It is popular belief that Lucifer, a mighty archangel, rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. Therefore, starting the process of evil and ruining God’s perfect creation and ever since, wreaking havoc on humanity. I am not going to dissect the lack of support for this theory in scripture. There are a few verses that are taken out of context from which this belief has grown. However, I am going to focus on the words of God when it comes to evil.
God said, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7). It is from the mouth of the Most High that both evil and good things come (Lamentations 3:38). One more in Amos 3:6: Would there come to be evil in a city and Yahweh not have done it? Here we have God speaking in the first person and another blatant statement in scripture that God is the author of evil. The word used in these scriptures is the Hebrew word “Ra” and it means evil. It is the same word used to describe the people of Noah’s day that were wiped off the face of the earth. There can be no doubt that God created this evil if you read these scriptures. Okay then, why would an almighty, sovereign, loving God create evil?
Let’s go back to the garden for a moment. God planted a tree in the middle of the garden of which Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat. This tree was the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” This tree was part of God’s creation that He deemed, very good! How can a tree that has evil be deemed, very good? Not only that, but this tree was put in the middle of the garden and was pleasing to the eye. Why didn’t God make an evil tree and a good tree and then instruct Adam and Eve to eat from the good tree and not the evil tree? The answer is because evil and good are so related to one another that they had to share the same tree. In essence, you cannot fully know good if you do not have an experience of evil. Evil is used to create us into the glorious beings we will one day be.
Mark 7:21 and Matthew 15:19 say that it is out of the heart that evil thoughts come. Now, here is the bible’s account of Eve: When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 3:6). Adam and Eve desired this fruit before they ate it, remember, it is out of the heart that evil thoughts come. I believe that Adam’s heart and Eve’s heart contained the evil thoughts of disobeying God and eating the fruit. Yes, the serpent encouraged this and may have even planted the seed, but it was still the hearts’ of Adam and Eve that desired the fruit and its benefits. This was evil. So, what is my point?
My point is, and this destroys most of Christian Doctrine, that Adam and Eve were not created perfect and God intended them to eat of the forbidden tree. Yes, God instructed them not to eat of this tree, but God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all (Romans 11:32). I believe that mankind was created to disobey God and sin.
Why would something this horrific be a part of God’s plan? Well, God is creating us to become like His son, Jesus Christ, having all of his attributes. However, in order to fully understand the goodness of God, we need to go through an experience of evil. It is the contrast principle. We need to know evil in order to fully understand what good is and just how good God is. Adam and Eve did not know evil so they didn’t have much of a clue what good was or how good they had it. God’s creation is perfect, and evil is a part of creating us, perfect.
I do not understand how God “Created us in His image” and then we did something that He would never do…we sinned! Being created in the image of someone else means that you are almost identical. Think of it, when someone says, “You have the image of your father.” But, we as humans are the complete opposite of what God is. Adam and Eve sinned which means they are nowhere and were never anywhere in the ballpark of being in God’s image. This only makes sense once we understand that God’s plan is not done. He is not finished creating us. Evil, sin and death will be passed through for each human before they are perfected. Then, once we are truly sons of God and evil and death have served their purpose, they will be done away with and destroyed forever. Then, we will be perfected sons and daughters that have the image of our Father.
As we will see soon, Jesus took our sin and experienced evil and death. He didn’t just die for us; He showed us the way to become like Him. Jesus showed us that we must go through evil and death, just like He did in order to get to our resurrected, perfected state. We still experience evil and death despite believing in Jesus Christ, so He did not save us from these things. Instead, He saved us through these things. They are part of the process. Then, when we become like Jesus; sin, evil and death are no more.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). Our battle of sin and death are against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. I have underlined certain words because they are the same words used in the next set of scripture that prove that God created these powers and forces.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1: 15-20).
All things, including evil entities were created by God and for God, and He will reconcile all these things to Himself by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. Evil, all people, all creation, all things will be reconciled to God.
Satan and Fire
Let’s take a brief look at part of the purpose of fire (flames) and Satan as presented in scripture. In 1 Corinthians 3:15, Paul is talking about a person’s life work. He writes, if it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. The flames act as a purification tool to destroy everything that is bad so that a person will be saved. Can it be that all mention of flames in the bible has a purifying effect on a person rather than just being used for torturing people in hell? The bible says that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. That fire is a divine fire that produces good. Perhaps the lake of fire mentioned in Revelations has an extreme purifying effect on all who enter. Therefore, this fire may be purging away everything that kept people from believing in Christ until they finally escape through the flames with the truth.
How about the role of Satan? When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5: 4-5). In this verse, Paul was talking about a man who had committed horrible sins in the church, such as, having sex with his father’s wife. Think about that. Surely this man would be cast into hell to burn for all eternity. Hand him over to Satan to be tortured! Wait. This man was handed over to Satan, but, not to be tortured in hell. This horribly sinful man was handed over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed so that his spirit can be saved. What? Are you saying that Satan plays a role in salvation? No, I am not, scripture is. Satan wreaks havoc and evil on all of creation, but is ultimately under the control of God.
All is from God, all has its existence through God, and all will come back to God in its own time. Evil and Satan are a part of what God uses to bring about salvation and the greatest possible everlasting good for each and every human being. Christians say that unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire, which the bible says is the second death. They say that unbelievers will stay in this state forever. However, the bible says that all death will be destroyed. What happens to the unbelievers in the lake of fire when death is completely destroyed or rendered inoperative? The answer is that they will be purified and come to accept Christ. Therefore, at a later time, these unbelievers will become believers and will be redeemed.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
I heard a song on the radio a few days ago in which the singer was bashing his ex-girlfriend or something like that. It said that she raised him up only to bring him down. It was a horrible song, but I thought that this is God, if you turn the words completely around.
God brings us down to raise us up. God brings us down through sin, evil and death so that Jesus can raise us up. We will be stronger and reach our full, unimaginable Joy, peace, love and happiness because we went through this process. Our hearts will one day be throbbing with joy, but first, Just like Jesus on the cross, we need to feel forsaken by God. In the end, feeling alienated from God for a period of time will bring us closer to Him. Though we are never outside His will, it certainly feels as though we are. However, God is working through this to create us into His own son and daughter to enjoy everlasting life with Him.
Saved ignoble 
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