"You know nothing, you understand nothing, you walk in the dark, while earth's foundations are giving way" (Psa.82.5 NEB).

Here in this 82^nd Psalm there is a short and terse indictment of the men who are ruining this good earth which the Lord has made for the life and wellbeing of men. He tells them that despite their boasted wisdom and learning they know nothing, understand nothing, walk in darkness, while the very fabric of the earth they are despoiling is falling to pieces; "tottering to its fall" is the literal meaning of the Hebrew. There are so many ways in which the crass ignorance of scientists and the insatiate greed of commercial interests can bring this about in our own generation. Nuclear war is fast being outdated as the expected end of life on earth. The combined effect of uncontrolled drugs and uncontrolled pestilence could succeed in eliminating the human race before either of the super-Powers gets to the point of pressing the button. As possible alternatives we have the saturation of the earth's atmosphere with excessive carbon dioxide from the vastly increased, and increasing, burning of fossil fuel - coal, oil, gas - by world industry, and, too, by the thousands of super-jets continually winging their way through the air. This is leading to temperature and climatic changes hostile to life; pollution of the soil by sulphur dioxide from the same sources and the immoderate use of chemical fertilisers, destroying its capacity to produce food for man. There is the progressive decline in Nature's production of oxygen, essential to every form of organic life, by reason of the destruction of forests and loss of seaborne vegetation in consequence of the polluted oceans. For good measure, the spent gases from the enormous quantities of aerosols being used are rising to the upper atmosphere and destroying the ozone layer which from the time of creation has intercepted incoming cosmic rays which, falling upon unprotected humans, condemns them to premature death. There are so many ways in which man in his folly can bring about the end of the world and it seems that in his selfish heedlessness he is bent on trying them all.

But take heart. The destroyers of the earth will not be permitted to go too far. The Lord has no intention of allowing His plans for human happiness to be thwarted or even delayed by the misdeeds of men. Talking of this same day, Jesus said (Matt. 24.22) "Except those days should be shortened (cut short) "there should no flesh be saved",, But. He went on to say, God has cut short the days. Divine intervention in the form of the revelation of our Lord from heaven and the establishment of direct Divine rule on earth will in one moment halt the disruptive influences that are destroying the earth. It is foretold that under that righteous administration "nothing shall hurt nor destroy". Nature has marvellous powers of recuperation and with the cessation of the corrupting processes it can be expected that the earth will be progressively restored to its original pristine condition. It can be expected that the outlook will be completely reversed and men be able to look forward to a future unclouded by the fears which are gripping so many at present.

Reprinted from 1988 AOH