Evil is all around us today and many of us have become so accustomed to it that we believe that it is a normal part of our nature. But, what if it wasn't always so? Read on to find out!
As we begin, I invite you all to open your minds to the possibility that perhaps what you've always known isn't completely it. When we come before the Bible to study it, we need to have an open mind to receive it's concepts that we can make a wise decision. If we are filled with biases, we will definitely have already made our decision. Certain things might seem out of the ordinary but so did the earth being round seem so strange to many at one point. The greatest discoveries turned out to be by men who weren't afraid of going against the popular beliefs of the masses. Like our fathers of inventions and sciences, let's not be afraid to find something new, something better and something true.
With that being said, let's begin!
What is Evil?
First, let's take a look at the definition of evil:
Evil: Having bad qualities of a natural or moral kind. Evil is natural or moral. Natural evil is any thing which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.
Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude. Source In the Bible, evil is described as being sin or iniquity.
Have you ever wondered why humanity tends to be so evil at times? Hatred, vengeance, murder, lying, cheating, stealing and so many other characteristics flood our being. Looking to ourselves we see some good things but we also can acknowledge our natural inclination to wrong doing. One example of this is seen in children. If you have children or have ever looked at children, from what age do you start seeing them trying to manipulate you? Many as young as 1! Children or babies in this case, although seemingly innocent and having not experienced anything in life, have an inclination towards bad conduct. Manipulation, small lies, hitting among other things are seen in children from an early age. So the question becomes, what has made our nature so inclined to evil? Was it always this way, as certain popular teachings teach us? Or, were we once different? Was our nature ever good and something happening? Let's look at the Christian teaching for the origins of evil.
Did Evil Always Exist?
In fact, the Bible teaches us that evil did not always exist. There was once a time, before humanity even existed, when the whole universe lived in perfect peace and harmony. God, having always existed, was perfect and everything He created was also perfect. Heaven was like a country and the angels among others were its citizens. They excelled in strength (Psalm 103:20) and followed their loving leader, God. One of these angels excelled all others in wisdom and beauty. Under the symbolic name of “King of Tyre,” Ezekiel wrote of him:
"Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you." Ezekiel 28:12-15
(To understand more about why the "King of Tyre" is considered to be a a symbolic name in this passage, please go to my other blog post on this.)
Where Did Evil Originate?
Continuing on, we learn that this angel's heart was lifted up (pride) because of his beauty and corrupted his wisdom because of his brightness (Ezekiel 28:17). In other words, the Bible teaches us that this angel sinned (committed a moral evil) by his pride. He was so bright, one of the brightest angels and most beautiful, and his pride caused his downfall. So who was this angel that sinned first? The Bible teaches us that this refers to who we know today as the devil (1 Timothy 3:6).
In another passage we also learn about the devil before he sinned. In Isaiah 14, this angel (the devil) is referred to as "Lucifer"which means "light-bearer" in Hebrew or "shining one". This is because once again, he was the brightest angel in heaven. We learned in Ezekiel that he was the anointed cherub who covers the throne of God. He reflected God's bright glory.
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Isaiah 14:12-14
Once again, we learn that the devil's pride is what caused him to fall from heaven, as we'll see in a bit. He wanted to be higher than God and have angels submit to him. Stars in the Bible represent angels so when he says he will exalt his throne above the stars of God this implies his desire for rulership. The devil then became God's adversary so to speak. He was against God and this is how his name "Satan", which means adversary, came to be.
For the longest time, it was difficult for me to understand how the passage in Isaiah 14 related to the devil but I fell upon an article recently that really explained this well. I was praising God because in the Christian journey there are many things we won't understand right away. But if we, by faith, ask God to show us, He is faithful to teach us. So after waiting, praying and searching I found an answer. So if you're interested in knowing more, go here: Bible symbolism of Isaiah.
So, Can Sin Exist in Heaven?
Just as we have a government here on earth to make sure things remain under control, so did heaven have a government. God, being the Creator of all things, was the ruler. When sin or evil entered heaven, there was a problem. Two opposing principles: good and evil couldn't exist together. This created conflict in heaven. Just as we would expect evil acts on earth such as murder and stealing to be punished, so did the evil of pride have to be punished.
In reference to Satan, we're told that he "drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth" (Revelation 12:4). In Bible symbolism, we learn that 'stars' represent angels or messengers. In this case, it would apply to angels since the context is found in heaven. We can see this comparison in Revelation 1:20, Revelation 12:7-9, Job 38:7. Then the Bible tells us there was war (also translated conflict) in heaven and "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9).
What does this mean? The consequence was that Satan and 1/3 of the angels (those who followed Satan in his rebellion) were cast out into the earth. Jesus confirmed this when speaking of Satan's fall: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18). This is one of the reason why we call Satan and the angels that followed him, "fallen angels".
Why Was Sin Permitted?
Many ask the question, if Satan was in the wrong, why wasn't he just destroyed by God to avoid bringing evil on earth? The simple answer to this is: free will. God created His beings with free will because He loves us. Free will does not guarantee that the created will always choose right. This is exactly what happened with Satan and his angels. Satan, by defying God's government, was trying to promote his own. Being fair, God allowed him to demonstrate the nature of his claims, to show the consequences of his proposed changes in divine law. Time had to prove for itself the true consequences of sin. God's justice could not have been seen if he destroyed Satan right away. Since sin was a new thing in heaven, nobody truly understood the consequences of it and what it lead to. Just like many of us don't really see how pride is such a big deal, the angels couldn't see it either until the consequences bore fruit. Destroying Satan and his angels would have lead the angels in heaven to follow God out of fear rather than love. And this is not the kind of relationship God would have with us. So God is allowing sin to be unfolded and seen as what it truly is: evil, until the day everyone could see who was truly right in this great conflict.
Will Sin last Forever?
Nonetheless, God is perfectly balanced between mercy and justice. This means that although He is allowing Satan to perform his works up to a certain extent, he will not allow this to continue on forever. Like in a court room, Satan is pleading for his case and God is giving him time to show others whether or not he is right.
"What do ye imagine against theLord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time." Nahum 1:9
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Revelation 21:4-5
So although many of us have been told that it is natural for us to have some good and some evil, the truth is that this was not always our nature. Evil is what brings anger, resentment, pain and sadness to our hearts. This is not the way God intends it to be. His desire is for us to choose the right way and forsake Satan's way. I think that time and our history is able to show very clearly the consequences of Satan's work here on earth. His work is to destroy and lead people into error so that they don't choose to follow God and die in their sins. But God has another plan for us, He wants to restore us again to His image and we'll see this more in details in the following blog posts. For now, know that God loves you and has a plan to make things perfectly good again. We're told by Scripture that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). So what path will you choose to follow?
Now that you know the truth, I encourage you to keep studying the Word of God with faith and I promise it will change your life.
And don't forget, Jesus loves you!
Much love and smiles,
Nahisha
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