I am keenly interested in the arguments and debates
regarding climate change since this topic exposes the contrast between the
evolutionary we-don’t-want-God-in-the-picture worldview and the
God-has-told-us-what-is-going-on-in-his-Book worldview.
Those who believe the universe is millions of years old
invariably conclude that today’s climate changes are so rapid and sudden that
we must be doing something terribly wrong with our environment and we need to
put on our capes and super-powers to do something about it (lots of taxes
included).
On the other hand, those who believe what God’s Book
describes of his genius expressed in Creation, the “very good” world becoming cursed by our sin, and the catastrophic
changes that took place during the worldwide flood, also know that present
climate changes, along with any disasters that are taking place, fit both God’s
description of what our sin has done to the world, and what he says will happen
as he leads all space, time, and matter, to its catastrophic and glorious end.
This morning, one of the things God ministered to my soul
was centered on this expression from his Book,
“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.”[1]
What did this tell me? That the greatest threat against our
planet is not climate change, but God. When God promises something, and this is
a promise, there is no one who can stop what he has promised, not Al Gore, or
Bruce Willis, or any combination or collection of super heroes we can imagine.
When God promises that he will “shake” both the earth and the heavens, and that this will involve “the removal of all things that are shaken”,
and that the things that can be shaken are the “things that have been made”, it means the whole universe of space,
time, and matter, that which God made in the six days of creation, will be
shaken, removed, destroyed.
As is stated elsewhere, “But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away
with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the
earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”[2]
In describing the, “coming
of the day of God,” God’s Book continues, “because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and
the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!”[3]
A bit beyond climate change, wouldn’t you say?
Now, while climate change celebrities make big bucks off of
their hyped up promises to save the planet, and us common folk endure the
struggle of additional taxes to pay for their plans, what is the real hope in
relation to this impending threat of God’s promise? Well, another promise, of
course!
It is stated like this: “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”[4] This is the true hope for the children of God. We do not see any hope for this present planet, or this present creation that is cursed and corrupted by sin.[5] No matter how many evolutionists deny God’s right to his creation, God has given ample warning in his Book of what our sin has done both to our relationship with him, and to the creation in which we live. God promises to destroy what we have corrupted in order to replace it with a new heavens and a new earth that the world, the flesh, and the devil, can never destroy.
I am troubled by the way our world is deteriorating. I grieve
at the way so many countries abuse God’s children simply because they love the
Lord Jesus Christ and love the Book God has given us. I grieve the way North
American has changed in my lifetime to such a love of godlessness and the
fulfillment of God’s prophetic word that people would be lovers of evil,
applauding those who invent new ways of expressing their evil hearts.[6]
But I find great comfort in knowing that the world’s
greatest threat is not climate change, or what God’s enemies try to do to Jesus’
church, but what God will do at the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus will gather
all his brothers to be with him forever, pour out God’s wrath against all sin
and sinners who have rejected his so great salvation, and then cleanse the
whole universe of sin, replacing what can be shaken with what cannot be shaken.
Why is this of great comfort to me? Partly because God personally
ministered it to my heart this morning through the abiding presence of his Holy
Spirit, and partly because I know that I belong to Jesus and he is presently
preparing a home for me in my Father’s House.[7]
What would make this comforting to you? The knowledge and
certainty that you have come to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so
that you can experience God delivering you out of this domain of darkness and
transferring you into the kingdom of his beloved Son.[8]
For anyone who views the return of Jesus with skepticism,
and considers the idea of God creating the new heavens and the new earth just
as unbelievable as him creating the first heavens and the first earth, I urge
you to explore the amazing evidences for the life and ministry of Jesus Christ,
his death on behalf of sinners, his resurrection from the dead that was not
only witnessed publicly, but all the early preachers of Jesus’ resurrection
were so sure it happened that they were willing to be martyred for what they
witnessed. All the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus’ first coming attest to the
absolute reliability of God’s prophecies about Jesus’ second coming.
Not only this, but contrary to the loud claims of the
evolutionary religion, science has proven the impossibility of life coming from
non-living things, hence the impossibility of humanity evolving out of
pond-scum. Everything in life, including what is continuously learned in the
study of the human genome, affirms the claim of God in his Book, that he
created everything through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so his recreation
of the world is also assured, terrifying as that may be for some.[9]
My concern is to invite people out of the domain of darkness
that will be destroyed in God’s true cleanup of the sinful environment of this
planet, and enter into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son through the redemption
God has secured on behalf of all his children.[10]
As Jesus already said, either we fit the, “whoever
believes in him is not condemned,” or we fit the, “but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only Son of God.”[11]
Those who are not condemned will live forever with Jesus in his new heavens and
new earth, the home he is preparing for his brothers; those who are already
condemned will then receive the full measure of their condemnation, including
their destruction in God’s final act of judgment against sin.
For now, Jesus’ invitation remains, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.”[12]
Whoever receives this invitation, we are told, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving
a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship,
with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”[13]
Yes, our God is a consuming fire who will destroy all that
is contaminated with sin, and perfect a home of righteousness that will be the
eternal joy of all his children. Come to Jesus for your share in such a
promise.
© 2017 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Hebrews 12:26-27
[2]
II Peter 3:10
[3]
II Peter 3:12
[4]
II Peter 3:13
[5]
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be good stewards of God’s creation, only that we
can’t put our hope in saving the planet from what our sin has already done to
curse what God has made. He will make a new creation that can never be cursed
by sin again.
[6]
Romans 1:18-32; II Timothy 3:1-5
[7]
John 14:1-6
[8]
Colossians 1:13-14
[9]
John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17
[10]
Romans 1:16-17; Romans 10:9-10
[11]
John 3:18
[12]
Matthew 11:28-30
[13]
Hebrews 12:28-29
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