A Voice in the Wilderness
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" Save the Planet? "
"I have made the earth, and created man on it; I, with My hands,
have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I ordained."
"For thus says Jehovah who Created the heavens, God who has formed the
earth and made it; who has established it, who has not created it void,
but has formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah, and there is no other.
"Thus says Jehovah the Mighty God, He who created the heavens and
stretched them out, spreading out the earth and its offspring; Who gives
breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it."
(Is45:12,18, 42:5)
In the last year there has been this extraordinary push by
environmentalists regarding alleged "global warming". Just about every
other piece of sound bite is about "carbon footprint", excess CO2 in the
atmosphere -caused- by man's existence and activities, melting of the
polar ice, receding of glaciers, potential extinction of animal species
like polar bears, and all sorts of similar talk. They want to extract a
tax based on each person's carbon footprint. I've never heard 'where'
that money would go, nor for what purposes.
I find it interesting; somewhat 'humorous' really; that this past winter
where they've been -talking- so militantly about "global warming" and
the dire consequences to earth if we don't DO SOMETHING about it
IMMEDIATELY; this same winter, according to a Feb 18,2008 London Daily
Express article the headline, "Global Warming? It's the coldest winter
in decades". The article told of how satellite data shows that those
feared 'disappearing' levels of sea ice have reappeared. And that there
is a "third more ice in Antarctica than is usual for the time of year".
Around the same time was another article by a scientist, Arthur
Robinson, "The Virtues of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide"
[link]
Robinson's basic premise is something I have thought on regularly over
the years regarding the popular fear against CO2 in the atmosphere. It's
part of the God-created synergy between plants and animal life. Plants
require ('breathe') CO2 for photosynthesis; and leave 'exhale' Oxygen as
a by-product of their nutrient production. That oxygen is inhaled by
animals and man, who then exhale CO2. Thus, animals produce CO2 for the
plants, and plants produce O2 for animals. It is a continuously
circulating cycle.
Environmentalists often 'worry' about "greenhouse gasses", and they also
worry about "endangered species" of animals. The connection they don't
seem to make is: the more CO2 there is (even if it were to approach
"greenhouse" proportions) the more the plants grow. And the more plants
grow, the more food there is for the animals, and all the species
proliferate and thrive richly. If anything, if man is producing CO2 with
his (so-called) "footprint", that is actually to the 'benefit' of
vegetation and all the animal species they worry are "endangered".
Paul explained it to some people of the world of his day....
"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of
Heaven and earth... gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He
has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell everywhere on the
face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the
boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the
hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far
from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as also some
of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring."
(Ac17:24-28)
How has God provided for everything?
"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and
measured out the heavens with a span? And who has calculated the dust of
the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the
hills in a balance?" (Is40:12)
One of the primary problems of environmentalism is that they don't
believe in God. For the most part they are atheists, believing in the
as-yet unproved -theories- of "evolution". Under this theory, this
earth has allegedly existed for Billions of years. And as man looks
around at earth's resources, and sees how human population keeps
growing, he begins to -WORRY- that the resources are going to "run out".
He assumes that, if the earth has been around for billions of years,
that it is likely to -continue- into the future billions more years; he
sees a finite amount of resources, like coal and oil, and worries that a
day is coming where man will not have these necessary things to survive.
He sees how animal species are dwindling (contrary to the Darwinian
model), and worries about when man will also ultimately become extinct.
Thus, if we are to survive, as a "species", we need to do something NOW,
to "save the planet".
When God created "in the beginning" (Gen1:1), He gave earth as a
temporary domicile for man.
"Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our
likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the
flying creatures of the heavens, and over the beasts, over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth." (Gen1:26)
According to God's plan and design, for this duration, -man- is in
charge, not nature. Nature is not our "mother", but God "created" all
things. We are not to worship the created things, but the Creator.
(Rom1:25)
And just as there was a "beginning" to this creation, there is also an
end...
"But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same Word,
are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and destruction of
ungodly men. But, beloved, do not be unaware of this one thing, that
with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day. The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count
slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not purposing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away
with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with intense
burning; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up."
(2Pet3:7-10)
According to this little 'formula' Peter provides, we can clearly
understand a basic truth regarding this earth...
"Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were
finished. And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had
made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had
made. And God blessed the seventh day and consecrated it, because in it
He rested from all His work which God had created and made. These are
the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in
the day that Jehovah God was making the earth and the heavens" (Ge2:1-4)
God created everything in six days, and then rested the seventh; at
which point it was "completed". This earth has now had about 6000 years
of existence, and a final 1000 years of peace (rest) will come soon;
after which, the slate will be wiped clean, as God then creates
everything new... This one will have been completed... finished.
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea." (Re21:1)
You see... it doesn't matter that this earth's resources are limited,
and that if the present course of existence did not abate, they would
run out. But by design, there are only about a thousand years remaining.
And for those thousand years there are yet -plenty- of resources. God
created this earth with "times and seasons, days and years" (Gen1:14);
-AND- He created the earth with 'enough' resources for it to last that
long, and to sustain man; for which reason earth was created.
Furthermore, this understanding is further proof -against- evolution. If
evolutionarily minded atheism is afraid resources will run out in a few
more years, how could the alleged prior "billions" of years even be a
possibility? Earth's -finite- number of resources would have run out a
long time ago.
Of earth's Godless wisdom...
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from
the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the
earth? It is He who sits upon the circle of the earth, and its
inhabitants are like grasshoppers; Who stretches out the heavens like a
curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in; Who brings the
rulers to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth as nothing. Indeed,
they shall not be planted; indeed, they shall not be sown. Indeed, their
stump shall not take root in the earth. And He shall also blow upon
them, and they shall wither, and the tempest shall take them away like
stubble." (Is40:21-24)
Man is "willfully ignorant" (2Pet3:5)
No, earth's resources won't run out as long as man is on it. God created
a perfect balance of life and its supportive resources; for the time
period for which God intended, and created it.
However, related to God's judgment of sinful man, there is going to be
some "warming". As it is right now, earth's ecosystem is not perfect.
Instead of only beneficial plants, there are also weeds and thistles.
(Ge3:18) There is disease. Some plants and animals produce poisons. That
is God's curse because of Adam and Eve's sin.
Further judgment is coming...
"And the fourth angel poured out his bowl onto the sun, and it 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 authority over these
plagues; and they did not repent to give Him glory." (Rev16:8-9)
But notice that this heat will not be caused by man's (alleged)
"pollution". Just as the current warm/cold cycles exist throughout
history; this past winter was exceptionally cold, but prior to that
people were worried about warming, but in the 70s they were worried
about another "ice age" for the same reasons they have been predicting
"global warming"; excessive CO2 emissions by man...the true scientific
community understands that these cyclical fluctuations are a result of
-SOLAR- activity cycles.
I expect the ancients understood this better than modern eco-wisdom
does, as they worshipped the sun. Ancient Chaldea worshipped Tammuz
(husband of Ishtar), and dedicated a week during the northern
hemispheric summer in worship. In Egypt it was Ra. When those religions
migrated to Rome, it became the 'disk' of what is now the (so-called)
eucharist, and the (solar) disks always depicted in art around the heads
of holy ones, typically called "halos". [See:
link]
And actually, if looked up in a dictionary, the first definition for
"halo" has to do with the luminescence around the sun and/or moon, not
so-called "saints".
If the weather was cold and crops did not sprout and grow, they would
offer fertility sacrifices to the sun. These sacrifices might be in the
form of young virgins or babies. If the sun was hot and there was
drought, the same thing. They understood that the sun was the source of
the energy the earth receives. But instead of praying to God, the
Creator, they prayed to the "created things" (Rom1:25), the sun.
The two prominent religions of the world today worship the sun and moon.
Babylon of Rome worships the sun; Islam the moon. In the book of
Revelation a person reads how many of the judgments are against Babylon.
The primary focus of Babylon's worship is the sun; just as today's
(alleged) atheists will go lay out naked, and will joke about being "sun
worshippers".
Well, when the true "global warming" comes, it will not be man-made. It
will be from God, through the false 'god' mankind has been worshiping,
the sun. God, the Creator, will speak to the sun, the created thing, and
cause mankind to be "scorched with fire".
But even then, mankind will continue doing what he does now: he will
"blaspheme" the Creator.
Ultimately, planet Earth will -NOT- be "saved"; and there is nothing man
can do about it. God's judgment will burn it up, along with the present
universe; and will create a "new heavens and earth". Why?
This earth is full of sin and perversity, caused by man. The new will
be characterized by "righteousness" (2Pet3:13) and this old will "not be
remembered, nor come to mind" (Is65:17)
So... what should mankind be doing? Going "green"? or...
"Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be
found by Him in peace, spotless and without blemish;" (2Pet3:14)
The New will also have the Tree of Life, which is for "those who do His
commandments"
But...
"...outside are dogs and sorcerers and prostitutes and murderers and
idolaters, and whoever loves and produces a lie." (Rev22:14-15)
Amen!
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