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Radioactive Fallout and
Clouds of Dust
the Lord actually says that believers will be
supernaturally protected from the lingering death of radiation
End Times Truth
As we have seen in previous sections, one of the
main consequences of a nuclear explosion happening at or near ground level is
that millions of tons of dust and debris would be thrown up into the
atmosphere.
The largest chunks would relatively quickly fall
back to the ground — being thrown perhaps at most a few tens of miles away from
ground zero.
Even the majority of the smaller pieces would
come back down within about a day after the blast.
Actually, it has been estimated that about 70%
of the debris kicked up by a nuclear explosion would fall downwind within only
24 hours of the blast.
However, the tiniest of dust particles, smoke,
and pulverized debris from these blasts would constitute the most dangerous
part of this nuclear fallout, as they would be taken up into the atmosphere and
then be blown around the Earth with the prevailing wind currents.
If any bomb generated such huge particulate
fallout it would constitute an immense danger to people within range.
However, with nuclear explosions an additional
factor present is the extreme hazard of radioactivity, which originally would
come from the unstable uranium or plutonium in the bomb’s core or from
radioactive elements generated in the fission or fusion chain reaction.
These radioactive elements would then be carried
aloft and spread out along with all the other debris.
When a thermonuclear device explodes, two
significant radioactive elements are produced (strontium-90 and cesium-137)
which get mixed in with the dust and rubble.
These isotopes each have a half-life of several
decades and will thus contaminate a large area for many years after the initial
explosion.
In addition, any leftover fissionable material
(U-235 or Pu-239) would also be dispersed in the clouds of smoke and dust and
contribute to large amounts of radioactivity.
For a one-megaton bomb, the fallout from just
the first 24 hours after the blast would contaminate at least 1,000 square
miles with highly radioactive dust and debris.
If the warhead happened to detonate near a
nuclear power plant, a very common target of military strategists, then the
additional radioactivity could increase the contaminated area by many orders of
magnitude and produce radiation of much greater longevity.
From a limited war involving only one-third of
the present nuclear arsenals, scientists have estimated that up to 225 billion
tons of radioactive debris would be carried aloft through the atmosphere (from: The Final Epidemic for
all Living Things, by The Physicians for Social Responsibility, 1982).
Radiation from this kind of fallout comes in two
lethal forms — gamma rays and beta particles.
Gamma radiation is ultra high frequency
electromagnetic energy that is even more dangerous than x-rays and which can
penetrate directly through living organisms.
Gamma rays are among the most energetic and
dangerous light waves in the universe and can kill at a distance.
This form of radiation will be the first reason
for most of the deaths and sickness from the immediate fallout.
Beta particles, by contrast, are energetic
electrons that are thrown out of the decaying nuclei of the radioactive
elements.
They do most of their damage at close range such
as when fallout accumulates on plants and skin or is eaten.
Note that these forms of radiation from nuclear
fallout are in addition to the intense neutron radiation that is produced at
the time of each nuclear blast; however, the neutron radiation dissipates
within minutes of an explosion, but the other forms of radiation due to fallout
last for years.
So incredibly dangerous is the potential of
radioactive fallout that in fact the long-term cumulative effects of lethal
radiation would far exceed the immediate blast effects of the exploding bombs.
Fallout would be absorbed on skin, clothing, and
plants, while the finest dust particles could be breathed in to cause internal
damage to tissue.
Even in a limited attack, the resultant
radioactivity would quickly get into the food chain and contaminate the food
supply of every organism up to man.
For those “unlucky” enough to survive the
initial nuclear blasts, they would be presented with a world of suffering,
which was slowly dying from an unseen, but deadly danger.
Even for those able to survive the first few
weeks after a major attack, long-term survival is far from guaranteed.
Unfortunately, the effects of radiation on the
human body are accumulative, thus adding to the problem of survival as time
passes.
Radioactive contamination can be eaten, breathed
in, or gotten on the body from dirt or dust.
Once a threshold level of exposure is reached, a
disorder called “radiation sickness” starts to manifest itself. According to
the group Ground Zero:
“The first symptoms are
vomiting and diarrhea, followed by anemia, loss of hair, possible skin sores,
increased susceptibility to infection, and finally — in the worst cases —
death” (from Nuclear War; What’s in
it for You?, by Ground Zero, 1982, p. 140, Pocket Books).
Since radiation from fallout is such a
significant aftereffect of a nuclear war, if the Bible truly predicts a final
global conflagration, then surely it must predict the effects of radioactive
contamination.
In the ninth chapter of the book of Revelation,
after the initial trumpets of fire are described, a frightening fifth trumpet
is presented in highly symbolic form.
When the trumpet sounds in this vision, the
Apostle John sees an angel go down to the Earth and open something he calls
“the bottomless pit”.
Out of this pit comes huge billows of smoke so
great that he sees the very sun darkened as a result. The Apostle then sees
something else coming forth from the smoke which is very strange.
This is how he describes it:
“And there came out of the
smoke locusts upon the earth, and unto them was given power, as the scorpions
of the earth have power.
“And it was commanded them that
they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any tree, but only those
men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
“And to them it was given that
they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and
their torment was like the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
“And in those days shall men
seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall
flee from them.” (Revelation 9:3-6 Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
Like many of the other prophecies about the
tremendous destructive effects of the end, this vision has been almost
exclusively interpreted as being a supernaturally caused phenomenon.
If the passage was to be treated only in this
way, then we would have to believe that the Lord is actually going to create
these mutant locusts and send them upon the ungodly in the last days.
However, John goes on to describe the appearance
of these creatures in terms that make them sound more like symbolic
descriptions of human warriors than literal insects (see Revelation 9:7-9 Open in
Logos Bible Software if available).
If we treat this prophecy, not as representing
some weird, divinely created, mutant creatures, but rather as a description of
one of the principle effects of the global military battles of the end —
battles caused by man — then suddenly the prediction begins to make sense.
Could it be that the Bible is trying to tell us
that out of the dark mushroom clouds, smoke, and fallout of a nuclear holocaust
will come the stinging scorpions of radioactivity?
It has often been said that the survivors of
World War III would envy the dead. The slow, agonizing bodily decay caused by
radiation sickness will make everyone affected wish for the relief of death.
The prophecy says that for a period of five
months men shall hope for death, but death will not come.
Notice, the Bible does not say that there will
be a period of five months completely devoid of death on the Earth. It only
predicts that those people affected by these “locusts” will
suffer on the edge of death for that time period.
In speaking of the conditions just after the
Hiroshima blast, Jonathon Schell made this observation:
“In the weeks after the
bombing, many survivors began to notice the appearance of petechiae — small spots
caused by hemorrhages — on their skin. These usually signaled the onset of the
critical stage of radiation sickness.
“In the first stage, the
victims characteristically vomited repeatedly, ran a fever, and developed an
abnormal thirst. (The cry ‘Water! Water!’ was one of the few sounds often heard
in Hiroshima on the day of the bombing.)
“Then, after a few hours or
days, there was a deceptively hopeful period of remission of symptoms, called
the latency period, which lasted from about a week to about four weeks…
“During the latency period,
the count of white blood cells, which are instrumental in fighting infections,
and the count of platelets, which are instrumental in clotting, drop
precipitously, so the body is poorly defended against infection and is liable
to hemorrhaging.
“In the third, and final,
stage, which may last for several weeks, the victim’s hair may fall out and he
may suffer from diarrhea and may bleed from the intestines, the mouth, or other
parts of the body, and in the end he will either recover or die” (Fate of the Earth, Schell, p.
43-44).
Note the mention of sores breaking out on the
skin of victims of radiation sickness.
With the first bowl of wrath
John prophesies that “there fell a foul and painful sore upon the men
who had the mark of the beast, and upon them who worshiped his image” (Revelation 16:2 Open in Logos
Bible Software if available).
He continues on to say that at the very end the
Antichrist’s reign…
“… [his] kingdom was full of
darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of
heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their
deeds.” (Revelation 16:10-11 Open in Logos Bible Software if available)
This description perfectly follows the known
effects of radiation sickness. The characteristic petechiae sores will develop
upon millions of survivors within the once-proud empire of the Antichrist.
From out of the dark and foreboding clouds of
atomic death will come a hell on earth the likes of which man has never before
experienced.
It is also interesting that the prophecy of the
locusts predicts that they will not hurt insects or plant life (Revelation 9:4 Open in Logos
Bible Software if available).
Since literal locusts eat plants with ferocious
appetites, this statement is a further indication that the insects must be
symbolic representations of something else.
It just so happens that the most tolerant of all
living things toward radiation are insects and plants.
While the Bible does predict that the fires
started by the nuclear exchange will devastate much of the green growth in the
areas of the attack, plants happen to survive much more readily than animals
when exposed to the subsequent radioactivity.
Jonathon Schell points out,
however, that “large plants are more vulnerable to radiation than small
ones.”
He also adds, “trees
are among the first to die, grasses among the last” (Fate of the Earth, Schell, p.
63).
If a large-scale nuclear exchange was to occur
in which a significant percentage of the present nuclear arsenals were used,
most if not all plant life would be threatened.
Therefore, we must conclude that at least the
initial nuclear exchange as predicted in the Bible, while certainly being
beyond imagination with respect to its destructiveness, will nevertheless have
to be somewhat limited to allow plants to survive.
Though huge areas of the earth are prophesied to
be affected and upwards of a quarter of the world’s population killed, that
will still, at least at first, not be enough to threaten the survival of all
life.
As we will soon discover, however, by the time
of the attack of the Kings of the East at the very end of the war, conditions
will so worsen that complete extinction will become a very real possibility.
As you read through these frightening prophecies
you can’t help but wonder what it’s going to be like for the followers Christ
in those days.
As every step gets darker for the world,
Christians are continually promised hope.
In one place, the Lord actually says that
believers will be supernaturally protected from the lingering death of
radiation (Revelation 9:4 Open in Logos Bible Software if available).
How? Only God knows for sure, but perhaps many
Christians will be spared undo suffering by dying quickly in the nuclear
holocaust, while those that survive will be supernaturally protected.
Whatever methods the Lord uses to accomplish
this protection, you can rest assured that the one who made the stars and
galaxies is not unable to save his people — even with the unleashing of the
most terrible weapons of all time.
Isaiah, when he prophesied
about the destruction of the Earth said, “Wherefore, glorify the Lord
in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the
sea” (Isaiah
24:15 Open in Logos Bible Software if available)
No matter what terrible things may come to pass
in this life, as followers of Christ we should always remember that we are
ultimately headed toward a resurrection and a new heavens and a new Earth,
where peace and righteousness will dwell forever.
Though the immediate future may look dark and
ominous because of an evil world, the ones who follow Jesus are promised the
brightest of all destinies imaginable.
As the last 3-1/2 years of the Great Tribulation
progress to an end, the wars will grow in number of participants and ferocity.
Nuclear weapons are predicted in at least two
major offensives — in the attack of Russia and later in the attack of China.
The initial exchange between the Western
Alliance and the Russian bloc will leave the world reeling from forces it never
before experienced.
After this first holocaust begins to subside,
however, subsequent uses of nuclear arms will only bring the ecosystem all that
much closer to the brink of total collapse.
Instead of being allowed to recover from the
initial barrage, the Earth and its inhabitants will be subjected to continued
assaults that will threaten the very survival of both plant and animal life.
Thick Clouds and Darkness
However, radioactive fallout is just one of the
long-term dangers.
Out of the mushroom clouds will also come very
fine particles of dust, which will not readily settle with the initial fallout.
Huge clouds of smoke will further accompany
these particles as the cities, forests, and grasslands of the world burn. It
has only recently become clear how significant a factor these dust clouds will
be in the post-holocaust world.
In December 1983, the prestigious journal
Science published an article on the global consequences of nuclear war (Science, vol. 222, p. 1283).
Called the TTAPS study after the initials of its
authors, it presented a radical new view on the aftereffects of a full-scale
nuclear exchange.
The authors used computer modeling to
investigate the atmospheric and climatic changes that would take place if a
relatively moderate 5000-megaton war was to be waged.
Even though this level represents less than the
combined total of all the existing nuclear stockpiles, the calculated effect on
the world proved to be almost unbelievable.
The TTAPS study found that
shortly after the bombs were dropped “thousands of individual dust and
smoke clouds would be distributed throughout the northern mid-latitudes and at
altitudes up to 30 kilometers”.
They went on to say that “horizontal
turbulent diffusion, vertical wind shear, and continuing smoke emission could
spread the clouds of nuclear debris over the entire zone, and tend to fill in
any holes in the clouds, within 1 to 2 weeks” (Science, vol. 222, p. 1284).
In other words, within only a few weeks after
the initial fireballs, blast waves, and radioactive fallout have decimated
civilization, the resulting soot, smoke, and dust would totally cover the sky
in a thick cloud of blackness (see: ttp://www.nucleardarkness.org/web/whatisnucleardarkness/
for an animation of this effect following a U.S. – Russian exchange).
This cloud would dissipate only very slowly,
leaving the world, especially the Northern Hemisphere, in a gloomy, sunless
environment perhaps for as long as a year.
Since the amount of sunlight penetrating the
atmosphere would be reduced to only a fraction of what it was before the
nuclear exchange, the TTAPS study calculated that the average world temperature
could drop precipitously.
Therefore, what might result from even a brief,
limited exchange between Russia and the West is a devastating global “nuclear
winter” which could hold the survivors in a virtual deep freeze that would
persist even through the summer months.
According to the results of the study, ambient
temperatures could drop almost overnight, reaching -15° to -25° C (5° to -13°
F) and staying there until the clouds of dust cleared.
The amount of sunlight reaching the ground could
also be reduced so severely that plants would have trouble engaging in
photosynthesis.
In other words, crops and plants left unharmed
by the initial bombs and fires might die anyway simply because of the darkened
conditions.
So serious were these
unexpected side effects that a conference on the Long-Term Worldwide Biological
Consequences of Nuclear War held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in April 1983
concluded that… “…subfreezing temperatures, low light levels, and high
doses of ionizing and ultraviolet radiation extending for many months after a
large-scale nuclear war could destroy the biological support systems of
civilization…”
They went on to say that after
a major nuclear exchange… “…the extinction of a large fraction of the
Earth’s animals, plants, and microorganisms seems possible. The population size
of Homo sapiens conceivably could be reduced to prehistoric levels or below,
and extinction of the human species itself cannot be excluded” (Science, vol. 222, p. 1293).
More recent analysis shows that even a limited
nuclear conflict between Third World nations, such as India and Pakistan, would
also have devastating worldwide climatic effects and result in dramatic
reductions in average temperatures due to reduced sunlight.
Robock et al. published in the journal
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics in 2007 (vol. 7, pp 2003-2012) that the nuclear blasts
and fires resulting from the use of only 100 Hiroshima-sized nuclear weapons
would spread thick clouds of darkness around the globe in just a few months.
Unlike the TTAPS study, however, this analysis
found that much more smoke would be injected into the upper atmosphere due to
the strong stratospheric plume rise from the nuclear blasts.
For this reason, even a limited nuclear exchange
would have devastating consequences and result in global temperature reductions
that would last for years.
If the Bible accurately describes a future
nuclear holocaust, one might also expect it would allude to a darkened sun as
an aftereffect.
In the book of Revelation,
after the Apostle John sees the first three trumpet-visions illustrating the
exploding fireballs of nuclear weapons, he goes on to say this: “And
the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the
third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part
of them was darkened, and the day shone not for third part of it, and the night
likewise.” (Revelation 8:12 Open in Logos Bible Software if available)
The apostle predicts a time of darkness where
one-third of the light shining from the sun, moon, and stars will be obscured.
This darkness is prophesied to come only after
the fireballs of the first three trumpets occur — or in precisely the same
order of events predicted by a scientific knowledge of the effects of nuclear
weapons!
Later, in John’s descriptions of the bowls of
wrath, conditions are prophesied to get even worse.
He then says that the kingdom
of the Beast will be “full of darkness” (Revelation 16:10 Open in
Logos Bible Software if available).
Obviously, there will be a progressive downward
spiral in the environment as the wars continue.
By the very End of the Age,
world conditions will have so deteriorated from the continued use of nuclear
weapons that the words of Jesus will finally have their fulfillment when he
said, “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved” Matthew 24:22 (Open in Logos Bible Software if available)
The Old Testament prophets
also told of a time of darkness at the End of the Age. Joel saw “pillars
of smoke” and immediately afterward said, “… the sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the Lord come” Joel 2:30-31 (Open in Logos Bible Software if
available)
The allusion to a blood-colored moon may have
reference to the high stratospheric dust particles lending a reddish tint to
any light coming through the air, an effect known to be common even with small
quantities of dust in the atmosphere.
The prophet Zephaniah,
speaking of these horrible days to come said, “The great day of the
Lord is near, it is near, and hasteneth greatly, even the voice of the day of
the Lord; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
“That day is a day of wrath, a
day of trouble and distress, a day of waste and desolation, a day of darkness
and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness…” (Zephaniah 1:14-15 Open in
Logos Bible Software if available)
The day of judgment is coming upon the world,
and we would do well to consider this seriously.
If you have never believed in the Bible or God
before, but you can see the truth of God in prophecy, then it is time to Escape
to Safety before it is too late!
End
Times Truth is about warning people
that the Coming of Christ is near and that we are living in the last days just
before His Return. During our lifetime, Bible predictions concerning the Second
Coming have been fulfilled exactly as they were described thousands of years
ago. Jesus said that we could know that his coming was near if we watched
world events and compared them to what was predicted. As the prophecies
come true before our eyes, we know that we are getting closer to the end.
While it is true that the world is heading toward a judgment day, individuals
can escape through knowledge of the truth combined with repentance and faith in
Christ (see Escape to Safety).
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