The Problem of Evil

Steven R. Cook

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 8:21b The intent of man's heart is evil from his youth.

Romans 7:21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

Before anything existed there was only God, and He is good. Evil did not come into existence until an angel of the order of cherubim manufactured it from the source of his own volition (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-18). Evil exists only in connection with willful creatures; first angels, and then mankind. Lucifer was the first to fall, and he convinced a third of the angels to follow him, creating the kingdom of darkness. Later, Lucifer expanded his kingdom by convincing the first humans to disobey God, which resulted in their spiritual death and the acquirement of a sinful nature that permeated every part of their being (Gen. 3:1-7). More than that, evil has infected the physical universe itself, bringing death to all creatures, and the abnormal function of nature. This is why we see famines, destructive tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and other harmful acts of nature. Since the fall of angels and men, evil has advanced and grown in proportion to the number of volitional creatures in existence. To remove evil from His universe, God would have to remove the source of its production, both from fallen angels and men. He removed evil once with a flood, and will do it again in the future with fire.

So then, why does evil exist? Evil exists because God sovereignly allows His willful creatures to temporarily continue in rebellion. Some men complain that God is somehow to blame for evil, when all they need to do is look at themselves and others to realize the problem. Everyone manufactures evil, and some to a greater degree than others. What is ironic is that men want God to remove evil from the universe, but they do not want God to take away their volition in the process. Men cannot have it both ways. Either volition is destroyed, with the result that the production of evil ceases; or volition remains intact, and evil continues. To remove evil means nothing less than the destruction of the creatures who manufacture it. Really, I think most men want God to fix the world so that there is no more suffering, and they are free to sin without consequence. In short, they want God to help them in their rebellion by alleviating the consequences of their actions.

Among men, there are two groups who manufacture evil on the earth today: the unsaved and the saved. The unsaved person manufactures sin and lives in a continuous state of rebellion against God and all that is good. The unsaved person cannot produce good, for he lacks the capacity to do so because he is spiritually dead. However, the saved person can produce both good and evil, because he has two natures that influence his volition. Because the saved person has a new nature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), he can choose to do good by living God’s word under the filling of the Holy Spirit. However, the saved person also has the capacity to reject the Holy Spirit and the word of God and yield himself to the world, his sin nature, or demonic influences, and thus produce evil.

Until Christ returns, the Holy Spirit will, to some degree, restrain evil directly and through an obedient church (2 Thess. 2:7), but this restraint will come to an end when the church is raptured and the Antichrist is revealed (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:6-12). God also controls evil through good government (Rom. 13:1-5); but “because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, the hearts of the sons of men are given fully to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11).

It seems at times that it is the wicked that prosper while the righteous suffer (Job1-2; Ps. 37; 73). But the believer will do well to see the larger picture, that there are rewards beyond this life for the righteous, and that we live in the devil’s world and will suffer for righteousness until Christ returns (1 Pet. 4:16, 19; 1 Jo. 2:15-17; 5:19).

There is hope for those who suffer from the presence of evil, for the Bible teaches that a day of judgment is coming when God will remove evil from the earth. When Christ brings history to an end—after His millennial reign (Rev. 20:1-6)—He will eternally separate those who rejected His provision of salvation from those who believed in Christ. The unbeliever will be sent to the eternal trash-heap known as the Lake of Fire, whereas the believer will spend eternity in heaven. Those who accepted the provision of salvation will be cleansed of their sinful nature, and will never experience temptation nor be permitted to manufacture sin any more. According to Scripture, evil has a beginning and an end. It began with the fall of Satan and his angels, was expanded with the fall of man, and will end when God judges the world in righteousness, destroying everything (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10-15), and creating a new heaven and earth that will go into eternity (2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1-4). This is important, because if one rejects God and the Bible, then he is left with the conclusion that evil and cruelty is normal to the universe and there is no hope of it ever being done away with.