I received a message from a reader concerning my post about global warming and trusting in God’s promises concerning world destruction. I’m always willing to address any questions readers have. As well, I believe there is a place on abiblecommentary.com to write your questions to the minister overseeing these posts if you want.
The message was as follows:
“I saw your recent blog and I’m curious to take the thought one step further. Would you take the same stance with regard to nuclear warfare? Surely we have the weapons to pretty much destroy the ecosystem in minutes; do you believe His promise is an assurance that this will never occur? It seems worth pondering whether the meaning applies only to natural phenomenon or if His promise is also a promise to protect us from ourselves. I’m curious to know what you think.”
Hiroshima and Nagasaki shows us how powerful and lingering the destruction of atomic bombs can be, and we’ve only gotten better at creating weapons of mass destruction since then though we’ve not used such weaponry since World War II. To me, the question appears to be: Do nuclear bombs make us more powerful than God?
The people in Genesis 11 thought they could defy God’s will for them to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 9:1), building for themselves a tower that would “make a name” for themselves (Gen. 11: 4). They set out to defy God. In response, God “confuse[d] their language…[and] scattered them abroad” (Gen. 11:7-8).
Jonah thought he could defy God when he refused to go preach in Nineveh. God responded by sending a mighty storm until Jonah repented and had the men of the ship throw him overboard. Even then, God didn’t let him out of what he had been commanded by saving him through a big fish who brought him safely to land (cf. the book of Jonah).
The idea that we have ultimate power over our own fate also speaks to pride, which is clearly examined in the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar believes he is the one in charge of Babylon, and God shows him “That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men” (Daniel 4:17b). Those who know the story know that Nebuchadnezzar was made like a crazed beast for a time as punishment for his pride.
That is not to say that a nuclear bomb will never be set off, or that we will never suffer the consequences of them; but, to imagine that we can destroy the ENTIRE world and ALL of humanity is to overestimate our own power. Somewhere on Earth, somehow, humanity will continue as promised in Genesis 8:22, with cold and heat, seasons, and livable environments.
Don’t misunderstand, though. To fear our own death by nuclear bomb should be no more than the fear of a car running us off the road, a drunk driver coming out of nowhere, a stray bullet in the big city, or a bad case of pneumonia. The world has consequences, but we can have peace because God is in control, and should death find us while we are in Christ, then we’re going to a better place in Heaven. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The final question is whether or not God will protect us from ourselves. To fulfill His own will and His promises: Yes. I see this in Genesis 12:1-3 where God promises Abram to make his name great and bless “all the families of the earth” through him. Following this promise, Abram goes to Egypt and is afraid that Pharaoh will “kill” him because his wife is so beautiful (Gen. 12:10-16), so he tells his wife to lie and say she is just his sister. This was a very stupid idea because then Pharaoh liked Sarai and took her into his house and thought about marrying her. “But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (Gen. 12:17-20). God protected Abram from his own stupidity and lies in order to fulfill His promise to him concerning his future and his descendents. Sarai was not given to Pharaoh and Abram was not killed. Perhaps this is the lesson upon which he thought when, years later, God commanded him to kill his only son Isaac in whom the fulfillment of God’s promise was made (Gen. 22:2).
Now, let’s look again at Genesis 8:21b: “although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth…” God knew thousands of years ago that the evil of mankind’s heart would eventually lead to weapons of mass destruction, and still he made this promise. So, ask yourself. Do we have the power to destroy all of the world and all of mankind before the time God has determined Christ will come again? God has decreed that Christ will come “as a thief in the night” while people are saying “peace and safety!” (I Thess. 5:2-3a). Note that people are not saying “Hide! Nuclear warfare!”
Another avenue in which God protects His people is through providence, as seen in the book of Esther. The Jews are going to be wiped out because of the hatred of Haman, but God providentially moves Esther to the palace in order to prevent His people’s obliteration. There are many ways in which nuclear warfare COULD be prevented simply through the people in charge of it, the mechanisms by which they are built, possible malfunction, or simply freak miraculous intervention. I do not put limitations on the power of God. Anything is possible!
So, to answer this reader’s questions: Yes. I believe that no matter what “power” we think we have, we will not end the world before God’s already determined time and manner; therefore, if nuclear warfare does ensue, there will be a place of refuge and safety left untouched for humanity to continue in its natural rhythms. After all, the world has already survived one world destruction through Noah’s ark in the Flood. And yes, if keeping His promise requires Him to protect us from ourselves, as He did for Abram, He will do so providentially, miraculously, or a way I just don’t see because my mortal sight is limited. Trust in Him and His control of the world He created. I do.
-Tricia Reno