In some ways, the prophecies of Revelation are similar to the classical piece, Bolero, composed by Ravel. Bolero starts with one instrument playing, in a slow melodic fashion. A second instrument then comes in, and then a third. The tempo quickens and soon the whole orchestra is playing, making a discordant climax.
In Revelation, it starts with the release of the rider on the white horse — the coming of the children of the Beast who begin their work to prepare for the rise of the Anti-Christ. As the first rider is busy at work, the second rider, the one on the red horse, is released. Conflict is sown, and as the seeds sprout, so does war spread — civil wars, religious wars, wars between nations. All the while, the children of the Beast continue to work on their political and social agenda. Then comes the third horseman, adding to the growing din. The cost of food starts to increase. Not necessarily in a straight line, but the trend in food inflation starts to increase, perhaps in fits and starts, but prices start their climb. The unemployed, the working poor, those who for no fault of their own find themselves in financial difficulties, feel the string of food inflation the most, as a larger percentage of their income is used to buy the necessities of life. All the while, the children of the Beast are still hard at work, working for the rise of the Beast.
The tempo begins to increase, as Death and Hades are set lose. Like pouring gasoline on burning embers, they will ignite a crescendo of death on the world. Food shortages will morph into famine, conflicts will intensify, and deadly diseases will also be added to the mix. What might be the catalysts that will unleash Death and Hades upon the world?
I would argue that God could very well use the next phase of global warming to bring about the unleashing of Death and Hades upon the world. Climate reports from various organizations have claimed that a worsening of global warming will result in the very things we have described — famine, disease, and conflict. This site has argued that methane release in the Arctic regions will accelerate global warming, and that massive heat spikes are prophesied in Revelation. We can see in California how record heat, when combined with drought, can wreak havoc on agricultural production. California produces about half the fruits and vegetables for America, and it is only doing so using mostly ground water at the moment. Future agricultural production is very much at risk. Similarly, drought has caused a large reduction in the number of beef cattle and made feeding costs for dairy cows very high, resulting in historical all-time highs for the cost of beef and milk. Any spikes in global temperatures will push the world into famine.
Similarly, with the world warming, deadly tropical diseases can spread to new areas. I was surprised to read that over a hundred people died from the Nile virus in California. Deadly pestilence is something that by nature comes quickly and unexpectedly — like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. However, with the stresses of heat waves, food shortages, and chaos caused by conflict, humans will become much more vulnerable to any outbreak.
The tempo is starting to pick up as more instruments join the music.