Extreme Weather and the Bible

Is Extreme Weather found in the Bible?

Can human beings control it?

Is Net-Zero Meaningless?

Problems with CO₂

Defining Extreme Weather

It is normal to distinguish between climate and weather. The difference between the two is the timescale. ‘Weather’ refers to changes in atmospheric conditions over short periods of time – resulting in weather events, and ‘climate’ refers to atmospheric behaviour over relatively long periods of time (decades or centuries).

Extreme weather events in mid-latitudes are related to the polar jet stream, link. Some climate scientists suspect that climate change (a warming arctic) may be making this jet stream “wavier” and leading to extreme weather in the US and Europe.

For instance, when the Atlantic jet stream dips further south it can lead to unseasonably cold weather north of the stream and unseasonably hot weather south of the stream. This happened over Europe summer 2023. Conversely, the jet stream may become “stuck” leading to prolonged heat waves or flooding [Mann, Pennsylvania State University]. However, this theory is still under research, link, link.

Types of Extreme Weather

Examples are heatwaves, cold snaps, torrential rain, storms, cyclones, drought and wild fires. As mentioned, compared to climate change, these events have a well-defined start and end date and are relatively short-lived. The media often sees extreme weather as the likely result of climate change since the late 19th century.

But extreme weather is not always associated with climate change. As discussed below, historically, extreme weather has occurred without climate change. Conversely, climate change does not necessarily result in extreme weather. For example, despite a 1.2 degree C rise in average global temperature between 1895 and 2020 i.e. despite a warming climate, there was no overall increase in US droughts, [ NOAA, 2021 ]. Similarly, between 1910 and 1990 there was no significant change in heavy precipitation measured over 48 US states, [ NOAA, 2021 ].  And there is no strong evidence for an increase in US landfalling hurricanes since the late 1800s.

Recent Extreme Weather Events

EXTREME WINDS: 2013 will be remembered for apocalyptic weather across the globe. Super typhoon Haiyan hit the eastern Philippines with maximum sustained winds of 195 mph and gusts to 235 mph – one of the most powerful storms ever recorded. Powerful tornadoes carved a path of destruction across the US Midwest, with Washington being hit by winds of up to 200 mph.

EXTREME RAINS: As the climate warms, studies have shown that for every one degree Celsius rise, there is an additional 15% increase in extreme rain at high elevation [nature.com, 2023]. In January 2014 southern Britain saw its wettest winter month on record, and saw its largest wave ever (75 feet)! The highest ever rainfall recorded in UK was in December 2015 at Honister Pass in Lake District with 341.4 mm falling in 24 hours. In July 2021, Zhengzhou (China) had over 550 mm in just 24 hours. In April 2024 some regions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed the heaviest rainfall for 75 years. Some regions reported more rain in a single day than they usually received in an entire year.

EXTREME DROUGHT: Australia’s “Millennium” drought began in 1995 and continued country-wide until late 2009. Desalination plants were built to partially combat the extreme drought. The European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) warned that the 2022 drought could be the worst in 500 years, potentially reaching 47% of the continent, [euronews.com]. Nowhere on Earth are groundwater declines greater than in northern India. NASA attributed this to large-scale irrigation, and today 54% of India faces extremely high water stress [wri.org ]

EXTREME HEAT: The Pacific north-west has warmed by about 1.7C in the past 50 years (much more than the global average), and in 2021 this contributed to historic heatwaves in California and parts of Canada. British Columbia reached 46C, Las Vegas reached 47C, Palm Springs reached 49C, and California’s Death Valley reached 53C (although this is lower than the 57C recorded in Furnace Creek in 1913). April 2022 was the third-hottest April India has seen in the past 122 years (1901 to 2022). Such unusual, early heat waves were made 30 times more likely due to the direct impact of climate change, [World Weather Attribution Network (WWAN)]. 

EXTREME COLD: In 2010 the UK had the coldest December for 100 years [UK Met Office]. In 2018 (‘the beast from the east’) thick snow blanketed the UK and brought the average March temperature down a whole seven degrees. Rural areas experienced temperature lows of -12°C. In February 2021 Scotland experienced -23°C, and Texas had rare extreme cold – colder than Alaska! In late January 2023 temperatures in Mohe northern China plummeted to -53°C, the lowest ever recorded in China. Record low temperatures hit the northeast USA early February 2023. Scientists claim arctic warming is creating more polar vortex events [CNN]. In May 2023 Antarctica experienced a new record low for early winter (-75°C) [weatherandradar.co.uk ].

EXTREME SNOW: In mid-April 2022, a major blizzard dumped feet of snow on North Dakota, USA. The highest snowfall was in south west Montana which received nearly four feet of snow. Forecasters were warning of a “storm of the century”. On Tuesday 12 April the temperature plummeted to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the coldest day in April since 1986. In November 2022, the snow mass in the northern hemisphere was beyond the highest ever observed [www.severe-weather.eu ].

SUCESSIVE EXTREMES: The UK has seen three extreme Februaries in succession. February 2019 saw a winter heatwave when London reached 21.2 degrees C. The following February was the wettest on record in England. And February 2021 saw minus 23 degrees C in Scotland and the river Thames froze over for the first time since 1963.

EXTREME COST: These events come at extreme cost. By 2020 the US had sustained 273 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. NOAA claim the total cost of these 273 events exceeds $1.790 trillion, link. Scientists blame ‘an unlucky combination of global warming and freak chance’!

Is Extreme Weather largely Anthropogenic – Caused by Humans?

Climate change is undeniable. For example, since about 1880:

• The world warmed by about 1.1 degree C [NASA]
• Most glaciers retreated; mean annual retreat about 20m [wikipedia.org]
• Global mean sea level rose about 9 inches (2 or 3mm/year) [climate.gov]
• Water tables fell significantly (China: 1.5m/year, India: 1-3m/year)
• Weather related disasters increased by a factor of 5 over the past 50 years [WMO, 2021]

Already, with 1.1 degrees C of global temperature rise, changes to the climate system that are unparalleled over centuries are now occurring in every region of the world, from rising sea levels to more extreme weather events [IPCC AR6 2023]. And as the climate warms there will be an increase in extreme weather events [BBC 2024]. For example, for every 1C rise in average temperature, the atmosphere can hold up to around 7% more moisture – so increasing the risk of extreme rainfall. IPCC AR6 2023 details the devastating consequences of climate change — the destruction of homes, the loss of livelihoods and the fragmentation of communities.

The Consensus: “it’s Anthropogenic Warming”

The question is: “what” or “who” is causing climate change/extreme weather? The official scientific consensus claims that “human-caused climate change (anthropogenic warming) is happening”. To quote NASA: 

Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities. [NASA]

The vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists (97%) agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change [NASA]

So according to NASA, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has now evolved from theory to established fact. Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), and it is claimed that such human influence is the principal driver of many climatic changes.

That said, some challenge the official scientific consensus, link, link.

Some Inconvenient Truths

Whilst broadly true, the interpretation of climate change data (sea level rise etc.) should be done with care. Given that some question the modelling or even the basic model physics, it is reasonable to ask if natural changes are also a significant factor. In fact, on some measures it is hard to see the effect of anthropogenic CO₂ increase. For example:

NATURAL SEA LEVEL RISE: Sea level has risen by over 100m over thousands of years as the world emerged from the last ice age. The rise levelled-off some 6,000 years ago. The relatively small rise over the past 100 years therefore appears natural [scienceunderattack.com, 2019].

ATLANTIC STORMS: There is no strong evidence for an increase in Atlantic hurricanes, or U.S. land-falling hurricanes, since the late 1800s.  It is premature to conclude that anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases have caused a change in past Atlantic basin hurricane activity  [https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/, 2023].

HEATWAVES: Despite the fact that CO₂ is now 50% higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution, the Annual Heatwave Index for the United States from 1880 to 2020 shows no significant change, apart from a transient increase around 1930 [data: NOAA via the US EPA].

TEMPERATURE DOES NOT CORRELATE WITH CO₂ : Temperature changes at the summit of the Greenland ice sheet tend to reflect global temperature changes. Despite warm periods, there is a clear cooling trend over the last 4000 years. On the other hand, CO₂ (red graph) rises steadily, showing negative correlation with temperature.

Problems with CO₂

Some claim there are serious problems with CO₂ modelling, link, link. Others claim IPCC climate theory is simply wrong ?

“The reason why the CO₂ atmosphere theory can never work is that the ocean-atmosphere interface controls the amount of CO₂ in air. Ocean temperatures control atmospheric CO₂ levels – a warmer ocean (which holds 50x more CO₂ than the atmosphere) emits CO₂ and vice versa. Millions of years of data show that ocean temperature changes lead atmospheric CO₂ changes, link.”

So some climate scientists claim that the Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) theory itself is seriously flawed. They claim that CO₂ cannot possibly be the main cause of global warming, link, link, link, link, link, link. For example, IPCC models predict a temperature “hotspot” some 10-12 km in the air above the tropics. But radiosonde data contains no trace of such a hotspot. Some attribute the error to IPCC modelling of water vapour feedback, which in turn results in excessive temperature predictions. Most model temperature forecasts are excessive compared with accurate satellite measurements [Scaffeta, 2022].

• A CO2 ANOMALY: The IPCC claims that CO₂ rise causes temperature rise i.e. CO₂ is the causal factor. This is not what is observed. Ice core data shows CO₂ change lagging temperature change. Typically, atmospheric CO₂ didn’t begin to rise until 400 to 1,000 years after the planet began to warm, link. Similarly, modern data shows changes in global atmospheric CO₂ lag global surface air temperature by typically 10 months, link. So clearly, temperature rise due to anthropogenic CO₂ rise would seem hard to detect since temperature rises first. Also, as noted, Greenland ice sheet air temperature fluctuations show no correlation with atmospheric CO₂ changes, link.
• SATURATED GREENHOUSE EFFECT: The CO₂-temperature relationship is nonlinear, link. So as more and more CO₂ is added to the atmosphere the warming effect saturates (‘flat-lines’). The atmosphere maintains a “saturated greenhouse effect” controlled by water vapor content. That is, adding CO₂ to the atmosphere just replaces an equivalent amount of water vapour to maintain a near-constant greenhouse effect, link.
• For example, doubling CO₂ concentration from its 2015 level of 400 ppm to 800 ppm will increase its radiative forcing (the difference between incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation) by just 1%, link, link, link. This explains why there was no runaway greenhouse warming when the concentration of CO₂ was approaching 20 times that of today, link.
• IMPORTANCE OF WATER VAPOUR: The most important greenhouse gas is water vapour, which is responsible for about 96% of the greenhouse effect. When water vapour is accounted for, all anthropogenic greenhouse sources (not just CO₂) contribute only about 0.3% to the Greenhouse Effect (GHE), link. So why are the nations spending huge sums trying to control CO₂?
• SUPPORTING DATA: Glaciers were retreating at least 150 years before sharp CO₂ rise from industrialization, and sea levels were rising steadily well before sharp CO₂ rise. A fact often conveniently ignored: Global temperature has been rising naturally by about 0.5 degree C per century since the Little Ice Age c1700.

For more analysis and graphs, see Natural Warming.

Leaving aside the science, we can note that CO₂ is a trace gas and amounts to just 0.04% of the atmosphere. Anthropogenic CO₂ is just 4% of this 0.04%, or about 0.0016% of the atmosphere. CO₂ warming theory insists that small changes to this 0.0016% are causing a climatic disaster! Does this make sense?

Natural Changes

Many eminent scientists dispute the IPCC warming consensus. See for example CLINTEL, the Climate Intelligence Foundation which is comprised of over 1500 scientists. An international team (including some Nobel Laureates) from CLINTEL has analysed the Physical Science Basis of IPCC report AR6. They claim it is biased, selective, and contains serious errors (SEE Video). So-called “good news” was ignored. For example, AR6 ignored a World Bank report claiming that global weather losses as a percentage of global GDP have fallen since 1990.

So CLINTEL claim there is no climate emergency, and natural as well as anthropogenic factors are causing warming. Similarly, some maintain that climate change observed during the 20th century was not primarily caused by CO₂ rise. It could be partly due to increased solar activity (sun spots) and the resulting reduced cloud cover. There were also strong El Ninos (1983, 1998 which caused spikes in global temperatures).

Possibly excluding the most recent decades, much of the warming of the past century can be quantitatively accounted for by the direct and indirect effects of solar activity. [ Solar Storms ]

The same applies to the 21st century. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) claimed 2024 to be the warmest year since global records began in 1850, link. But 2023/4 was nearing the next solar maximum, and saw the most powerful solar storm in more than 20 years strike the Earth’s atmosphere, link. In turn this reduced cloud cover and increased warming. At the same time, 2023  saw a “historically strong” El Nino, resulting in a 2 degree rise in sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific region, link. These two factors should be born in mind when claiming CO₂ is the primary problem.

• SIGNIFICANCE OF SOLAR ACTIVITY: Despite NASA and IPCC rejection of the significance of solar activity, some scientists still link climate change to “solar forcing”. For example, between 1880 and 1980, global Sea Surface Temperature (SST) correlates well with solar irradiance change (sun spot number, SSN), link. It has been shown that more sunspots deliver more energy (irradiance) to the atmosphere, and temperatures rise. Conversely, between 1790 and 1820, a decline in SSN (the Dalton Minimum) correlated with lower global temperatures. Note also that US annual temperatures over the last century correlate better with ocean and sun cycles than with CO₂.
• SIGNIFICANCE OF CLOUD COVER: Cloud cover/modelling is one of the key factors determining whether we have global warming or global cooling. An active sun (as in the last part of the 20th century) means less low clouds and higher temperatures, link, link. Conversely, during solar minima the weaker magnetic field allows more cosmic rays to Earth. Cosmic rays create aerosols which then seed clouds (so a solar minima means more low clouds).

The Net-Zero Trap

All this begs the question:

“If CO₂ increase is not the primary cause of climate change (there are also natural causes), and if the CO₂ theory is seriously flawed, then how can man control climate change? Is the media driven more by politics than real science, link? Is the Net-Zero philosophy meaningless? Is there a Net-Zero trap ? After all, analysis shows that Net-Zero will have little effect on temperature:

For worldwide net zero emissions by 2050 and the 4-times larger IPCC climate sensitivity, the averted warming would be 0.28 degree C [ co2coalition, June 2024 ]

“There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C” [ Dr Ahmed Al-Jaber, COP28 president ]

Consider the UK case:

It is also interesting to note that energy from renewables can fail completely. In November-December 2023 UK temperatures dropped to -10 degree C. At the same times the wind dropped and the sun failed to shine. So it was necessary to use fossil fuel power stations!

Is God Involved in Climate Change/Extreme Weather?

Do we see climate change/extreme weather in the Bible? Yes!

Consider the climate/weather promise in Genesis:

While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22)

It seems that God intended the natural cycle of things (heat and cold) to continue. Nothing special was meant to happen to the climate whilst man is around. Put another way, according to the Bible, any change in the climate would seem to be natural. For example, natural solar irradiance change e.g. very low sunspot activity has been associated with climate change. Between 1790 and 1820, a decline in solar activity called the Dalton Minimum correlated with lower global temperatures.

In fact, few realise that the global temperature has been rising naturally at a steady rate of 0.5°C per century since the end of the little ice age in the 1700s (see graph at sciencespeak). So much of the 0.8°C rise over the 20th century was to be expected! This is in stark contrast to the IPCC AR6 2021 Report which claims climate change is largely anthropogenic warming via CO₂.

That said, despite God’s promise of natural variations in Genesis 8, it seems man may well be upsetting God’s natural order of things. Regular rains, or regular freezing for example are no longer observed. Is God using climate change/extreme weather to speak to the rebellious nations – like Godless Britain, for example? Has God intervened in the past, and will God intervene in the future? There are good examples of God’s intervention in the scriptures. Consider:

God’s Extreme Weather Control in the Past

It seems that the God of the Bible sometimes intervenes in the world by creating specific weather events. This can be seen for example in Old Testament history, where extreme weather occurred to arrest man’s attention, or to control world events.

Flooding Rain

According to Genesis, when God saw the violence and wickedness of man He was grieved in heart and vowed to destroy all but Noah and his family through a flood:

I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 6:4)

Note: There is strong scientific evidence for a cataclysmic worldwide flood (see also Flood mechanism). Also, it could be argued that before the creation of man there was no rain (Genesis 2:4-6), and that, at some point in time the world experienced God ordained climate change and the creation of rain.

Drought

As the Israelites wandered in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, God gave them many sundry laws. He warned Israel to obey them and if they did not then one of the consequences would be drought:

The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you iron. And the Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust … (Deuteronomy 28:23-24)
If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain … (2 Chronicles 7:13)

If they sought God and turned away from their rebellious ways, then God promised to ‘heal their land’ (2 Chronicles 7:14). But when some Israelites returned from exile in Babylon, they were more interested in making nice houses than in the restoration of God’s house – the desolate temple. As a result, God caused drought, resulting in a lack of produce (Haggai 1:11).

Drought can even be City-Specific: The prophet Amos (c750 BC) is more specific when it came to God’s control of extreme weather. Here judgment was even different for adjacent Israelite cities:

Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you while there were still three months until harvest. Then I would send rain on one city, but on another city I would not send rain; one part would be rained on, while the part not rained on would dry up. (Amos 4:7)

Violent Storms and Hail

The seventh plague of Egypt was severe hail. Because Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, God said to Pharaoh:

I will send a very heavy hail … and the hail shattered every tree of the field (Exodus 9:18,25)

When the kings of the Amorites attacked friends of Israel, Joshua’s army went up to defend them. It is recorded that God helped Israel by throwing large hailstones at the enemy:

… more died from the hailstones than those killed by the sons of Israel (Joshua 10:11)

Later, the prophet Ezekiel challenged the false prophets of Israel, saying that God would judge them. The Lord spoke to these false prophets through Ezekiel, saying:

I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath … flooding rain and hailstones … (Ezekiel 13:13)

When Jonah tried to ignore God’s instructions by taking a boat trip, God sent ‘a great wind and storm’ (Jonah 1:4) that threatened to destroy the ship. Jonah eventually got the point! Then, in New Testament times, God reversed the situation and calmed the wind and sea in order to save the disciples:

Jesus rebuked the wind and sea … and the wind died down and it became perfectly calm (Mark 4:39)

This is a good example of God controlling the weather in order to help (not judge) those who love Him.

Darkness and Gloom

Before the ninth plague of Egypt, when Pharaoh still refused to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt, God said to Moses:

stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land … a darkness which may be felt … and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days (Exodus 10:21,22)

Again, when Ezekiel was in exile in Babylon he challenged Israel to turn from their wicked ways, but he also spoke to the surrounding nations like Assyria and Egypt. He warned Egypt of God’s coming judgement, when clouds and darkness would be used as a way of arresting their attention. We read:

It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nation … all the shining lights in heaven I will darken over you and will set darkness on your land (Ezekiel 30:3, 32:8)

From these few examples we are left in little doubt that, in the past, God has created abrupt weather events to arrest man’s attention. But were these weather events the result of Global Warming? Probably not.

Today, there is a tendency to attribute such short-term weather events to climate change aka global warming. But natural archives generally show that Earth’s average temperature roughly 6,000 years ago (the start of biblical history) was warmer by about 0.7 deg C compared with the 19th century median, link. This is also shown on a timeline spanning the Old Testament period, link; global temperature was only about 0.7 deg C higher during Old Testament times relative to the 1951-1980 mean average.

Clearly, short Old Testament weather events do not appear to be the result of excessive global temperature! On the other hand, from science and prophecy, it seems future extreme weather events will be a combination of excessive global temperature, and direct intervention by God.

God’s Extreme Weather Control Today

Here are two interesting examples of what appears to be God’s short-term weather control.

1. Did God Protect Israel from ISIS?

Occasionally God uses weather events in a beneficial way. Remember, God promises to protect Israel:

Whoever assails you will fall … no weapon that is formed against you will prosper (Isaiah 54:15,17)

In 2016 some claim God intervened in the Golan Heights to protect Israel from ISIS: “This strange storm of what appears to be dust, cloud and rain did NOT cross the border fence into Israel. It sat like a barrier between ISIS and Israel” [Israel News Online].

During the 2023 Israeli-Hamas war the IDF were considering flooding the numerous Hamas tunnels. But on November 14/15 violent Mediterranean thunderstorms fell on Gaza [Haaretz][Times Network]. Did the God of Israel send the rains to flood Hamas tunnels?

2. The D-Day Weather Miracle?

The D-Day invasion of Europe was planned for 5 June, but meteorologists had calculated that the chances were about 50:1 against the weather being favourable. However, they did see a temporary weather break for the 6 June. So US General Eisenhower made the difficult decision to postpone the invasion by one day (the next possible date was 19 June). The commanders trusted in God and Army chaplains prayed with troops. Speaking later General Eisenhower commented:

“If there were nothing else in my life to prove the existence of an almighty and merciful God, the events of the next twenty-four hours did it”. 

It turned out that the break in the weather was a critical factor in the success of the D-Day invasion.

But what of the future? Many see modern Britain as a rebellious, post-Christian nation in danger of judgement, and extreme weather is one form of judgement. See Prophecy over Britain, 2011. As mentioned, Britain has recently had a series of extreme weather events. On the other hand, Britain is just one example of how God will use extreme weather events to exact a series of judgements on the Gentile nations (see end-time prophecies below)! Recall:

For when the earth experiences Your judgements the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9)

As discussed, such events could arise from long-term climate change, and some could be God’s direct short-term action.

Prophecies of End-time Climate and Weather – Judgement

An idea of future changes is described by the prophet Isaiah. Chapters 24-27 of Isaiah are sometimes called ‘Isaiah’s Apocalypse’ since they describe judgement upon the whole world for its rebellion against God. Many suffering from extreme weather (as in world-wide destructive floods, fire and drought) will ask “how can a loving God let these things happen?” A reasonable question! Nevertheless, Bible history shows that those nations who rebel against God are judged (Old Testament Israel is a good example). See the APPENDIX for examples of how nations are increasingly rebellious against God.

To reiterate, Isaiah refers to global judgements and these correlate well with the global judgements on the earth described in Revelation. In contrast to other parts of the Bible, Isaiah 24 could be referring more to climate change rather than to relatively short-term weather events. Consider:

Extreme Drought

One of the judgements predicted by Isaiah appears to be drought:

The earth will be completely laid waste … the earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers… (Isaiah 24:3,4)

In this text, the word “earth” (Heb: “erets”, Strong’s 776) means “the earth at large” i.e. the world, as in Genesis 1. Drought is one of the consequences of disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:23-24). For instance, when Christ reigns as King [during the Millennium] nations are asked to go and worship Him at Jerusalem. But . . .

If any nation refuses to go and worship the Lord Almighty as King, then rain will not fall on their land. (Zechariah 14:17, GNT)

Extreme Heat

Another form of judgement prophesied by Isaiah appears to be extreme heat – heat severe enough to kill people:

Therefore … the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left (Isaiah 24:6)

The book of Revelation appears to speak of the same end time scenario and predicts extreme heat as part of God’s judgement upon the nations. In this case, fierce scorching heat is attributed to the sun (rather than to CO₂ ):

The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat … (Revelation 16:8,9)

Extreme Rain

When questioned about the end of the age, Jesus hints at wild weather:

There will be … dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves (Luke 21:25)

The root meaning of the Greek in this verse can mean nothing else but literal sea and literal waves. The word ‘roaring’ comes from the Greek ‘echeo’ meaning ‘to make a loud noise’. Hurricanes and coastal flooding spring to mind. Isaiah clearly prophesied torrential rain:

For the windows from on high are open (Isaiah 24:18, NKJV)

Extreme Hail

Hail features high on the weather ingredients at the end of the age. It is part of God’s judgement upon the nations. Besides fierce heat there will be extreme hail and snow storms:

… have you entered the storehouses of the snow … which I have reserved for the time of distress … (Job 38:22-23)
… and huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men … (Revelation 16:8-9,21)

Extreme Weather decides a Middle East War

Consider the prophesied Gog-Magog War. At some point in the foreseeable future it seems Russia and Iran, together with other Islamic nations in the Middle East, will invade Israel from the north (see Ezekiel 38-39).

But, just as God intervened to release Israel from the grips of Pharaoh, so He will intervene to protect Israel from these invading armies. As with Joshua and the Amorites (see above), the weather plays an important part in their defeat. God uses torrential rain and great hailstones:

I will rain on him (Gog) and on his troops … a torrential rain, with great hailstones … (Ezekiel 38:22)

Summarising

Can the Nations Control Climate Change/Extreme Weather?

Consider three major contenders for climate change:

1. First: The much publicised IPCC climate change “consensus”: climate change is mainly caused by anthropogenic CO₂. But even accounting for all anthropogenic greenhouse sources, man’s contribution to the greenhouse effect is still very small (after accounting for water vapour). Put another way, it is estimated that even if the whole world achieved Net Zero emissions by 2050, the averted warming would only be about 0.3 degree C.
2. Secondly: Climate changes naturally. Greenland ice core data shows natural swings of several degree C since the last ice age (with no correlation to CO₂ change). Conversely, between 1880 and 1980 there is good correlation between sunspot number (SSN) and global mean sea surface temperature (SST).
3. Lastly, Bible prophecy says quite clearly that God will use climate change, particularly extreme weather events, to gain the attention of the rebellious nations. This has happened in the past and it will happen towards the end of the age.

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APPENDIX

THE CLIMATE PARADOX

Isaiah chapter 24 states why the earth experiences God’s end-time judgments in the form of extreme weather events. It is because the nations have rejected the God of the Bible (the God of Israel) and His laws for living:

The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and against His Anointed [Christ], saying, “Let’s tear their shackles apart and throw their ropes away from us!” (Psalm 2:2,3)

For example, Christianity is rapidly declining in the US and in Europe, and God is totally missing from the EU Constitution. None of the Constitution chapters mentioned any deity, or any explicitly religious or Christian values. The word “God” was simply omitted. Some claim the EU is “spiritually dark“. As already noted, Britain is also rebellious. When it comes to the Middle East, Christianity is suffering virtual genocide, and in the far east China’s Communist party is intensifying religious persecution, link.

So, as the prophet Isaiah says, at the end of this age:

The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24:5, NLT)

For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us.  Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God.
(Isaiah 59:12-13, NLT)

Here are a few examples of how nations have rebelled:

• Western faiths now embrace “other gods” as well as the God of Israel, so violating the first of God’s commandments
• Nations have passed laws permitting abortion on demand (Pro-Choice) but many believe this is breaking the fifth commandment (the killing of an unborn person)
• The media widely promotes marital infidelity (so violating the sixth and ninth commandments)
• By law, schools invariably teach evolution as the only truth (biblical creation is seen as mythical)
• Nations have legalised homosexual acts, and even the church is redefining marriage as “between two persons”, as opposed to the biblical definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24)

So here’s the Paradox:

On the one hand, God has given man the creative ability to improve his lifestyle, as for example in better housing, better food and water supplies, better transport and better medical practice. But, because of man’s greed and selfishness this improvement has often been at the expense of poor nations. In particular, the IPCC claim such lifestyle improvement (essentially industrialisation) has created destructive climate change – global warming!

Assuming global warming is largely CO₂ induced (many scientists debate this), the IPCC also claim that it is still within man’s capability to counter the worst effects of global warming. Hence the drive towards clean, renewable energy and the move away from fossil fuels. All this seems very reasonable

But the Bible claims it is really God’s world, not man’s. Genesis 1 says God created the earth and so God controls the weather (see Old Testament examples above). According to the Law of Noncontradiction, we cannot have both man and God having the final say about the weather. It’s either man, or God.

As just explained, the problem is that the nations have rejected the God of the Bible (the God of Israel) and His laws for living (Psalm 2:2-3), and so

“The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws” (Isaiah 24:5).

Sadly, according to Isaiah chapter 24 (and the book of Revelation) it seems that man’s arrogant attempt at climate control will fail – as in control of drought, extreme heat and torrential Flood-type rain. Even Jesus hinted at violent end-time storms (Luke 21:25).

The Solution

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