By Staff
The fact that the earth has warmed a tick or two on the thermometer is undisputed. The cause of this phenomenon is in great dispute. As the politicians wrestle this volatile issue, those who know and read the Bible have no doubt of an eventual cataclysmic "global warming."
The Living God of Heaven created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). After 1,500-1,600 years the wickedness of man on the earth was so great that God brought a great flood that covered the entire earth (Genesis 7:19-20) and wiped out every living thing, except eight people and selected animals that survived in a great ship called the ark (Genesis 7:23).
God started over again with Noah and his family. Things on the earth proceeded normally until God intervened for His people in the land of Egypt. God's people, the Israelites, were slaves in Egypt (Exodus 3:7-9). God used ten plagues, all supernatural events, to persuade the Egyptians to release Israel. The plagues ranged from insects to storms to complete darkness to death of selected children, etc., but no cataclysmic heat. God was holding the heat for a later time.
God promises a scorching sun as one of the bowl judgments near the end of time. Revelation, chapter 16, verses 8-9, says, "the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory." That is "global warming," but it's little more than a bad sunburn compared to the ultimate warming up of the earth.
The apostle Peter in the New Testament speaks of the "global warming" that should shock all of us into reality. Peter referred to the destructive Genesis flood and stated that God promised the earth would never again be destroyed by water (Genesis 9:11). Peter did state in 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 7, that the heavens and the earth are reserved for fire in the next and final judgment.
Peter spoke of the "day of the Lord" in 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 10: ". . . the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." That is "global warming"!
We are all earthbound right now, unless we pass to the next life through physical death. If we are alive for the next few years, we will experience and possibly suffer through some of the effects of this relatively insignificant present "global warming." There may be an increase in hurricanes, tornadoes, glacial melting, and some uncomfortable summers, but for the most part, we will survive. When the "big one" comes, that is, the real "global warming," nothing will survive.
The ark was the instrument of deliverance and safety from the worldwide flood. The ark is a picture of Jesus Christ. Deliverance from the real "global warming," that is, the meltdown of earth, is through Jesus Christ. The ark provided refuge in the midst of the storm and flood. Jesus Christ will be the refuge from the impending doom of destruction. We will be removed from the earth by Him "just in time" to escape God's judgment (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Heat seems to correlate with judgment and punishment. The gospel of Luke, chapter 16, verse 24, speaks of the flames of hell. Hell exists now, but is a temporary holding place for those who reject Jesus Christ as Savior. Hell will eventually be cast into the ultimate "hot" place, the lake of fire, mentioned in Revelation, chapter 20, verse 14.
The earth will be destroyed by fire and those whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). The only safe place during all that destruction is in Jesus Christ.
The concern for "global warming" now, and all the proposed changes in lifestyle to try and rein it in, is nothing compared to the concern there should be for every soul as we all face the real "global warming."