An AGGRESSIVE GREEN gospel
Part 1 by Donald CB Cameron
My article ‘A Terrified World and Silent Churches’ appeared in the November 2019 PW magazine. We reminded ourselves that, while three or four decades ago, only a minority of people who tended to be thought of as cranks or extremists, were worried about the future of the planet and its inhabitants. There was a great deal of optimism as the 21st Century approached.
Now it is the complacent who are in the minority. It is considered foolish and irresponsible not to be concerned. The battle is, on the one hand, between the politicians, economists, industrialists and others who consider that the necessary remedial steps will be too costly, and, on the other hand, those who — fear that life on the planet is genuinely in danger of extinction unless we take the most drastic steps to reverse the trend. And of course they are right - if we leave God out of the picture! Many young people, deprived of the Christian heritage enjoyed by their elders, see life on earth as unsustainable by the time they reach middle age. There are also growing numbers of sincere ordinary people who believe that they are justified in taking decisive action to reverse environmental trends; Extinction Rebellion is a recent example.
Over the next two months I wish to concentrate on one particular aspect of the increasing global terror, namely fear for the environment. It is essential that the Christian response should be distinct, authoritative, Bible-based and God-honouring.
In these days when the world is becoming ever more fearful, how strong is our faith? Jesus said on the day before His arrest: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matt. 24:21-22). What did the risen Lord say to us in the last book to be written? “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this” (Rev. 1:18-19). Included in this prophetic record are the first four trumpet judgments which all foretell global environmental disasters (Rev 8:1-12) The second, third and fourth bowls of wrath foretell environmental catastrophes on a scale utterly without precedent (Rev. 16:2-9); And, note well, this is all to take place after the Rapture and before Christ’s Return in Power, and therefore before the promised restoration. Believers have the personal assurance of the prior Rapture and the later Millennial Restoration. That sequence cannot be reversed, neither can either event be cancelled. Our first concern should be for others, to proclaim God’s promises and ensure that many are saved before the Rapture. What we are not told is exactly how bad things may become before the Rapture; all we know is that it will be very much worse later.
The Rapture is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13). There are many within our churches who do not share our hope and who are so vague about the future that they can easily be diverted to share the fears of unbelievers. Participation in the Rapture is, of course, conditional upon our being saved, not upon whether we agree about the details and the timing. But some do miss out on this wonderful spur to holy living and evangelism.
Among other manifestations of the latter day falling away within churches is cynicism and scoffing about the numerous end-time prophecies. The latest diversion to preaching the Gospel of Grace is an environmental gospel that can save nobody.
Some churches have been telling us that the world is getting progressively better, to the point that it will be ‘fit’ for Christ’s Return. Outsiders look around the world and see precisely the opposite happening. Thus Christians can seriously undermine the credibility of Holy Scripture in the minds of unbelievers - and sometimes even of believers.
Those professing Christians who do not have a coherent understanding of God’s revealed plan for the future, may be sincere in their environmental ambitions. But it is not appropriate to commend such sincerity if they are turning the attention of millions away from the signs of the times and the nearness of our Saviour’s coming for His own.
Over the past year I have been writing a book centred round the escalating terror and the silent church. However I have become increasingly aware that some churches are anything but silent regarding environmental damage. What is more, some are liberally quoting Scripture to justify a green agenda, which refuses to accept that the world is heading towards great tribulation. I believe that we need to be aware of the case that is being built up in some churches for environmental action at any. cost. I do not have space to quote the evidence here, but have included quotes and a detailed bibliography in my forthcoming book.
It is becoming increasingly popular to ally ourselves with an unbelieving world. In many churches you are as likely to be told to reduce your carbon footprint as to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. In this article we are concentrating upon what is seen as Christian or at least church-centred action. Some of the professing Christian activists can be quite aggressive and dismissive of our Pre-Tribulation stance. We read what is to happen towards the end of the Great Tribulation: “Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died” (Rev. 16:3). Faith believes what God has foretold, and also believes that He who will bring this upon an already almost lethally polluted ocean can, in His own time, restore it.
We do believe that the world is bound to get worse, because Jesus and the prophets said so. That is not the same as failing to care for the world in the meantime. But it should prompt us to preach the Cross, not a green agenda which we know must ultimately fail. This refusal to believe that the environment must undergo a near-death experience before restitution is common.
Consider the following statement, which one can understand as having an appeal to many: “God’s reign will bring justice. Therefore justice is our goal. .. God's reign will involve bringing humanity and the natural world into harmony. Therefore we are to care for the environment now.”
What a crazy mix of truth and error! The essential elements, which tell of unprecedented great tribulation before any restoration can begin, have been omitted from such popular programmes. Restoration cannot begin until Christ’s Return in Power (Rev. 19:15). Any environmental impact we can currently make must be limited and short-lived.
We cannot put the world to rights by interpreting the Beatitudes as the heart of the Gospel. They are not. Currently they can and should be displayed in the lives of believers, where they will take the form of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). The Beatitudes will have complete fulfilment one day, but not because of some kind of progressive moral evolution for which there has never been any evidence. The Beatitudes were given when the Kingdom was nigh, and before it was rejected. One day it will be here in glory, when the King returns.
The green programme being advocated tries to leapfrog everything in the book of Revelation between chapter 4 and chapter 19. It is God, not we, who will ultimately reverse pollution and destruction. Near fatal catastrophe is guaranteed in Matthew 24:21-22. It is not negotiable. Five thousand years ago, Noah preached righteousness not conservation.
The selective use of Scripture that avoids the coming tribulation period has a huge appeal to those who like a little spirituality, but prefer an action plan that allows them to think that they have been entrusted by God to do something that actually counters His declared programme as revealed in the Bible.
Of course it is acceptable, even commendable, to care responsibly for God’s creation, to conserve resources and reduce damaging waste, providing we recognise that this world is passing away - rather than being due to be saved by human activity, perhaps with a little encouragement from God.
Jesus never gave us the commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to care for God’s world” (cf Matthew 28:19) or “that repentance for pollution and the over-use of resources be preached in His name to all nations” (cf Luke 24:47). I am not being cynical; rather I am pointing out that, as we shall shortly see, well-meaning people in some churches are earnestly encouraging such activities to the exclusion of almost everything else. If we take time to demonstrate from Scripture that what is beginning to terrify them is exactly what the Bible foretells, more will listen to the Gospel that we preach, and our Saviour will be glorified.
An Aggressive Green Gospel (pt.2)