R.I.P. Planet Earth

R.I.P. Planet Earth - J.L. Robb - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8318

 

After the Great Flood, of which most ancient cultures include in their history, God indicated that never again would the world suffer from a worldwide flood.

 

"I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." Genesis 9:11 NIV

 

Certainly there have been devastating floods in the 4500 years since the Great Flood. Some are happening at this very moment, thanks to Hurricane Matthew. Forecasters have said that Hurricane Matthew could leave as much as 40 inches of rain in some areas. That's a lot. However, there is no other story of a worldwide flood occurring since then.

 

According to many sources, i.e. Epic of Gilgamesh, a worldwide flood certainly occurred. Many supposed scholars claim that Moses repeated the story of the flood from the Epic of Gilgamesh, which predated the Torah by approximately 700 years. However, though Moses wrote the Torah around 1500 BC, it covered a timeframe that began with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden predates the Epic of Gilgamesh by hundreds of years.

 

The Great Flood occurred for one reason and one reason only: mankind's fall.

 

During the days of Noah, God made fewer appearances than He did in the beginning. After all, man had thoroughly rejected Him. There were few if any believers in the God of Adam and Eve, other than Noah and his family. That is very fortunate for us. Otherwise, the earth would be a much different place and probably unpopulated, at least with people.

 

A worldwide flood would have killed all the land animals and most of the plants, so if God intended to repopulate the world He would have had to re-create plants in order to feed the population. At that time prior to the flood all people were herbivores and only consumed plants. Consuming animals for nutrition did not happen until after the Great Flood.

 

Since it seems that Noah's cargo consisted of animals and not plants, the animals that he saved became the sustenance for the eight remaining people on earth. Plants would have regenerated quickly. Some scholars who have studied the subject think that Noah could have possibly carried a few grapes or other fruit to eat during the flood. This is quite possible since they were vegetarians and permission had not been given at that time to consume animals. We do know that some plants survived the flood, because the bird returned to the ark with an olive branch after making its reconnaissance flight.

 

From the Scripture at the beginning of this article, God made it plain that he would never use a flood to destroy mankind throughout the world. He did not, however, say that he would never destroy our world. To the contrary, God indicated that he would indeed destroy the world by fire during the end times when the population of the world became like the population of the world in Noah's day.

 

So why would God use fire in the future to cleanse our world rather than a flood?

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3-10 NIV

 

Possibly God decides that the worldwide flood was not adequate in cleansing His disgust with mankind, and he decides to cleanse Earth once and for all. For those who escape this autoclaving of Earth, life is good; for those who do not, not so good.

 

If you have ever worked in a hospital or laboratory, the number one way of sterilizing surgical tools and other equipment is by the autoclave. The autoclave is an apparatus that sterilizes via steam heat or dry heat at temperatures as high as 375° to 400°. This dry heat temperature is the best way to ensure that germs are not spread via the surgical instruments. What water cannot kill, extreme temperatures can.

 

There are certainly instances in the Bible where fire rains down on our land from heaven. Revelation 11 tells of Two Witnesses in Jerusalem during the last days who call fire down from heaven; and there are others.

 

When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt... Exodus 9:23 NIV

 

Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. Leviticus 9:24 NIV

 

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on 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 8:7 NIV

 

There is lots of fire in the Book of Revelation and throughout the Bible. According to Zechariah, some fire will be so hot that people who experience it will simply vanish.

 

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. Zechariah 14:12 KJV

 

When I was a kid and read the above Scripture for the first time, it was very frightening to a 10-year-old. What could Zechariah be envisioning other than atomic warfare? In 1957, atomic warfare was relatively new. Atomic and hydrogen weapons were being tested regularly, some as large as 100-megatons (equivalent to 100 million TONS of TNT). It was already known at that time that nuclear weapons could simply make things disappear, including people, as though they never existed.

 

According to a British news source I read today, Russia is anticipating a nuclear war with the West.

 

Russia tells citizens 'nuclear war with the West could happen soon'

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday proposed a law suspending a Moscow-Washington agreement to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium.

 

Officials said on Friday that underground shelters had been built which could house 12 million people - enough for the entire population of Moscow.

 

The United States and the world is on the precipice of World War III over Syria. The Syrian Civil War has killed more than 400,000 people. This could've been avoided had President Obama manned up and stood behind the red line in the sand that his administration drew as a threat to Syria should they use chemical weapons. The Syrians used chemical weapons, and are still using them today, because the president's red line threat was not enforced. Now for the first time ever, Russia not only has a foothold in Syria but is threatening the United States to butt out or else. What is else?

 

Else could be and probably will be, nuclear war.

 

A 20-megaton nuclear weapon detonating 3 miles above the ground would destroy most structures within a 20-mile diameter. The effects on the population is even scarier. This blast over a population center could kill millions in the blink of an eye. Even more would later die from radiation sickness. After the nuclear attack in Hiroshima with a small atomic weapon, many who witnessed the attack and lived claimed that people in the center of the blast simply vanished.

 

A witness named William Burchett had this to say:

 

"...of thousands of others, nearer the center of the explosion, there was no trace. They vanished. The theory in Hiroshima is that the atomic blast was so great, they burned instantly to ashes, except there were no ashes."

 

The Middle East is out of control and the situation is dire, more dire than any time in history. The final war, Armageddon, to be fought in the Valley of Megiddo in Israel seems to be on the brink of reality. Unlike in Noah's day, God does not plan to annihilate everyone. In the final scenario, the good will be separated from the bad; and that will not be good for the bad.

 

When I tell folk that the Book of Revelation is really a love story, they look at me strangely; but that is the case. It is God's love story and will prove that God does not love everyone the same. He hates evil. And he also hates those who perpetrate evil against his chosen, the Jews. Jews are being ostracized, murdered and their capital city, Jerusalem has become a burden to the world, just like God said that it would.

 

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. Zechariah 12:3 KJV

 

The remaining question is: Are the people of the world becoming like the people of the world in Noah's day? I think so. All one has to do is pick up a newspaper or turn on the news. It seems that many, if not most, are more interested in sitcoms and reality TV than what is going on in Israel. This is a huge mistake.

 

The time is near, and we all need to pay attention.