The recovery of Christians who presume this is the "end times" generation would go a long way towards alleviating this problem, at least for this generation. It is a strange irony that many of the judgments described in the Book of Revelation sound a lot like environmental catastrophes. People sometimes wonder why God would command angels to do such things. Perhaps the answer can be found in part from the stage we ourselves set for them. It's just as pointless to try to figure out what exactly is going to happen as when, but the parallels are impossible to miss. Just as the return of Jews to the Holy Land and the spread of the means of evangelization throughout the world can be taken as signs of the times, so too is man's increasing capacity for mass-destruction. Though the latter are negative signs and those responsible will be judged accordingly.

When we burn ourselves, will Rush Limbaugh continue to assure us God will never allow that to happen, as he now routinely does? Limbaugh's not the only one with shallow understanding claiming God will not let us destroy ourselves by polluting and reckless overconsumption. It's a popular refrain from the heedless economic growth-at-all-costs crowd, feeding right into the wishful thinking of a nation glutted on materialism.