In Brief...World News Review: Casualties Mount in God's Creation
God commanded us to tend and keep the earth, are we doing our part?
Man is wiping out his surroundings. A third of the natural world has been lost in the last 25 years. Ecologists call our present assault on the environment "the biggest extinction since the dinosaurs." This is the legacy of our present generation.
More specifically, the rain forests in South America have declined from 3.4 million square miles in 1970 to 2.7 square miles today. Also just half of the original Florida Everglades are left. And the disturbing hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic was the biggest on record in September.
Moving on to the animal world, black rhinos in Africa have fallen from 95 per cent since 1970 to a low figure of 2,500. Red squirrels could vanish from England in twelve years. In the Atlantic, the bluefin tuna has declined by 90 per cent since 1975.
These few examples form the proverbial tip of the iceberg. God has given sufficient specific laws for the protection of planet earth's environment to establish the proper principles of stewardship that should rightly govern mankind's ecological activities. Especially during the 20th century, man has failed miserably to respect his environment.
God is justly concerned about man's treatment of His marvellous creation. Beyond the normal payback from the earth's ecological systems, God promises that He will "destroy them which destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18, KJV) at the Second Coming of Christ (verses 15-17). ( The Independent (London), October 2, 1998; The Daily Mail (London), October 2, 1998.)
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: November 1998
Course Content
David Palmer
Born in Saskatchewan Canada, David Palmer was first introduced to the radio broadcast of the World Tomorrow during his career in broadcasting, when the program was aired during his on air shift. In 1965 his radio career took him to Vancouver British Columbia, where he was eventually baptized, and began attending Sabbath services. He was ordained to the ministry in 1983. Now retired from broadcasting David currently pastors congregations in Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. He is also a member of the UCG-Canada National Council, and serves on the Canadian Ministerial Services Team, as well as the Canadian Media Team
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Mario Seiglie
Mr. Seiglie was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States when he was a child. He found out about the Church when he was 17 from a Church member in high school. He went to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, and in Pasadena, California, graduating with degrees in theology and Spanish. He serves as the pastor of the Garden Grove, CA UCG congregation and serves in the Spanish speaking areas of South America. He also writes for the Beyond Today magazine and currently serves on the UCG Council of Elders. He and his wife, Caty, have four grown daughters, and grandchildren.
