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Phoenix
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I care. It may not be the end of the world, but it affects peoples lives. All it takes is one surprise volcanic eruption, tsunami, or hurricane (as we saw recently) to make life miserable for thousands or hundreds of thousands. As well, someone with prophetic interests, like myself, is charged with watching such events in order to compare them with prophecy. Woodsman said he can't think of any prophecies that match current events, so I'll name a few.
Luke 21:8 - And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Let's see, Jim Jones, David Koresh... if I took the time I could write a laundry list of false Christs in the last 60 years.
Luke 21:9, 10 - But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end [is] not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom
The word "kingdom" comes from the Greek word meaning "ethnicity". The term "Ethnic Cleansing" had not been invented until the late 20'th century. Ethnic wars have been constant and are still going on around the world today. They are worse now than they have ever been in the history of man, they just go largely unreported in favor of more "sensational" news.
Luke 21:11 - And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
For Earthquakes: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov You can see them all over the world. Famines, pestilences... I have a feeling the worst of those have not yet come to pass, but we do have widespread starvation in Africa that has never really subsided, and we've seen everything from AIDS, which is an epidemic, but a very quiet one, to SARS, Ebola, and the spectre of a mass influenza outbreak. We've seen great things in heaven, from massive X-class solar flares to a comet striking Jupiter, to the largest gamma ray burst recorded which arrived, coincidentally, within a day of the massive Sumatra earthquake that caused that massive tsunami - which itself occured the day after Christmas in 2004...
Luke 21:12 - But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute [you], delivering [you] up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
This is historical fact. Prior to the recent events, Christians, and Christ's apostles specifically, were persecuted. The early church was heavily persecuted. Now, let me skip ahead a bit.
Luke 21:25 - And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring
We've seen the sea and the waves roaring, in Sumatra and more recently the US coast courtesy of several nasty hurricanes. We've seen nations in distress and mass confusion at that. Now, I know what some will say, that this sort of thing has been going on before, and why should it be any different now, etc. That's the reason someone like me has to be watchful is to discern this, and because the significance is spelled out a little later:
Luke 21:28-31 - And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
The fig tree is a symbolic representation of Israel. Israel is called God's fig tree elsewhere in the bible. The fig tree was hewn down and the Israelites scattered among the gentiles for hundreds of years. So prior to 1948, when Israel was re-established as a nation, none of anything at all mattered. It's everything after 1948 that's significant. Note that also it says to behold "all trees" (or all nations). When a tree shoots forth, it grows, becomes large and powerful. Look at the last 200 years, look at how powerful and advanced technologically all the nations of the world have become, especially since 1948. Also Matthew 24:14 adds final significance as to the timeframe of prophetic events: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (emphasis mine)
Luke 21:32 - Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. In other words, the generation that lives to see Israel become a nation, and witness these signs in this context of Israel becoming a nation will be the generation that sees all prophecy fulfilled, and the end shall come after the gospel is preached in the entire world. At no prior time could this ever be true, especially when you consider that most of Africa and a lot of Asia has been untouched. Consider how in the book of Acts, Paul was forbidden to preach in Asia at the time. Yet now, thanks to world-wide satelite access, as well as global travel and missionary efforts, there are millions of people hearing the gospel in Africa, and there are underground churches where people risk torture and death in places like communist China and North Korea. This is the only time in history when the gospel could be heard by the entire planet.
I'm just laying the cards on the table for all to see. Like anything, it's there to take it or leave it as you will. I was actually hoping people would speculate about what might be the next odd thing on the horizon since we've already seen so many odd things. Even if you're not a student of prophecy, how can one not be fascinated by the sky, and the stars, and events of planetary and cosmic magnitude like volcanoes and supernovae? They should hold reason enough for fascination, regardless of what significance one takes from them.
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