From The Mail: Viewers Relate Various And Alleged 'Signs,' Including Darkness

By Michael H. Brown

Is there something going on in Missouri?

"Here in Missouri we have been experiencing the most unusual weather I have ever seen," writes Jean Gabbert of Moberly. "Last night [8/11] got so cool I had to close the windows. The lows have been in the mid-50s, the day- time highs have ranged from the upper- 60's to the mid-70's. The Missouri State Fair starts today and there is green grass, there is only one other time that I can remember that happening. That was about 10-12 years ago. The temperatures have been like this for weeks. I haven't used my air conditioner more than three or four times. Needless to say, this is the most unusual weather I have ever seen."

We're always interested in natural peculiarities, wondering, at times, if they're portents -- or just strange stuff. How much can we believe? We have no doubt that the weather is swerving. Even mainstream climatologists are now agreeing to that. Yes: something is heightening in our weather. And it certainly is not confined to Missouri. We have written about the need to pray about all the hurricanes that may approach, along with other weather systems [see this website tomorrow]. We don't agree with the interpretation of every event as signaling the end of all ends, but we do believe that God sends us signs and that we are in very special times -- times that will see the precipitation of some truly major regional and global events in the not-so-distant future.

Are some people being granted private signals or little sneak previews?

It's tough stuff to discern. But we don't think it should be ignored. Several years ago, many reported hearing strange "rumblings." It was fascinating how similar the descriptions were; they came from around the country. There were also countless readers who said they were awakening right at three a.m., feeling called to pray. This is a phenomenon that crosses the denominations: as if a window to another realm opens and things happen at that "bewitching" time.

Now, allegedly, it's what one viewer calls the "blink" phenomenon. We ran one note from a businessman in Vancouver who claimed -- along with his family -- that the day suddenly turned to night recently, for no discernible reason. It was well before sunset, and there was not a cloud or plane or any other occlusion in the sky. We now hear the same intriguing and alleged phenomenon from elsewhere, including -- Missouri.

"Last Saturday in St. Louis, a family was sitting in their home, broad daylight, and the exact same thing happened to them as to the folks mentioned in your mailbag article," wrote a viewer named Jeff Ottle. "All of a sudden two to three seconds of total darkness, no light at all inside or out.  If you wish to have more details, please let me know.  It was posted on a very reputable private forum that I belong to."

We were interested, and received this response from Sharon Gilbert:

"First off, here is the text of my original post from that day (August 7), written moments after the incident: 'Ok, this is really weird. It's a gloriously sunny day here in the St. Louis area. A few minutes ago, my husband Derek, our teenage daughter, and I were sitting in our south-facing living room (big picture window -- it's very bright in here), when I noticed a one or two second "blackout" -- like closing your eyes for a long blink. I said -- hey what happened? Both Derek and Nicole stared at me and said -- 'did you see it, too?'

"'We all three saw the sun blink -- or it seemed like it. The entire house and outside went totally black for a couple of seconds. I mean -- this is really, really creepy! It's two in the afternoon here! What is so big it could block out the entire sun for a blip in time? Or did God send a quick hello -- just reminding us that He's in control?'

"My husband, daughter, and I talked about this for the remainder of the day, trying to figure out what it might have been. It left each of us feeling very unsettled. I prayed about it before going to sleep, and asked God to help me know what it was – and if it was a sign from Him -- to give me the wisdom to discern its meaning. I can’t tell you how happy I was to learn it happened to someone else (the British Columbia family)! Having the world go black is quite disconcerting!  And that is how it seemed – like the world had gone black.  It was a beautiful, sunny day here, and our living room had been flooded with light when everything went black – like closing your eyes for a couple of seconds – then it was bright again. I was facing away from our picture window, but my husband and daughter faced it – and we all experienced the same thing. Like the sun had blinked off – like all light had disappeared for a couple of seconds. We had the light on our kitchen sink turned on, and even that went out! Yet, none of the electric clocks reset to midnight, which they always do when the electricity is interrupted. And the darkness could be FELT. It brought to mind the Scripture: "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the  beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed  their tongues for pain," (Revelation 16:10)

A localized phenomenon? Perhaps something in the house? Or against all odds, an airplane?

Phenomena also allegedly continue with the sun. This we received from a reader named Roger Vega in Fredericksburg, Maryland:

"A while back I sent you a picture I took of my roof top and the sun and a beam appeared to touch down," he mentioned. "It is the picture labeled the sun. Today I took more pictures after church at my home and I saw more beams of light, including what seems a dove on the bottom right of the pictures.  Also, I took a picture of my granddaughter and the sun reflected on the car and there is also a beam touching ground.  It seems the pictures are of an atomic explosion or a heart flowing love and faith down upon my life?

"I am writing a story called, 'Silence at Three' which is about the warning, and it is interesting that it comes to my mind at a time when I think the warning will come, and I know no one knows God's plans nor His time of occurrences, but my heart feels a phenomena to occur soon because as you write, the things occurring such as the weather could signify God is about to act on a plan to purify the world."

Aug 2004