World News and Trends: Severe drought grips parts of America
Reporting from Denver, Patrick O'Driscoll wrote in USA Today: "Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one third of the continental USA."
Reporting from Denver, Patrick O'Driscoll wrote in USA Today: "Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one third of the continental USA. And it's spreading. As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages, according to the U.S. drought monitor, a weekly index of conditions . . . Coast to coast the drought's effects are as varied as the landscape" (June 8, 2007).
America's second-largest freshwater lake, Okeechobee in Florida, is at a record low level due to the driest spring in the nation's Southeast since 1895. Drought has also hit hard in central and southern California. "Los Angeles residents were urged on Wednesday to take shorter showers [and] reduce lawn sprinklers . . . in a bid to cut water usage by 10 percent in the driest year on record . . . since rainfall records began 130 years ago" (USA Today, June 7, 2007).
From California and Arizona, drought conditions have reached their tentacles into 11 other Western states. Minnesota has also been experiencing its worst drought in 30 years. Of course, some areas of the nation, such as much of Texas and Oklahoma, are apparently recovering well from previously severe drought conditions.
Rising populations in the Southwest and Southeast require more water, not less. New Scientist reports that "for the past seven years, states in the Southwestern United States have been drying up. Rising temperatures, a decline in precipitation and an increasing population have combined to leave major water sources perilously low" (April 14, 2007). A study at Columbia University "suggests that the region is in the early stages of a profound climate shift" (ibid.).
The Bible clearly shows that God has ultimate control over the weather. The Hebrew prophet Amos cites God as saying: "I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered" (Amos 4:7). God's purpose in withholding rain from ancient Israel was to encourage repentance, as shown by the context: "Yet you have not returned to Me" (verses 8-9).
Two important questions: Do these drought conditions, not only in America but also in Australia (followed by outbreaks of damaging flooding in the Land Down Under), have anything to do with God and His Word? Are certain ancient prophecies (in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28) directed towards the English-speaking peoples now beginning to be fulfilled in earnest?
In hopes of a widespread national repentance, is God gradually withdrawing His hand of blessing from the posterity of the patriarch Joseph? If you do not yet understand the true identity of the lost 10 tribes of Israel, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: USA Today, New Scientist.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2007
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
