by Jon R. Welker

"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; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." Luke 21:25-26

"Distress of nations" has hit many countries within the las year, and distress has certainly hit Japan hard on March 10, 2011 in the form of a M (magnitude) 9.0 earthquake, and subsequent 23' tsunami. Foreshocks and aftershocks measured M 6+ and M 7+! On March 13th, Space.com stated that: "The March 11 quake was the largest ever recorded in Japan and is the world's fifth largest earthquake to strike since 1900, according to the USGS."

Just days after the major quake and tsunami, one of Japan's 109 volcanoes, Kirishima, erupted. "The eruption is not necessarily related to the Great Earthquake. ...Shinmoe-dake crater erupted ash and volcanic bombs, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate" [volcanolive.com]. The report went on to say that this volcano recently erupted in January as well.

And as if all that weren't bad enough, we continue to hear on the news about the severe situation concerning damage done to their nuclear power plants, and dangerous levels of radiation resulting from that damage....

For perspective on the severity of the earthquake, here are a few comparison statistics provided by ABC March 13, 2011 Yahoo!7, entitled "Timeline: A Century of Killer Quakes" (there are 37 listed in all):

February 22, 2011: Christchurch, New Zealand – M 6.3
February 27, 2010: Coast of south-central Chile – M 8.8; "...500 times the energy of the Haiti earthquake and is one of the most powerful on record."
January 12, 2010: Haiti – M 7.0
December 26, 2004: Indonesian coast – M 9.2. [For more on this, see our article entitled: "Battle of the Titans: The Titanic Earthquake and Tsunami."]
October 17, 1989: Loma Prieta [San Francisco Bay Area] – M 6.9.
December 7, 1988: Armenia – M 6.9
May 22, 1960: "The world's strongest recorded earthquake devastates Chile, with a reading of 9.5 on the Richter scale. A tsunami 10m high eliminates entire villages in Chile and kills 61, hundreds of miles away in Hawaii."
September 1, 1923: The Great Kanto earthquake [M 8.3] ...outside Tokyo....
April 18, 1906: San Francisco [no stats mentioned].

Now back to our current considerations.

IS THERE A COMET INVOLVED?

In the winter 2005 issue of the Shepherdsfield Update (No. 53), the lead article was entitled; "The Battle of the Titans: The Titanic Earthquake and Tsunami" (reprinted on this website). The overall subject had to do with the then recent earthquake and tsunami which dealt so much death and destruction to southeast Asia. Also contained in that article was a discussion regarding the great comet of 1997 named Hale-Bopp. The information contained therein would be a good backdrop for considering our current topic.

It appears that more and more comets are being discovered each year. There were 33 comets sited in 2010; and so far in 2011 there are 6 new ones [per Observable Comets.mht].

The current comet hype is about C/2010 X1 Elenin allegedly discovered by Leonid Elenin of Moscow. This "comet" is generating a great deal of interest throughout the world, except, apparently, in the mainstream news. Some people are postulating that this Comet Elenin is an alias for the infamous "Planet-X." There are many websites posting this theory.

Evidently, early in 1981 two astronomers at the US Naval Observatory reported "irregularities in the orbit of Pluto indicated that the solar system contained a 10th planet." Then "…In 1983, …IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) quickly found Planet-X: `A heavenly body as large as Jupiter…in the direction of the constellation of Orion' – wrote the Washington Post…" [Planet X and the Coming Earth Changes]. It appears that ever since that time, the gravity of our Sun has been drawing "Planet-X" closer to Earth's orbit.

Further research reveals that according to ancient history, this visitor to our solar system has had many names, including "Nibiru" (which means planet of passing), "Marduk," "Seth" – and most notably "Typhon," the name given by the Greeks. [Again, please refer back to "The Battle of the Titans" article.]

So, IF this mysterious so-called Comet Elenin is Planet-X.... Sure sounds like a fiery, red dragon is headed our way....

EarthPulseDaily posted this: "NASA's buzz about comet Elenin" – ...Elenin, as it is called, is of particular interest to NASA because of the close proximity to Earth that its orbit will reach.... ...Relative silence by NASA and the mainstream media re: Elenin has the Armageddon chatroom abuzz with theories of doom and gloom. ...It will cross the ecliptic on September 11, 2011.... From October 10-24, 2011 {it} is forecast to be within 0.25 a.u. (astronomical unit) of Earth, according to NASA JPL diagram."

In The Comet Hale-Bopp Book (© 1996, page 124), author Thomas Hockey states that Hale-Bopp's closest approach to earth would be 1.36 a.u. If you recall, Hale-Bopp was quite visible at dawn and twilight hours.

MORE FROM SPACE...

Another result of Japan's current tragedy is the closure of their Tsukuba Space Center which houses a control room for their contribution to the International Space Station. On January 22, 2011, Japan launched Kounotori2 – their second HTV (HII Transfer Vehicle) from their launch center Tanegashima. According to Aerojet (1/24/11) the name Kounotori means "white stork, [and] conveys the image of carrying something precious…." [Selah.] It "will deliver up to six tons of food, clothes, and various experiment devices to the ISS." The ISS crew will then reload it with used equipment, clothing and waste materials, and send it off to "be deliberately burned up during re-entry."

As of this writing, Space Shuttle Discovery is currently at the ISS. According to Fox News, February 26, 2011, "This is the first time spacecraft from the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan have all docked simultaneously, NASA said." The ISS is being kept informed of the situation and conditions in Japan.

Space Shuttle Endeavor is due to lift off for its last flight in April. Hitching a ride to the ISS will be the Alpha Magnetic Spectromoter, which has been "designed to study cosmic rays and antimatter, and peer into the building blocks of the universe" (as reported by T. Malik, Space.com Managing Editor, 3/5/11).

After the shuttle planes have all been retired, "NASA will be totally dependent on the Russian Soyuz to carry astronauts to and from the ISS for a price of over $50 million per seat" (per SpaceX, 1/17/11). However, it just so happens that SpaceX(Space Exploration Technologies) has been perfecting a transport vehicle by the interesting name of the "Dragon" – and the heading of their site reads: "Dragon Returns to Earth."

So….

What we have here is – the earth travailing and convulsing, the sea and waves roaring, a "comet" known to the Greeks as "Typhon," a delivery vehicle named "white stork," and a transport vehicle named "Dragon." Not to mention all the "distress of nation" in Japan, and the on-going distress of nations in the Middle East.

"And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." Revelation 12:2-4

"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" Revelation 13:4

Stay tuned for more....