ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
Man-made or God’s
judgment.
Some say it is a hoax, while others feel ‘they can save the planet from extinction’.
What does God’s word, the ultimate authority, say. The Bible is unchallengeable.
Moses wrote of the multiplied grief and suffering in pregnancy, after Adam’s rebellion, (a lifetime in helping women with pregnancies, expands my view of this foretelling). He told how the creation would be doomed, ‘the ground is under a curse because of you; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you (my treasured rose garden reminds me of thorns amidst God’s fragrance and form) ; in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it were you taken. Dust you are and to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:17
These changes persist, only transmuted by the bodily resurrection of our dear Lord.
God judged the earth in the days of Noah, before the flood covered
the mountains , ‘the ground is cursed by the Lord’. 5:29 Only eight survived
the 40 days flooding with gushing springs of the earth. God’s curse cannot be blotted out
except by One able to bear the curse of our sins and
triumph over the whole of Satan’s mischievous plans. Our holy Lord accomplished this when he gave
Himself as our sin-bearer on
Job spoke of this scourge, ‘Who is so
blind as not to recognize (that good and evil are promiscuously scattered
throughout nature and human life) that it is God’s hand that does it and
in God’s way.’ 12: 9 Writing under the Holy Spirit, Job understood
that good and evil will coexist until the Lord of glory comes to reign as Sovereign Lord the King for 1000 years. Then all evil will be suppressed. Man, whether endowed intellectually or
socially prominent , cannot manipulate this climatic state - only the Lord of
glory. The talk of climate change is
offensive to Him in the glory, for it excludes
Our national Parliament struggles with legislation concerning the effects of carbon pollution contributing to our climate change. The inhabitants are blame-worthy declared Isaiah . He enlarges on the shattered constitution; disregarding statutes; and shattering the God-given covenants. Isaiah, prophet among Israel’s royalty, wrote powerfully, ‘The land and the earth are defiled by their inhabitants , because they have transgressed the laws , disregarded the demands; and broken the everlasting pledge. As a direct outcome of this spiritual mutiny, ‘therefore a curse devours the land the earth, and they that dwell in it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the land and the earth are scorched and parched (under the curse of God’s wrath) and few people are left. 24:6,7 The Holy Spirit revealed in this section the disastrous and interminable effects of the uprising against the pure holy God. Who can reverse the changes which God has brought on His created people; none can deny their reality.
God shows this change is not coincidental but He has pronounced 'anathema’ and condemned the land and the people. When educated people mock and jest at such God-given truth, this compels us to fearlessly and graciously state the truth. Therefore we must proclaim the gospel as judgment draws near: and the vicarious death of God’s Son is the solution.
‘Therefore, a curse devours the land and the earth, and they who dwell in it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the land and earth (notice this phrase is repeated for emphasis) are scorched and parched (under the curse of God’s wrath) and few people are left. V6
The natural world deplores and grieves while the pasture and pleasant tasty spices dry up.
The delightful countryside has vanished while taste-giving and medicinal herbs disappear. ‘How long must the land mourn and the grass and herbs of the whole country wither? Through the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts and the birds are consumed and swept away (by the drought) because men mocked me; saying He shall not live to see my end.’ Jeremiah 12:4
Man denies God’s right to judge, rebel and demonstrate His just anger in His once perfect creation.
Hosea’s prophecy clarifies that the land (the natural universe) shall grieve over this; and every citizen (those who dwell in it) shall decay: this climate change shall affect the animal world and the birds that occupy the lower heavens; that the vast oceans occupying 5 times the earth’s surface shall exhibit God’s sovereign displeasure. Man’s rebellion disturbed the balanced scales of God’s justice, exhibited in every phase of His creative wonder. In the light of this, man’s secular endeavour to repair the extensive damage is laughable, were it not so grievous.
‘Therefore shall the land continually deplore and all that dwell in it shall continually languish, together with the wild beasts of the open country and the birds of the heavens: yes, the fishes of the sea shall perish (because of the drought) be collected and taken away.; Hosea 4:3
Our God calls it slavery to putrefaction and sleazy crookedness (corruption): and that he planned this possibility for a definite purpose, which He then outlined. His eternal, glorious longing was that the entire realm of nature will be unshackled from corrosion and wrong-doing. This heart desire is linked with the privileged adoption to son-ship of the children of the Lord, and understandably links with the travail of labor pains. Every woman grasps that there can be no live babe except resulting from childbirth; hence she would comprehend better than men that the created world is undergoing travail in climatic variations. This truth links with our Lord’s suffering for us on the cross, to bring us to birth in HIM. We inwardly struggle despite our privileged son-ship in natural bodies, yet yearning for the transformation when our Lord Jesus calls us by name. He once commanded, ’ Lazarus, Arise. I am the Resurrection ad the Life.’ We graduate from our sensory life: we fear no evil concerning the grave. The climate change spiritually embraces our fallen bodies in each realm, even the heavenly-ordered rising again of our fearfully and wonderfully- made, yet fallen bodies.
Paul authoritatively summed up climate change or decay in Romans 8:21,’For the creation (nature) was subjected to frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration,) not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him, Who so subjected it- yet with the hope that nature (creation) will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption(and gain an entrance) into the glorious freedom of God’s children.’ He continued , ‘ We know the whole creation (of irrational creatures) has been moaning together in the pains of labor (groans of childbirth) until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves too, who have and enjoy the first-fruits (a forerunner of the blissful things to come) groan inwardly as we wait for redemption of our bodies (from sensuality and the grave which will reveal) our adoption (our manifestation) as God’s sons.’ V21-23 `
The apostle John summed up the new creation when climate change has been displaced from man’s gripping attention, giving way to the healing of each nation from the leaves of the Tree of life (Who is Christ Himself). No abominable personal characteristic will persist: everything sin-saturated will be purged in the redemptive blood of God’s dear Son. God’s enthronement and the recognition of Christ as the Lamb of God will supersede everything. The radiance of the Saviour’s face shall delight them: His holy name shall be inscribed in the frontal cortex of their resurrection bodies, which is the memory zone of the brain .
‘The leaves of the tree (of Life) were for the healing and restoration of the nations.’ John continued, ‘there shall no longer exist there anything that is accursed, detestable, foul, offensive, impure, hateful, or horrible. But the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall be worship Him (pay divine honours to Him and do Him holy service). They shall see His face and his name shall be in their foreheads. Revelation 22:4,5
If a man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold all things have passed away. And all things have become new.’ 2 Corinthians 5:17 Climate change will vanish in His eternal jurisdiction.