Is Climate Change A Sign Of The End Times?

Do you think that climate changes are a sign of the end times?

The Whole Creation Groans

The Apostle Paul, in writing about the coming redemption of our bodies, and for which we yearn for today, sees it as though the creation itself is groaning for redemption, but really, it’s groaning for the revealing of the children of God. That’s good news for the creation because when the creatures (us) are renewed with new minds and bodies, the creation will also be new (Rev 21:1). Paul wrote that “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom 8:19-21). Paul says, “we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom8:22-23). Paul understood, just as the Apostle John did, that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and all the old things will have passed away (Rev 21:1).

The Land Vomits them Out

God warned ancient Israel about “the people of the land, who were before you [who] did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean)” (Lev 18:27), otherwise “the land will vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you” (Lev 18:28). Once a land becomes so polluted by sin, God says, “the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (Lev 18:25). It seems when the nation of Israel reached a point of “no return,” the land vomited them out it because of its sinful practices. Sometimes the land is ruined by those who live there, because of their own actions, and often they reap the consequences. Back in the Dust Bowl days (1930s), farmers were planting crops on every bit of land available. They left no room for natural windbreaks, like hedge trees, because they wanted to plant just as much as they could, but they had seriously over-tilled the ground, and with no natural windbreaks, when wind and drought hit, much of the topsoil just blew away…sometimes down to the bedrock. Thus, many moved westward because their land was suddenly useless.

Earthquakes in Diver’s Places

One of the signs that Jesus Christ gave that would occur prior to His return was that “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Matt 24:7b), but “these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matt 24:8). What follows is a time of widespread, worldwide martyrdom (Matt 24:9-10; Rev 13:7). According to the Voice of the Martyrs, over one million believers have been martyred since the year 2000. And, ever year, over 100,000 are murdered for their faith; with the numbers going up every year. The point is, a time of earthquakes in various places and an intensifying of martyrdom, both occur prior to Jesus return. Do these earthquakes have anything to do with man’s rape and pillaging of the earth or it is more a sign of the end? Is deep well drilling like fracking (which has been proven to cause earthquakes), and all of the other activities like mining, affecting the earth? These things must surely affect the earth.

Climate Change

The climate has always been changing, so when you speak of climate change, you must refer to a specific time or year. Most of what we’re concerned with is, are great climactic changes a sign of the end of the age? Is the earth groaning under the weight of sin? Has mankind so corrupted the earth that the earth is now trying to wake us up? Humanity has most certainly contributed to climate change, but is it possible that these drastic changes are part of God’s judgment on the world? Or, are they a sign of Jesus’ soon arrival? Global warming has a lot of people concerned, but I say that global cooling might be a worse threat to mankind than global warming is! If there happens to be a chain of gigantic volcanic eruptions close to the same time, there is a chance that a period of global warming may quickly turn into a period of global cooling. That’s far worse for mankind because agricultural interests are severely impacted by more longer, harsher, and more severe winters. This actually happened not long ago. The Little Ice Age was caused by a volcanic eruption on Mount Laki in 1783 which spewed nearly a billion tons of volcanic ash into the atmosphere. That ash blocked out the sun and moon, and remained in the atmosphere for over two years. The ash mainly covered the northern hemisphere, resulting in the sun not giving its full strength, and the winter being extended by a few months. This meant that many of the crops failed due to extreme cold and bitterly cold temperatures from the north brought little moisture. Much of the vegetation started dying out. Some nations lost half their population in a year’s time. In the U.S., many of the crops from the Gulf Coast states and Florida citrus groves failed. Farms and villages in the Swiss Alps were completely destroyed by encroaching glaciers. During the mid-seventeenth century, mountainous glaciers would move southward through Swiss valleys, crushing everything in their way, grinding up entire Swiss villages, destroying everything in their path. Canals and rivers in Great Britain and the Netherlands were frequently frozen and deeply enough to support ice skating and winter festivals in June.

Jesus’ Sign

Just prior to the moment Jesus returns, He prophesied that, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matt 24:29). Jesus had earlier referred to earthquakes in various places in the Olivet Prophecy about His return (Matt 24:7), and then He said, there “will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt 24:30-31). Many who lived in the seventeenth century thought Matthew 24:39 was about the time in which they lived, because the sun had been darkened, and you couldn’t see the light of the moon, due to the enormous amount of volcanic ash in the earth’s atmosphere. This is why I believe global cooling from volcanic eruptions or even nuclear weapons would be far worse than global warming, mainly because of its fatal impact on humanity.

Conclusion

Is climate change a sign of the last days? It certainly seems that we are having more floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, droughts, fires, hurricanes, and all other natural disasters than even a few decades ago. I don’t think it’s just because we have better news coverage either. There may be more to it than that. Places that rarely flood suddenly do. Places immune from drought are sometimes brought to ruin. An entire city’s water supply can be rendered toxic in a day. All of these natural catastrophes, and some manmade, may be a sign that we’re living in the last days. If nothing else, these tragedies might cause people to come to Christ, when they have nothing left at all. When we are humbled by nature, God can give us His grace (James 4:6).