Not a week goes by that we don't hear of some plant or animal threatened with extinction. Is such a rapid rate of extinction natural, or is it caused by the activities of modern technological man?
It is popularly thought that the extinctions of various species on the Hawaiian Islands resulted when Western civilization began to move there. However, studies of bird fossils on the islands show that many more species became extinct before we arrived. In the last 1,500 years, one-third of all the species on the islands have become extinct.
Unquestionably, creatures are becoming extinct while no new creatures are evolving. Nor can there be any question that these extinctions are natural and have little to do with the growth of modern, technological man on islands or anywhere else. This shows that we could not have gotten the millions of different life forms we know on Earth today from evolution, since creatures naturally become extinct faster than they are supposed to have evolved.
This is a warning to us that the creation is moving in one direction only. That direction is downward toward death. Realizing this inescapable fact, we need to see another one-way sign. It's found in the Bible where Peter tells us that there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. That Name is Jesus Christ. Only He has conquered death – and He has done so on our behalf, rising back to life to prove His power to forgive sin.