Animals and the End Times Tribulation

I am going to delve into this topic because I don't believe enough has been written about, nor taught, on this subject. It's important nevertheless to also teach on the animals and how they fit into the end times prophecy because the Bible has plenty to say on this topic. My approach will be the same as all of my other posts but I will first preface this by saying I am avid animal lover and believe, as with every other part of God's creation, they were made with a purpose and a reason in this cycle of life. They are living, breathing, and in many cases, feeling creatures and although their lives aren't to be held higher than a humans life, they still need to be taken care of, respected, loved and not abused. Humans, as God created us to be, are higher beings, more precious in His sight than the rest of the living creatures and I'm in no way saying animals should be treated better than us. But on the other side of the coin, they shouldn't be abused, beaten, neglected, bred to the point of physical harm and used for man's "sick" entertainment. They were not created for that purpose.

So let's get started by first seeing what God says about caring for animals so we'll begin with the following from the very beginning:

Genesis 1:26-28, "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Job 12:7-8, "“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8) Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you."

Proverbs 12:10, "Whoever is righteous care for the life of his beast, but even the tender mercy of the wicked is cruel." 

Isaiah 40:11, "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young."

Proverbs 27:23 , "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds;"

Genesis 1:30, " Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so."

They are Now!

Now I could go on and show all the other Scriptures but these selected ones solidify my point. I've been inspired to write on this specific topic in the past few days because I'd begun to see an influx of aggression in animals across the globe. They were violently attacking humans and in some cases, other animals that weren't part of their "food chain." Just plain viciousness and pure aggression. Some were provoked because there are just mean and diabolical people out there who seem to think showing their mastery and control over innocent animals somehow make them powerful, but most were not provoked. Most were innocent by-standers, children, groomers, neighbors, store owners, zoo attendees. As I started to research and unravel just how many attacks were actually happening, and I'm sure many more that aren't reported in the news forums, etc., I started to see that even our animal kingdom is being effected by the wickedness of the human race and the fall into sin. It got me curious as to how this played into the signs of the end times so this is how this article was born.

The end time great tribulation will be the most terrible of times on this earth and anyone who's ever read through the book of Revelation will understand this! Even Jesus warned of this in Matthew 24:21, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." Many HORRIBLE THINGS will happen including earthquakes, volcanoes, great plagues, demonic powers, the Antichrist rules and people dying by the millions. For the sake of this post, I'm going to briefly give some references about some of the signs of the great tribulation end times so those of you who aren't very aware of those signs, can understand a little more, and for those who already know, refresher course! All of the following signs are from Revelation alone.....I will reference other Scriptures later as it pertains to the subject at hand, animals. All throughout the Bible, there are several signs given to us to watch for but I will just concentrate for the moment on Revelation since that's the book in the Bible that many don't really like to read. The below is describing the Great Tribulation which is after the church has been raptured. However, these signs begin prior to and are like birth pangs which lead up to the ultimate Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation happens 3 1/2 years after the tribulation begins. The Rapture is discussed in another post I wrote here. Based on the Scriptures, I believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. This list will not be all-inclusive so here we go:
1) Peace will be taken and global war will ensue. Rev. 6:4, "Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword."
2) Humankind will be scorched with fire and heat. Rev. 16:8-9, "Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9) And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory."
3) The sun being blocked out and causing temperatures to change and affecting light. Rev. 8:12, "Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night."
4) The greatest earthquake man has ever seen. Rev. 16:18, "And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth."
5) Huge hailstones will fall that are approximately 100 pounds each! Rev. 16:21, "And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great."
6) Cities all throughout the entire world will crumble. Rev. 16:19, " Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath."
7) Literally 1/4 of the world's population will die from war and hunger and BY THE BEASTS OF THE EARTH. Revelation 6:8, "So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth."
8) Malignant sores will plagues all who are unsaved. Revelation 16:2, "So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image."

I'm going to stop there with the Great Tribulation end time signs because all of those things are happening NOW, right here, while we're speaking! It was prophesied in the Bible these things will BEGIN to happen before the Great Tribulation and will increase as the birth pangs of a woman. Matthew 24: 3-8, "3) Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 4) And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5) For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be 6) famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8_ All these are the beginning of birth pains." You see, we can't escape what is to be and what is to come except by the blood of Jesus Christ! What we must be aware of are all the signs He has graciously given to us for us to be ready. All the signs that we are to be watching for that will speed up like the birth pains of a pregnant woman are happening at breakneck speed right now. From every place, in every country, on every corner.

Noah Cared for His Animals

Proverbs 1:7 tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." This is aptly for our generation!" Some time ago, there was a fad, a campaign if you will, running rampant in the United States where people had signs on their cars, shirts, jackets or hats that BOLDLY said, "NO FEAR." Well, this, of course was a statement of plain rebellion. From all of my understanding, mankind will definitely reap what he sows and God will TEST them to see whether or not they actually WILL fear anything. One of the things that will happen in the tribulation is that the animals will have NO FEAR OF MANKIND. It wasn't always like that, as a matter of fact, it was quite the opposite. Genesis 9:1-2, "So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2) And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand." You see, we were given "rule" over animals as their caregivers and masters and it was instilled in them from creation to fear us. Not in the violent, threatened way, but the cautious, careful way. Up until the flood in the time of Noah, animals and mankind got along just fine and there has even been debate that man could communicate with them before the flood. But after the flood several things changed on this earth including man's relationship with animals. From that time moving forward, with the shift and change, the animals FEARED mankind and mankind also feared some of the animals. It wasn't intended that way and God didn't created it that way. So this is still seemingly the case up until this very day. Man thus far continues to "rule" over the animal kingdom and of course, MOST animals are still in fear of man. That is also changing. But also in the kingdom, when Jesus Christ rules and reigns on this earth, it will be very peaceful and serene like we've never known before! The Bible states that ALL WILL KNOW THE LORD. Obviously, this would most certainly have an effect on all the animals during this time as well. Hebrews 8:11, "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." and also Isaiah 11:6-8, "“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7) The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8) The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den."

So with that being established, let's look at the closer we get to the approaching tribulation, the increasing evidences of animals turning on mankind are more frequent than ever before. Many years ago, and many of you might remember this terrifying movie, Alfred Hitchcock made a movie called, "The Birds" where the birds turned on people and absolutely terrified them! There was an absolute "terror" that he depicted that one could never forget for a long time to come. Since that time, there have been an increasing amount of movies that have dealt with some form of animal attacks. So now just imagine, walking down the street, taking in the scenery of your walk and suddenly and viciously being attacked by dogs, cats, birds, bees, snakes, cows, crows, horses, etc.!!! I believe not one of us would brush it off or just stand there! There would be inevitably a full blown FEAR in us trying to ward them off, trying to get away but more so, from being overtaken by the very animals we "rule" over! Although the full blown lack of fear of humans in animals won't be prevalent until the tribulation period, if one just looks around, you will increasingly see that animals are beginning to attack humans for a "lack of fear" and that is evidenced in the way they will not let go when another human is trying to "stop" or "prevent" the incident. This is what's coming and this too, will increase before the church is taken home! Humans will be looked upon as a source of "food" for animals, the beasts of the world, during that time, a time when I am thankful for God's Grace in removing His children before that terrible time!

Have you noticed the increase of "locust outbreaks" around the globe? Pay attention because that is setting the stage for the tribulation locusts you find in Revelation 9:2-5, "And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3) Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4) They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5) And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man." It is very likely that demons assume some of the characteristics of locusts because elsewhere in the Bible, these same locusts ascend from the Abyss, which is the abode of the demons. All of these things are beginning to take place. The locusts have made quite an appearance in many different parts of the world and I sat up and took notice. You see, locusts are greatly feared across the land because they can literally strip a country of every green thing, every good, nutritious thing, leaving man and beast alike to die from starvation. Locusts are insects that move stealthily in giant columns, stripping away everything that is green, leaving barrenness in their wake! The plague of locusts that God sent against Pharaoh of Egypt brought Pharaoh to his knees…temporarily. This won't be the case in the Great Tribulation! There is going to be a total prohibition against the destruction of ANY and ALL plant life, which is the natural food of locusts. Curious, isn't it! Instead, these locusts will be "given" power to harm those who doesn’t have the seal of God on their foreheads, those who were not a part of the 144,000 (cf. Rev 7:2). It is also reasonable to assume that all those who have become true believers in Christ, and there will be many, during the tribulation will also be protected. All others, all who reject Christ to the end and have taken the mark, will be harmed.

Ezekiel 5:17, "So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken." Giant grasshoppers, who are just too nasty-tempered and toxic to be eaten by natural predators and too big to be bothered to extermination by conventional pesticides - are on the rampage in Central Florida as has been for some time. Several incidents of killer bees across the county have also made their way to the headlines. Same for the sudden outbreak of killer wasps that have found their way to attacking innocent people, one even attacked at a funeral. Bees and wasp stings HURT!! Just ONE can drop a person to their knees!! But being attacked by many!? I fear the thought! They would cause terror in the most strongest of people! There have been several headlines and videos out about the increase of cat, both domestic and wild, attacks. These are increasing in numbers as well. The cats aren't fearful of mankind as much as they once were but it still doesn't compare to the increase in the violent dog attacks storming the world! Dogs, and certain breeds of dogs, are beginning to turn violently on humans, including their owners. This is alarming as dogs have always been touted as man's best friend. Something has happened along the way but now, dogs have become quite unpredictable in their behavior and demeanor. Wolves, which dogs are part of, and foxes have been noted of late as attacking humans and even having a stand off with them. Sharks are swarming in numbers and attacks are on the rise. Wild elephants have begun turning on man as well and there have been more and more attacks between man and elephant. There have been reports that pregnant women of the east Indian state of Jharkhand are climbing trees to give birth to their babies fearing attacks by wild elephants. Squirrels and cows have been attacking man and other beasts. In Canada there was also a report of crows actually killing the lambs on the farms. Isaiah 56:9, "All you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest." Also in Jeremiah 15:3, "And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction," says the Lord: "the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy."

Now this is not, by any means, being written to scare you or to make you fearful of your pets or the glorious gift of animals that God has gifted to us! If you are unsaved, then it's a warning of what is to come in the Tribulation period. If you are saved, it's to warn of the increasing signs of animal attacks that are becoming prevalent as the days are short. As believers, we are to know the signs, watch for them and shout it to the world. That's what I'm doing now. There is, and recently has been, a surge in unusual wildlife behavior and nobody talks about it. However, I feel we need to talk about it because you must notice that with the increase in animal attacks, it also should point to something else. Although it is quite terrible, it's actually just one of many horrific trends that are ratcheting up. Think about all of the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, violent murders, nation turning against nation and bizarre weather patterns that have been increasing in the past years. Almost every time the Bible mentions an increase in animal attacks, these same events are right alongside of them. Coincidence? NO! When beast attacks are mentioned in Leviticus, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the context it is written is also the last days. Later on in the Matthew 24 account, Jesus describes yet another purpose for these prophetic events as noted in Matthew 24: 32, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near."  Just as one is able to observe when the seasons are changing by looking at the trees, these end time signs, including the increased animal attacks, also signal to mankind that the end is fast approaching!

Make all of this real in your mind and study and remember! Although man was originally meant to have dominion, or to rule, over the beasts of this earth, air, land and sea, they are prophesied to terrorize mankind. Many ask with wonder, "Why would God allow such horrible things to happen?"
Well, we get our answer through His weeping prophet Jeremiah when God answers, in Jeremiah 5:6,  "Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased." The word transgression can also be translated as rebellion and because of all that have rebelled against Him, these beasts are now meant for punishment. Man has lived quite destructively since the fall of man and he has subsequently abused the land that was given to us and mistreated the animals over which God gave us dominion over. This disobedience of His laws has corrupted mankind by becoming actively involved with, and in, every form of perversion and wickedness known to man! This is the reason for the rising animal attacks. Let's look at what Deuteronomy 32:24 has to say, "They shall be wasted with hunger, Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will also send against them the teeth of beasts, With the poison of serpents of the dust."

In closing, there are many signs of the end that is fast approaching and many of those signs are, and have been, spoken about with great intensity, as they should be since we are called to warn. However, all signs should be spoken about because as a society, and in this generation of blame, the few headlines that do creep into the media about the animal attacks, never point to a "reason." They want to blame the cruelty of the owner, or the zoo keeper or the provocation of a child, or whatever else they can come up with. Well, sometimes, and most times, it's the lack of fear presenting itself in the animal that once was fearful of man. Many times, these increasing attacks are not provoked and just exist. Since they ARE increasing and we are to know the signs of the season that we are in, it is Scriptural correct to see and compare this to what is said in His word that He gave to us as instruction! We are in some very violent times. I've written about many of them, but animals, who for the most part, have become our companions throughout history, are attacking for no apparent reason. Remember that demons can take the form of any living thing, including animals as it is noted in Mark 5:12-15, where they were begging Jesus to allow them to enter the nearby swine, "So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." 13) And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. 14) So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15) Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid." We are dealing with dark times and demonic activity is all around us. Animals are slowly beginning to lack the fear of mankind they once had and are turning on us. This, my dear readers and friends, is a clear sign of things to come!

So if you are saved by God's Grace, believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and have been covered by the Blood of Jesus, then thank God that you will not be on this earth during the tribulation period! But if you aren't saved, it's not too late!!! Our time is running out. Our days are numbered. If you aren't saved, and don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, I invite you to bow down and call on His name! Romans 10:13, "For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

PLEASE DON'T BE LEFT BEHIND!!


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