Visiting the island of Svalbard (previously known as Spitsbergen) is probably not on anyone’s bucket list or plans for travel this summer. Where would you guess this place might be? It’s in Norway, in case you’re wondering. One of the major cities is Longyearbyen, “the world’s northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard.”1 What makes this place so interesting is that it is home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
The project began June 19, 2006 and was completed in 2008. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a conservatory “which now has the capacity to hold 2.25 billion seeds” and is intended to “provide insurance against both incremental and catastrophic loss of crop diversity.”2 The vault is owned by Norway and managed by the Government of Norway, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center.
“The seed bank is 130 m (430 ft) inside a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island,[31] and employs robust security systems. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site…
“[Svalbard] was considered ideal because it lacked tectonic activity and had permafrost, which aids preservation. It being 130 m (430 ft) above sea level will keep the site dry even if the ice caps melt.[31] Locally mined coal provides power for refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard of −18 °C (−0.4 °F).[32] If the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the facility rises to the surrounding sandstone bedrock’s temperature of −3 °C (27 °F),[5] and is estimated to take two centuries to warm to 0 °C (32 °F)…
“As of May 2024, the Seed Vault conserves 1,280,677 accessions….”3 
Here’s a seed for thought. From a human reasoning standpoint only, this is a great idea. Should there be something devastating that wipes out the crops of a nation, a global famine, or some biological warfare that would destroy the germination process of seeds, this is a well-planned backup to protect humanity.
Human reasoning, though, fails to take into account the Word of God. Consider a description of the Tribulation Period.
Matthew 24:4-8 says, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (8) All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The picture is even more graphic in Revelation 6:5-8. “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. (6) And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (7) And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. (8) And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
There is coming a day when poverty and famine will spread across the globe. This seed vault, though, will be of no consequence. Though it be stored in a mountain, God can easily destroy that mountain, thereby destroying all these potential resources. 
God can make the ground so toxic that no seed will ever grow. There is no way to reverse God’s plan and the consequences of His actions.
God has a plan for the future. It is bleak and severe for those who have rejected Him as Savior. Nothing can thwart the plan and will of God. Allow the words of Isaiah 14:26-27 to serve as a reminder of this truth. “This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. (27) For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyearbyen#Sports
2https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/construction-on-global-seed-vault-begins-norway
3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault#Crop_Trust
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