Nature used to be in perfect harmony before sin entered the world.
Environmentalism is the new religion that unites humanity with the natural world. It is being promoted everywhere. It is in the public schools and in the entertainment industries. It is found throughout society and even in the churches. The climate change message has become the basis for the new universal push for pantheism – a philosophy that equates God with nature.
The earth is being treated as something sacred and holy, while the Creator is ignored and His moral law is rejected. Earth worship has been rooted in the new environmental movement while the truth of God’s word is being dismissed. Mother Earth is the new god, Greta Thunberg and Pope Francis are the new prophets, climate change is the new gospel, CO2 is the new sin, the green Sunday law is the new sacrament, tyranny is the new authority and climate change deniers are the new heretics.
The reality is that our world is corrupted and cursed by sin. This means that planet earth is not sacred or holy. The truth is that nature is not your equal or your friend. There are situations in nature that can kill you in an instant. Nature is not in perfect harmony as it was before. It is deteriorating. Nature is not taking care of us. Nature was created for the benefit of man and must be “subdued” (Genesis 1:28), not reverenced. This is not what nature worshipers want to hear, but it’s the truth.
God’s Perfect Creation Was Marred by Sin
There was a time when perfect unity and peace existed in our world. Humanity was in harmony with the Creator, and nature was in perfect order. No hurricanes, no tornadoes, no diseases, no droughts, no plagues of locust, no firestorms and no extreme weather patterns:
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31.
After Adam and Eve rebelled against God through disobedience, a curse was placed on earth and our world changed dramatically. The effects of sin were observed in nature, and our world was no longer a perfect creation.
“Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:17-19.
This new curse meant that all living creatures would suffer pain, disease and eventually die. The planet also changed with the arrival of thorns and thistles. All nature was affected, including plant, human and animal life:
“And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.” Genesis 9:2.
Nature is beautiful and awe-inspiring. It’s also brutal and merciless.
Our climate systems also changed as all of nature came under what the Bible calls a “bondage of corruption.”
“For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Romans 8:20-22.
“Travialeth in pain” is a reference to “labor pains” or the “beginning of sorrows” that describes the signs of the end-times (Matthew 24:8). Natural and man-made disasters will become more intense and more frequent, just like the contractions of an expectant mother. These verses describe the thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes, winter blizzards, scorching heat, hurricanes and fires that are seen in nature.
If we don’t subdue nature, nature will subdue us.
Our world is deteriorating due to sin, and this is causing nature to reveal a sinister side. Nature is not our friend, and we must find refuge from these disasters. We seek heat to warm ourselves during the cold seasons of nature. We seek shade to escape the heat of nature. We build structures to protect ourselves from tornadoes, hurricanes and torrential rains. Any of these phenomena of nature (cold, heat, flood, fire and wind) can kill us in an instant. We do not embrace these extremes of nature; we run away from them.
Then there are animals, beasts, viruses, plagues, poisonous plants (drugs) and other humans that can kill us. We must also protect ourselves from these destructive forces of nature. The coronavirus is just the most recent curse of a thousand curses that has come into our world. COVID-19 should open our eyes about the absurdity of venerating a “cursed” Mother Earth. In fact, Mother Nature will perish while God, the Creator of the universe, will live on forever.
“Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment.” Psalm 102:25, 26.
Being eaten alive is just part of nature. A crocodile devours a zebra while a hyena carries the head and front legs of a warthog.
God’s Warning Against Pantheism
“Be careful that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female, of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air, or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below. When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Deuteronomy 4:15-19.
When we try to make nature sacred by worshiping humans, animals and even planets, we corrupt our thinking and pervert our ways. We transgress God’s commandments and diminish His glory and truth:
“And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.” Romans 1:23-25.
Those who seek to become one with nature, rather than the Creator, will imitate the natural world. Nature has no conscience and can sometimes be terrifying. Do we really want to become like the brute beasts of passion? Do rational human beings made in the image of God want to become “one” with them?
Man was created by God to be above this natural world (Genesis 1:28), but it seems that pantheism is reducing humanity to the law of the jungle. Do we want to resemble the destructive forces of nature or imitate its ways? In our broken world, every living creature seeks one thing: survival. The weakest is eaten by the strongest. Unfortunately, that is one of the gruesome realities of our corrupt, natural world.
The Universe Will Be Restored
Instead of turning to pantheism, why doesn’t this world turn to the Creator, who is so much higher, holier, and more compassionate than nature?
“Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Revelation 14:7.
“Turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein.” Acts 14:15.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11.
Instead of moving further and further away from the Creator, why don’t we embrace the One who has promised to restore our broken world with real peace and harmony?
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6.
“And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” Isaiah 11:7.
“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp (cobra), and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ (viper) den.” Isaiah 11:8.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:9.
Instead of embracing the broken, unpredictable and foolish religion of pantheism, why don’t we just worship the Creator? Our world, for the most part, does not follow biblical morality. There isn’t much compassion because man is responsible for the current order of things: war, pain, suffering, death and terror.
The God who created the heavens and the earth is a God of love and compassion. He is a God of law and order. He has given us a memorial to remember Him as Creator of all things (See Exodus 20: 8-11). And He will restore everlasting righteousness when He comes again – very soon!
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:4, 5.
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