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On Monday the UN climate change
conference began in Copenhagen with 192 countries represented. About 100
world leaders are expected to attend various parts of the two-week
conference intended to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in
2012.
An international survey commissioned by the BBC
found that “64% of people questioned said that they considered global
warming a very serious problem—up 20% from a 1998 poll.”
But the recent so-called “ClimateGate” scandal has led to “widening
concern about the state of climate science” that “could jeopardize any
agreement at this week’s summit in Copenhagen,” said CBS
correspondent Declan McCullagh. “To be sure, many—perhaps even
most—climate researchers say any flaw in the leaked data assembled by
the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU)
does not mean the theory of man-made global warming is false. Nicholas
Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and
the Environment at the London School of Economics, calls evidence for
that theory ‘overwhelming,’” Mr. McCullagh wrote.
Still, a Rasmussen Reports survey shows many Americans are not
convinced. Over half think it is likely that some scientists have
falsified research data, and 35 percent believe it is “very likely.”
Also 49 percent think the United Nations is not a reliable source of
information on global warming.
Besides these doubts, economic realities and different priorities
between industrialized and developing countries seem likely to limit the
final agreements of the conference.
But in all the debate, is there an important aspect of climate change
that is being totally overlooked? The Bible talks about a cause of
future climate change that no scientific model can predict and that no
amount of debate can debunk. The core of the Bible teaching is simple,
but the future predictions are earthshaking.
Cause and effect
One of the key lessons of the Bible is the lesson of cause and effect.
There’s the farming analogy that says you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). The wisdom of Proverbs 26:2
tells us that “a curse without cause shall not alight.” And two long
chapters in the books of Moses spell out the causes of blessings and the
causes of curses (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28).
These blessings and curses include physical things like good or bad
weather and agricultural abundance or famine. Interestingly, the cause
of these climate changes goes far beyond our decisions about how to
treat the environment. God says the blessings and curses are the
consequences of whether we obey His laws (Deuteronomy 28:1, 15).
Part of God’s commands deal with how we care for His earth, and God is angry with those who destroy the earth (Genesis 2:15; Revelation 11:18).
But God tells us that how we treat each other and how we treat Him is
also a part of the cause-and-effect equation. Sin—disobedience to God’s
laws—will lead to disastrous climate changes.
Punishment for sin
The mysterious book of Revelation is full of warnings of end-time
plagues brought about because of humanity’s rejection of God. The
calamities predicted include the death of “every living creature in the
sea” and the sun scorching people with “great heat” (Revelation 16:3,
9).
Sadly, God tells us that these plagues on the physical environment are
necessary to wake people up to the evil effects of sin.
But thankfully the God who sends these plagues will also reverse them,
and will create a beautiful new environment in which to start over. In
the Kingdom of God under Jesus Christ’s rule, the nations of the world
will learn not only to care for the environment, but to obey the
spiritual laws that create a peaceful climate between people and with
God. The prophet Isaiah pictured it like a return to Eden, with hunger
and disease removed and joy and gladness in their place (Isaiah 51:3;
35:1-2, 5-7)
For a deeper understanding of God’s warnings for the end time and the
hope He offers on beyond, read Are We Living in the Time of the End?
More details are available in “The Destruction of Satan’s Kingdom” from
the booklet The Book of Revelation Unveiled.
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