Why God Allows…
…Evil & Suffering!
This is a several thousand-years-old story and not a simple question to answer. Please be patient!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1 If you do not believe that, please close this document. The following is not for you.
Why God allows evil and suffering is the age old-question asked by Christian believers, asked very often by unbelievers, and asked by "Religious" people of every stripe. Naturally, unbelievers ask; IF there IS a God, why does He allow evil and suffering?
This composition is not for those who question whether there IS a God. Other links within this site give definite answers and help regarding that issue. But for the Christian believer at any level, and for the "Religious" seeker who is open to giving the Bible an opportunity to answer that age-old question, please continue.
The straight-forward answer is:
NO
He does not !
But, from pre-creation until just after the Flood, some 1600 years later, God had tolerated evil and its by-product suffering, letting it remain on the earth.
This is what is known for sure:
A - God is both fair and just, He always judges evil.
B - He then immediately provides and administers grace; and,
C - Once the age of grace began (the Church Age at Pentecost) evil and its by-product suffering have been tolerated, spreading in uninhibited fashion.
Israel’s Key Role In History
But God had a people, Israel, in whom He destined to demonstrate His glory and show to the rest of the nations, that not only was there a one true God but, that He is righteous and abhors evil and suffering.
This nation, Israel, was chosen not only to be spared from the ways and practices of the rest of nations, ways and practices of false "Religion" and evil of every kind, but also chosen to use a God-ordained form of worship and spread it to the ends of the earth.
Shamefully the nation Israel failed God and itself, leaving Israel vulnerable to invasions and captivity.
But grace was then administered when Israel’s long awaited Messiah, Yeshuah, Christ Jesus, was born unto it.
Christ Jesus offered Israel, once again, the opportunity to be that most prominent of nations, a nation in which He would be glorified, and that through Israel He would extend that very same glory to the whole world.
But, once again the people of Israel missed their calling, for Messiah was put to death.
God’s Plan Of Redemption For Man Revealed
God again provided and administered grace, which is what the cross is all about. Then at Pentecost, the feast now known for the sound like wind, and for the appearance of fire and for speaking in tongues, that grace was given to the Messiah’s followers, the disciples, to open their eyes to the fullest meaning of Messiah, His life, death and resurrection.
The Wild Branch Grafted In
With this new spiritual power the Apostles were to fulfill what the people of Israel neglected, only this time the provision would not be physically oriented but spiritual. Thus the age of Grace was born, known as the Church Age.
This transition meant more than God’s focusing on just one nation; He now focused on all ethnic groups.
More importantly, God’s nature, which is Spirit, could now dwell permanently in every living soul if only that soul would believe His command: To accept His Son’s, life, death and resurrection; in other words accept the Gospel message.
The Tree Of Knowledge - Evidence Of Free Will
When Adam and Eve were created some 6,000 years ago they were perfect and innocent. And, they were placed within an impeccable garden with every kind of fruit-bearing tree. They had unhindered access to God and He walked among them.
God did have a tree within that garden of which He commanded the first couple not to eat. The rules were simple enough; "of every tree bearing fruit you may eat but not of the tree which was in the middle of the garden". Gen. 2:9; Gen. 2:16-17
The Initial Test Of Free Will
Then Satan, posing as a creature called the serpent, and characterized as more subtle than any beast of the field, beguiled the woman with a lie Gen. 3:1, 4. The woman’s heart was filled with pride and she disobeyed God’s command to Adam by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.
Not only that, she entices Adam who did also eat. Gen. 3:6
One cannot overlook the fact that the woman was free to choose. Despite her creation, as opposed to our procreation, Eve was no automaton and, as in the case of Lucifer, her downfall was pride. Gen. 3:6
In Adam’s case it was disobedience, along with carelessness in ignoring Satan’s beguiling of his wife.
God’s Initial Act Of Grace
God was not about to eternally endure the corruption of His creation without redemption of His highest form of creation, a creation which was in His likeness and image.
The second tree, the tree of life, meant the first couple would not ever die and procreation could have meant eternal offspring under a corrupted form of life.
The first couple would now be still alive should they have eaten of the tree of life, living eternally with a sin nature. Gen. 3:22
For God, that meant expulsion of the couple from the garden, which garden was a form of grace (Gen. 3:24), but not before administering judgment.
Again, a Holy God will not accept evil or sin of any kind, so He cursed the serpent (Gen. 3:14), punished Eve (Gen. 3:16), and Adam (Gen. 3:17-19), and put a curse on the earth (Gen. 3:17-19).
For God not to do so would have indicated He accepts and overlooks sin. How preposterous !
Sin Enters The Human Race
God, in mercy, institutes His 2nd act of grace by clothing the first couple with coats of skins (Gen. 3:21). Undoubtedly an animal or two were sacrificed for this act.
Then a little over one hundred years later the first human tragedy occurs when Cain, the couple’s first son murders their 2nd son in a fit of jealous rage!
And now it becomes obvious that the human race suffers from the very sin nature that entered into it that fateful day in the garden, when Eve was beguiled by the serpent and Adam was led astray by Eve.
The Lord God made a promise in the garden that was directed at Lucifer. In the struggle between mankind and evil, God will bruise Satan’s head (Satan’s kingdom) with a son of the woman; only the time was still close to 4000 years away.
That Son was Christ Jesus. Gen. 3:15
God’s judgment of evil is always followed by an act of grace.
Why God allows evil and suffering is the age old-question asked by Christian believers, asked very often by unbelievers, and asked by "Religious" people of every stripe. Naturally, unbelievers ask; IF there IS a God, why does He allow evil and suffering?
This composition is not for those who question whether there IS a God. Other links within this site give definite answers and help regarding that issue. But for the Christian believer at any level, and for the "Religious" seeker who is open to giving the Bible an opportunity to answer that age-old question, please continue.
The straight-forward answer is:
NO
He does not !
But, from pre-creation until just after the Flood, some 1600 years later, God had tolerated evil and its by-product suffering, letting it remain on the earth.
This is what is known for sure:
A - God is both fair and just, He always judges evil.
B - He then immediately provides and administers grace; and,
C - Once the age of grace began (the Church Age at Pentecost) evil and its by-product suffering have been tolerated, spreading in uninhibited fashion.
Israel’s Key Role In History
But God had a people, Israel, in whom He destined to demonstrate His glory and show to the rest of the nations, that not only was there a one true God but, that He is righteous and abhors evil and suffering.
This nation, Israel, was chosen not only to be spared from the ways and practices of the rest of nations, ways and practices of false "Religion" and evil of every kind, but also chosen to use a God-ordained form of worship and spread it to the ends of the earth.
Shamefully the nation Israel failed God and itself, leaving Israel vulnerable to invasions and captivity.
But grace was then administered when Israel’s long awaited Messiah, Yeshuah, Christ Jesus, was born unto it.
Christ Jesus offered Israel, once again, the opportunity to be that most prominent of nations, a nation in which He would be glorified, and that through Israel He would extend that very same glory to the whole world.
But, once again the people of Israel missed their calling, for Messiah was put to death.
God’s Plan Of Redemption For Man Revealed
God again provided and administered grace, which is what the cross is all about. Then at Pentecost, the feast now known for the sound like wind, and for the appearance of fire and for speaking in tongues, that grace was given to the Messiah’s followers, the disciples, to open their eyes to the fullest meaning of Messiah, His life, death and resurrection.
The Wild Branch Grafted In
With this new spiritual power the Apostles were to fulfill what the people of Israel neglected, only this time the provision would not be physically oriented but spiritual. Thus the age of Grace was born, known as the Church Age.
This transition meant more than God’s focusing on just one nation; He now focused on all ethnic groups.
More importantly, God’s nature, which is Spirit, could now dwell permanently in every living soul if only that soul would believe His command: To accept His Son’s, life, death and resurrection; in other words accept the Gospel message.
The Tree Of Knowledge - Evidence Of Free Will
When Adam and Eve were created some 6,000 years ago they were perfect and innocent. And, they were placed within an impeccable garden with every kind of fruit-bearing tree. They had unhindered access to God and He walked among them.
God did have a tree within that garden of which He commanded the first couple not to eat. The rules were simple enough; "of every tree bearing fruit you may eat but not of the tree which was in the middle of the garden". Gen. 2:9; Gen. 2:16-17
The Initial Test Of Free Will
Then Satan, posing as a creature called the serpent, and characterized as more subtle than any beast of the field, beguiled the woman with a lie Gen. 3:1, 4. The woman’s heart was filled with pride and she disobeyed God’s command to Adam by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.
Not only that, she entices Adam who did also eat. Gen. 3:6
One cannot overlook the fact that the woman was free to choose. Despite her creation, as opposed to our procreation, Eve was no automaton and, as in the case of Lucifer, her downfall was pride. Gen. 3:6
In Adam’s case it was disobedience, along with carelessness in ignoring Satan’s beguiling of his wife.
God’s Initial Act Of Grace
God was not about to eternally endure the corruption of His creation without redemption of His highest form of creation, a creation which was in His likeness and image.
The second tree, the tree of life, meant the first couple would not ever die and procreation could have meant eternal offspring under a corrupted form of life.
The first couple would now be still alive should they have eaten of the tree of life, living eternally with a sin nature. Gen. 3:22
For God, that meant expulsion of the couple from the garden, which garden was a form of grace (Gen. 3:24), but not before administering judgment.
Again, a Holy God will not accept evil or sin of any kind, so He cursed the serpent (Gen. 3:14), punished Eve (Gen. 3:16), and Adam (Gen. 3:17-19), and put a curse on the earth (Gen. 3:17-19).
For God not to do so would have indicated He accepts and overlooks sin. How preposterous !
Sin Enters The Human Race
God, in mercy, institutes His 2nd act of grace by clothing the first couple with coats of skins (Gen. 3:21). Undoubtedly an animal or two were sacrificed for this act.
Then a little over one hundred years later the first human tragedy occurs when Cain, the couple’s first son murders their 2nd son in a fit of jealous rage!
And now it becomes obvious that the human race suffers from the very sin nature that entered into it that fateful day in the garden, when Eve was beguiled by the serpent and Adam was led astray by Eve.
The Lord God made a promise in the garden that was directed at Lucifer. In the struggle between mankind and evil, God will bruise Satan’s head (Satan’s kingdom) with a son of the woman; only the time was still close to 4000 years away.
That Son was Christ Jesus. Gen. 3:15
God’s judgment of evil is always followed by an act of grace.
Why Understanding The Bible's Begets Is Important
(They Include True & False Prophets, Kings, And The Messiah)
For Eve, the bereavement over the loss of her son Abel was alleviated when she gave birth to a third son, Seth. Gen. 4:25
Through this son, God would now begin His ultimate plan of redemption, making Seth’s genealogy that of the future Messiah. Luke 3:23-38
As human history now has commenced, evil and its by-product suffering have now taken grip of society, but God is taking steps in order that society can distinguish between right and wrong.
Through a long life cycle man is able to populate the earth, while God has a chosen linage through which He will keep in close touch with humanity.
To Seth a son was born whose name was Enos. The Bible states: "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord". Gen. 4:26
The Bible does not comment on why a descendant of Seth is taken to be with God without dying, but Enoch is one of only two persons who is translated into Heaven in this fashion.
The other is the prophet Elijah.
Close to the end of the age, God will send two witnesses to the earth to preach a message of judgment and grace. Elijah is set to come to the nation Israel in order to prepare Israel once again to receive her Messiah, Yeshuah. Mal. 4:5-6
While Enoch has already prophesied a message of judgment against the entire earth, which includes the gentiles. Jude 14-15
Were only the patriarchs living extended life spans?
Or were the rest of mankind also living many years?
Adam lived 930 years, Seth 912, Enos 906, Methuselah 969, Noah 950 years.
Evidently ancient man was privileged, having a much longer life than we enjoy today. However, God would intervene once again with His grace 1600 years after He created man.
As man multiplied on the face of the earth a phenomena began to occur which abhorred God.
When the angel Lucifer was cast out of Heaven unto earth one third of the angels followed him as well. These, called sons of God (Job 1:6), began to cohabit with the human daughters of man. Gen. 6:2
The results were offspring called giants, mighty men, and men of renown, a hybrid race both of angelic proportions and human characteristics. Gen. 6:4
This breed of beings had hearts that were evil continually, and undoubtedly the serpent Lucifer’s plot was to contaminate the righteous line of Seth in order to thwart God’s plan of Salvation in the Messiah.
Lucifer’s plan in the garden was to corrupt the first couple by destroying their innocent state, then to attract them to the tree of life in order to give them eternal life with sin.
That plan failing, he now tries to corrupt the line of the Messiah by genetically contaminating the entire human race.
The LORD’S Life Eternally More Valuable Than The Body
Seeing this evil plan, the Lord God prepares for the greatest judgment of man on earth, since creation, before He will intervene again with a great act of grace.
Since the spirit of man is now in constant rebellion toward Him, God decides not to continually be striving with man’s own spirit by reducing the maximum lifespan of man to a mere 120 years.
God Adopts A System That Endures To The Present
This act will commence God’s new economy with man whereby a new covenant of human government will originate.
The mercy of God will be such that, by shortening man’s days and structuring a form of government, man will have new directions by which to survive.
But that would not be the end of God’s mercy and grace upon humanity, because God had set aside for Himself a family from Adam’s son Seth, by which family He would keep His name from being forgotten on the face of the earth.
And a little over 1000 years after Seth, God chose a man who found favor in His eyes. Gen. 6:8
One Individual & God Are A Majority
This man was Noah, and God instructed him to build an ark that would withstand the flood that would cover the earth causing every living creature to perish except for Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.
Now the options left for dealing with evil, and its by-product suffering, have run their course, the ultimate judgment is about to take place.
But once again the Lord God will be offering free grace to those who would listen.
For 120 years Noah and his sons worked to build the ark, making that labor one of history’s best examples of a witness to mankind.
Not only was the ark a warning and way of escape from the judgment, Noah himself preached righteousness as the vessel was being constructed. 2 Pet. 2:5
God’s kindness reached to Noah and his sons during their hard labor when God brought the animals that were to be spared, both by twos and by sevens.
Then, once the amassing of animals was completed, God shut the door of the ark, safely securing the favored family.
Judgment for contaminated unrepentant humanity, grace for the patriarch Noah’s family.
Sin, The Only Barrier Between God & Man
It is obvious that from the day of the creation of Adam, right up to just prior to the fall, God had an ideal relationship with him.
Then that relationship changed drastically because a holy and perfect God cannot look upon sin, even when it was His only begotten Son as He agonized on the cross.
As Christ bore humanity’s sin He cried out; "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" But that would be the Lord God’s judgment of sin, in fulfillment of the promise He made at the Garden of Eden 4000 years earlier when He cursed the serpent.
Now, just before the Flood, this relationship was one of striving between God and rebellious man, but this too would end with the Flood, where God pronounced that man’s heart was focused on evil continually, and that He was sorry that He had made man on the earth, grieving God in His heart. Gen. 6:5-7
Rather than allowing for the contamination of every single individual, God set apart the only righteous man on earth at the time, Noah.
And through Noah’s sons and their wives God would repopulate the earth after the Flood.
Man Was Created Autonomous
If man is to be a free thinker and maintain his independence, allowing for him to choose whom he would love and what ideals he will accept, then man must be left completely vulnerable to every force within God’s creation.
Clearly Adam and Eve, who represented both genders of the human race, were free entities given access to every object and stretch of land within their reach.
Why God Created Tartarus
The Flood did not mean judgment and extinction only for the humans, animals and insects of the earth, it also included the hybrid, semi-human race that was multiplying on the face of the earth at that time.
In Tartarus, God bound up the fallen angels which defiled women and beget the hybrid race. Jude 6 Col 2:15
After the Flood, God was then ready to wipe the slate clean and begin afresh with man.
And He would do so with a righteous and humble man, his family, and with all the animals and insects which God had assembled to enter the ark of Grace.
"Religion" Is Humans Reaching-Out To God
The waters subsided and the ark came to rest. Noah and his family walked out onto a deserted planet.
But Noah knew before he did anything he must be grateful to his merciful God. So he built an altar and offered of every clean bird and animal, and the Lord accepted the offering and made a pact with this patriarch.
This covenant is often referred to as the Noahidic covenant (Gen. 8:20) and it is significant because it is the last universal covenant God makes until the New Covenant is instituted at Passover the night before the Messiah’s crucifixion.
God’s idea of creating man, though in His own likeness; proved to be a failure from the standpoint of a human being that would live in harmonious relationship with Him.
God’s Adversary Challenges Him
In God’s abode myriads of hosts dwell in perfect harmony with Him. Rev. 5:11-14
Then the first instance of rebellion took place and the highest of His beings, Lucifer, was forced out of that abode. Isa. 14:12-17
One third of the host of heaven made the fateful decision to follow the disgraced cherub, but would not be immediately judged. Rev. 12:4
(They Include True & False Prophets, Kings, And The Messiah)
For Eve, the bereavement over the loss of her son Abel was alleviated when she gave birth to a third son, Seth. Gen. 4:25
Through this son, God would now begin His ultimate plan of redemption, making Seth’s genealogy that of the future Messiah. Luke 3:23-38
As human history now has commenced, evil and its by-product suffering have now taken grip of society, but God is taking steps in order that society can distinguish between right and wrong.
Through a long life cycle man is able to populate the earth, while God has a chosen linage through which He will keep in close touch with humanity.
To Seth a son was born whose name was Enos. The Bible states: "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord". Gen. 4:26
The Bible does not comment on why a descendant of Seth is taken to be with God without dying, but Enoch is one of only two persons who is translated into Heaven in this fashion.
The other is the prophet Elijah.
Close to the end of the age, God will send two witnesses to the earth to preach a message of judgment and grace. Elijah is set to come to the nation Israel in order to prepare Israel once again to receive her Messiah, Yeshuah. Mal. 4:5-6
While Enoch has already prophesied a message of judgment against the entire earth, which includes the gentiles. Jude 14-15
Were only the patriarchs living extended life spans?
Or were the rest of mankind also living many years?
Adam lived 930 years, Seth 912, Enos 906, Methuselah 969, Noah 950 years.
Evidently ancient man was privileged, having a much longer life than we enjoy today. However, God would intervene once again with His grace 1600 years after He created man.
As man multiplied on the face of the earth a phenomena began to occur which abhorred God.
When the angel Lucifer was cast out of Heaven unto earth one third of the angels followed him as well. These, called sons of God (Job 1:6), began to cohabit with the human daughters of man. Gen. 6:2
The results were offspring called giants, mighty men, and men of renown, a hybrid race both of angelic proportions and human characteristics. Gen. 6:4
This breed of beings had hearts that were evil continually, and undoubtedly the serpent Lucifer’s plot was to contaminate the righteous line of Seth in order to thwart God’s plan of Salvation in the Messiah.
Lucifer’s plan in the garden was to corrupt the first couple by destroying their innocent state, then to attract them to the tree of life in order to give them eternal life with sin.
That plan failing, he now tries to corrupt the line of the Messiah by genetically contaminating the entire human race.
The LORD’S Life Eternally More Valuable Than The Body
Seeing this evil plan, the Lord God prepares for the greatest judgment of man on earth, since creation, before He will intervene again with a great act of grace.
Since the spirit of man is now in constant rebellion toward Him, God decides not to continually be striving with man’s own spirit by reducing the maximum lifespan of man to a mere 120 years.
God Adopts A System That Endures To The Present
This act will commence God’s new economy with man whereby a new covenant of human government will originate.
The mercy of God will be such that, by shortening man’s days and structuring a form of government, man will have new directions by which to survive.
But that would not be the end of God’s mercy and grace upon humanity, because God had set aside for Himself a family from Adam’s son Seth, by which family He would keep His name from being forgotten on the face of the earth.
And a little over 1000 years after Seth, God chose a man who found favor in His eyes. Gen. 6:8
One Individual & God Are A Majority
This man was Noah, and God instructed him to build an ark that would withstand the flood that would cover the earth causing every living creature to perish except for Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.
Now the options left for dealing with evil, and its by-product suffering, have run their course, the ultimate judgment is about to take place.
But once again the Lord God will be offering free grace to those who would listen.
For 120 years Noah and his sons worked to build the ark, making that labor one of history’s best examples of a witness to mankind.
Not only was the ark a warning and way of escape from the judgment, Noah himself preached righteousness as the vessel was being constructed. 2 Pet. 2:5
God’s kindness reached to Noah and his sons during their hard labor when God brought the animals that were to be spared, both by twos and by sevens.
Then, once the amassing of animals was completed, God shut the door of the ark, safely securing the favored family.
Judgment for contaminated unrepentant humanity, grace for the patriarch Noah’s family.
Sin, The Only Barrier Between God & Man
It is obvious that from the day of the creation of Adam, right up to just prior to the fall, God had an ideal relationship with him.
Then that relationship changed drastically because a holy and perfect God cannot look upon sin, even when it was His only begotten Son as He agonized on the cross.
As Christ bore humanity’s sin He cried out; "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" But that would be the Lord God’s judgment of sin, in fulfillment of the promise He made at the Garden of Eden 4000 years earlier when He cursed the serpent.
Now, just before the Flood, this relationship was one of striving between God and rebellious man, but this too would end with the Flood, where God pronounced that man’s heart was focused on evil continually, and that He was sorry that He had made man on the earth, grieving God in His heart. Gen. 6:5-7
Rather than allowing for the contamination of every single individual, God set apart the only righteous man on earth at the time, Noah.
And through Noah’s sons and their wives God would repopulate the earth after the Flood.
Man Was Created Autonomous
If man is to be a free thinker and maintain his independence, allowing for him to choose whom he would love and what ideals he will accept, then man must be left completely vulnerable to every force within God’s creation.
Clearly Adam and Eve, who represented both genders of the human race, were free entities given access to every object and stretch of land within their reach.
Why God Created Tartarus
The Flood did not mean judgment and extinction only for the humans, animals and insects of the earth, it also included the hybrid, semi-human race that was multiplying on the face of the earth at that time.
In Tartarus, God bound up the fallen angels which defiled women and beget the hybrid race. Jude 6 Col 2:15
After the Flood, God was then ready to wipe the slate clean and begin afresh with man.
And He would do so with a righteous and humble man, his family, and with all the animals and insects which God had assembled to enter the ark of Grace.
"Religion" Is Humans Reaching-Out To God
The waters subsided and the ark came to rest. Noah and his family walked out onto a deserted planet.
But Noah knew before he did anything he must be grateful to his merciful God. So he built an altar and offered of every clean bird and animal, and the Lord accepted the offering and made a pact with this patriarch.
This covenant is often referred to as the Noahidic covenant (Gen. 8:20) and it is significant because it is the last universal covenant God makes until the New Covenant is instituted at Passover the night before the Messiah’s crucifixion.
God’s idea of creating man, though in His own likeness; proved to be a failure from the standpoint of a human being that would live in harmonious relationship with Him.
God’s Adversary Challenges Him
In God’s abode myriads of hosts dwell in perfect harmony with Him. Rev. 5:11-14
Then the first instance of rebellion took place and the highest of His beings, Lucifer, was forced out of that abode. Isa. 14:12-17
One third of the host of heaven made the fateful decision to follow the disgraced cherub, but would not be immediately judged. Rev. 12:4
Why?
Satan’s Mission:
Identify "The Son Of The Woman" Who Was To Crush Satan’s Kingdom
Satan’s Mission:
Identify "The Son Of The Woman" Who Was To Crush Satan’s Kingdom
The book of Job sheds light on this in an incident after the Flood.
Satan and the sons of God, i.e. all the angels, come before the Lord, and a conversation ensues between Satan and God.
But first a question arises. Were the angels that cohabited with women previous to the Flood not judged in Tartarus yet, or did some simply not fall prey to the beauty of women?
In either case, God asked Satan what he was up to? Job 2:2 And Satan replied he was roaming about the earth, seeking whom he could devour.
He found one man he could not touch, and God knew this. So God, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, asks his nemesis; "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil"? Job 2:3
As Noah before him, God found a man of complete righteousness that was devoted to Him.
Satan must have thought here’s a grand opportunity to end God’s experiment with man and have man blotted out of existence, perhaps forever.
Once Job fails Satan could then make a case for his attempted usurping of God’s heavenly throne, and perhaps become what Satan always wanted to be, as the Most High. Isa. 14:14-15
God Does Not Look Upon Man As Man Looks Upon Himself
But, why? Or, how is this possible? God in heaven has myriads of beings; but those beings are there to worship, minister to and praise God. Rev. 4:1-11
Lucifer, a pride filled being, having been created more beautiful than all the others no doubt believed he could usurp that glory unto himself and share the universe with God.
Sound familiar? What is man’s sin if not the same craving to eliminate God and become a god himself.
God’s experiment was to create a human being, a little lower than the angels, with a totally independent mind and complete freedom. A being meant to be a worshiper, to be a minister, and to be praise filled.
The Garden of Eden experiment failed and so did the expansion into the rest of the earth.
Thus God was left with two options...
1 - Destroy man and call the experiment a failure or;
2 - Take matters into His own hands and redeem man.
In other words, call Satan’s bluff and prove that man could be that which God’s heavenly hosts are, but of their own free will.
Satan and the sons of God, i.e. all the angels, come before the Lord, and a conversation ensues between Satan and God.
But first a question arises. Were the angels that cohabited with women previous to the Flood not judged in Tartarus yet, or did some simply not fall prey to the beauty of women?
In either case, God asked Satan what he was up to? Job 2:2 And Satan replied he was roaming about the earth, seeking whom he could devour.
He found one man he could not touch, and God knew this. So God, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, asks his nemesis; "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil"? Job 2:3
As Noah before him, God found a man of complete righteousness that was devoted to Him.
Satan must have thought here’s a grand opportunity to end God’s experiment with man and have man blotted out of existence, perhaps forever.
Once Job fails Satan could then make a case for his attempted usurping of God’s heavenly throne, and perhaps become what Satan always wanted to be, as the Most High. Isa. 14:14-15
God Does Not Look Upon Man As Man Looks Upon Himself
But, why? Or, how is this possible? God in heaven has myriads of beings; but those beings are there to worship, minister to and praise God. Rev. 4:1-11
Lucifer, a pride filled being, having been created more beautiful than all the others no doubt believed he could usurp that glory unto himself and share the universe with God.
Sound familiar? What is man’s sin if not the same craving to eliminate God and become a god himself.
God’s experiment was to create a human being, a little lower than the angels, with a totally independent mind and complete freedom. A being meant to be a worshiper, to be a minister, and to be praise filled.
The Garden of Eden experiment failed and so did the expansion into the rest of the earth.
Thus God was left with two options...
1 - Destroy man and call the experiment a failure or;
2 - Take matters into His own hands and redeem man.
In other words, call Satan’s bluff and prove that man could be that which God’s heavenly hosts are, but of their own free will.
Satan Thought Job Was The Awaited Messiah
Satan’s bluff obviously included the near destruction of Job.
If Job failed, Satan may have surmised God will then again destroy creation, the Noahidic Covenant be dammed, or be forced to admit that, given free will and a choice, all of creation will accept Lucifer, as god.
So here was the dare that Satan makes to God...
"Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Does Job fear God for naught?
Have not you made an hedge about him, and about all that he has on every side?
You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to your face." Job 1:10-11
Satan Impugns God’s Character
Satan’s challenge was not only intended to severely hurt Job, but his ruthless plot had greater implications.
Man would only worship, minister to and praise God when things are going good, when God is blessing and protecting man. But just lift the blessing off of man and allow evil and its by-product, suffering, to enter a man’s life and he will curse God.
In other words, there’s no such thing as a righteous man, not even one.
Once Job fails, will God be through with man? Will God share His universe with Satan?
Since Satan thinks that he may be more popular with humans than God is, and since he imagines he has found contradiction in God’s plan for humanity, that a free moral agent will continually choose evil, will those angels that were bound in Tartarus for cohabiting with women be adjudicated as innocent after all and be returned to their former status?
God’s Defense -v- Satan
(Dependant Upon Man Having A Freewill Choice)
This high stakes court case depended on one man as much as anything, meanwhile a pattern was beginning to develop.
God was working through single individuals:
Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua; and so on, until His Son would take on the ultimate test case.
Right on up to the birth of the Messiah, Satan’s legal case with God was valid.
When left to his own devices, man in almost every instance chose evil or Satan’s way, but only when God intervened on man’s behalf would man choose God.
And, as Biblical history attests, even the men and women that God called were far from perfect. In fact many times they followed Satan’s ways.
As far as Satan’s legal case with God was concerned, man was being preserved on credit or living on borrowed time.
Satan easily proved that man, since the beginning of time, has followed every wile, scheme and machination that Satan had been able to conjure.
If Man Fails, So Does God
Thus from his attempt to wrest the throne of God during pre-creation, to his beguiling woman in the garden, right on up to his challenge that God micro-manages His servants, using Job as example, Satan was all but ready to claim the universe as his prized possession.
God Sought A Man To Vindicate His Character
The plan of God is one of redeeming man while temporarily yielding an already polluted universe to its pretender king, Lucifer. Acts 26:17-18
For this to occur God’s plan instituted at the garden was set in motion, a Son of man would crush the kingdom of Lucifer once and for all with the following characteristics:
A - Man is hopelessly impotent to redeem himself so it must be God who will take on the task. But that would play into Lucifer’s hands, whereby he will always make the accusation that God’s creation is incapable of living righteously and unable to be free of Lucifer’s own enticements; thus,
B - A redeemer must be human in order to satisfy Satan’s accusations;
C - God solved this dilemma by becoming flesh and blood and born of a woman but not of the seed of a man;
D - This Son of man however must not be able to use His Divinity, or once again the same railing Satanic accusations would be hurled at God.
E - The Son of man has to be absolutely free of any guilt or sin, otherwise Satan’s old accusations would be hurled at God, namely; everyone in heaven or earth has failed and sinned so why am I judged and subsequently my followers?
F - The Son of man would then be under the most strict scrutinization of anyone in history, while at the same time being tested in all things;
G - The Son of man in order to assume this momentous endeavor, had to make Himself vulnerable to sin. It would be the only recourse to being a free moral agent;
H - God’s original prophecy to Lucifer in the garden required that the serpent would bruise the Messiah’s heel. That meant the Son of man would ultimately pay a severe price for the destruction of the kingdom of Satan. The heavy cost would prove to one and all that the Son of man was not just God but was a man who would bleed, be pained, sorrowed, and ultimately die;
I - As predicted, on the appointed day and time, the Son of man was crucified. Then after releasing souls in Paradise and presenting Himself victorious to the chained angels in Tartarus, the Son of man was raised from the dead;
J - He redeemed man by sprinkling His blood on the Heavenly Mercy seat, showed Himself to man on earth, and returned to sit as the right hand of God. Where, now, He reveals to Satan: Mission accomplished, man is redeemed, Satan’s accusations are exposed as fraudulent, and Satan will never share His glory or His throne.
If Man Fails To Understand God’s Word, Worship Of God Is Fanaticism
This plan of redemption apportioned by God was understood by Him, by His heavenly host and by Satan, but there was one entity to whom it must be explained in order to be understood. This entity had better understand it, because this entity stood at the core of the fray. It is man himself!
Sure, God the Father is doing His part, His Son absolutely is doing His part too, but now man has to perform his part in order to be completed and successful.
If Job failed, Satan may have surmised God will then again destroy creation, the Noahidic Covenant be dammed, or be forced to admit that, given free will and a choice, all of creation will accept Lucifer, as god.
So here was the dare that Satan makes to God...
"Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Does Job fear God for naught?
Have not you made an hedge about him, and about all that he has on every side?
You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to your face." Job 1:10-11
Satan Impugns God’s Character
Satan’s challenge was not only intended to severely hurt Job, but his ruthless plot had greater implications.
Man would only worship, minister to and praise God when things are going good, when God is blessing and protecting man. But just lift the blessing off of man and allow evil and its by-product, suffering, to enter a man’s life and he will curse God.
In other words, there’s no such thing as a righteous man, not even one.
Once Job fails, will God be through with man? Will God share His universe with Satan?
Since Satan thinks that he may be more popular with humans than God is, and since he imagines he has found contradiction in God’s plan for humanity, that a free moral agent will continually choose evil, will those angels that were bound in Tartarus for cohabiting with women be adjudicated as innocent after all and be returned to their former status?
God’s Defense -v- Satan
(Dependant Upon Man Having A Freewill Choice)
This high stakes court case depended on one man as much as anything, meanwhile a pattern was beginning to develop.
God was working through single individuals:
Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua; and so on, until His Son would take on the ultimate test case.
Right on up to the birth of the Messiah, Satan’s legal case with God was valid.
When left to his own devices, man in almost every instance chose evil or Satan’s way, but only when God intervened on man’s behalf would man choose God.
And, as Biblical history attests, even the men and women that God called were far from perfect. In fact many times they followed Satan’s ways.
As far as Satan’s legal case with God was concerned, man was being preserved on credit or living on borrowed time.
Satan easily proved that man, since the beginning of time, has followed every wile, scheme and machination that Satan had been able to conjure.
If Man Fails, So Does God
Thus from his attempt to wrest the throne of God during pre-creation, to his beguiling woman in the garden, right on up to his challenge that God micro-manages His servants, using Job as example, Satan was all but ready to claim the universe as his prized possession.
God Sought A Man To Vindicate His Character
The plan of God is one of redeeming man while temporarily yielding an already polluted universe to its pretender king, Lucifer. Acts 26:17-18
For this to occur God’s plan instituted at the garden was set in motion, a Son of man would crush the kingdom of Lucifer once and for all with the following characteristics:
A - Man is hopelessly impotent to redeem himself so it must be God who will take on the task. But that would play into Lucifer’s hands, whereby he will always make the accusation that God’s creation is incapable of living righteously and unable to be free of Lucifer’s own enticements; thus,
B - A redeemer must be human in order to satisfy Satan’s accusations;
C - God solved this dilemma by becoming flesh and blood and born of a woman but not of the seed of a man;
D - This Son of man however must not be able to use His Divinity, or once again the same railing Satanic accusations would be hurled at God.
E - The Son of man has to be absolutely free of any guilt or sin, otherwise Satan’s old accusations would be hurled at God, namely; everyone in heaven or earth has failed and sinned so why am I judged and subsequently my followers?
F - The Son of man would then be under the most strict scrutinization of anyone in history, while at the same time being tested in all things;
G - The Son of man in order to assume this momentous endeavor, had to make Himself vulnerable to sin. It would be the only recourse to being a free moral agent;
H - God’s original prophecy to Lucifer in the garden required that the serpent would bruise the Messiah’s heel. That meant the Son of man would ultimately pay a severe price for the destruction of the kingdom of Satan. The heavy cost would prove to one and all that the Son of man was not just God but was a man who would bleed, be pained, sorrowed, and ultimately die;
I - As predicted, on the appointed day and time, the Son of man was crucified. Then after releasing souls in Paradise and presenting Himself victorious to the chained angels in Tartarus, the Son of man was raised from the dead;
J - He redeemed man by sprinkling His blood on the Heavenly Mercy seat, showed Himself to man on earth, and returned to sit as the right hand of God. Where, now, He reveals to Satan: Mission accomplished, man is redeemed, Satan’s accusations are exposed as fraudulent, and Satan will never share His glory or His throne.
If Man Fails To Understand God’s Word, Worship Of God Is Fanaticism
This plan of redemption apportioned by God was understood by Him, by His heavenly host and by Satan, but there was one entity to whom it must be explained in order to be understood. This entity had better understand it, because this entity stood at the core of the fray. It is man himself!
Sure, God the Father is doing His part, His Son absolutely is doing His part too, but now man has to perform his part in order to be completed and successful.
THE TRINITY
Explains Progression Of God’s Relationship With Man
This all-important aspect is the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. And the master plan of God had to be put in writing in order for man to understand it.
The master plan is God’s relationship with man, a portion of God’s history with man.
God would tell man what to write and man would write it.
For that, God chose the line of Seth, which would not only lead to Messiah but would be the line that would record God’s dealings with man.
This line ultimately would be expanded to include a nation, which would come from the patriarch Abraham and his son Isaac.
From them, God would become more specific as to what that master plan would entail.
As humanity began to increase worldwide, God chose to consolidate His message into one nation who would dispense this message to anyone who would listen.
The Holy Spirit Will Not Allow Any Emphasis On Himself That Robs Glory Due To The Son
The message did get out but never in the proportions God intended. Thus the Son of man’s death marked another key point in human history as well.
He would precede the permanent dwelling of the Holy Spirit on earth because the Spirit’s work consists only of focusing on the teachings of the Father and the Son.
As the Apostles (whom Messiah had appointed) departed, the canon of Scripture was closed.
God’s best selling master plan book was finished. That was the purpose of Pentecost fifty days after the Son of man’s resurrection.
God’s promise to dwell permanently on the earth would be through redeemed man in Spirit, and since the Holy Spirit speaks only of the Father and His Son, only he who accepts the work of the Son and comes to His Father will be permanently indwelt and redeemed.
Only redeemed, indwelt man will fully understand this plan. Only redeemed man can understand the battle between good and evil.
If Jesus Failed, God The Father Had Two Options:
Incarcerate Satan Or Share The Universe With Him
Satan now knows his plan has been thwarted. The throne room is secure in God’s hands. The universe will never be Satan’s to claim.
And man, whose heart has been pronounced as evil from his youth, nonetheless has received a way of escape. It is through the cross of Christ Jesus.
But Satan is still loose, and so are some of his fallen angels from the rebellion in pre-creation.
Their mission is two-fold:
1 - To try to deceive human souls away from the promise of God; and,
2 - A last ditch attempt to thwart the second coming of the Son of man.
Deception, Deception, Deception
Both of these plans include deception, which is Satan’s primary tool.
His other tool is imitations of God’s miracles and they will be manifested at the end of the age, the Messiah warned. Matthew, Chapter 24
But the Scripture clearly states that darkness and light cannot cohabit, thus those indwelt by the Holy Spirit will be spared from being overwhelmed by the deceptive wiles and schemes of Satan.
GOD MAKES A DISCLAIMER!
Webster's Dictionary defines the word disclaimer as:
1 - A public disavowal, as of pretensions etc.
2 - A person who disclaims, disowns, or renounces.
3 - In law, an express or implied denial or renunciation of certain things in question.
After the flood, when God took His most decisive measure against evil, He made a Covenant with His righteous servant (already discussed) but at the same time attached a promise.
The promise came forth in the way of a disclaimer:
"And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remained, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Gen. 8:21-22
The master plan is God’s relationship with man, a portion of God’s history with man.
God would tell man what to write and man would write it.
For that, God chose the line of Seth, which would not only lead to Messiah but would be the line that would record God’s dealings with man.
This line ultimately would be expanded to include a nation, which would come from the patriarch Abraham and his son Isaac.
From them, God would become more specific as to what that master plan would entail.
As humanity began to increase worldwide, God chose to consolidate His message into one nation who would dispense this message to anyone who would listen.
The Holy Spirit Will Not Allow Any Emphasis On Himself That Robs Glory Due To The Son
The message did get out but never in the proportions God intended. Thus the Son of man’s death marked another key point in human history as well.
He would precede the permanent dwelling of the Holy Spirit on earth because the Spirit’s work consists only of focusing on the teachings of the Father and the Son.
As the Apostles (whom Messiah had appointed) departed, the canon of Scripture was closed.
God’s best selling master plan book was finished. That was the purpose of Pentecost fifty days after the Son of man’s resurrection.
God’s promise to dwell permanently on the earth would be through redeemed man in Spirit, and since the Holy Spirit speaks only of the Father and His Son, only he who accepts the work of the Son and comes to His Father will be permanently indwelt and redeemed.
Only redeemed, indwelt man will fully understand this plan. Only redeemed man can understand the battle between good and evil.
If Jesus Failed, God The Father Had Two Options:
Incarcerate Satan Or Share The Universe With Him
Satan now knows his plan has been thwarted. The throne room is secure in God’s hands. The universe will never be Satan’s to claim.
And man, whose heart has been pronounced as evil from his youth, nonetheless has received a way of escape. It is through the cross of Christ Jesus.
But Satan is still loose, and so are some of his fallen angels from the rebellion in pre-creation.
Their mission is two-fold:
1 - To try to deceive human souls away from the promise of God; and,
2 - A last ditch attempt to thwart the second coming of the Son of man.
Deception, Deception, Deception
Both of these plans include deception, which is Satan’s primary tool.
His other tool is imitations of God’s miracles and they will be manifested at the end of the age, the Messiah warned. Matthew, Chapter 24
But the Scripture clearly states that darkness and light cannot cohabit, thus those indwelt by the Holy Spirit will be spared from being overwhelmed by the deceptive wiles and schemes of Satan.
GOD MAKES A DISCLAIMER!
Webster's Dictionary defines the word disclaimer as:
1 - A public disavowal, as of pretensions etc.
2 - A person who disclaims, disowns, or renounces.
3 - In law, an express or implied denial or renunciation of certain things in question.
After the flood, when God took His most decisive measure against evil, He made a Covenant with His righteous servant (already discussed) but at the same time attached a promise.
The promise came forth in the way of a disclaimer:
"And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remained, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Gen. 8:21-22
The Bible's Theme is:
Man Strays From God While God Seeks Out Man
Man Strays From God While God Seeks Out Man
Man’s days were significantly shortened, the hybrid race eliminated, unrepentant man done away with, evil had been avenged.
Only a totally righteous man, in the eyes of God, and that man’s family remained.
But was that judgment going to be the answer to evil and its by-product suffering?
Obviously not!
Being that God is omniscient, He has ability to see into the future.
The history of man on earth would need a revision perhaps every 1600 years. Either that or force man to be as His host of heaven, which sings His praise continually.
But again Satan would have mocked that and demanded his rightful position as he saw it.
Besides, a love that is not voluntary and not free is not love at all.
Perfect love encompasses a giving, unselfish relationship between two entities.
God wanted man to freely choose Him.
What this disclaimer did not declare was that God would abandon man in any way, shape or form. Biblical history is more than explicit about that.
In fact Biblical history proves just the opposite, that God incrementally and continually has incorporated Himself in the affairs of man.
Only He would do so through the line of Seth, and subsequently the nation Israel.
Once Israel rejected its Messiah, God would once again open Himself to the entire race.
But only in spirit by way of acceptance of the cross.
The Answer To Evil & Suffering Was Given Early
Prior To The Repopulation Of Planet Earth
The disclaimer also showed that God would rescind the order of cursing the ground, but only for man’s sake.
History would now endure for thousands of years and man would need the yield of the ground by which to survive.
Thus the crop cycle would continue unending with the rain, the dew and the seasons, only it would be up to man to maintain it through toil and labor.
The seasons would also continue uninterrupted, as would the earth’s rotation, assuring man the opportunity set his schedule accordingly.
And there would be a night then the lesser lights would rule, meaning the stars, planets and space objects would remain.
While day meant the greater light would rule, denoting the sun will continue to rise in the east and set in the west.
From that day forward, God would tolerate evil and good to live simultaneously until the return of Messiah, the One who died and was raised to rule with a rod of iron from the New Jerusalem.
To Legitimately Question The Purpose Of Evil…
Complete Perfection Must Be Attained
It is important to note here that God reserves all rights and holds the patent for good, not man.Luke 18:19
Man often looks about his surroundings and asks; why does God allow famine, pestilence, ruthless dictators, droughts, child molestation, sickness, diseases, old age, loneliness, and so on, ad nauseam? It is included in the disclaimer.
But then the question arises; why do bad things happen to good people? Or more specifically we question why, if we consider ourselves followers of Messiah and are well acquainted with His Word, are we sometimes suffering at the hands of evil?
Those are good questions that can be looked upon this way...
An Innocent Child May Question Evil…
Yet Most Choose To Trust Unconditionally
God continues to be Sovereign and good is His pure essence. Our own view of what is good (no matter how Biblically astute we think we are) is at best faulty.
In the case of the innocents, such as children, that is a much tougher assignment to answer. But we can rest assured that God is not overlooking that.
No less than Yeshuah, the Son of man Himself, said...
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6
We are not required to take up every humanitarian cause available. Whether it is in the churches, the groups, the organizations or even as individuals, we foolishly feel we ought to champion every cause.
What we are called to do is to take up our own cross, that which the Lord lays upon us, and follow Him. We are allowed to hand it back to Him for a spell when that cross gets a bit too weighty.
As we go through life with that cross we will see all kinds of evil and its by-product suffering surrounding us, yet the Lord will tell us just keep your eyes on Him.
The particular suffering we may be enduring is not necessarily of Satan’s doing, but can be the chastening of our Lord to make us better and ever better servants of His; and can prepare us to garner rewards in Heaven of the kind that do not burn up, get stolen or rust out.
Once we begin to see the burdens in that Godly vision we will realize that His burden is easy and His yoke is light.
You say you don’t believe it? Then inquire of those who are not in Yeshuah (not saved) and yet exist in a cruel world of evil overcome with its by-product suffering.
Satan’s Affront To God Demanded A Veritable Response, Or God Could Have Lost Legal Control Of The Universe To Satan
It seems like a long way for God to go just to make His point about Satan’s culpability in promoting the morals and attitudes which lead to evil and suffering.
God could have just eliminated His challenging cherub, Lucifer, and be done with it forever.
But redeemed man has not even begun to scratch the surface of just what are the deeper mysteries the Bible contains. 1 Cor. 2:9 1 Cor 15:40
God has a plan for redeemed man that is far greater in scope than what man is experiencing in his natural day-to-day existence. 1 Cor. 15:20-49
But the Living Word was with God from eternity, and what Satan intends for evil God uses for good.
The Astounding Work Of Christ Jesus Was That Which Ultimately Saved The Universe
We cannot overlook another entity that needed to understand the master plan of God; and that is His Heavenly host, the spirit-beings who resisted the temptation to ally themselves with Lucifer.
The angelic beings not only are helping God in the administration of the universe within the spiritual realm, but they have become spectators in the drama of man on earth and the fight of good versus evil. Dan. 4:17 1 Pet. 1:12
Ultimately God has redeemed man for the express purpose of showing that God is not only righteous but that He is Sovereignly righteous.
Man was not redeemed by anything earthy or perishable but by Heavenly blood that is incorruptible. 1 Cor. 15:21-22 Heb. 9:14.
Thus redemption intended for man was never intended for Satan, even though Adam handed him the title deed to the earth and of men’s souls.
Would Satan accept the blood of Christ Jesus as payment in full for man’s redemption? No! Only the Father does.
Which is why the New Covenant is between the Father and the Son while the Holy Spirit brings man into this union.
And that is why man can do nothing but receive this redemption by faith, believing in the atonement of Christ Jesus.
Since Calvary, the Son of Man has been given dominion over the entire universe. Eph. 1:20-23
The very one who became a Levitical sacrifice for man is now King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
It Is Not Christ Jesus’ Divinity Which Saved The Universe, It Was His Humanity
Satisfaction of atonement or payment in full by the Son of man to the Father consisted of recovery of the title deed to the earth.
Christ Jesus proved a Man could live a totally righteous life failing in not one point. Luke 4:8 Heb. 4:14-15
The redemption of man by the nailing of sins to the cross of Christ. Col. 2:14 Gal. 4:4-6
And the restoration of what Adam gave away in the garden, man's eternal life, the new Tree of life as Christ rose from the dead. 1 Cor. 15:50-58
Since our Lord said...
"As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Lord." Matthew 24:37
We are fast approaching the day of the Lord.
It is also to be noted that He said deception would be the fundamental tool of Satan just prior to and during the day of the Lord.
Only a totally righteous man, in the eyes of God, and that man’s family remained.
But was that judgment going to be the answer to evil and its by-product suffering?
Obviously not!
Being that God is omniscient, He has ability to see into the future.
The history of man on earth would need a revision perhaps every 1600 years. Either that or force man to be as His host of heaven, which sings His praise continually.
But again Satan would have mocked that and demanded his rightful position as he saw it.
Besides, a love that is not voluntary and not free is not love at all.
Perfect love encompasses a giving, unselfish relationship between two entities.
God wanted man to freely choose Him.
What this disclaimer did not declare was that God would abandon man in any way, shape or form. Biblical history is more than explicit about that.
In fact Biblical history proves just the opposite, that God incrementally and continually has incorporated Himself in the affairs of man.
Only He would do so through the line of Seth, and subsequently the nation Israel.
Once Israel rejected its Messiah, God would once again open Himself to the entire race.
But only in spirit by way of acceptance of the cross.
The Answer To Evil & Suffering Was Given Early
Prior To The Repopulation Of Planet Earth
The disclaimer also showed that God would rescind the order of cursing the ground, but only for man’s sake.
History would now endure for thousands of years and man would need the yield of the ground by which to survive.
Thus the crop cycle would continue unending with the rain, the dew and the seasons, only it would be up to man to maintain it through toil and labor.
The seasons would also continue uninterrupted, as would the earth’s rotation, assuring man the opportunity set his schedule accordingly.
And there would be a night then the lesser lights would rule, meaning the stars, planets and space objects would remain.
While day meant the greater light would rule, denoting the sun will continue to rise in the east and set in the west.
From that day forward, God would tolerate evil and good to live simultaneously until the return of Messiah, the One who died and was raised to rule with a rod of iron from the New Jerusalem.
To Legitimately Question The Purpose Of Evil…
Complete Perfection Must Be Attained
It is important to note here that God reserves all rights and holds the patent for good, not man.Luke 18:19
Man often looks about his surroundings and asks; why does God allow famine, pestilence, ruthless dictators, droughts, child molestation, sickness, diseases, old age, loneliness, and so on, ad nauseam? It is included in the disclaimer.
But then the question arises; why do bad things happen to good people? Or more specifically we question why, if we consider ourselves followers of Messiah and are well acquainted with His Word, are we sometimes suffering at the hands of evil?
Those are good questions that can be looked upon this way...
An Innocent Child May Question Evil…
Yet Most Choose To Trust Unconditionally
God continues to be Sovereign and good is His pure essence. Our own view of what is good (no matter how Biblically astute we think we are) is at best faulty.
In the case of the innocents, such as children, that is a much tougher assignment to answer. But we can rest assured that God is not overlooking that.
No less than Yeshuah, the Son of man Himself, said...
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6
We are not required to take up every humanitarian cause available. Whether it is in the churches, the groups, the organizations or even as individuals, we foolishly feel we ought to champion every cause.
What we are called to do is to take up our own cross, that which the Lord lays upon us, and follow Him. We are allowed to hand it back to Him for a spell when that cross gets a bit too weighty.
As we go through life with that cross we will see all kinds of evil and its by-product suffering surrounding us, yet the Lord will tell us just keep your eyes on Him.
The particular suffering we may be enduring is not necessarily of Satan’s doing, but can be the chastening of our Lord to make us better and ever better servants of His; and can prepare us to garner rewards in Heaven of the kind that do not burn up, get stolen or rust out.
Once we begin to see the burdens in that Godly vision we will realize that His burden is easy and His yoke is light.
You say you don’t believe it? Then inquire of those who are not in Yeshuah (not saved) and yet exist in a cruel world of evil overcome with its by-product suffering.
Satan’s Affront To God Demanded A Veritable Response, Or God Could Have Lost Legal Control Of The Universe To Satan
It seems like a long way for God to go just to make His point about Satan’s culpability in promoting the morals and attitudes which lead to evil and suffering.
God could have just eliminated His challenging cherub, Lucifer, and be done with it forever.
But redeemed man has not even begun to scratch the surface of just what are the deeper mysteries the Bible contains. 1 Cor. 2:9 1 Cor 15:40
God has a plan for redeemed man that is far greater in scope than what man is experiencing in his natural day-to-day existence. 1 Cor. 15:20-49
But the Living Word was with God from eternity, and what Satan intends for evil God uses for good.
The Astounding Work Of Christ Jesus Was That Which Ultimately Saved The Universe
We cannot overlook another entity that needed to understand the master plan of God; and that is His Heavenly host, the spirit-beings who resisted the temptation to ally themselves with Lucifer.
The angelic beings not only are helping God in the administration of the universe within the spiritual realm, but they have become spectators in the drama of man on earth and the fight of good versus evil. Dan. 4:17 1 Pet. 1:12
Ultimately God has redeemed man for the express purpose of showing that God is not only righteous but that He is Sovereignly righteous.
Man was not redeemed by anything earthy or perishable but by Heavenly blood that is incorruptible. 1 Cor. 15:21-22 Heb. 9:14.
Thus redemption intended for man was never intended for Satan, even though Adam handed him the title deed to the earth and of men’s souls.
Would Satan accept the blood of Christ Jesus as payment in full for man’s redemption? No! Only the Father does.
Which is why the New Covenant is between the Father and the Son while the Holy Spirit brings man into this union.
And that is why man can do nothing but receive this redemption by faith, believing in the atonement of Christ Jesus.
Since Calvary, the Son of Man has been given dominion over the entire universe. Eph. 1:20-23
The very one who became a Levitical sacrifice for man is now King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
It Is Not Christ Jesus’ Divinity Which Saved The Universe, It Was His Humanity
Satisfaction of atonement or payment in full by the Son of man to the Father consisted of recovery of the title deed to the earth.
Christ Jesus proved a Man could live a totally righteous life failing in not one point. Luke 4:8 Heb. 4:14-15
The redemption of man by the nailing of sins to the cross of Christ. Col. 2:14 Gal. 4:4-6
And the restoration of what Adam gave away in the garden, man's eternal life, the new Tree of life as Christ rose from the dead. 1 Cor. 15:50-58
Since our Lord said...
"As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Lord." Matthew 24:37
We are fast approaching the day of the Lord.
It is also to be noted that He said deception would be the fundamental tool of Satan just prior to and during the day of the Lord.
Here are some key warning signs:
✔ Beware of a rising tide of Luciferian (or Satanic) activity and worship as Lucifer’s attempt to be as the Most High is given one last try.
✔ Beware of the same lie of that in the garden; that man can be as God, mostly found in the New Age movement.
✔ Beware of false christs who will claim to be the embodiment of the returning Messiah.
✔ Beware of anti-Semitism, as Satan’s last-ditch effort to thwart Messiah’s victorious return will be to try to destroy the nation Israel, the nation of many promises.
✔ Beware of cults who try to appropriate Israel’s blessings for themselves.
✔ Beware of rampant idolatry as man worships creatures and the creation rather than the Creator.
✔ Beware of amalgamation or unification of "Religions" and denominations, known as ecumenism.
✔ Beware of an identifying with material blessing and health as evidence of God’s favor, as taught by the "Word-Of-Faith" movement.
✔ Beware of rampant sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual.
✔ Beware of men, lovers of themselves, and of an overabundance of bodily pleasure and creature comfort while neglecting their eternal souls.
✔ Beware of complacency as many question the veracity of the Lord’s return and ask, "Where is the sign of His coming?"
✔ Beware of rising spirituality and the accompanying immorality in connection with false spirituality.
✔ Beware of an expanding lukewarm attitude in the Christian church.
✔ Beware of teachings that exalt the Holy Spirit and overemphasize charismatic spiritual gifts, when in truth the Holy Spirit’s ministry points to the Son of Man. This is found in Full Gospel Pentecostal churches and in the "Word-Of-Faith" movement.
✔ Beware of signs and wonders, the emphasizing of visual miracles with the two-fold purpose of keeping seekers from Biblical instruction and of drawing attention to whomever is claiming to produce the miracles.
✔ Beware of any "Religion" that claims "NEW" revelations from God, or "Religions" that have added to the closed canon of Holy Scriptures since the days of the Apostles, ignoring...
Revelation, Chapter 22's warning!
✔ Beware of the same lie of that in the garden; that man can be as God, mostly found in the New Age movement.
✔ Beware of false christs who will claim to be the embodiment of the returning Messiah.
✔ Beware of anti-Semitism, as Satan’s last-ditch effort to thwart Messiah’s victorious return will be to try to destroy the nation Israel, the nation of many promises.
✔ Beware of cults who try to appropriate Israel’s blessings for themselves.
✔ Beware of rampant idolatry as man worships creatures and the creation rather than the Creator.
✔ Beware of amalgamation or unification of "Religions" and denominations, known as ecumenism.
✔ Beware of an identifying with material blessing and health as evidence of God’s favor, as taught by the "Word-Of-Faith" movement.
✔ Beware of rampant sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual.
✔ Beware of men, lovers of themselves, and of an overabundance of bodily pleasure and creature comfort while neglecting their eternal souls.
✔ Beware of complacency as many question the veracity of the Lord’s return and ask, "Where is the sign of His coming?"
✔ Beware of rising spirituality and the accompanying immorality in connection with false spirituality.
✔ Beware of an expanding lukewarm attitude in the Christian church.
✔ Beware of teachings that exalt the Holy Spirit and overemphasize charismatic spiritual gifts, when in truth the Holy Spirit’s ministry points to the Son of Man. This is found in Full Gospel Pentecostal churches and in the "Word-Of-Faith" movement.
✔ Beware of signs and wonders, the emphasizing of visual miracles with the two-fold purpose of keeping seekers from Biblical instruction and of drawing attention to whomever is claiming to produce the miracles.
✔ Beware of any "Religion" that claims "NEW" revelations from God, or "Religions" that have added to the closed canon of Holy Scriptures since the days of the Apostles, ignoring...
Revelation, Chapter 22's warning!
There is much MORE to know! There is so much MORE to this story!
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW
More?
ABOUT THE REASONS FOR
Evil & Suffering?
Read On...
ABOUT THE REASONS FOR
Evil & Suffering?
Read On...
Why Does God Permit...
....Evil & Suffering?
WHY? does God permit evil and suffering? is one of the toughest, most immutable questions to answer. But, face it:
....Evil & Suffering?
WHY? does God permit evil and suffering? is one of the toughest, most immutable questions to answer. But, face it:
EVIL EXISTS!,br>
And evil begets suffering!
Some would say: Evil exists, stubbornly, because of God's existence. Like, as if, God had something to do with the existence of evil; as if evil is God's fault. Others would say: Evil exists, stubbornly, in spite of God's power. Like, as if, God has no ultimate control over evil; as if God could not reign-in evil if He tried.
BLAME THE DEVIL FOR EVIL! Yeah, sure!
Blame Satan for everything bad that has ever happened!
WHY NOT? Your sinning is (was?) fun. Right? Scripture states: "Sin gives pleasure for a while (for a season)". But Lucifer; the Devil; Satan is just one perfectly created, anointed cherub with an evil plan. Satan is just one fallen spirit being on his own evil quest, driven by his own pride.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER IS...
....that evil is a matter of the heart, because...
....evil is always a matter of CHOICE.
Evil is a result of sin, which permeates the human race through Adam's bloodline. And evil always generates suffering. God did not mandate that there MUST be evil. And, evil is the exact opposite of the attributes of God in His Holiness. Evil has crept into and slithered out of the hearts of independent, willful, created beings who are free to select and choose their own path and direction. Today, evil...
....TRUE EARTHLY EVIL...
....is a collaborative effort among humans.
Which evil collaboration is made manifest by nations, tribes, clans, families, and is even manifested among individuals within associative non-related groups like militant "Religious" or terrorist organizations. This collaborative, human, earthly evil arose with the Antichrist spirit, mostly without direct Satanic influence, making the evils of extremist civilization far worse than the evils of barbarism or heathenism. God states: "The hearts of mankind are desperately wicked", then God rhetorically asks: "Who among mankind is spiritually enabled to fully comprehend this fact?".
The implied answer is: NO-ONE!
Christ Jesus asked rhetorically, if when He returned to Earth a second time, would He find "THE" (True Christian) Faith evident and in practice among mankind? The implied answer is: NO! For Christ Jesus futuristically warned of great apostasy worldwide, that by the time of His second coming the visible "so-called" Christian church would be apostate. The Apostle Paul admonished the brand new, Born-Again, "baby", Christian believers in Corinth, to examine themselves in the mirror of the Word of God to see whether they actually were of...
...."THE" Faith? (2 Cor. 13:5)
The new Corinthian believers, who had not yet been fully and completely weaned from their former pagan "Religious" and spiritual practices and beliefs, were to examine if they actually adhered to the body of doctrine handed down by Christ Jesus through the Apostles.
Which doctrine is, today, found in the Christian Holy Scripture.
"THAT" body of doctrine is
THE FAIHT!
And, even today, no matter one's former pagan "Religious" beliefs, and no matter one's former heathen spiritual practices, without the God-given, Christian, Holy Scriptures ("THE" Faith !) as the basis informing one's "Religious" and spiritual underpinnings, any group or person will commit evil acts in the name of God based upon their own self-informed perceptions of morality and based upon their own non-Biblical world view. And they will delusionally fantasize their evil acts as having done God a favor, fully deluded into imagining that God wholeheartedly endorses and approves of their evil actions.
A FINAL CONSIDERATION Genuinely authentic Christianity is NOT a pluralistic view of the world, and "True" Christianity is NOT a nuanced or more supple view of the world. The Christianity advocated and taught by the Holy Scriptures, "THE" Faith, is very narrow and extremely well focused in order to fully satisfy God's requirements and commandments. Today's Christian must tenderly and sensitively approach all persons whom do NOT accept Christ Jesus as GOD (Lord, Saviour and High Priest) as modern pagan, heathen, infidels - as barbarians capable of...
Some would say: Evil exists, stubbornly, because of God's existence. Like, as if, God had something to do with the existence of evil; as if evil is God's fault. Others would say: Evil exists, stubbornly, in spite of God's power. Like, as if, God has no ultimate control over evil; as if God could not reign-in evil if He tried.
BLAME THE DEVIL FOR EVIL! Yeah, sure!
Blame Satan for everything bad that has ever happened!
WHY NOT? Your sinning is (was?) fun. Right? Scripture states: "Sin gives pleasure for a while (for a season)". But Lucifer; the Devil; Satan is just one perfectly created, anointed cherub with an evil plan. Satan is just one fallen spirit being on his own evil quest, driven by his own pride.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER IS...
....that evil is a matter of the heart, because...
....evil is always a matter of CHOICE.
Evil is a result of sin, which permeates the human race through Adam's bloodline. And evil always generates suffering. God did not mandate that there MUST be evil. And, evil is the exact opposite of the attributes of God in His Holiness. Evil has crept into and slithered out of the hearts of independent, willful, created beings who are free to select and choose their own path and direction. Today, evil...
....TRUE EARTHLY EVIL...
....is a collaborative effort among humans.
Which evil collaboration is made manifest by nations, tribes, clans, families, and is even manifested among individuals within associative non-related groups like militant "Religious" or terrorist organizations. This collaborative, human, earthly evil arose with the Antichrist spirit, mostly without direct Satanic influence, making the evils of extremist civilization far worse than the evils of barbarism or heathenism. God states: "The hearts of mankind are desperately wicked", then God rhetorically asks: "Who among mankind is spiritually enabled to fully comprehend this fact?".
The implied answer is: NO-ONE!
Christ Jesus asked rhetorically, if when He returned to Earth a second time, would He find "THE" (True Christian) Faith evident and in practice among mankind? The implied answer is: NO! For Christ Jesus futuristically warned of great apostasy worldwide, that by the time of His second coming the visible "so-called" Christian church would be apostate. The Apostle Paul admonished the brand new, Born-Again, "baby", Christian believers in Corinth, to examine themselves in the mirror of the Word of God to see whether they actually were of...
...."THE" Faith? (2 Cor. 13:5)
The new Corinthian believers, who had not yet been fully and completely weaned from their former pagan "Religious" and spiritual practices and beliefs, were to examine if they actually adhered to the body of doctrine handed down by Christ Jesus through the Apostles.
Which doctrine is, today, found in the Christian Holy Scripture.
"THAT" body of doctrine is
THE FAIHT!
And, even today, no matter one's former pagan "Religious" beliefs, and no matter one's former heathen spiritual practices, without the God-given, Christian, Holy Scriptures ("THE" Faith !) as the basis informing one's "Religious" and spiritual underpinnings, any group or person will commit evil acts in the name of God based upon their own self-informed perceptions of morality and based upon their own non-Biblical world view. And they will delusionally fantasize their evil acts as having done God a favor, fully deluded into imagining that God wholeheartedly endorses and approves of their evil actions.
A FINAL CONSIDERATION Genuinely authentic Christianity is NOT a pluralistic view of the world, and "True" Christianity is NOT a nuanced or more supple view of the world. The Christianity advocated and taught by the Holy Scriptures, "THE" Faith, is very narrow and extremely well focused in order to fully satisfy God's requirements and commandments. Today's Christian must tenderly and sensitively approach all persons whom do NOT accept Christ Jesus as GOD (Lord, Saviour and High Priest) as modern pagan, heathen, infidels - as barbarians capable of...
TEMENDOUS DEVIL
