According to scientific research, the extreme weather events that are occurring all over the world are a ‘sign of things to come’, as climate change takes hold.
Of course this is worrying. There are some signs that do herald bad events, but others are more optimistic.
The Bible contains lots of signs from God. So much so that the Apostle Paul said, ‘Jews demand signs’ (1 Corinthians 1:22).
Jesus despaired of the people asking for signs, when he was already performing miracles among them.
He said, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe’ (John 4:48).
But Jesus did give signs to the people. One of the most important involved his death and resurrection: a sign that he was indeed the son of God. They had asked, yet again, for a sign and he said:
‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’ (Matthew 12:39–40).
He also told his disciples about the signs which would herald his return to earth. He lists wars, famine and describes a world in crisis:
‘… On the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world’ (Luke 21:25–26).
Bible students believe that there are many signs that Jesus will come back soon. The fears about potential devastation caused by climate change could well be one of these signs.
At the return of Jesus the world will change beyond recognition: for the better. So we do indeed have signs of good things to come. We surely cannot ignore them.
Anna Hart
Photo credit: Mike McMillan/USFS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons