Since Revelation is not proposing that in the end we leave Earth to rot and burn, but that it will be redeemed and made new, we should really start to care more about our little planet. Rather than turn Revelation into predictions about when God’s coming back, we should start to use it to recognize the beauty and theology of what we’re moving towards, as well as how it affects how we live today.
In the end Revelation is about God taking up permanent and glorious residence among humanity on the earth. This has always been at the heart of the Bible. And since Revelation relates to us the fullness of the presence of God here on the earth, we should care about environmental topics.
A political leader here in Michigan said some time back that he wasn’t worried about global warming because he had faith in God. But God said He wouldn’t flood the earth again, not that we couldn’t do it. Since we know that the renewed Earth is to be our home and that we were put here to take care of the Earth (Ge 1:28-30), perhaps we should open our eyes to the information coming in about what we’re doing to our planet. We are preparing this space for God Himself to come and dwell in after all.
Simply put, the earth is the home God gave us. Whether we take on an evolutionist approach or a literal approach, “God formed the man of dust from the ground” (Ge 2:7) of this planet. And if God wants to spend eternity here with us, we should take care of the earth.
Want to continue the conversation? Take the long journey with my book/audiobook, The Rush and the Rest, or take a shorter path with my condensed version, Fantasy IRL.
Jamin Bradley 