Does The Bible Predict Climate Change Series

What the Bible says

Now that we’re working with a specific definition of climate change, let’s go back to the question at hand: does the Bible say there will be climate change? The answer is No, because nowhere does the Bible use that term. But the answer is also Yes in the sense that the Bible does say that in the time just before the second coming of Christ the earth will be in upheaval and human society will be suffering from tremendous conflict, hunger, disease, and natural disasters. And, as we shall see, there’s a significant similarity between what the Bible says will come and what the threat analyses we’ve examined say will come.

Near the end of His ministry, Jesus met privately with His disciples, and they asked Him what the signs of His coming would be (Matthew 24:3). Jesus answered them in astonishing detail. In verses 6 and 7 He said, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Jesus meant that just before His return we will see conflict between nations, tribes, regions, and ethnic groups. Indeed, we should expect a severe increase in conflict at all levels of human society.

This mirrors the conclusions of climate change impacts by the CNA mentioned earlier, that we can expect to see a significant increase in global instability, conflict because of “threats to food and water supplies for a fairly large portion of the world’s population.” Jesus said this will happen, so we should not be troubled when it does.

In the second half of Matthew 24:7 Jesus said that “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” In other words, we should watch for significant increases in hunger and earthquakes. We’re seeing marked increases in both of these.

It’s worth going a little deeper into earthquakes. We’ve already seen that climate change is causing increased famine (hunger) and disease. Can earthquakes also be linked to climate change? The answer is Yes. Dr. Bill McGuire, in his book Waking The Giant: How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanos, explains that the earth is in a dynamic state where even small changes in force can bring it to a tipping point. We’re currently seeing transfers of water because of a drying climate in the earth’s temperate regions, along with rising sea levels and increased atmospheric moisture, which is enough to push the earth’s crust to a tipping point that results in dramatically higher seismic activity levels, namely, earthquakes.

While the language used by the Bible and climate-change scientists is quite different, there’s definitely a relationship between the conclusions that are drawn by the two sources.

Why these things will happen

But the Bible goes further than informing us what will happen. It also tells us why these things will happen.

In Genesis 3:1–7 we learn that Adam and Eve disobeyed an express command of God, choosing instead to believe Satan’s lies. Adam and Eve had been given dominion over the world, but when they yielded to Satan, their dominion passed to him. The Bible calls him the “god” or “prince” of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).