🌎 Environmentalism and Revelation

According to the book of Revelation, God will bring about a wholesale destruction of the environment as part of His end-time judgement. In the Seven Trumpet judgements of chapter 8, John sees that “a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” (v 7) It goes on to say “a third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died”… and also “a third of the rivers and springs of waters turned bitter.”

Later in the book, in the Seven Bowls judgements of chapter 16, we read “[the sea] turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died”… and “rivers and springs of water became blood”.

I don’t know about you, but this really struck me as an oddity at first. Why does God destroy the trees, the seas, rivers, and springs in order to punish the rebellion of man against the Creator? Surely the trees haven’t done anything wrong?

Why Does God Strike Nature?

To help us answer this question, let us go to Exodus. (The striking parallels between the Plagues of Egypt and the Tribulation are well known, and will not be explored here.) The first of the ten plagues was when God struck the River Nile and turned it into blood.

Why did God do this? Why the River Nile?

To the Egyptians, the River Nile was more than just a source of water vital for their agriculture and life. They worshipped it as a water-bearer god (Egyptologists say this Egyptian god of the Nile was called Hapi).

I believe God is striking nature and the environment because the current world worships the Earth (nature, environment, Gaia, etc.) — and this must be punished. “For the Lᴏʀᴅ, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14)

As I’ve been meditating on this part of God’s wrath and judgement, I’ve come to the realisation: God destroys the environment because it has become an object of worship for the people of this world. Consider the Ten Plagues of Exodus.

Environmentalism as Religion

I must qualify what I am about to say: yes, as Christians, we are called to be responsible stewards of the environment, and this means we do our part in recycling and not being wasteful etc.

However, as Christians we should also learn to read the times and the spirit of the world at work around us.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

We live in an environment-obsessed world, where protecting the Earth has now become a religion. It is taboo to even discuss in a questioning tone the media narrative on Climate Change. The mainstream media’s manipulation is well documented.

The lives and livelihoods of man are trampled on in the name of cutting down carbon emissions. Students are openly taught in schools to consider not having any children, as it “prevents 9,441 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.” People are openly saying that “humans are like cancer disease to this planet Earth”.

Other examples are not hard to find (see “Thanos did nothing wrong”, the movie “First Reformed”, the Extinction Rebellion movement, etc).

In the limit, the climate cult is profoundly anti-human; at its core, the environmentalist message is a fundamentally satanic one, diametrically opposed to the Bible.

It’s worth noting that this is part of a broader pattern of ideological capture that permeates modern leftism. The environmentalist movement isn’t an isolated phenomenon — it’s one expression of a worldview that elevates creation above the Creator, that treats nature as sacred rather than created.

For some visual commentary on this topic, see these memes — particularly on the climate cult.

And this isn’t just an academic concern. As outlined in my household values, I consider the climate hysteria part of a broader pattern of cultural capture — alongside the BBC, multiculturalism myths, Islam, and every flavour of Leftism — that we spot, rebuke, and reject.

The Church’s Blindness

Despite the anti-biblical and anti-natalist heart of the environmentalist message, the sad truth is that the church doesn’t seem to get this. Many preachers are “playing their part” for the environmentalist cause by routinely preaching the message of the world (environmentalism) to the church, when they should be preaching the Bible to the church and proclaiming the message of the church (the Gospel) to the world. What madness.

This is precisely the kind of taboo in the church that must be broken. Speaking honestly about environmentalism as a theological issue invites hostility — which is precisely why it must be spoken.

The problem is broader than just environmentalism. The same theologians who champion creation care often champion a leftist gospel — fusing social justice and environmental concerns into what passes for Christianity, while quietly excising the offensive parts (wrath, judgement, the cross as propitiation, etc). This isn’t Christianity enhanced. It’s Christianity replaced.

The Media Narrative

A critical part of the climate cult is controlling the narrative. The mainstream media has elevated climate change to the level of dogma, where questioning it is treated as heresy. This isn’t journalism — it’s evangelism for a secular religion.

Christians must be sober-minded. The call to “be sober” isn’t just about personal conduct — it’s about recognising when our minds are being intoxicated by the spirit of the age.

God’s Alternative: The Garden

What does the Bible present then as an alternative? I believe the answer is in the “Garden of Eden”.

A garden is where nature is brought into man’s submission, planned and designed to the benefit and enjoyment of man, in accordance to God’s will. In Eden, God blessed Adam and Eve and said to them:

“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)

I believe this will be fully realised in the New Heaven and New Earth.

But before that, the Earth must face the tribulations of the final day judgements. No amount of carbon emission reductions and environmental activism can change that inevitability. As recent events in Iran demonstrate, we are living in days where God is moving history toward His appointed end.

As Christians, let us stay awake and learn to recognise and resist the spirit of the age.

“The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5)

This is spiritual warfare, and it demands our full attention. We must reclaim spiritual ground that has been surrendered to the forces of darkness — not with physical weapons, but with prayer, the Word of God, and the courage to speak truth.

[1] Ten Plagues of Revelation