Saving the Earth

"The globe doesn’t need to be saved by us, and we couldn’t kill it if we tried. What we do need to save. . .is the earth as we like it, with its climate, air, water and biomass. . .Muck that up, and the planet will simply shake us off."
TIME, "How to Save the Earth,"  August 26, 2002

In seeking ways to heal our ailing planet, another environmental World Summit was held (Johannesburg) in August. Deficit spending of the worst kind is drawing heavily upon our resources in breathable air, drinkable water and enough food for everybody. In the 1960s people began to face critical environmental issues such as forests being destroyed by acid rain, rivers being poisoned by industry, cities being choked by automobile pollution and disappearing frogs.

Although scientific warnings continued to grow in severity and urgency through the years-progress has been questionable. Although innovative programs, such as the U.N. environment Program to eradicate poverty and hunger, are attempted--big business and industry are generally resistant. (Profits are threatened.) Also, with international challenges of terrorism and war, global cooperation in conservation programs seems even more remote. Many doubt the effectiveness of this third World Summit on preserving our Earth as we know it.

Global Stewardship

Man was given a global stewardship over the earth by God: "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen 1:27, 28). This dominion was a responsibility placed on man to care for the Earth, his home. "You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Ps 8:5-9).

Of course, the first man Adam sinned and was expelled from the paradise of Eden and condemned to serving the Earth just to eek out his sustenance. "Accursed be the ground for thy sake. In pain shalt thou eat of it, all the days of thy life; thorn also and thistle shall it shoot forth to thee…In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…" (Gen. 3:17-19). So God cursed both man-and the earth.

But we know that Jesus Christ died in Adam's place because he came to save what was "lost." "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Matt 18:11) What was lost? Life--and man's home in a paradise on earth. The first book of the Bible describes the curse on Man and his home, and the last book of the Bible says mankind will be healed with the Tree of Life and no more cursed. "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse…" (Rev 22:2-3).

Earth Abides Forever

So why do some Christians feel the Earth is going to be burned up when Jesus returns--or at least when Christ's 1000-year Kingdom is over? After all, we do have scriptures such as, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up" (2 Pet 3:10). Also in Psalms, it says, "though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea" (Psalm 46:2).

On the other hand, we have texts such as, "the earth abideth forever" (Eccl. 1:4) and "God himself formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited" (Isa. 45:18). Furthermore, "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isa 66:1); and "I will make the place of my feet glorious" (Isa. 60:13).

The only way to harmonize these texts is to understand the texts referring to Earth's burning up or being "removed" are symbolic. It is not the literal Earth that is destroyed, but the establishment, the society, that will be replaced by God's Kingdom on earth. In Second Peter, the Apostle is talking about the first world which was destroyed, then the present one will be destroyed. Fire is a symbol of destruction. The same Earth continued after the first "world" at the time of the flood, but only that established society was destroyed. In Psalms 46, the language is also symbolic. The clue is that the "sea" and "mountains" are decoded by the Bible itself. "Waters" are peoples, and "mountains" are kingdoms or governments. "The waters roar" are explained as the "nations made an uproar" (Vss. 3,6). And similarly, "the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea" are explained to be the "kingdoms were moved" (Vss. 3, 6). The "earth" then is the present established society.

Why else would Jesus teach us to pray for his Kingdom, "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10)--if the Earth was not going to be around forever?

"Progress" Hurting the Earth

In the meantime, man has worked for millennia "by the sweat of his brow" to harness the Earth's resources. Only in the last century has man's unprecedented technological progress and population growth seriously affected the Earth. High-tech agriculture is destroying the land with chemicals and other practices. Still, up to a third of the world is in danger of starving-including 300 million children. Global-warming pollution from fossil fuel is affecting people's health as well as creating fiercer storms, severe droughts and other climatic disruptions.

Yes, at end of the Age, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Dan. 12:4). God is permitting man one last experiment with technology to see if he can achieve a hospitable home on Earth. But clearly greed and politics stand in the way of any meaningful achievement of such a noble vision.

God's Kingdom on Earth

God's Kingdom on earth, for which Jesus taught us to pray, will be established after a time of trouble--"And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come. . ." (Hag 2:7) All people are waiting, hoping, for a better day--so that when God's Kingdom does arrive, it will satisfy all man's needs and longings as no project or program of man could ever accomplish. At that time, Jesus with his Bride in Heaven will then offer the "water of life" to all freely (Rev. 22:17).

Neither will then be no shortage of literal, pure water: "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Isa 35:1-6).

There will be plenty of food for all at the hands of Him who made heaven and earth: "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. . .Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is. . .Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous. . ." (Ps 146:5-8).

Then, beyond man's greatest imagination for improved of health and the extension of life for Earth's billions--God will eradicate death itself! "He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken." When this Kingdom arrives, man will know it is what he was waiting for: "And it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation" (Isa 25:8-9).

So God will not only save the earth--but He will save man to enjoy the Earth forever.