Many, perhaps the majority, of people in our land think little about the real source of the tremendous blessings we have enjoyed in the U.S.A. over the past 200 plus years. Similar blessings have been enjoyed by Great Britain and countries settled by the British, and other nations inhabited predominately in modern times by the descendants of Abraham.

These blessings have spilled over into many other countries as well, and through blessings promised to Abraham and his descendants, all nations have been blessed. This is true not only from a spiritual standpoint, but to a degree, it includes physical blessings as well.

One blessing in particular, that we need to take notice of, is favorable weather. It’s been said that people are always talking about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Yet the question remains, “Can anything be done about the weather?” As we will see, the answer is yes, there is something we can do about the weather.

Even though many may take their blessings for granted, there is a God in heaven who, despite our sins and weaknesses, has blessed the United States and Great Britain, and nations springing from British settlement, in particular, making it possible for us to enjoy the unprecedented wealth, conveniences, and power that these nations have enjoyed over the past 200 plus years.

God promised Abraham that his descendants would reap great blessings because of Abraham’s faithfulness and obedience (Genesis 12:2-3; 17:1-2; 22:16-18; 26:4-5).

God said to Abraham (or Abram, as he was named at the time): “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed“ (Genesis 12:2-3).

Note that God said those who blessed the nation God would raise up out of Abraham would themselves be blessed. And those who curse that nation would be cursed. And in recent historical times, this has happened.

After Abraham passed a supreme test of faith, God said: “…I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17-18; cf. Hebrews 11:17-19).

The blessings of Abraham were passed on to his descendants through Abraham’s son, Isaac.

“…I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.’” (Genesis 26:1-5).

Note that the blessings were to be given not because of the righteousness of Abraham’s descendants, namely the people of Israel, but because Abraham obeyed God’s commandments.

The blessings promised to Abraham were passed from Isaac through Jacob (or Israel) and his descendants. In part, the blessing included “the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine” (Genesis 27:28). These were specific physical blessings that were promised to Abraham’s descendants.

The “dew of heaven,” of course, in this context, implies sufficient water to produce abundant crops.

Later, God warned the descendants of Israel about their conduct and attitudes upon receiving the blessing in store for them because of Abraham’s obedience. He warned them not to “say in your heart, `My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

Among the blessings promised, as indicated above, were agricultural blessings, and the blessing of favorable weather leading to abundant produce from fields and pastures. If they would be faithful to his covenant, God promised the descendants of Israel: “And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods …in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season” (Deuteronomy 28:11-12).

In a prophecy for the “last days,” Jacob (or Israel) prophesied of the descendants of Joseph, who comprised the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh:

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.

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“By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above…” (Genesis 49:22, 25).

Blessings of heaven above indicates that favorable weather would be among the blessings given to the descendants of Joseph, or Ephraim and Manasseh.

“The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers” (Genesis 49:26).

Or, as translated in Green’s Literal Translation: “The blessings of your father are above the blessings of my offspring, to the limit of everlasting hills; may they be for the head of Joseph and for the crown of the leader of his brothers.”

Without going into the details, various lines of evidence indicate that Ephraim is represented in modern times by the British descended peoples of Great Britain and her former colonies, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and other smaller ones. Of course, that doesn’t mean every citizen of those countries is a descendant of Ephraim. But the British did colonize those countries, and they became key components of the British Empire and later the Commonwealth.

In a similar manner, the descendants of Manasseh are represented in modern times by the United States. Massive immigration in recent decades into Britain and the United States of other peoples from various parts of the world has diluted the percentage of the population in those countries representing the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

This was prophesied to happen. “Ephraim mixed himself among the peoples. Ephraim is a cake not turned. [Indicating something weak or worthless; once the most powerful and influential nation in the world, Britain has become relatively weak and impotent.] Strangers [foreign peoples] have eaten up his strength, yet he does not know. Yea, gray hairs are sprinkled here and there on him, yet he does not know.” (Hosea 7:8-9).

South Africa, it might be noted, has never been predominately British in terms of population numbers. Nevertheless, the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 by the uniting of four previously separate British colonies. Territories of which it was composed were largely dominated for two centuries or more by the British, as well as to an extent descendants of Dutch settlers and French Huguenots. South Africa was rich in mineral resources and despite its relatively dry climate was agriculturally productive.

So God promised abundant blessings to the Israelites, and especially to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh in the last days, the period leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. Included in these were blessings of produce, crops and livestock dependent on favorable weather.

In their heyday, these nations were dominant in agricultural production. And to an extent they still are. More than half the cultivatable, temperate-zone lands in the world came into the possession of Great Britain and the United States after 1800.

At the height of their dominance the nations of the British Empire or Commonwealth and the United States produced well over half the world’s supply of sheep and wool, and about a quarter of the world’s supply of foodstuffs including milk, cheese, butter, and beef. (United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong, 1967, pp. 177-178).

Climate a Key Factor

There are several factors that have made this dominance in agricultural output possible, but one of the key factors is climate and favorable weather. Nations that suffer prolonged periods of drought, or a succession of devastating floods, or weather that is unseasonably cool for too long, or widespread disruptive weather disasters such as hurricanes, will suffer in lost agricultural production, and other calamities, that may in extreme cases lead to famine and ruin.

Despite drought stricken areas here and there, periods of too much rain or too little, occasional hurricanes, wildfires, etc., the world’s climate in recent history has been relatively stable and predictable.

Paul Ehrlich, who made a career of issuing dire predictions of disaster relating to over population and famine, among other subjects, stated in his book, The Population Bomb (Ballantine Books, 1971), “the world is rapidly running out of food” (p. 18). He predicted that hundreds of millions of people would starve to death in the 1970s and 80s. What he predicted did not happen, as with other predictions of imminent catastrophe that he’s made (cf. “Fifty Years On From Paul Ehrlich’s ‘The Population Bomb’: So How Come We’re Not All Dead, Yet?”, James Delingpole, breitbart.com, 1-17-2018, retrieved 3-29-2019).

The world as a whole is not facing a food crisis at the present time. In fact, in recent decades the world’s food supply is outpacing the growth in population by a significant percentage. In 1996, for example, the world was producing 24% more food per person than in 1961, based on United Nations statistics (“The Dwindling World Food Supply,” www.pregnantpause.org, 9-10-2000; retrieved 10-12-2018).

“Starvation is not imminent. The average citizen of the world today is better fed than at any time in recorded history. And the situation is getting better and better every year. Chicken Little and Al Gore are wrong” (ibid.).

Currently, in 2018, measured in economic value, the world’s largest food producer is China, followed closely by the United States. Then India followed by Brazil.

Having much larger populations, China and India consume a much larger percentage of the food they produce than does the United States. A much larger percentage of the population is employed in food production in China (18%) and India (43%), than in the United States (2%), as well (2017 figures, worldbank.org). The United States is the world’s largest food exporter, and much of its agricultural economy is geared to exports. (“4 Countries That Produce the Most Food,“ Sean Ross, investopedia.com, October 4, 2018, retrieved 10-12-18).

Climate Change Fraud

In discussing what can be done about the weather, I think I would be remiss if I did not discuss the controversial subject of “climate change.”

Weather is defined as the “State of the atmosphere at a particular place during a short period of time” (Britannica Concise Dictionary). Climate is defined as, “Condition of the atmosphere at a particular location over a long period of time (from one month to many millions of years, but generally 30 years).” (Britannica Concise Dictionary).

It’s been hysterically reported in the media now for several decades that “climate change” is a direct threat to mankind, and that drastic measures must be taken to avoid catastrophe within a certain number of years that keeps changing. For example, Al Gore predicted in 2006 that “unless drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gases are taken within the next 10 years, the world will reach a point of no return” (“Gore asked about failed ’10-year tipping’ point,” www.climatedepot.com, 1-22-2017; see also “Al Gore’s 10 Global Warming Predictions, 13 Years Later — None Happened!”, humansarefree.com, retrieved 2-25-2019).

Wieslaw Maslowski, a U.S. government research professor with the Department of Oceanography, declared in 2007 that Arctic Ocean summers would likely be ice free by 2013 (“Arctic summers ice-free ‘by 2013’” news.bbc.co.uk, 12-7-2007; retrieved 2-26-2019). But in fact, there was virtually the same amount of summer ice in the Arctic in 2013 as there was twenty years earlier (“Arctic Ice Nearly Identical To Twenty Years Ago,” 8-22-2013, stevengoddard.wordpress.com; retrieved 2-26-2019). A more recent hysterical report by the IPCC says we now have only twelve years (to about 2030) to save the world from the ravages of climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions (“Climate Alarmists: ‘ACT NOW IDIOTS,’ You Only Have 12 Years to Save the World,” www.breitbart.com, 10-9-2018, retrieved 2-25-2019).

It’s been claimed by Al Gore, many media outlets, and other supporters of the climate change agenda that virtually all scientists have agreed with their conclusions that the climate is changing in a way that requires drastic action now to avoid catastrophe, because it’s the burning of fossil fuels, the raising of livestock, and other such actions of mankind that is responsible for the putative climate change.

Anyone who dares question such claims is attacked as a “denier,” and may be punished in other ways (cf. “Intimidating the ‘Deniers’ to Enforce the ‘Consensus’,” Marc Morano).

The fact is, like the weather from day to day and week to week, the climate is in a constant state of flux. In other words, it’s always changing, sometimes warming, sometimes cooling. But is the burning of fossil fuels and grazing of cows threatening the environment with disaster, and millions of human beings with untimely deaths, as the alarmists claim?

As far as cows are concerned, the pasturing of ruminant animals has been going on for thousands of years. Interesting that no one until very recently thought of cows and sheep as threatening catastrophe due to “climate change.” Same with growing rice. They weren’t then, and they aren’t now.

It is true that rice paddies and ruminant animals release some methane into the atmosphere (where it doesn’t stay for long before being broken down into simpler molecules or absorbed by bacteria). Many of the same people who are predicting doomsday because of rice paddies and cows, promote expanding wetlands, and forests, both of which produce methane. There is only a tiny amount of methane in the atmosphere, in any case, and it absorbs radiant energy in a very narrow band, making it irrelevant as a “greenhouse gas” (cf. “The Methane Cycle,” “New Research finds methane virtually irrelevant as a greenhouse gas,” farmcarbon.co.nz).

Christopher Booker, author of the book The Real Climate Change Catastrophe, wrote an article published in the London Sunday Telegraph on Oct. 25, 2009.

In the article he summarizes the history of “climate change” alarmism over a thirty year period. Although it’s often claimed that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) represents the research of “thousands” of the world’s top climate experts, Booker comments, “One of the more startling features of the IPCC is just how few scientists have been centrally involved in guiding its findings.”

Near the end of the article Booker states: “… no one has put the reality of the situation more succinctly than Prof Richard Lindzen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most distinguished climatologists in the world, who has done as much as anyone in the past 20 years to expose the emptiness of the IPCC’s claim that its reports represent a ‘consensus’ of the views of ‘the world’s top climate scientists’.

“… Prof Lindzen wrote: ‘Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early 21st century’s developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally averaged temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree and, on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly exaggerated computer predictions combined into implausible chains of inference, proceeded to contemplate a rollback of the industrial age.’

“Such is the truly extraordinary position in which we find ourselves. Thanks to misreading the significance of a brief period of rising temperatures at the end of the 20th century, the Western world (but not India or China) is now contemplating measures that add up to the most expensive economic suicide note ever written. How long will it be before sanity and sound science break in on what begins to look like one of the most bizarre collective delusions ever to grip the human race?”

Dr. Vincent Gray, a member of the UN IPCC Expert Reviewers Panel since its inception, wrote a letter objecting to its deceptive methods, published March, 2008.

In it, he makes these statements:

“…I have been forced to the conclusion that for significant parts of the work of the IPCC, the data collection and scientific methods employed are unsound. Resistance to all efforts to try and discuss or rectify these problems has convinced me that normal scientific procedures are not only rejected by the IPCC, but that this practice is endemic, and was part of the organisation from the very beginning. I therefore consider that the IPCC is fundamentally corrupt. The only ‘reform’ I could envisage, would be its abolition.

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“The two main ‘scientific’ claims of the IPCC are the claim that ‘the globe is warming’ and ‘Increases in carbon dioxide emissions are responsible’. Evidence for both of these claims is fatally flawed.” (SUPPORT FOR CALL FOR REVIEW OF UN IPCC).

In the year 2007 over 400 scientists disputing man-made global warming claims were identified in a U.S. Senate report. A summary of the report stated:

“Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore.

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“Many of the scientists featured in this report consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution. Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nathan Paldor, Professor of Dynamical Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, author of almost 70 peer-reviewed studies, explains how many of his fellow scientists have been intimidated.

“’Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media,’ Paldor wrote.” (Mark_Morano@EPW.Senate.Gov, 12-20-2007).

In December 1997, a UN sponsored conference on global warming in Kyoto, Japan was held, where a number of nations signed an agreement to limit emissions of “greenhouse gases.” Under the agreement, thirty-five agreed to limit emissions, while more than 150 nations were exempted, including China, India and South Korea, major emitters of such gases. Shortly thereafter, in 1998, another “global warming” conference was held in Buenos Aires that called on leading industrial nations to reduce their use of energy and their standard of living. In response, nearly 17,000 scientists from the United States signed a petition to the United States to reject the Kyoto global warming treaty. Since that time many more scientists have signed the petition, which by the end of the year 2018 included the names of more than 31,000 scientists (www.petitionproject.org).

The petition states, in part: ”We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto. …The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.

”There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing (or will in the foreseeable future cause) catastrophic heating of the earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the earth.”

The Kyoto treaty was signed by President Clinton but the treaty was never submitted to the Senate for ratification. Its ratification was precluded by a resolution passed by the Senate 95-0 in 1997 that expressed disapproval of any such agreement that did not require “developing countries” to make emissions reductions and that would seriously harm the economy of the United States.

It was also reported by Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby (11-5-1998): “More than 100 climate scientists have endorsed the Leipzig Declaration, which describes the Kyoto treaty as ‘dangerously simplistic, quite ineffective, and economically destructive.’ The endorsers include prominent scholars, among them David Aubrey of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Larry Brace of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; meteorologist Austin Hogan, who co-edits the journal Atmospheric Research; Richard Lindzen, the Sloane Professor of Meteorology at MIT; and Patrick Michaels, a University of Virginia professor and past president of the American Association of State Climatologists.” (“Boston Globe: Scientists don’t agree on global warming,” 11-5-98, sitewave.net).

The Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) published a paper in 2007 in which a thorough analysis of the IPCC’s claims was made. Among the points covered was an observation concerning chapter nine of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007. Chapter nine was the key chapter because it attributed a change in climate to human activity. The conclusion of the review is: “Just four reviewers, including one government appointed team or individual, explicitly endorsed the entire chapter in its draft form – not thousands of scientists, but FOUR!

“The claim that the IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report carries the imprimatur of having been reviewed by thousands, or even hundreds, of expert and independent scientists is incorrect, and even risible [laughable]. In actuality, the report represents the view of small and self-selected science coteries that formed the lead authoring teams.

“More independent scientists of standing (61) signed a public letter to the Prime Minister of Canada cautioning against the assumption of human causation of warming than are listed as authors of the 4AR [IPCC Fourth Assessment Review] Summary for Policymakers (52). More than 50 scientists also reviewed the Independent Summary for Policymakers, the counter-view to the IPCC’s summary that was published by the Fraser Institute of Canada.” (“Fallacies about Global Warming,” John McLean, September 2007, scienceandpublicpolicy.org, pp. 6-7).

In an article published November 5, 2007, Piers Corbyn, astrophysicist and climate scientist of Weather Action Long Range Forecasters is quoted: “The global warming and climate crisis industry is not science fact but science fiction and the ‘actions’ they propose will not change weather events or climate one jot.” (“Climate Scares Based On Desire To Control World Energy”).

There is a great deal of technical information behind these statements, but the bottom line is that the “climate change” alarmist rhetoric having to do with fossil fuels and cows is false. It’s highly misleading and potentially very destructive.

In short, “Mistakenly, water vapour is not included in any assessments of GHG effects by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a crucial omission. The IPCC concentrates mainly on anthropogenic (human) emissions, and ignores natural contributions of the GHGs from the planet and the ubiquitous water vapour, both of which also must be included in any sensible consideration of the effects on world temperature”

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“…many scientific assessments specify that water vapour is the most important GHG and responsible for 80% to 90% of the greenhouse effect.

“The IPCC dismisses any possible role of variations in solar output, such as the solar wind interacting with the earth’s magnetic field or variations in sunspot activity.

……..

“There has been no significant increase in the world’s temperature in the last couple of decades, the well-known and accepted ‘pause’. Over this short time there has been about one-third of all human GHG emissions ever, and the concentration of atmospheric CO2 has increased more than 10%. Apart from some variation up and down, the mean temperature has not shifted much, certainly not at the rate suggested by the IPCC models. This is good evidence that CO2 is not the main driver of the world’s temperature and/or does not have a major effect on the world’s temperature” (“Greenhouse Gases – A More Realistic View,” Jock Allison and Thomas P. Sheahen, 9-2018, The Journal, nzipim.co.nz, retrieved 4-1-2019).

The claim embraced by the IPCC, many politicians and much of the media that there is a “consensus” of agreement among scientists with the alarmist “climate change” agenda is also a lie. “Probably the most widely repeated claim in the debate over global warming is that ’97 percent of scientists agree’ that climate change is man-made and dangerous. This claim is not only false, but its presence in the debate is an insult to science” (Introduction, Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming, Craig D. Idso, Robert M. Carter, S. Fred Singer, second edition, 2016; may be downloaded free of charge at heartland.org).

Despite its lack of scientific rigor and objectivity, many politicians have latched onto the “climate change” agenda, in part to use it as leverage to gain or maintain their power and control over people’s lives. There’s already talk of politicians forcing people to reduce consumption of meat through taxes and other means. “Reducing meat consumption might be achieved by a mix of education, taxes, subsidies for plant-based foods and changes to school and workplace menus…” (“Huge reduction in meat-eating ‘essential’ to avoid climate breakdown,” theguardian.com, 10-10-2018).

A freshman congresswoman who espouses socialism and a U.S. Senator, with the backing of a number of Democrat politicians, have unveiled a bizarre proposal called the “Green New Deal,” that would seek to ban within ten years all internal combustion engines, including cars, airplanes and boats powered by such engines using as fuel gasoline, diesel, natural gas or any other fossil fuel. Banned would be power plants using any fossil fuel or nuclear power (which together includes plants currently producing 88 percent of the electrical energy used in the United States).

All this based on alarmist rhetoric such as the statement, “The climate crisis is a serious threat to the survival of humanity and life on Earth” (gp.org/gnd_full; retrieved 2-25-2019). For a critical assessment of the “Green New Deal” see “The Ten Most Insane Requirements of the Green New Deal” (thefederalist.com, 2-7-2019). Critics contend that even if such a plan were adopted in the United States, it would have little or no impact on “global warming” (“5 Things Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t want you to know about the Green New Deal,” foxnews.com, 1-6-2019).

As we’ve seen, misinformation, wild speculation, and irrational arguments are all too characteristic of climate alarmism. The truth is, “climate change” hysteria has little to do with science, and nothing to do with sound scientific method, but a great deal to do with politics. It is part of a powerful movement to impose a supra-national, authoritarian government on the world.

The following is a quote from Canada’s former environment minister, Christine Stewart, “No matter if the science is all phoney, there are collateral environmental benefits…. climate change [provides] the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world” (“Global Warming Quotes,” c3headlines.com, retrieved 3-28-2019; many similar statements from alarmists are found at the same source). “European officials have admitted Kyoto is about establishing ‘global governance’ and is designed to ‘level the playing field’ for business” (The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism, Christopher C. Horner, Regnery Publishing, 2007, p. 271).

Americans must decide if they are willing to hand over their long standing freedoms to a socialist dictatorship of flawed and corrupt humans that seeks to control every aspect of their lives, on the promise of salvation from a concocted global climate “crisis,” and plenty of “free” stuff.

What Can Be Done to Ensure Favorable Weather

One of the ironies is, however, that by raising a straw man, so to speak, of catastrophic “climate change” due to fossil fuel consumption and grazing of cows, people are being diverted from the things they actually ought to be doing to ensure favorable weather.

The fact is, as stated above, the climate is always changing (as are concentrations of “greenhouse gases,” which, by the way, are essential to biological life on earth). There are dry years and wet years, and always have been. Famines and years of plenty have occurred throughout history, along with insect plagues, floods, droughts and other problems. There have been “ice ages,” when the climate was much colder in wide areas, and other periods where the climate was much warmer than at present in much if not all of the globe. In human history, warmer has proven much more tolerable than colder. In no case, did human activity have much if anything directly to do with historical hemispheric or global changes in climate.

Greenhouse gases are only one factor in climate temperature, and human produced carbon dioxide, methane, etc., which account for a very small percentage of the total emissions, and an even smaller fraction of total greenhouse gases, are of negligible consequence. One of the major factors, if not the major factor affecting temperatures on the earth, is varying intensity of the sun’s radiation.

It’s doubtful that “global warming” can be reliably measured in terms of historical comparisons (cf. “Fallacies about Global Warming,” John McLean, 9-2007, scienceandpublicpolicy.org). But to the extent that it can, the indication is, “Global warming results not from the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but from an unusually high level of solar radiation and a lengthy – almost throughout the last century – growth in its intensity,” Habibullo Abdusamatov, head of space research laboratory, Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia; cited in “The Climate Change Debate,” 3-3-2010, pmpaspeakingofprecision.com, retrieved 3-28-2019). When the sun’s intensity weakens, Abdusamatov predicts a gradual global cooling.

It is true that some human activities, overgrazing, for example, or other poor land management practices, can have an effect on the climate and weather patterns, such as amount of rainfall, in the area affected. But the effect of such activities is limited and is not global in scale.

However, driving your car less, doing without electricity, eating only vegetables, is going to do nothing to change the climate in any significant way. None of those things will make the weather better, nor will they prevent weather related disasters. “… in contrast to IPCC’s alarmism, we find neither the rate nor the magnitude of the reported late twentieth century surface warming (1979–2000) lay outside normal natural variability, nor was it in any way unusual compared to earlier episodes in Earth’s climatic history” (Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming, p. 106).

We, that is, humans, have no direct control over the weather. In order to understand what we can do about the weather, we need to understand who actually does control the weather.

Sometimes, Satan is allowed to influence the weather. In the book of Job we read where God allowed Satan to tempt Job, to try his faith. “…[a messenger] came [to Job] and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’” (Job 1:18-19).

So here was a weather related disaster that struck the household of Job, caused directly by Satan. But while Satan has a limited power to influence the weather, he can do nothing that God does not allow, because God himself has ultimate control over the weather.

Yes, God uses the natural laws he made to govern climate and weather. But God can also intervene when he desires to, for example, withhold rain, or send rain.

As we’ve seen, God told Abraham that his descendants would be blessed with favorable weather, as part of the covenant promise to Abraham. On the whole, we’ve enjoyed a relatively stable climate and favorable weather conditions during our modern history in the United States and British descended nations, and many other nations have been similarly blessed.

But God also told the people of Israel, the covenant nation, that continued favor would depend on their obedience to his laws.: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely” (Leviticus 26:3-5).

But God warned them: “But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you….

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“I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit” (Leviticus 26:14-16, 19-20).

From time to time in Israel’s history God sent drought and famine upon Israel to correct them, that they might return to him in humility and faith.

When Ahab was king of Israel, practicing evil and leading the nation into rebellion against God, Elijah the prophet was sent to inform Ahab of God’s judgment: “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1).

And so ensued a drought that led to famine in the land: “And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, ‘Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.’ So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria” (1 Kings 18:1-2).

So Elijah and Ahab met, after which Elijah destroyed the false prophets, the prophets of Baal, out of Israel. Then: “…Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And seven times he said, ‘Go again.’ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’ So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.”’ Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.” (1 Kings 18:42-45).

Solomon understood that God could and would send punishments upon Israel at times because of their disobedience. In a prayer to God at the time of the dedication of the temple Solomon prayed to God, and said: “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.“ (1 Kings 8:35-36).

God is the one who has the power to send rain when he wills, or to withhold it, as it pleases him. “But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause — Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number. He gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields.” (Job 5:8-10).

“You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.” (Psalm 65:9-13).

“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.” (Psalm 147:7-8).

“Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have made all these.” (Jeremiah 14:22).

In the city of Lystra in Asia Minor, Paul advised the people to forsake their idols. He said to them: “…you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:15-17).

Favorable weather, rain to make food to grow, are a testimony to God’s goodness, and his mercy. Jesus said: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44-45).

But if we continue in our sins, the day will come when the rains will fail. The weather will not cooperate, and crops will fail or be destroyed. Animals and people will starve as crops wither, or be drowned in floods. And these will be only the beginning of catastrophe for Israel and the peoples of the world.

It may not be until God’s kingdom is established that we can count on “rain in due season” and similar blessings consistently, and abundance for everyone. “Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.” (Isaiah 30:23).

“Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, ‘Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

……..

“Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you– The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.” (Joel 2:18-19, 21-24).

Meanwhile, it’s important that we learn the lesson. We can do something positive about the weather. We can obey God.

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Copyright © 2019 by Rod Reynolds

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