Jehovah Will Save the Earth

AN AIRPORT located on an island of the Maldives is closed for several hours each day. Why? Because water at high tide floods the runway, making it unsafe for planes to land. Some scientists fear that sea level at the Maldivian islands may rise at least three feet [1 m] in the next century. While this is seemingly an insignificant amount, such an increase could wipe seven island nations clear off the map. Indeed, according to the UN Chronicle, a six-foot [2 m] rise could bury virtually the entire archipelago, some 1,200 islands!

What is the cause of the rising sea level? According to the UN Environment Program, pollution of the earth’s atmosphere by “greenhouse gases” causes seas in warmer regions to expand, ice caps and glaciers to melt, and hence, sea levels to rise. London-based Panos Institute says that pollution “may have triggered a slow-moving global catastrophe that alters the very boundaries of land and sea.”

The existence of global warming is still debated among scientists. However, we can be assured that environmental problems will not block God’s purpose. “The productive land is firmly established,” states the Bible. “Never will it be made to totter.” (1 Chronicles 16:30) Jehovah has control over the earth’s environment, and we can rejoice that he will soon save both earth and mankind from ruin.​—Psalm 24:1, 2; 135:6; 2 Peter 3:13.

[Picture Credit Line on page 31]

Drawing based on NASA photo