Principle
After the flood, God promised to never destroy or curse the earth again.
Explanation
When Noah and his family exited the ark following the flood, GOD made some special promises, promises that continue to us today and forever.
20 Then Noah built an altar to God, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered whole burnt offerings on the altar. 21 So the Lord God smelled a sweet aroma. Then the Lord God thought it over and said, “I will never again curse the earth because of man’s works, although the mind of man is diligently involved with evil things from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring shall not cease by day or by night.”
Genesis 8:20-22 OSB
Promise #1: Never Again Curse the Earth
Prior to the flood, we have record of GOD twice cursing the earth. The first time was after Adam and Eve sinned:
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you heeded the voice of your wife, and ate from the one tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground in your labors. In toil you shall eat from it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground from which you were taken. Earth you are, and to earth you shall return.”
Genesis 3:17-19 OSB
The second time was when Cain killed Abel:
12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You will be groaning and trembling on the earth.”
Genesis 4:12 OSB
We don’t know or appreciate how difficult it must have been for these ancient people to produce food. Thankfully, GOD promised never to curse the earth again.
Promise #2: Never Destroy Every Living Thing
Certainly, one aspect of not GOD not cursing the earth would include this second promise, never to destroy all life from the planet.
This promise is a big deal for multiple reasons. First, we can trust that GOD won’t flood the earth again like in Noah’s day. That brings a certain peace of mind for humanity.
Second, GOD said He wouldn’t destroy all life from the land. This gives us confidence in the face of modern concerns such as nuclear war, diseases, and even climate change.
A wise Christian once told me, “Humanity is always going to have at least one ‘bogeyman’ to be afraid of.” I have found this to be very true. What he meant was that there would always be imaginary threats that cause people to be afraid—for those who don’t trust in GOD and His promises.
Thirdly, this promise impacts future Principles that have to do with eschatology—that is, matters of death, judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the afterlife. For instance, many people believe that the Bible teaches that GOD will one day destroy planet Earth. Yet, to do so would mean destroying all life, which GOD clearly promised He would not do.
Promise #3: Seasonal Consistency
Today, many people are freaking out about climate change. First it was “global cooling” in the 1970s. I recall in the 1980s how scientists were predicting the sun would burn out in the not-too-distant future.
Then, the pendulum swung to the other extreme, as “scientists” began pushing the “global warming” narrative. And then, they changed the terminology again and started calling it “climate change.”
In each case, the general concerns were similar: Changes to earth’s climate would become so severe that it disrupts normal life, including the seasons.
“Oh, we’re going to enter another Ice Age!”
“Oh, the polar ice caps are melting and all the polar bears are going to die!”
“Oh, the coastal areas are going to be flooded due to rising sea levels!”
“Oh, storms are going to increase to existential threat levels due to extreme weather changes! Look at how many hurricanes we had!”
Bogeymen.
To borrow from the great Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, “R-E-L-A-X!”
Oh, we should be concerned about things, for sure. I’m not saying eat, drink and be merry. But we don’t need to worry about changes to earth’s seasons or life here, at least not in terms of them disappearing or experiencing extreme disruption.
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Remember, GOD destroyed the ancient world with the flood because of the wickedness and corruption that existed. A major part of that corruption was that of human DNA being polluted with angelic “DNA” (whatever the angelic makeup consists of, that is). With the original Nephilim purged, humanity could start over in repopulating the land. But the Nephilim blood lived on in diluted form, as we will see.
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