Global Warming or End Times?

Alan White of Answers in Genesis may hold that global warming is nothing to worry about, but not all creationists agree. Joel Stockstill, in an article at medium.com, says time is running out.

Is it global warming really or just the end times prophesied by Jesus?

I’m going to go with end times. People who believe in evolution and have denied the existence of God are simply falling prey to natural answers for spiritual matters.

They are “perplexed” just as Jesus said about the patterns of weather, the climate of the earth, and the shifts in the ocean.

Stockstill quotes Luke 21:25 in the English Standard Version to support this view.

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,

If Jesus were really taking about climate change, you'd think he would mention heat, storms, or drought; maybe melting glaciers, carbon levels, or ocean acidification.

But astute readers may have noticed this passage ends with a comma; Jesus has more to say on the subject. Does the end of the sentence explain the connection with climate change?

people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

Gee, I wasn't expecting that plot twist.

But that's beside the point to Stockstill.

Takeaway: Do you study the Scriptures to truly know what prophecy tells us concerning the events and times we are living in? Do you believe we are living in the last days?

As a matter of fact, I do study the Scriptures. I've read all four gospels at least a dozen times. I've learned a few things about Jesus and about prophecy over the years. Jesus was not looking ahead 2000 years and warning us about global warming as a sign of the end times. Biblical prophecy is not a matter of divinely sanctioned fortune telling. Prophecy, in the biblical tradition, is the words of God delivered to the people who need to hear them, when they need to hear them. The words may be applicable to people in other places and times—including ours—but we are grossly mistaken if we think it's all about us.