Hurricane Patricia got me thinking about God’s awesome power. How amazing it was that the most intense tropical cyclone, ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, unexpectedly diminished so fast. It’s amazing how the most powerful punch of the storm landed on a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico’s Pacific while sparing the highly populated tourist areas. Again, that was one of the biggest storms ever recorded in history. I do believe God was showing us not only his awesome power, but his loving mercy. Nothing short of a miracle.

And though the predicted devastation was never a laughing matter, I did wonder (in a joking kind of way) if the climate change activists were blaming the severity of this magnificent storm on greenhouse gas emissions. I would certainly hope not, but these days you never know. And please don’t get me wrong. I believe in “going Green” and I support solar panels, windmills, and other renewable energy sources. Why? Because God did appoint man to be the steward of this world — not the destroyer of it.

However, with that said, I also believe saving the planet is not within our power, nor is it our ultimate responsibility. It is too much of an issue that may be — or may not be — caused by humans. What I do know for certain is that God is good and sovereign, and that Planet Earth will be our habitat for as long as He desires it to be.

But pick up the newspaper or log on to your favorite news site and you will see “climate change” headlines everywhere. It is interesting to me how the phrase “climate change” is now replacing “global warming” as the catch-phrase of environmentalism. It used to be that “global cooling” was the fear. I wonder if the uncertainty of that actual fear has to do with the generalized name change. But either way, to sum it up, the message is this: Greenhouse gas emissions are damaging to the environment and, while we are not certain what the effect will be, we know it will be bad.

With a lot of media support, a climate change treaty has now been placed at the top of the United Nations General Assembly’s agenda — primarily being led by Pope Francis, with President Obama and many other important leaders right in tow. And this agenda is moving forward at a steady pace. What I don’t think most people realize, is that climate change (or sustainable development) regulation is something that will touch every part of our lives. It doesn’t just have to do with the climate — there are other very important things weaved in which, I feel, are serving as a springboard to a larger one-world agenda unfolding later this year and beyond.

Now, consider this statement from the Vatican taken from the final draft of “Climate Change and the Common Good — a Statement of the Problem and the Demand for Transformative Solutions”:

Climate change is a global problem whose solution will depend on our stepping beyond national affiliations and coming together for the common good. Religious institutions could and should take the lead in bringing about that change and attitude towards creation.  The Catholic church working with the leadership of other religions can now take a decisive role by mobilizing public opinion and public funds, such a bold and humanitarian action by the world’s religions acting in unison is certain to catalyze a public debate on how we can integrate societal choices as prioritized under the UN sustainable development goals.

And although at first this may sound good, should we also consider what else this agenda might be leading to further down the road? Considering the emphasis on unison in religion, public opinions, social choices and public funding — is there anything else here that initially might not meet the eye?  

What does the Bible have to say?

Well, there is much said in Revelation and other parts of scripture about a one-world society and though many Christians will go down fighting against these types of agendas, these things must and will come into play in order for God’s plan to be fulfilled. And though we will be writing more about prophetic events taking place in Revelation, for this post I wanted to refer back to the beginning book of Genesis.

Most of us have heard the story of the Tower of Babel. I had, but it wasn’t until studying it again recently that I understood it in a whole new light.

Up until this point in the Bible (Genesis 11:1-9), the whole world had one language — one common speech for all people. The people of the earth became skilled in construction and decided to build a city with a tower that would reach up to heaven. By building the tower they wanted to make a name for themselves and also prevent their city from being scattered.

God came to see their city and the tower they were building. He perceived their intentions, and in His infinite wisdom He knew this “stairway to heaven” would only lead the people away from God, not towards Him, as they sought to make a name for themselves. He noted the powerful force within their unity of purpose. As a result, God confused their language, causing them to speak different languages so they would not understand each other. By doing this, God prevented their plans from succeeding. He also scattered the people of the city all over the face of the earth. Some scholars believe that this marks the point in history where God divided the earth into separate continents.

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them (Genesis 11:6).

The Tower of Babel is symbolic of the world system that rejects God — the world of religion, politics and finances that does not accept or acknowledge God. He realizes that when people are unified in purpose they can accomplish impossible feats, both noble and ignoble. This is why unity in the body of Christ is so important. To build, the people used brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar. They used “man-made” materials, instead of more durable “God-made” materials. The people were building a monument to themselves, to call attention to their own abilities and achievements, instead of giving glory to God and letting Him take care of things in His own way.

All worldly religions are based on man’s own attempt to reach God through human effort. However, Christianity is the exception. Christian faith is God coming to us — through his Son, Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for our sins and rose up again three days later. It is when we receive Him by faith, we belong to His eternal kingdom.

No matter where we are in our lives, what we’ve done or haven’t done, be it good or bad, it just doesn’t matter. He comes to us — I love that.

Holding fast,

Lori

^{Photography by Andrew Guan}