The natural cycle of things was promised to continue, nothing special was meant to happen to the climate whilst man is around. Of course, man may well be upsetting what God had planned. We should also distinguish between weather and climate. The difference between weather and climate is the timescale. 'Weather' refers to the atmospheric conditions over short periods of time (days), and 'climate' refers to atmospheric behaviour over relatively long periods of time (decades or centuries). In other words, 'weather' refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere. Long-term climate change is not readily apparent in the Bible (although some point to scientific evidencesupporting the view that long-term climate change is simply due to the earth emerging from an ice-age some 4000 years ago). On the other hand, there are good examples of God using relatively short weather events as a way of arresting man's attention. Moreover, Bible prophecy says that He will do it again!
Last winter season, the Middle East faced unusual weather conditions as the worst storm witnessed in decades swept the region in December. Snowstorm Alexa began on Dec. 11, dropping temperatures to below freezing in the eastern Mediterranean and causing mayhem across the region. “Temperatures have dropped so much that in some parts of the region they have been below the average for this time of the year by more than 10 degrees,” Ali Darwish, an environmental expert and president of the Greenline Association in Lebanon, told Al Arabiya News. “It is rare to see snow in areas in the south, like Egypt and Palestine,” Darwish said, “Saudi Arabia was a big surprise as well. Temperatures there dropped below zero degrees Celsius and snow fell, ironically blanketing the desert.” Alexa and its sub-zero temperatures paralyzed a region that “is not used to this kind of weather.” In the Holy Land, the winter storm pushed authorities to close schools and airports while snow and heavy rains have affected landmarks and left thousands without power, according to the Associated Press. Areas in higher altitudes, such as Jordan’s capital Amman, have also been locked down by the rare snowstorm, which led to the disruption of air traffic and the blockade of routes to the airport.
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Prophetic Times | 5
Snow In the Middle East After 100 Years
By Lovella Mogere
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