A Christian astrophysicist has warned believers that the end of human civilization is fast approaching. Hugh Ross believes that we will shortly enter the next ice age, the fulfillment of Jesus Christ’s Great Commission and, ultimately, the end of the world.
Greek Orthodox Bishop Says Deadly Wildfires Are ‘Wrath of God’ Over Country’s Atheist Leader
In the third installment of his series “The End of Civilization As We Know It?” Ross claims that humans may be able to delay the ice age for a period of time, but they will not be able to prevent it from happening. Through his careful analysis of ice age cycles, Ross concludes that the next ice age should’ve started 5,000 years ago, but that the emission of atmospheric carbon has delayed its arrival. Carbon is emitted largely through the domestication of cattle, deforestation and the use of fossil fuels. He believes that this human activity has caused Earth to warm, and the effects of the next ice age to be lessened.
“I am not saying it is infeasible for humanity to find a way to delay the onset of the next ice age by one or two millennia. Nuclear fusion reactors, for example, conceivably could provide a means to desalinate huge quantities of ocean water. However, to cite another biblical principle and a famous Christian hymn, this world is not our home,” he writes.
Now, Ross is urging Christians to take up the call of the Great Commission and spread the gospel throughout the world as the next ice age approaches.
“To be clear, I am not saying that because it appears the Great Commission can be fulfilled within a few decades, that we can ignore the climate problems we currently face,” he explains. “Many Christians, including myself, believe that the Bible teaches a literal reign of Jesus Christ here on planet Earth for a one-thousand-year period following the completion of the Great Commission.”
The Canadian Christian apologist and Old Earth Creationist said that we should be grateful to live in a period of such climatic stability. Indeed, he warns, it could be much worse.
Ross believes that God has “generously granted us an extremely beneficial ice age cycle and a brief period of extreme climate stability within that cycle so that we could not only enjoy a brief period of unprecedented wealth and technology but also, far more importantly, to use that wealth and technology to fulfill an eternal spiritual destiny.”
The astrophysicist holds firm to his belief that Earth is billions of years old, but also posits a belief that living beings did not come into earthly existence by natural forces, but instead by the hand of God. He rejects the Young Earth Creationist view, which asserts that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. He also disagrees with the assertion that God created the earth in 24-period days, but instead believes that each of the six days in which Genesis 1 specifies that God was fashioning the planet refers to much longer periods of time.
In a 2005 article for EvidenceforChristianity.org, Ross explained his position on the length of time it took God to create the world:
“Most Bible scholars (and scientists, too) would agree that a correct and literal interpretation of the creation ‘day’ is one that takes into account definitions, context, grammar, and relevant passages from other parts of scripture. A careful analysis of all these elements yields many reasons for interpreting the creation days of Genesis as long periods of time.”
He continued:
“In the case of the creation days, long periods of time in which various life-forms
were introduced in increasing abundance and complexity are, indeed, discernible and significant for validating the supernatural accuracy of the writer’s statements. If all creation were completed in six 24-hour days, however, even the most sophisticated measuring techniques available would be totally incapable of discerning the sequence of events; and, thus, a major purpose of the chronolog would be thwarted.”
(H/T: Christian Post)