Forward to the Kingdom!

On Monday the UN climate change conference began in Copenhagen with 192 countries represented. About 100 world leaders are expected to attend various parts of the two-week conference intended to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

An international survey commissioned by the BBC found that “64% of people questioned said that they considered global warming a very serious problem—up 20% from a 1998 poll.”

But the recent so-called “ClimateGate” scandal has led to “widening concern about the state of climate science” that “could jeopardize any agreement at this week’s summit in Copenhagen,” said CBS correspondent Declan McCullagh. “To be sure, many—perhaps even most—climate researchers say any flaw in the leaked data assembled by the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) does not mean the theory of man-made global warming is false. Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, calls evidence for that theory ‘overwhelming,’” Mr. McCullagh wrote.

Still, a Rasmussen Reports survey shows many Americans are not convinced. Over half think it is likely that some scientists have falsified research data, and 35 percent believe it is “very likely.” Also 49 percent think the United Nations is not a reliable source of information on global warming.

Besides these doubts, economic realities and different priorities between industrialized and developing countries seem likely to limit the final agreements of the conference.

But in all the debate, is there an important aspect of climate change that is being totally overlooked? The Bible talks about a cause of future climate change that no scientific model can predict and that no amount of debate can debunk. The core of the Bible teaching is simple, but the future predictions are earthshaking.

Cause and effect

One of the key lessons of the Bible is the lesson of cause and effect. There’s the farming analogy that says you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). The wisdom of Proverbs 26:2 tells us that “a curse without cause shall not alight.” And two long chapters in the books of Moses spell out the causes of blessings and the causes of curses (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28).

These blessings and curses include physical things like good or bad weather and agricultural abundance or famine. Interestingly, the cause of these climate changes goes far beyond our decisions about how to treat the environment. God says the blessings and curses are the consequences of whether we obey His laws (Deuteronomy 28:1, 15).

What does God say about future changes to the climate?

Part of God’s commands deal with how we care for His earth, and God is angry with those who destroy the earth (Genesis 2:15; Revelation 11:18). But God tells us that how we treat each other and how we treat Him is also a part of the cause-and-effect equation. Sin—disobedience to God’s laws—will lead to disastrous climate changes.

Punishment for sin

The mysterious book of Revelation is full of warnings of end-time plagues brought about because of humanity’s rejection of God. The calamities predicted include the death of “every living creature in the sea” and the sun scorching people with “great heat” (Revelation 16:3, 9).

Sadly, God tells us that these plagues on the physical environment are necessary to wake people up to the evil effects of sin.

But thankfully the God who sends these plagues will also reverse them, and will create a beautiful new environment in which to start over. In the Kingdom of God under Jesus Christ’s rule, the nations of the world will learn not only to care for the environment, but to obey the spiritual laws that create a peaceful climate between people and with God. The prophet Isaiah pictured it like a return to Eden, with hunger and disease removed and joy and gladness in their place (Isaiah 51:3; 35:1-2, 5-7).

For a deeper understanding of God’s warnings for the end time and the hope He offers on beyond, read Are We Living in the Time of the End? More details are available in “The Destruction of Satan’s Kingdom” from the booklet The Book of Revelation Unveiled.

Dean Rammelsberg, a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific, called me this morning from snowy Iowa in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. I asked for his memories of that day, Dec. 7, 1941. He said:

“The United States as a whole didn’t want war… It was a sunny fall day in Iowa. We didn’t have all the news like we do today. Everyone heard the news of the attack on the radio, and everyone gathered around the radio to hear the president’s speech.”

I told him I had just been reading that speech, and that I was planning to share it on this blog. Here is what U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt told Congress Dec. 8, 1941:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses Congress after Pearl Harbor attack.

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

“The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

“Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

“It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

Despite heroic efforts, much of the U.S. fleet was destroyed at Pearl Harbor.

“The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

“Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

“Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

“Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

“Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

“Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

“This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

“Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The People of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

The sudden sneak attack at Pearl Harbor provoked anger and resolve to prevent future attacks.

“As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

“But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.

“I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the People when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us…”

Sadly, in our world of 9/11 and suicide bombers, we know that no human effort can totally remove the danger of sneak attacks and treachery. But we have God’s assurance that someday, and we pray that it may be soon, Jesus Christ will return to bring real peace to this earth (Revelation 11:15; Isaiah 2:4). May God speed that day, and forward to the Kingdom of God!

It seems this time of year everyone starts throwing out predictions for the new year. I know many wiser people would do better at predicting, and many wiser people refrain from making predictions at all in our unstable and complex world. But based on some long-term trends that have a connection with biblical prophecies, let me add my 10 questions highlighting trends to watch in 2010.

1. Will Iran’s provocations over its nuclear program lead to an Israeli attack to prevent Iran from building nuclear bombs? Tensions continue to heat up. As the BBC reported Nov. 29:

After more than 60 years, will nuclear weapons be used again?

“Iran’s government has approved plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants, according to state media…

“It comes days after the UN nuclear watchdog rebuked Iran for covering up a uranium enrichment plant…

“BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says Sunday’s announcement is a massive act of defiance likely to bring forward direct confrontation over Iran’s nuclear programme.”

Read more of the background of this crisis in “What Would an Israel-Iran Nuclear War Mean?”

2. How much will implementing the Lisbon Treaty streamline and unify Europe? The treaty went into effect Dec. 1, and the newly created positions of full-time president (Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy) and foreign minister (Britain’s Catherine Ashton) have been quickly filled.

Both are seen by many as compromise candidates without the name recognition to “stop the traffic” in Washington and Beijing. But will their terms bring further strengthening of the European Union’s goal of ever-closer union? Or will there be continued frustration that Europe isn’t able to speak with one voice and assume the superpower status to match its economic clout?

Bible prophecy shows that it is important to watch events in Europe.

3. Where will the next threat to the world economy come from? More bubbles and insecurities lie just beneath the surface all around the world, as the Dubai World debt crisis showed last week.

Governments and financial institutions understand the need to rush in to shore things up to prevent a meltdown. For example, Bloomberg reports, “The United Arab Emirates’ central bank said it ‘stands behind’ the country’s local and foreign banks, which face losses from Dubai World’s possible default…” But too many of the rushed “cures” only set the stage for future crises. We may not have to wait for 2010 for the next shock to the global system.

4. Will Americans spend or save? MarketWatch reports that the madness of Black Friday discounts only brought in a half percent increase in sales. This is a reminder that the American consumer, once considered the engine of the world economy, is still overstretched and cannot serve as the catalyst of another boom. In fact, the only sustainable approach would be for Americans to save more and spend less. But this tough medicine has its dangers. We’re in so deep, the prudent thing in the long run can be foolish in the short run.

5. How long can America afford to fight two wars? And what will the exit strategy be in Afghanistan? How will other nations take advantage of America being stretched too thin?

6. How long can Americans continue to buy far more from other countries than we sell to them?

7. Will the U.S. government be able to agree on how to cut the record-shattering deficits?

8. How long will countries like China be willing to bankroll the American government’s deficit as well as loaning us the money to buy their goods? As faith in the dollar decreases, what will other countries demand in return for feeding America’s addiction to more and more borrowed money?

9. How long can the U.S. dollar remain the world’s reserve currency?

10. Will the United States continue its slide into immorality, ignoring and even flaunting disobedience to God’s laws? Will America continue to export ungodly and degrading entertainment around the world, with the resultant spread of evil and decline of respect for America?

We cover many of these trends regularly in our publications The Good News and World News and Prophecy. You can also get more background information in The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. It explains where we believe the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are mentioned in Bible prophecy, and why we make the connection between immoral and irresponsible behavior and the decline of our nations’ power. The good news is, the Bible also prophesies an end to these trends with the return of Jesus Christ to save us from ourselves and set up the Kingdom of God. I encourage you to download or request a free copy of these priceless publications and prepare for that wonderful time.

1. The gospel is the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, brought by the future King, Jesus Christ.

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15).

2. God’s people feel a fervent urge to preach the gospel.

“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

3. The gospel must be preached in all the world.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

For more about preaching the gospel, see “Preaching the Gospel.”

What scriptures would you add?

The phrase “thousand years” is used nine times in the New King James Version of the Bible. Six of those are in Revelation 20. The thousand years described in that chapter has come to be known by the Latin word for thousand years, Millennium.

The Bible talks about a thousand-year period, often called the Millennium.

1. Satan and his influence will be removed for the Millennium.

“He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while” (Revelation 20:2-3).

2. The saints, converted followers of Jesus Christ, will help Him rule and judge during the Millennium.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).

3. The Millennium will just be the start, because those in the first resurrection will not be subject to death ever again.

“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

For more about the Millennium, see “The Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.”

What scriptures would you add?

I have a confession to make. I am fascinated with the future, and with science fiction. Though they often have little to do with each other.

My name is Mike, and I’m one of the 372,671 “fans” of the end-of-the-world movie 2012 on Facebook. Oh, and though it opens today, I probably won’t go see it. I think I got to see all the coolest and awfullest special effects on the Web.

Scene from Columbia Pictures film "2012" from the Facebook fan page.

I even had the chance to vote for which of the fan geeks should be ruler of the world after it had been destroyed. I declined to vote.

If you’ve read this blog before, you may know that I do believe that there are disasters coming in the near future, and some may come in 2012. But since the Bible tells of a 3½ year Tribulation before the coming of Jesus Christ to set up the Kingdom of God and prevent the extinction of mankind, I am sure 2012 is not the year of Christ’s return.

Okay, while I’m at it I guess I should also admit that I watched part of the new ABC series FlashForward last night. I am into science fiction themes, as you can see. But life’s too busy for me to get into much TV these days. Still, while I was grating mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and helping my wife make lasagna for this weekend, I did tune in for episode 8 last night. Having not watched the previous seven episodes and coming in late for this one, I was a bit “lost,” but I knew the overall plot.

Here’s a summary of the show from TV.com:

“The plot centers around an eerie, chaotic vision of the future [2 minutes and 17 seconds of April 29, 2010, to be exact] after a mysterious event makes everyone on Earth lose consciousness. Later, as people start waking up, the world starts changing because people know their future.”

It is fascinating to contemplate what it would be like to have a vivid vision of the future. And then, if you didn’t like it, to try to change it. But as one viewer commented on TV.com, the show “takes an infinitely fascinating enigma of science and turns it into a marginally unusual criminal investigation.”

So much for the science fiction. I am very thankful that God gives us a real vision of the future in the Bible, and that after all the tribulations and disasters of this age, Jesus Christ will usher in an age of peace. Forward to the Kingdom!

What do you think of 2012, FlashForward and the future?

My dad was 5 years old when Hitler attacked Poland. He was almost 8 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Throughout his formative years, what he and his friends ate, drank and played was dictated by war. He remembers soldiers camped down the hill from his house, defending the homeland from the Japanese spies suspected to have come ashore on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

The atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki when he was 11, and the destruction of war was still visible in Japan eight years later when he visited during his tour of duty in Korea. He vividly remembers overlooking “hundreds of acres of rubble with a five- or six-story cement building standing in the center of the gray landscape as a lone sentinel to the foolishness of man.” He told me that he could tell the Japanese people had had enough war, and didn’t want any more.

Korean War vet Richard Bennett with granddaughter Heather.

In Korea, the hot war had ended, but in preserving the cold peace his Army unit lived in a school pockmarked with bullet holes and with the windows broken out. He told me he is very thankful that he served during a time of “peace,” and that he never had to shoot or wave a gun at anyone. But he can imagine what those who faced combat must feel.

What does he pray for? “What I want is for the King of Peace to come,” he said. “What mankind and God are waiting for is for Jesus Christ to return and Satan to be bound and for peace to finally come.”

So, as Dad reminds me every week, it’s all about the good news of the Kingdom of God. Forward to the Kingdom!

Victor Kubik writes in the latest Nordic/Baltic/Eastern European Newsletter: “We are currently making an effort to make more of our literature available in the native language of the various countries in our region. Sofie Banham, a United Church of God member in Australia, will be helping to translate some of our material into Polish.

Currently four of the 20 UCG fundamental beliefs (“God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit,” “The Church,” “The Word of God” and “Satan, the Devil”) are available in Polish.

“The word of the Kingdom of God begins small—as a mustard seed, but we have expectations of effective growth in Polish content and its proliferation,” Mr. Kubik wrote.

You can see all the Eastern European literature on the United Church of God Web site at www.ucg.org/easteuropean.

It was one of the most famous promises in history. Just months after their attack on Pearl Harbor, the fearsome Japanese military was rapidly advancing on Manila where General Douglas MacArthur was Allied commander.

When President Franklin Roosevelt commanded him to leave the Philippines, MacArthur considered resigning and fighting on as a civilian. He didn’t want to leave his men or the Filipino people to face the overwhelming might of the enemy alone. However, on March 11, 1942, he obeyed the order and made his way to Australia. But he made this promise to the Filipinos: “I shall return.”

In the face of what seemed an unbeatable foe, General MacArthur’s words held out a glimmer of hope.

PBS quotes him as telling journalists in Australia, “The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed from Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary objective of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return.”

General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise and returns to Leyte, the Philippines, Oct. 20, 1944 (Wikimedia Commons).

Finally, 65 years ago today, on Oct. 20, 1944, he fulfilled his “I shall return” promise.

As important as the promise and the fulfillment was in the history of World War II, the reason it resonates with me, and many Christians today, is that our hope, the Captain of our salvation, has also promised to return.

At a time when human survival is threatened, as it is today, Jesus Christ will return to save humanity from self-destruction (Matthew 24:21-22).

Jesus Christ will come to set up the peaceful Kingdom of God. As He told John, “Surely I am coming quickly.” We, like the people of the Philippines and the apostle John can have hope. With John we say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Have you ever imagined what the valley of dry bones will be like when God brings the bones together and puts flesh on them? Or what the Day of Judgment will be like when the people of ancient Nineveh, the Queen of Sheba and the people of Christ’s day are raised together?

David Teague is a talented artist who attends the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, congregation of the United Church of God. He painted this detailed depiction of how he imagines the second resurrection, the time of judgment of people from all periods of history talked about in Matthew 12:41-42, Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Revelation 20:5a, 11-12. The United Church of God looks forward to this second resurrection and the Great White Throne Judgment on the Last Great Day, which was celebrated Oct. 10. See my Last Great Day message here.

Painter's conception of the second resurrection...

The painting now hangs in UCG President Clyde Kilough’s office. Sorry that my photography doesn’t do it justice…