Varroa and Revelation

I have many memories of my boyhood days, but one that stands
out particularly is the viewing on a Moody Bible Institute film entitled City
of the bees.

If anybody doubts the existence of God they should be forced
to sit and watch this amazing film which explains in great detail how bees
communicate one with another, how they build hives with little cells built along
engineering lines that men of great skill would have problems designing.

It is little wonder therefore that the book of Romans 1:19-22
tells us "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God
hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful,
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools"

There is no doubt that the bee is one of the most marvellous
creations of Almighty God and deserves our full attention.

However, we see that something has happened in our day which
is causing great concern to bee keepers, and no doubt ultimately to people all
over the world.

In the book of Matthew 24:7-8 we read that at a certain time
called the beginning of sorrows "nation shall rise against nation and kingdom
against kingdom, and there shall be famine, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in
divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

It is clear that pestilence will be a major sign of the near
return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We quote from an article taken from the New Zealand Herald 8
May, regarding this terrible mite that is afflicting the bee industry.

"...People and honeybees have a long history together. They
pollinate our crops, their ecology is essential to the whole flowering world,
and they provide us with honey and wax.

But what do they get out of it? A life-sucking parasitic
mite, Varroa jacobsonii.

Britain has about 35,000 beekeepers. Most are hobbyists, but
together they keep up to 200,000 colonies, each containing between 5000 and
80,000 bees. Each colony can produce up to 50kg of honey.

Those beekeepers who have not got the Varroa in their
colonies soon will have. Its spread is inexorable...

Thanks to the international trade in bees, Varroa spread
throughout Apis melifera-dominated beekeeping, arriving in Britain in
1992. Since then it has spread through apiaries and feral colonies throughout
England and Wales and is now heading north into Scotland...

Beekeeper Steve Balogh has recently returned from China,
where he met leading bee scientists who have been tackling their own Verroa
problem. In the 1980s, Wei Hua Zhen came up with a preparation that, since 1996,
has saved 10,000 hives.

"There are problems with intellectual property rights, and
the Chinese won't say what the preparation is made of, but it's a fraction
of the price we have to pay for Varroa control in Britain," says Mr Balogh..."
End Quote.

Now it is not just a matter of bees that is concerning us
at this time but the pollination of flowers which leads to the growth of fruit
and other articles of vegetation to which the bee is essential.

All this leads us to the conclusion that Almighty God can
very easily make things very difficult for people on earth by allowing the
spread of such creatures and when men have learnt their lesson he can bring it
to a halt very quickly.

The book of Revelation 8 & 9 speak of the judgements of God
upon this earth.

And there is little doubt in the minds of any Bible student
that we are living at the end of the generation which will usher in the carrying
away of the Christians to be with Jesus and the coming again of the Lord Jesus
Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

It has been known throughout history that when men get into
trouble they begin to seek God and therefore we trust that out of this difficult
situation men and woman will finally cry out to God and see Him bring
deliverance at the appropriate time.