Sometimes the present makes you think of the future

"the sun and the air were darkened 

   because of the smoke"

  Revelation 9:2

Well, it's that time of year again.  Fire Season, in Southern California.  There are currently 25 26 fires burning in California, according to the official state website.  Thirteen Fourteen of those are in counties that are adjacent to ours. 

Consequently, the air was noticeably heavy today, with a slight acrid smell.  These fires are not so close that we have to keep our windows shut.  Some years that happens, and there have been times when the ash collects on the ground and parked cars.  Only once in my life ~ about twenty years ago ~ have I ever been able to actually see flames from my house, and even then I only packed because I was being cautious, not because it was recommended for us.  So I'm pretty sure we were never in any danger.

Nor are we this time.  But we have friends who are uncomfortably close.

Both of these were posted on facebook by friends of ours

But the thing I want to talk about today is the sun.  Generally, when I go outside in the morning, to wave goodbye to my sweetie, it's lovely and cool outside, and no matter if it's sunny or cloudy or rainy or whatever, the world looks beautiful.   On a day like today, however, you can't help but notice the effects of the fires.  Though the sun shines, there is a reddish glow to it that is a little disturbing.

I kept thinking all day about the verses in the Bible that refer to "the day of the Lord"...

"And it shall come to pass in that day," says the Lord God, 

"that I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will dark the earth in broad daylight"

Amos 8:9

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, 

and the moon will not give its light"

Joel, Matthew and Mark

"there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars..."

Luke 21:25

"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, 

before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord."

Joel and Acts

"a third of the sun was darkened"

Revelation 8

I knew there was nothing to worry about today.  First of all, the fires were too far away to put us in any danger.  And secondly, my life is in His hands; now and forever.  Though the events prophesied in the Bible can be unnerving, we who belong to Him can trust in His protection, even when the world around is mystifying or eerie.  When things aren't as they should be, He is still "I Am".

~ "He had in His right hand seven stars,

out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,

and His countenance was like the sun

shining in its strength." ~

Revelation 1:16

~