Some scientists tell us that global warming is the greatest environmental crisis of our time. By now, we are all aware of the problem and its unpleasant effects. Because the atmosphere and the oceans are getting warmer, weather patterns around the world are changing, leading to bigger and more frequent storms, floods, and droughts.
One of the more frightening signs of global warming is the melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers. The eventual melting of the glaciers and ice in Antarctica or Greenland is predicted to cause a rise in sea levels of 20 feet, inundating much of Florida, low-lying Europe, and several Asian countries. Other consequences of melting glaciers include the drying up of rivers and water supplies for people who depend on them. The Himalayan glaciers, in particular, provide half the drinking water for 40 percent of the world’s population, who are even now facing severe water shortages.
Global warming is caused by an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal is the biggest contributor to the greenhouse effect. An explosion in the world’s population and the unprecedented technological revolution of the last 50 years compound the problem.
As the atmosphere thickens from rising carbon dioxide levels, the sun’s light rays, reflecting off the earth in the form of infrared rays, become trapped and unable to escape back out to space. The trapped radiation raises the temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans.
All over the world, entire ecosystems (including animal, bird, marine and plant species) are faced with extinction, as they fail to adjust to warmer conditions, loss of habitat and changing cycles in the seasons. Biologists now use terms like “mass extinction crisis” to describe the accelerating loss of species. Algae blooms and red tides in the warmer oceans are suffocating marine life and creating dead zones. Coral reefs, which are important to many ocean species, are dying due to coral bleaching, the result of carbon dioxide absorbed into the sea. Deserts are expanding because of higher air temperatures and loss of water from the soil by evaporation. Mosquitoes and other germ-carrying life forms that used to exist only at lower elevations are now thriving at higher elevations, broadening the areas for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and E. coli.
Scientists are able to measure historic atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by coring through glaciers and extracting samples of centuries-old ice, which contain encapsulated air bubbles. Carbon dioxide levels prior to the industrial revolution were relatively constant, at about 280 parts per million [ppm]. Since the 1950s, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have been rising steadily and are now at about 380 ppm. By 2050, projected carbon dioxide levels are expected to reach over 600 ppm.
An inconvenient truth
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore has convincingly portrayed the global warming crisis in a recent documentary film (and also in an illustrated book), entitled An Inconvenient Truth. Based on the evidence of environmental damage he has accumulated, and projected CO2 levels, Mr. Gore gives our planet until about 2050 before its basic infrastructure is destroyed. His message is not universally well received, however. Major nations and industries remain skeptical about the magnitude of the problem, or are unwilling to make substantial changes. The United States is the largest contributor to global warming, but has refused to sign the Kyoto Treaty, an international, largely symbolic agreement to lower atmospheric CO2 levels. The reason? Some feel the scientific data is flawed, or at least incomplete at this time. Moreover, others suspect that signing the treaty will lead to a reduction in the United States’ standard of living.
Man’s selfishness the heart of the problem
At heart, the global warming crisis is the product of man’s selfishness, at all levels of society. We are all part of the problem really, since we drive automobiles that emit carbon dioxide and live in homes that require cutting down trees (trees absorb carbon dioxide). As Al Gore puts it, to reverse greenhouse gas emissions and prevent more damage to the environment would be — at the very least — an “inconvenience”, since we would have to change the way we live. Furthermore, industries would have to spend millions, if not billions, of dollars adapting to restrictive, environmental standards.
And yet, Mr. Gore believes we can do it. Despite his own grim forecasts, he is optimistic that the world can change direction and overcome the crisis. Of course, since Mr. Gore is [presumably] not a believer in the coming Kingdom of God on earth, this is the only position he can take. Without a believer’s hope in that kingdom, he and others have no choice but to put their trust in themselves.
But we know that trust is misplaced, since “the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23).
The world is unlikely to solve the global warming problem soon, without divine intervention, because it doesn’t have the collective will to do so. In fact, by ignoring the clear signs of impending disaster, the world is demonstrating a willingness to sacrifice the lives of its children for its immediate self-interest.
Jesus will resolve the problem
The global warming crisis is another sign of the times that presage the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fortunately, we know that Jesus will return before the earth is destroyed, and he will resolve the problem. He will restore this beautiful planet, in which God has placed His glory, to its former pristine condition. It is unthinkable that Jesus would allow mankind to continue depleting the earth’s limited resources and destroying the environment under his reign. As a result, there seems little future for fossil fuels and other harmful energy sources in the Kingdom. It is much more likely that Jesus will use the natural elements — sun, wind, and water — to fuel the world’s economy, and that mankind will return to a simpler society.
Armageddon prompted by threat to commercialism
But we know the nations aren’t going to be happy when Christ returns, because their cherished commercial enterprise system and wealth will be threatened, and ultimately destroyed, as part of Christ’s restoration of the earth.
“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:18).
The nations “which destroy the earth” are the ungodly nations that are physically destroying the earth and morally corrupting its people.
The Beast that is destroying the earth
In the Apocalypse, the nations at war with Jesus and the saints at Armageddon are described as being ruled by a powerful, evil beast (Rev. 17:12-14). The multi-headed beast is a figure of the apostasy and false religions, including commercialism. The growth of commercialism parallels the rise in power of the apostate beast and other false religions, which are all enemies of God.
[Editor: This article points to a commercial “beast”. This need not imply there are no other Last Days “beasts” except Mammon or commercialism — but rather that all the “beasts” of the earth (representative of those nations and leaders that know not God: consider the implications of Psa. 49:12,20) will have materialistic and commercial aspects. Consider, as an example, the commercial emphasis in Revelation 18:9-17.]
Mankind has been assaulting the earth and the environment for commercial gain since Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden (the first true ecosystem) and the establishment of cities, nations and empires. Ancient empires such as Egypt and Babylon became rich from exploiting the earth, but also introduced environmental problems, such as deforestation and soil erosion, and pollution of rivers from human and mining waste. As energy and mineral resources were depleted in the areas under their control, empires were forced to venture further afield to find new sources of wealth.
The Roman Empire raised commercial exploitation of the earth to new levels. Rome, Inc. was expert in extracting riches from the furthest corners of its empire. It did so ruthlessly and efficiently, for the benefit of the emperor and its citizens, but at great cost to the environment and the lives of the people it conquered. This tradition was later continued by the European nations in the Middle Ages, through their colonializing of the western hemisphere, and their plunder of gold, minerals and other raw wealth from the New World.
The western nations of today have followed in the footsteps of their Roman and European ancestors. Modern commercialism appears civilized but is really an evil beast. Commercialism produces goods that are desired by many and that help people become rich, but that also require vast quantities of non-renewable energy resources (oil, coal and gas) to produce. Commercialism is a license to plunder and destroy the earth in its self-centered and relentless pursuit of wealth.
The commercial threat to the Truth and the saints
Commercialism is an assault not only on the earth, but also on the Truth and godliness, by the corrupting power of money and materialism. The citizens of the western, capitalist nations are increasingly beguiled into worshiping the commercial “beast”, through the pursuit and accumulation of wealth. They believe that the global economy will bring them freedom and security, and luxuries and material pleasures — and that all this will bring them happiness and spiritual fulfillment.
The saints who live under commercialism also find their faith assaulted by the “beast”. Jesus said, “Ye cannot serve (both) God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24) — but, increasingly, western believers find themselves trying to do just that. Because money and materialism have become ends in themselves, and human success is measured strictly in terms of the bottom line, godly values have become secondary or irrelevant. The apostle Paul said,“The love of money is the root of all [kinds of] evil… causing some to err from the faith” (1 Tim. 6:10). The challenge for today’s western saints is to remain strongly grounded in the faith, and to resist the pressure to worship the commercial “beast”.
The Beast destroyed at Armageddon
Fortunately, we know that when the beast and the angry nations of the world attack Israel at Armageddon, they will be met by Jesus and the immortal saints, and will be destroyed.
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:19,20).
Only then, it seems, will the earth be able to take a deep breath and begin the process of environmental and spiritual recovery.
“Come out of her, my people”
Al Gore says we all need to do our bit to overcome the global warming crisis, by consuming less and recycling more. And no doubt, as good citizens of the earth, we should heed that admonition. In Revelation we are exhorted to “come out of her (Babylon, the Harlot)…that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Rev. 18:4). This means not only resisting the allure of riches and materialism, but respecting the earth and its limited resources.
In the Kingdom age, the nations will have to change, not just in the way they treat the earth and the environment, but in every aspect of their lives, especially their spiritual lives. However, the prospect of a rejuvenated, clean, unpolluted earth, “wherein dwelleth righteousness”, will surely be worth the inconvenience of those changes.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One