. “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).

The Pharisees once asked Christ for a sign to prove His divinity. Jesus answered, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:2, 3). Could it be that we can observe deadly and destructive weather, but cannot see the signs of Christ’s soon coming?

If you would like to learn more about the signs of Jesus’ return to our Earth, we invite you to attend one of our upcoming prophecy seminars. There is only one shelter that can protect you from the storm that will coming to our planet. Are you in a safe place?