The high level of rainfall we have experienced this year in the area where I live has led to an interesting outcome. In all the years I have been here, now just over 18 years, I have never seen as many weeds, not even close, prior to this current spring-summer season. It really is quite overwhelming! There are many, many thistles of various kinds among other weeds and some of the toughest grass I have ever had the misery of mowing. The thistles literally pop up in a matter of a few days and within a week to ten days they flower, producing seed almost immediately and spreading rapidly like a bad smell. I very much noticed how quickly they appear, how readily they spread their miserable seed and I also noticed how shallow are their roots whenever I uproot them which sometimes fails with their hollow stems breaking off at the base and leaving their bitter root in the ground, popping up again shortly after. I can pull up dozens of weeds in an area only to find the place filled with weeds again within two to three days, weeds as much as a foot tall, even taller in some cases. All this because of rain? Well, in reality, the majority of the seeds were already there, hidden possibly for years, awaiting the most opportune conditions. I was amazed when I found out how long the seeds of numerous weeds can sit hidden in the soil and remain viable... according to local farming folk, they can last years. One would not think so at first but, it seems, they do. In tandem with all this weed growth has been the spectacular growth of many trees and shrubs, most of which I have planted over the past decade. Due to the normally very dry climate, they grew only very slowly but now they are shattering my concepts of the limits of the speed of tree growth. I have many golden ash, some eucalypts, peppercorn trees, wattles, pitosporums, poplars, an oak, a walnut, an elm, a couple of plums, an apple, and I have yet a whole lot more trees to plant, as I want to fill the property with a broad variety of greenery, beds of flowers and cacti, and so forth. It all takes time and a LOT of effort but the recent growth of what is already in the ground has been nothing short of spectacular!
Notice tha parable in all this? At the time of the end, the Lord makes the latter rains to fall upon the soil of the field, that is, He pours out his spirit upon all flesh in the world. The strong trees with deep roots grow rapidly but so also do all the weeds. All the hidden evil in the hearts of the wicked comes out at last for all to see as they are emboldened by the powers of darkness in high places exercising authority over this fallen world (the devil knows his time is short), that they may fully express what is hidden therein so that they will be fully condemned by their own words and actions, ensuring that no evil hidden in any heart can ever enter the coming kingdom of God on the earth. It is an unfortunate necessity that the righteous have to suffer in these dark and evil days to prevent the unrepentant wicked from escaping justice but that is what we face. Many will yet repent but a great many will not; we were warned of that by the Lord.
So, as I hear the crys all over the world for the restoration of human freedom and the beliefs of many that such will soon occur, that the dying old "new" world order is already on its way out, although it may seem to be the case, I know only too well that this is all going to become a lot darker, the greatest darkness of all time, before the light comes again. Along with your lamps, fill your flasks with oil, as much as you can acquire and carry, because the longest night lays ahead and we need to endure to beyond the midnight hour.
