A Scenario Of Death

FRI., MAY 27, 1988, 5:47 AM
FARM, STUDY

This morning We shall consider a fantasy scenario. I have told you that I am basically satisfied with the earth and its functioning, but I also am continually aware of the rise of various forms of evil. These are forces that in one way or another upset the balance of positive life here in the earth. So I consider scenarios of rebalancing, ones to actually cause and ones to allow. Join Me, o son, in considering one such picture.

One of the early Bible stories that was such a scenario was that of the Flood. This tale (made even more provocative by Bill Cosby’s routine on Noah) began with My dissatisfaction, as Almighty God, with the affairs of humans in the earth. The scenario stemmed from the judgment that there was too much evil in human activity… even as there were relatively few humans living “then”. The basic theme, as a consequence, was “destroy the earth and start over.” Well, almost. One family would be the means of regeneration.

And so the tale is told. Factually, it is unlikely that the total earth could be covered with water all at the same time. It is unlikely that all forms of life could be gathered to be in one ark for 40 days, even two by two. It is unlikely that the myriad forms of plant life now in the earth could have survived submersion for this period. It is unlikely that all of the races and cultures of humans would have developed from one, presumably Jewish, family. Yet the story is part of Holy Scripture and therefore contains important truth.

Scripture does not have to be strictly factual to contain vital truth. The truth I want you to draw from this is that I develop scenarios of rebalancing, and some may seem rather absurd… others impractical… and still other excessively destructive. The Flood scenario is all of these, but it trumpets that I can become dissatisfied with conditions and can cause them to change… or allow such.

A modern scenario stems from the premise that I am bothered not just by the evil that humans do, but by the increasing numbers of humans, made possible by the functioning of that marvelous reproductive system I created, by design. In other words, the current plague is one of humans, healthy to unhealthy. How should I restore a better balance?

One way is foreshadowed by the condition called AIDS. I could allow one or more small organisms to mutate to forms destructive of human life, with constant changes sufficient to make scientific countermeasures ineffective. Increasing deaths would unnerve many cultures, yours included. One result, along with diminished population, would be a turning to Me, with pleas for a modern “rainbow.”

Another way would be the sudden or cumulative buildup of toxic materials in the environment, effects of which would cause a variety of deaths. Radiation is quite a possibility in this scenario, and the possibilities for an excess of this are much greater than for excessive rain.

A more obviously destructive form of this, coming from human/spiritual competition, would be nuclear war. And wouldn’t it be ironic if your culture, the bastion of freedom, democracy, and Christianity, were to be the instigator of such destruction? Actually this is the most unlikely, for it would reduce human life and its quality too drastically. That solution would be worse than the problem.