5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
12 The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. (NIV)
OXITEC PARTLY OWNED AND FINANCED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
Oxitec, a developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, has been contracted by Socicam, operator of Brazil’s major travel hubs, to protect thousands of travelers each day from biting mosquitoes.
Oxitec is the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class partners. Learn more at oxitec.com.· Oxitec’s safe, proven and effective technology uses non-biting, self-limiting male mosquitoes to suppress Aedes aegypti, a dangerous mosquito that spreads dengue and other diseases.
Oxford, UK and Campinas, Brazil - Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, announces today that Socicam, leader in the mobility infrastructure segment in Brazil, has chosen Oxitec’s Friendly™ Aedes solution to protect passengers in the world’s second largest bus terminal, the Tietê Terminal in São Paulo.
Tietê Terminal hosts 90,000 travelers each day, connecting São Paulo with more than 1,000 cities in 21 Brazilian states, as well as cities in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Oxitec will deploy its Friendly™ Aedes – an environmentally-friendly and effective alternative to pesticides to control the dengue-transmitting mosquito, Aedes aegypti – across Tietê Terminal, running with immediate effect through the end of the 2021-22 mosquito season, with the aim of resuming deployments over the 22-23 season at the Tietê terminal and expanding to other bus terminals in São Paulo and other cities.
Aedes aegypti is an invasive mosquito responsible for transmitting diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Unlike some other mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti readily flies and bites during the day, colonizes urban communities, and is difficult to control using conventional methods such as insecticide spraying. Between December 2021 and January 2022, the State of São Paulo recorded 4,961 cases of dengue. Chikungunya has also been a concern in the State, and an alert was issued by the Department of Health when the number of affected jumped from 281 in 2020 to 18,200 in 2021, an increase of more than 6,000%.
I am not saying that the mosquito is the "locust" spoken of in the Book of Revelation. What I am saying is that we should not rely on our own understanding of what we define the locust to be. We do know from biblical prophecy (Revelation Ch 9) that the 5th trumpet was sounded, and that this is introduced as the first Woe, and that these "locusts" come out of the smoke that rises from the pit that is opened by the one (the star) of whom fell from heaven and it was he who had been given the key to the Abyss.
We are living in a technical age like no other in history before. Is this pit a literal hole? Is it a spiritual bottom of darkness? Who resides in spiritual darkness? What do these entities of spiritual darkness use as their weapons of mass destruction of mankind? Is it atomic bombs? Is it guided weather? Is it biological manipulation, genetic mutation by the altering and manipulation and recreations of the genetic sentence structures? Is it the blending of two or more naturally occurring , God created life-forms? The manipulation and re-creations or false copies of living creatures are not just in the phylum of humans, but in all God's creatures. Additions and deletions of genes cause distinct differences in outcomes in purposeful behaviors. Genetic engineering is the process of using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology to alter the genetic makeup of an organism. Traditionally, humans have manipulated genomes indirectly by controlling breeding and selecting certain offspring for its desired traits. What once was for the distinct survival of a species, has already been attenuated, manipulated and distorted for the purposes of evil intent against man and God's perfect balance of nature. Could evil men through genetic manipulation- cause a plague or biological weapon, through the bite of a genetically manipulated mosquito? Could an offspring of a mosquito carry in it's tail a sting -like a scorpion -that would cause a man to seek death for 5 months and yet not find death? Consider the day you are living in. Seek God's direction, HIS revealing and HIS protection as we press on and walk through the shadow of death in these days.
Psalm 18
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield[b] and the horn[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. 12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. 13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.[d] 14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. 15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. 19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God. 22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. 23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. 24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. 27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop[e]; with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. 31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. 36 You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. 39 You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the Lord, but he did not answer. 42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust; I trampled them[f] like mud in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, 44 foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. 45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! 47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, 48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. 49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.
50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.