“I looked outside, and it looked like doomsday,” said one California resident. “It feels like the end of the world,” said another.
The New York Times reported “apocalyptic scenes as smoke-filled air settled over the Bay Area and produced an ominous orange
glow.” So is the end of the world upon us?
Not yet. But the multiple fires continuing to rage not only in the Golden State but across much of the Pacific Northwest have ignited panic in millions of residents—especially the thousands who have already evacuated. “The fires have killed at least 33
people across the states and dozens more are missing,” noted CNBC.
“California’s wildfire season is already the most severe in modern history,” announced the Times on September 9. “Six of the 20 biggest wildfires in state history have occurred this year,” added CNBC.
As of September 14, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s official website stated that 3.1 million acres had burned, and 4,936 structures had been damaged
or destroyed; its daily update on September 13 reported “over 16,750 firefighters” deployed.
In Mendocino National Forest, what began as 37 separate fires have now combined to become the largest fire in state history at nearly 900,000 acres.
And 12 miles south, Pastor Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts International, and his family continued to circumvent nearby
flames as they evacuated their home.
And All the World Will Wonder …
“This is a challenging year. It is historic in terms of magnitude, scope and consequence,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Indeed, people are beginning to wonder what to blame. In particular, experts have boiled down the culprits of the California fires to several factors, one of them being the state’s recent heatwaves.
But this next reason may give you pause. The “more frequent and more intense” heatwaves, the drier-than-usual winter, the five-year-long drought that left millions of trees as matchwood—all have been attributed to climate change.
“Never have I felt more of a sense of obligation and a sense of purpose to maintain California’s leadership not only nationally but internationally to face climate change head on,” declared Newsom.
And the timing just seems too perfect—for 6,000 miles away, nary two weeks ahead of the governor’s impassioned pledge, Pope Francis stepped up his own environmental campaign.
The goal is to implement “national and international legislation to regulate the activities of extractive mining companies and ensure access to justice for those affected,” said Francis in an official appeal released on September 1.
National and international action, national and international legislation—is this a push for global unity under the banner of climate change?
“Creation is groaning,” the pope pleaded. It is imperative “to do everything in our capacity to limit global average temperature
rise under the threshold of 1.5 [degrees Celsius] enshrined in the Paris Climate Agreement.”
For climate change activists, rising temperatures forebode Earth’s total annihilation, and their culprit is industry. Industry is the machine driven by what Francis called “our rampant greed and consumption.” The powerful corporations that run industry
have committed the crimes of “resource plundering” and “destructive extraction” and “historic exploitation” of underdeveloped countries. Now, climate change warriors—nay, the entire human race—have the responsibility of “restorative justice.” We all
must ensure that the world “must be protected” for “the common good.” So how do we enact this “justice”?
Apparently, the solution is right in front of us. “Already we can see how the earth can recover if we allow it to rest,” said Francis, pointing to one of the results of the pandemic. Now is “a time to rest.”
Sounds good, right? But here’s the thing: Rest through climate change isn’t just rest anymore. Now, rest is connected with your morality; it is intertwined with your heroic duty. Now, rest is motivated by “justice.” And the only way one gets justice is
through law.
Is being a good steward of the Earth bad? No! Is defending the oppressed? Of course not. What about a day of rest? Absolutely not. All of these are commissioned and the last is expressly commanded in the Bible. But what happens when morality becomes legislated—not
by God—but by man?
If you’re curious about the answer, start with Pastor Doug’s latest prophecy update, “How the Pope Plans to Save the Planet?”
Is It Getting Warm in Here?
It’s fascinating that the world is devoting itself to lowering the Earth’s temperatures when the Bible declares that the Earth will “[burn] like an oven” (Malachi 4:1); “the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).
This is what will happen at the end of the world. Christ, our true Judge (Isaiah 33:22), will return to deliver ultimate justice—and He does it by fire: “Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire;
and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 3:13).
It is by fire that our characters are refined: “He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver” (Malachi 3:3). It is our God who is the “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), “[testing us] in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10).
Pastor Doug Batchelor teaches a powerful lesson about three such young men who encountered a fiery furnace and lived to tell about it. Watch our free, online video “From Furnace to Palace” to see how they did.
No one can stop the end of the world from coming. The question is: Will you be ready to walk through the fire?