Global Warming: God's Perspective?

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There is so much talk today about the problem of “Global Warming.” Personally, I don’t buy it in as much as they are trying to sell the problem to us. Yes, there may be a problem, but I think the whole thing is, for the most part, little more than fear mongering.

Scientists, or those who promoted this fear mongering, are really talking out of both sides of their mouths. While it is true that the earth’s temperature may be marginally rising, it is also true that the earth goes through cycles; it gets warmer, and then it get cooler again, only to be followed by another warming period. Yes, the ozone layer is being depleted, but I suspect that its depletion has much more to do with natural phenomena’s such as forest fires and volcanic activity than it does with driving an SUV as opposed to a VW. Still, I will not argue that; it’s just my opinion.

I also remember reading of how 10,000 years ago the earth’s oceans were (supposedly) 130 meters higher than they are today. Is that true? I suppose no one really knows. However, the point is that even if the worst doomsday case of the global warming camp were realized, the melting ice still would not raise the sea levels to where they’ve already been before. It is true, however, that even a 10 meter raise in sea levels would create incredible flooding and wipe out entire populated cities and villages around the world. Certain islands would be virtually completely submerged and the global loss of life would be catastrophic. There is no doubt about that, and that is unfortunate. No one wants to see such massive losses of life. But all this potential loss of life presupposes that such raising of sea levels would be instant, which I’m reasonably sure would not be the case at all. Any difference in sea levels would rather be gradual, which in turn would afford people lots of time to move to higher ground, and which ultimately would mean that the loss of life would be far less than some people would suggest.

On the other hand, would sea levels even rise as much as they would have us to believe? If I were to take a drinking glass, fill it with ice cubes, and top the glass up with water, would the glass of water run over the rim as the ice melts? No it wouldn’t. And if that is true, then can we really believe that a melting iceberg would behave any differently? In such a case, I don’t think there would be any noticeable rise in sea levels any more than there would be an overflowing water glass when its ice cubes melted. Again, I'm not a scientist; that's just my humble opinion.

The truth is that people much more learned than I have argued both sides of the “Global Warming” issue to death, and likely will continue to argue it for a long time to come. One thing I know for sure is that the Bible also speaks about a form of “Global Warming” and it is much worse than the worse case scenario that we have heard from scientists thus far. To that topic I want to turn now.

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What is this biblical “Global Warming” that I’m talking about? It is the complete destruction of the heavens and earth by fire. Let me first digress for a moment. Those of us who have ever attended a Sunday School on any kind of regular basis, will recall that, due to sinful state of the world at the time, God wiped everything out with a flood in the days of Noah. Talk about a rising sea level! God promised that He would never again destroy the world with a global flood like that. Having said that, He does say in many parts of the Bible that, at the end of the age, He will destroy the earth with fire. We are not just talking here about the mercury rising a few degrees, but rather about things getting hot enough to, as 2 Peter 3:10 says, “the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (NIV). I’m not sure how hot things have to get in order to cause that kind of destruction, but I am sure it is going to have to get a lot hotter than scientists are telling us in the “Global Warming scenarios. Let us look at some other Bible passages before we go any further.

Malachi 4:1 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evil doer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.”

Matthew 3:12 “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

1 Corinthians 3:11-13 “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and fire will test the quality of each man’s work.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7 “This will happen when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven in blazing fire.”

Hebrews 12:29 “Our God is a consuming fire.”

2 Peter 3:7 “the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day for judgment and destruction of ungodly men”

2 Peter 3:12 “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.”

Do you see a pattern developing here? When I read these verses I see that the whole world is about to get a whole lot warmer. Scientists are right in saying that we are facing a problem with “Global Warming.” They don’t know how right they are! What they don’t know, however, is just how serious things really are going to get. They also are not giving us the right solution to the problem because, again, they don’t know how serious things are going to get, and, they have not considered God’s thoughts on the matter. God is not going to bring His version of “Global Warming” into being because I drive a big SUV instead of a VW. He is going to bring His version of “Global Warming” into being as part of judgment and His plans for the end of the age.

Ah, some may object, I thought sin was paid for by Jesus on the cross? Yes it was, but with only one condition: acceptance by you and me of that gift. If we blatantly disregard the cross of Christ, we should not suppose that we will receive any benefit from it.

Suppose, just maybe, that you are wrong. Then what?

Dear friend, you may be saying to yourself that you don’t believe a thing I’ve just said. You may even think that these are simply the musings of some religious nut. That’s OK, because I’ve been called worse, and like me, you are entitled to your own opinion. But what if you are wrong in your assessment? Think about that for a moment. Suppose, just maybe, that you're wrong. Then what?

Let us look at some more Scripture from the prophecies of the Book of Revelation. While there are many ways that Christians have historically interpreted this book, my point is not to discuss those various interpretations, but rather to simply quote them and let the Holy Spirit guide you, the reader, into their interpretation. I think you will find that they speak for themselves.

Revelation 8: 7-8 “The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”

Revelation 9: 18 “A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulphur…”

Revelation 16: 8-9 “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given the power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.”

When we talk about “Global Warming,” maybe we should consider God’s perspective about a much more serious “warming” that is going to be coming. Let’s not sweat the little stuff of depleting ozone layers, melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels. By my way of thinking, that’s like putting a band-aid on a terminally ill cancer patient. Let’s forget the band-aids and focus on the cancer of our sin. Is it the sin of mankind that is leading to the inevitable “Global Warming” that God is soon to bring about? I wonder.

2 Peter 3: 8-9 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Have you come to repentance through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? That is the bottom line. That is the only hope for mankind if we want a chance at correcting the doomsday course of God’s “Global Warming” that is rapidly encroaching upon us.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Do we want our land healed? It’s possible, but it means that we follow and obey what God prescribes as the antidote in the verse we just read.

Anyways, just a couple of my humble musings. Peace.