The Blue Planet
When the earth is viewed from space it is a beautiful and unique sight, there is no other planet like it in our solar system, maybe even no other planet like it in the galaxy or even the universe! Covered with rich blue oceans contrasted against beautiful white clouds and green land; there is something special about the Earth.   Here on Earth the air is breathable, the temperature and pressure are just right and the atmosphere screens us from harmful solar radiation. And yet we are seeing just how fragile this protective, life-giving envelope around the Earth is.  Some scientists predict that the Earth may become like Mars and lose it’s atmosphere, or Venus where long ago a build up CO2 in the atmosphere caused a runaway “greenhouse effect” – just another dead planet floating in the great voids of space!

A Green Planet
The question we hear every day is “how can we prevent this from happening to the Earth?” We must all improve our “green” credentials and reduce our “carbon footprint”.   Maybe if we pulled together, scrapped our cars, turned off our electric lights and central heating, grow more crops in our gardens, etc, etc, then maybe we can solve this problem!  But human nature being what it is the future looks bleak.   Even if the whole of Western Europe and the USA stopped producing CO2 completely today the process would not be halted. In 2007 China will emit more CO2 than the USA and in the next 8 years China will commission more new power stations than currently exist in all 25 EU nations (International Energy Agency 2007). In the face of these alarming statistics we can see that the modest reductions in carbon output by the developed world will be cancelled out many, many times over by Chinese growth alone, we haven’t even mentioned India or many of the other developing nations on our planet!

Hope for a Hopeless Planet
Men have no hope of saving the planet; we are quite simply too far down the road to be able to turn things around. So you have a choice. You can insulate your home, turn your heating down or off, buy a fuel-efficient car and use it less, reduce, re-use and recycle.  Once you have done all these things you will then have to sit back and hope that the politicians get the rest right so that your children and grandchildren can enjoy this beautiful planet.

There is an alternative to putting your trust in mankind to solve this unsolvable problem.  God says:

 “For this is what the LORD says: He who created the heavens, He is God, He who fashioned and made the Earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited”
(Isaiah 45v18)

“…the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”                          (Isaiah 11v9)

We can see then that the God of the Bible who created this planet assures us of it’s continued existence into perpetuity, despite mankind’s failure to be a responsible steward of the planet that he has been charged with caring for.  This fact though, does not excuse us from behaving responsibly now, we should be striving to live in a way which minimizes the impact of our activity on the environment. That’s the way God intended us to live. We also read:

“Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and should destroy those who destroy the Earth” 
(Revelation 11v8)

We can see from this passage that the time of mankind’s management of the globe will come to an end, God is going to intervene by sending his son the Lord Jesus to reign over the Earth from Jerusalem.  During this time all of the damage we see being reeked by mankind will be undone and the Earth will achieve it’s full potential.

“He (Jesus) shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Here will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon”                             
(Psalm 72)

“….He will come and save you…
For waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert, the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water… the redeemed shall walk there.”
(Isaiah 35v4-9)

It’s not the planet that needs saving - it’s us!

The Bible makes it clear that the Earth’s future is certain, but what about your future?  When Jesus comes again it will be to sort out the global problems we are now experiencing once and for all. When he came the first time it was to sort out the problem of sin, human selfishness and greed, which is at the root of all problems.

“…so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”               
(Hebrews 9v28)

When Jesus returns he will save those who have responded to God’s offer of salvation through him, those individuals who have recognized their need and turned to him.  It’s not enough to be a “nice person”, we need to read God’s word and live by it and you need to take action now!

Find out more about Jesus and his teaching: Read 'Glad Tidings' magazine.
To order your FREE copy (in the UK):
tel 01324 626917

Recent Presentations...
Please email us if you have any interest in these subjects...