Father God vs. Mother Earth

“TREES” – by Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918)
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

There is, I think, a religion of environmentalists.  Their mantra appears to be, "save a tree, save the Earth".  Yet in the Day of Judgment, God Himself will destroy everything that Man has worshiped, including the Earth and the trees.  The Revelation of John describes three rounds of seven judgments descending upon the Earth, and in the second round of judgments, called the Trumpet Judgments, God destroys a third of the planet.

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.  The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth.  A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. --Revelation 8:6-7

The trumpet in the Bible was used to get people's attention.  Joel 2:1 says, "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand".  1 Corinthians 14:8 says, "Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" But with all of the distractions and white noise of the modern era, many will not heed the trumpet call.  So God has other plans to make Himself the center of attention and to make all of the distractions irrelevant.  Matthew 24:31 says, "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

After the first angel sounds his trumpet, God will send hail and fire mixed with blood.  Ezekiel 38:22 says, "I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him."  See, God has done this before, although most people alive today do not know it or believe it.  Remember the plagues in Egypt?  Exodus 9:18 says, "Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded until now." That hailstorm was accompanied by fire.  I am not sure whether the fire was started by lightning, or whether God sent brimstone (burning sulfur) as He had done at Sodom and Gomorrah.  But I do know that the land of Goshen, where God's chosen people lived, was not affected by this plague.

A similar scene played out later in Israel's history, when they were driving out the Amorites and taking over the land that God had promised them.  Joshua 10:11 says, "As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them (the Amorites) died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites."  So, you see, those who are out of step with God suffered from the hail and fire, and their blood ran through the streets.  But God's people were spared.  Isaiah 30:30 says, "The Lord will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm, and hail."  Psalm 11:6 says, "On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot."  Sounds a lot like the prediction of hell, don't you think?

Much to the dismay of tree-huggers everywhere, God decrees that on this day of judgment, a third of the grass and a third of the trees on the earth will be destroyed.    Revelation 9:15, 18 say this: 

And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind....A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths."

This fraction indicates that the punishment announced by the trumpets is not yet complete and final--the same fraction appears in each of the next three plagues, as well.  A smaller fraction (a fourth) of devastation accompanied the opening of the fourth seal.  During this time of Tribulation, God will still allow people to choose to follow Him, although it will become more and more difficult as time goes on.  People will be running for their lives, not contemplating spiritual matters.  Like the plot of "The Hunger Games", the object will be physical survival, not spiritual salvation. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)  What, then, are the benefits of believing in Jesus as the Son of God and being sealed as His own? Revelation 9:4 says, "They (the angels) were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads."

Those who pledge to protect the Earth may believe they are doing God's work.  But God will take care of His own, and environmentalists are in danger of worshiping the created rather than the Creator.  If we trust in Mother Earth, she will be destroyed.  If we trust in Father God, He will sustain us.  On that day when everything that Man has worshiped is destroyed, we will all know that God is supreme: not our idols, not our possessions, not our environment--only God.

You are not a God created by human handsYou are not a God dependent on any mortal manYou are not a God in need of anything we can giveBy Your plan that just the way it is
You are God alone from before time beganYou were on Your throne, You are God aloneAnd right now, in the good times and badYou are on Your throne, You are God alone
You're the only God whose power, none can contendYou're the only God whose name and praise will never endYou're the only God who's worthy of everything we can giveYou are God that's just the way it is
You are God alone from before time beganYou were on Your throne, You are God aloneAnd right now, in the good times and badYou are on Your throne, You are God alone
UnchangeableUnshakableUnstoppableThat's what You are
UnchangeableUnshakableUnstoppableThat's what You are
You are God alone from before time beganYou were on Your throne, You are God aloneAnd right now, in the good times and badYou are on Your throne, You are God alone
UnchangeableUnshakableUnstoppableThat's what You are