1 00:00:00,780 --> 00:00:04,980 Hi, I am Kerry Duke, host of My God and My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee 2 00:00:04,980 --> 00:00:09,420 Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. 3 00:00:09,820 --> 00:00:13,670 Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to 4 00:00:13,670 --> 00:00:15,279 share what you've learned with others. 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,100 The problem of evil is a difficult challenge to Christian faith. 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:25,000 It can be a heavy burden for Christians to bear, and it can also be an obstacle 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,380 to people who are thinking about becoming Christians, but they have 8 00:00:28,389 --> 00:00:32,579 trouble reconciling all the sin and suffering in the world with the concept 9 00:00:32,580 --> 00:00:34,839 of an all-powerful, all-loving God. 10 00:00:35,109 --> 00:00:37,350 That's why it's called the problem of evil. 11 00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:42,550 It's a logical problem because we try to harmonize the fact of evil in the world 12 00:00:42,850 --> 00:00:44,899 with the existence of a perfect God. 13 00:00:45,269 --> 00:00:49,619 It's a practical problem because we have to endure great pain and heartache in 14 00:00:49,620 --> 00:00:52,159 this life without understanding why. 15 00:00:52,730 --> 00:00:56,900 Men have struggled with this issue for thousands of years, and there 16 00:00:56,900 --> 00:01:00,180 are different approaches men have to tried to explain this problem. 17 00:01:00,519 --> 00:01:02,670 Some choose the path of atheism. 18 00:01:03,210 --> 00:01:05,359 They say that there's no solution to the problem. 19 00:01:05,860 --> 00:01:10,869 They claim that there is no way to logically reconcile the existence of God 20 00:01:11,100 --> 00:01:13,410 with the presence of evil in the world. 21 00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:17,830 Their conclusion is that God does not exist and cannot 22 00:01:17,830 --> 00:01:20,140 exist for this very reason. 23 00:01:20,599 --> 00:01:26,150 But we've already seen that atheism is a very simplistic approach to the problem. 24 00:01:26,410 --> 00:01:28,480 C.S. Lewis is a good example. 25 00:01:28,770 --> 00:01:34,880 He was a famous religious writer who lived in England and died in 1963, but many 26 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,240 of his books are still quite popular. 27 00:01:37,670 --> 00:01:39,809 But he wasn't always religious. 28 00:01:40,130 --> 00:01:42,630 He was an atheist for years. 29 00:01:43,110 --> 00:01:45,159 And what led him to change his mind? 30 00:01:45,469 --> 00:01:50,350 Well, he tells us in his book, “Mere Christianity.” He admitted that the 31 00:01:50,350 --> 00:01:55,490 reason that he did not believe in God for all those years was because of evil 32 00:01:55,530 --> 00:02:00,210 in the world. He said he just could not accept belief in the all-powerful 33 00:02:00,219 --> 00:02:04,730 God in the face of all the evil and suffering in the world. But the more 34 00:02:04,730 --> 00:02:08,630 he thought about his reasoning, the more he realized it wouldn’t work. 35 00:02:09,169 --> 00:02:14,630 He came face to face with the question that every atheist needs to ask himself. 36 00:02:15,250 --> 00:02:21,479 C.S. Lewis said to himself: But where did I get this idea of “good and evil”? 37 00:02:21,910 --> 00:02:25,309 He said,you don't think of a line being crooked unless you have 38 00:02:25,310 --> 00:02:27,120 the concept of a straight line. 39 00:02:27,590 --> 00:02:31,950 In other words, if there's no God, then there is no real evil and thus 40 00:02:31,970 --> 00:02:33,739 there is no problem to begin with. 41 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,489 And in the end he said that atheism turned out to be in his own words, 42 00:02:38,540 --> 00:02:40,199 “too simple,” and he was right. 43 00:02:40,629 --> 00:02:42,639 Atheism is simplistic. 44 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,700 As a matter of fact, it is illogical because it contradicts 45 00:02:46,700 --> 00:02:48,370 itself on this very point. 46 00:02:48,860 --> 00:02:53,230 On the opposite end of the spectrum, some say the answer to the problem of 47 00:02:53,230 --> 00:02:56,809 evil is that evil doesn't really exist. 48 00:02:57,380 --> 00:03:01,440 Atheism says there is no answer to the problem because God doesn't 49 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,360 exist, but others say the answer to the problem is that there is no evil. 50 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,899 I'm talking especially about a religion, if you can call it 51 00:03:10,910 --> 00:03:13,720 that, known as Christian science. 52 00:03:14,090 --> 00:03:18,590 The name itself is misleading because it is neither Christian nor science. 53 00:03:19,150 --> 00:03:23,630 This teaching claims that the physical world is just an illusion. 54 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:25,050 It doesn't exist. 55 00:03:25,570 --> 00:03:30,470 That means that your body that experiences all that pain doesn't really exist. 56 00:03:30,809 --> 00:03:35,209 Sometimes we jokingly say that pain is just in your head. 57 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,620 People in the Christian Science movement really mean that. 58 00:03:38,940 --> 00:03:41,320 So to them, there is no sickness. 59 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:42,460 There is no sin. 60 00:03:42,810 --> 00:03:46,679 The only sin is the wrong kind of thinking, and the wrong kind 61 00:03:46,679 --> 00:03:50,630 of thinking is believing that the physical world does exist. 62 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,959 If you're laughing out loud or if you're saying that's ridiculous, I understand. 63 00:03:56,470 --> 00:04:00,900 And if you ask how people could get started down the road of believing 64 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:04,540 something like this, it might help to understand a little bit about 65 00:04:04,550 --> 00:04:05,700 the history of this movement. 66 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,369 It began in the 1800s in America when people were looking for help to 67 00:04:10,369 --> 00:04:12,220 relieve the suffering in their life. 68 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,760 This was the time of traveling medical wagons and shows. 69 00:04:17,260 --> 00:04:21,740 Crowds would gather together to hear salesmen talk about potions and elixirs 70 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:24,569 that would supposedly cure their ills. 71 00:04:24,870 --> 00:04:28,079 Some people were desperate to find an escape from the 72 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:29,919 sorrows and the pain of life. 73 00:04:30,039 --> 00:04:33,800 Now, during this era, a woman named Mary Baker Eddy thought 74 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:34,870 of a different approach. 75 00:04:35,260 --> 00:04:37,670 She was the founder of the Christian Science Movement. 76 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,989 The irony is that Mary Baker Eddy had a lot of problems herself as 77 00:04:42,990 --> 00:04:46,789 far as her health was concerned and was known to use morphine. 78 00:04:47,150 --> 00:04:51,130 It's amazing that people come up with all kinds of ideas to relieve their 79 00:04:51,130 --> 00:04:55,920 pain, even if that means denying reality and living in a dream world. 80 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:58,110 But pain is no illusion. 81 00:04:58,429 --> 00:05:02,620 Suffering is real, and when people complain about God allowing them 82 00:05:02,620 --> 00:05:05,300 to suffer, they need to think about Jesus, the Son of God. 83 00:05:05,549 --> 00:05:10,190 His suffering was real and he chose to suffer voluntarily so that we 84 00:05:10,190 --> 00:05:11,890 could go to a place without suffering. 85 00:05:12,330 --> 00:05:14,789 So atheism says there's no God. 86 00:05:15,170 --> 00:05:17,440 Christian Science says there's no evil. 87 00:05:17,860 --> 00:05:23,500 Then along came John Calvin in the 1500s who said there is a God, there is 88 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:29,160 evil, but there is no problem because God ordains evil as well as good. 89 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:33,489 Calvinism is a horrible doctrine because it says that God is 90 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,400 the author of good and evil. 91 00:05:35,790 --> 00:05:39,210 That means that moral evil and natural evil, which is physical 92 00:05:39,389 --> 00:05:41,140 and emotional pain, are from God. 93 00:05:41,570 --> 00:05:45,180 Calvinism says don't worry about the problem of evil. 94 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,480 Don't question why things happen or why God allows them. 95 00:05:48,690 --> 00:05:50,690 They happen because it is God's will. 96 00:05:50,690 --> 00:05:54,590 Now again, I'm emphasizing that this means that it is the will of God 97 00:05:54,590 --> 00:05:56,899 according to Calvinism that sin happens. 98 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,180 God's bringing suffering upon mankind is a different matter that we're going to talk 99 00:06:01,190 --> 00:06:06,760 about more later, but Calvinism argues that God decreed that sin should occur 100 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,539 and there's nothing that can change that. 101 00:06:08,540 --> 00:06:10,070 So don't question God. 102 00:06:10,550 --> 00:06:13,789 Just accept that everything good or bad is under his control. 103 00:06:14,030 --> 00:06:18,379 Now, that's how Calvinists define the sovereignty of God, and this 104 00:06:18,380 --> 00:06:20,550 belief even uses the Bible as proof. 105 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:27,010 For instance, Calvinists point to verses like Isaiah chapter 45 verse seven, where 106 00:06:27,010 --> 00:06:29,980 God said, “I make peace and create evil.” 107 00:06:30,370 --> 00:06:31,739 That's the King James Version. 108 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:36,349 The New King James version renders Isaiah chapter 45, verse seven, “I make 109 00:06:36,370 --> 00:06:40,880 peace and create calamity.” Now, we've already seen that the word “evil” in the 110 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,180 King James Version is used in two ways. 111 00:06:43,580 --> 00:06:47,329 It can mean evil in the sense of moral evil, which is sin. 112 00:06:47,679 --> 00:06:51,309 That's usually the way it's used in the Bible, and that's the way 113 00:06:51,309 --> 00:06:52,690 that we usually understand it. 114 00:06:53,059 --> 00:06:57,800 But the word evil also can refer to calamities of life. 115 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,440 That's how the word evil in the King James Version is used. 116 00:07:01,610 --> 00:07:06,150 For instance, in Job chapter two, verse 10, where Job said, “Shall 117 00:07:06,150 --> 00:07:10,209 we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?” 118 00:07:10,639 --> 00:07:15,020 That's the meaning in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16. 119 00:07:15,620 --> 00:07:20,130 In Luke 16:25, Abraham told the rich man, “You need to remember that in your 120 00:07:20,130 --> 00:07:25,029 lifetime you received good things. And likewise, Lazarus evil things”—that 121 00:07:25,030 --> 00:07:26,740 is, his calamities and afflictions. 122 00:07:27,259 --> 00:07:31,860 In Isaiah chapter 45, God is assuring the Jews in Babylonian 123 00:07:31,860 --> 00:07:35,970 captivity that he will bring them back to their homeland in Jerusalem. 124 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:40,140 Throughout this section in Isaiah, God repeatedly reminds 125 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:41,810 them that he is the Creator. 126 00:07:42,150 --> 00:07:46,659 He created the earth and the heavens, and if He made and sustains this 127 00:07:46,690 --> 00:07:51,490 vast universe, then it's nothing for Him to intervene in human affairs 128 00:07:51,690 --> 00:07:53,710 and see that His people return home. 129 00:07:54,130 --> 00:07:59,960 God says many times in Isaiah there is no God equal to Him: “I am the Lord 130 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:04,530 and there is none else” [Isaiah 45, verse five and six]. Then in Isaiah 131 00:08:04,530 --> 00:08:10,020 45, verse seven, the Lord said, “I form the light and create darkness.” 132 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,710 Now what is the opposite of light? 133 00:08:13,110 --> 00:08:13,780 Darkness. 134 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,969 Well then He says, I” make peace and create evil.” What 135 00:08:17,969 --> 00:08:19,440 is the opposite of peace? 136 00:08:19,719 --> 00:08:22,600 War, which is calamity and suffering. 137 00:08:22,990 --> 00:08:27,290 God brought war upon different nations, including the Israelites, but the 138 00:08:27,290 --> 00:08:31,700 nations that went to war—and this is the key—fought of their own choice. 139 00:08:32,139 --> 00:08:33,929 They made the decision to fight. 140 00:08:34,270 --> 00:08:38,140 Now, God created the opportunities or opened the doors knowing that the 141 00:08:38,150 --> 00:08:42,379 governments of these countries would react in a certain way, and in that 142 00:08:42,380 --> 00:08:44,380 way, He made the calamity happen. 143 00:08:44,380 --> 00:08:46,280 But they still made the choice. 144 00:08:46,770 --> 00:08:50,899 Now, God does not desire or decree that man should sin. 145 00:08:51,349 --> 00:08:54,930 God cannot be tempted to do evil, and he certainly does not tempt 146 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,590 man to sin [James one, verse 13]. 147 00:08:58,020 --> 00:09:02,210 God wants all men to be saved [First Timothy two, verse four]. 148 00:09:02,670 --> 00:09:06,589 Calvinism is an extreme doctrine to say the least. 149 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,510 Now there's much more to be said about this, and we do have recordings 150 00:09:10,540 --> 00:09:15,860 and resources on this topic, but in this lesson, I'm simply showing the 151 00:09:15,860 --> 00:09:19,830 different ways that men approach or try to resolve the problem of evil. 152 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:25,000 And Calvinism is one of those approaches that is not consistent with the Bible. 153 00:09:25,570 --> 00:09:29,170 A much older approach to the problem of evil, which is still present 154 00:09:29,410 --> 00:09:34,640 in some religions today, is that good and evil are both eternal. 155 00:09:35,129 --> 00:09:39,939 In other words, while atheism says the answer to the problem is that there's 156 00:09:39,940 --> 00:09:45,300 no God and Christian Science says the solution is that there's no evil, and 157 00:09:45,300 --> 00:09:50,040 then Calvinism says the answer is that there is no problem to begin with, this 158 00:09:50,070 --> 00:09:55,510 ancient view that we're going to look at now says that there is no alternative. 159 00:09:56,140 --> 00:09:58,189 It says that evil never had a beginning. 160 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,400 It has always been and always will be. 161 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:05,629 Good and evil have always coexisted according to this belief. 162 00:10:06,009 --> 00:10:11,289 I say that this is an ancient belief because a Persian mystic named Zoroaster 163 00:10:11,510 --> 00:10:15,480 in the sixth or maybe the seventh century B.C [it's really uncertain as to when he 164 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:20,590 lived] but this man said that there has always been an evil god and a good God. 165 00:10:20,790 --> 00:10:22,720 They are co-eternal, he claimed. 166 00:10:23,110 --> 00:10:27,379 Then there was a false prophet named Mani who lived a couple of hundred 167 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:29,390 years after Jesus and the apostles. 168 00:10:29,969 --> 00:10:33,730 He also said that good and evil never had a beginning, and that 169 00:10:33,750 --> 00:10:36,380 evil as well as good was eternal. 170 00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:40,640 Now, this kind of belief is present in some religions today, but I've 171 00:10:40,650 --> 00:10:44,550 also heard Christians discuss the question as to whether the 172 00:10:44,550 --> 00:10:46,939 devil could possibly be eternal. 173 00:10:47,510 --> 00:10:48,430 Is that possible? 174 00:10:49,100 --> 00:10:51,189 We often ask where the devil came from. 175 00:10:51,710 --> 00:10:54,870 I don't have time to discuss this thoroughly, but let me say just a few 176 00:10:54,870 --> 00:10:59,930 words about Satan since he's the one who started this whole thing called sin. 177 00:11:00,610 --> 00:11:04,439 The truth is that the Bible doesn't say much about where Satan came from. 178 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:09,150 The Bible does say that some of the angels sinned and were cast down 179 00:11:09,150 --> 00:11:11,140 to Tartarus in Second Peter 2:7. 180 00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:16,090 Then in Jude six we read that some of the angels did not keep their first 181 00:11:16,130 --> 00:11:19,180 estate, but left their own domain. 182 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:24,379 And then in Matthew 25 41, Jesus talked about the devil and his angels. 183 00:11:24,630 --> 00:11:28,420 Now, if the devil has his angels, that doesn't mean that 184 00:11:28,420 --> 00:11:30,640 he made them or created them. 185 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,749 It simply means that he is the leader of those other sinful angels. 186 00:11:35,139 --> 00:11:39,780 Some believe that the sin of these angels, including Satan, was pride. 187 00:11:40,139 --> 00:11:43,390 That's based in part on First Timothy chapter three, verse six, where the 188 00:11:43,390 --> 00:11:48,050 Bible says that a bishop or elder in the church is not to be a novice, 189 00:11:48,430 --> 00:11:54,550 that is a newcomer to the faith, “lest he being lifted up with pride fall 190 00:11:54,580 --> 00:11:56,509 into the condemnation of the devil.” 191 00:11:57,030 --> 00:12:00,970 The New King James Version says, lest he fall into the 192 00:12:00,980 --> 00:12:03,449 same condemnation as the devil. 193 00:12:03,890 --> 00:12:08,330 Now, the translators of the New King James Version added the word “same” and 194 00:12:08,330 --> 00:12:14,239 put it in italics because they believed that pride was the original sin of Satan. 195 00:12:14,639 --> 00:12:18,710 And that may be true, but at the same time, that doesn't mean by itself 196 00:12:18,710 --> 00:12:21,000 that Paul was talking about that here. 197 00:12:21,740 --> 00:12:25,620 Verse seven goes on to warn about the reproach and snare of the devil. 198 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,330 Well, that's not the snare that he fell into. 199 00:12:28,340 --> 00:12:30,530 That's the snare that he sets for us. 200 00:12:30,870 --> 00:12:35,920 So we really can't make a direct and firm case on the word “same” in the 201 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:37,900 New King James Version in that verse. 202 00:12:38,130 --> 00:12:42,640 Now many go to the Old Testament, especially to Isaiah chapter 14, where 203 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,120 God talks about the king of Babylon. 204 00:12:45,620 --> 00:12:51,209 And in Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12, where the Bible calls this king 205 00:12:51,230 --> 00:12:57,830 Lucifer, that word in Hebrew simply means a day star or a morning star. 206 00:12:58,420 --> 00:13:03,089 The morning star is a symbol of light, though Satan is the prince of darkness. 207 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,060 So it wouldn't be fitting to refer to him as a morning star. 208 00:13:07,340 --> 00:13:12,510 The truth is that the word Lucifer in Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12, has 209 00:13:12,510 --> 00:13:16,450 nothing to do with Satan, although that is a very popular view. 210 00:13:16,860 --> 00:13:21,980 If you just read the context of Isaiah chapter 13 and 14, God is 211 00:13:21,980 --> 00:13:24,530 talking about Babylon in chapter 13. 212 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:30,060 And He is talking specifically to and about the king of Babylon in chapter 14. 213 00:13:30,090 --> 00:13:32,020 That includes verse 12. 214 00:13:32,370 --> 00:13:37,000 He describes him in some ways that are to us very symbolic. 215 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:40,329 Another passage is Ezekiel chapter 28. 216 00:13:40,950 --> 00:13:46,250 Now again, the context is the key, and yet many people disregard the context. 217 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:53,390 In Ezekiel chapters 26 through 28, God is talking to and about the city of Tyre. 218 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,690 Tyre was a fabulously wealthy city In Old Testament times. 219 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:00,020 God said that he would judge them though. 220 00:14:00,590 --> 00:14:04,879 In Ezekiel chapter 28, God is talking to the Prince of Tyre, 221 00:14:04,940 --> 00:14:06,499 that is, the ruler of Tyre. 222 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:12,300 And as He talks to him, it's obvious that He is using highly symbolic language. 223 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:17,230 He speaks with a note of irony, that is, what I would call godly sarcasm. 224 00:14:17,230 --> 00:14:23,069 In verse three, when He says that the prince of Tyre is wiser than Daniel, 225 00:14:23,420 --> 00:14:24,990 now He can't mean that literally. 226 00:14:25,390 --> 00:14:31,220 The Prince of Tyre was an ungodly, foolish man, but God is as the Bible 227 00:14:31,220 --> 00:14:36,600 says in Proverbs 26 verse five “answering a fool according to his folly.” In 228 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:41,260 the mind of the ruler of Tyre, he was wiser than Daniel or anyone else. 229 00:14:41,619 --> 00:14:46,560 Now, God then begins to tell the prince of Tyre that He is the One who gave the city 230 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:48,890 the opportunity to acquire its wealth. 231 00:14:49,290 --> 00:14:54,030 Had it not been for the grace of God, the city of Tyre would never have attained 232 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,070 the status that it had in the world. 233 00:14:56,429 --> 00:14:57,809 But the city was ungrateful. 234 00:14:58,039 --> 00:14:59,490 It abused its wealth. 235 00:14:59,660 --> 00:15:00,990 It became very prideful. 236 00:15:01,250 --> 00:15:06,219 So again, in very figurative language, which is common in the prophets of 237 00:15:06,220 --> 00:15:10,450 the Old Testament, God describes the sin of the ruler of Tyre. 238 00:15:10,830 --> 00:15:15,280 He said that this ruler had been in Eden, the Garden of God. 239 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:17,049 Now, He's not saying that literally. 240 00:15:17,590 --> 00:15:20,550 He's saying that the blessings and the surroundings of the city of 241 00:15:20,550 --> 00:15:25,050 Tyre were, symbolically speaking, like the paradise of Genesis three. 242 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:27,229 Not that all the conditions were the same. 243 00:15:27,410 --> 00:15:29,740 He's using a symbolic illustration. 244 00:15:30,059 --> 00:15:34,119 It's not any different than God's saying in Isaiah chapter one, verse 10 that the 245 00:15:34,119 --> 00:15:38,469 Jews in Isaiah's day had become like Sodom and Gomorrah [in a bad sense, of course]. 246 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,250 God also said in Ezekiel chapter 28 that the Prince of Tyre was 247 00:15:43,260 --> 00:15:48,210 perfect from the day He created him until iniquity was found in him. 248 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:52,960 Now, that may sound like Satan, but Satan is nowhere under discussion. 249 00:15:53,359 --> 00:15:59,100 God is simply saying that He provided the opportunity for Tyre to rise as a city 250 00:15:59,370 --> 00:16:03,469 to a level of prominence that it had, but their pride was about to bring them down. 251 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,939 Another passage is Luke chapter 10, verse 18, where Jesus said, “I beheld 252 00:16:08,969 --> 00:16:14,420 Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Many people think this refers to Jesus 253 00:16:14,670 --> 00:16:19,140 seeing Satan fall and being cast out of heaven, but that is not the context. 254 00:16:19,620 --> 00:16:25,510 The context is that Jesus gave 70 disciples power to cast out demons and 255 00:16:25,510 --> 00:16:27,130 heal the sick and do other miracles. 256 00:16:27,389 --> 00:16:31,000 If you go back and start reading in verse one, you'll see that that's the setting. 257 00:16:31,270 --> 00:16:36,160 When the disciples came back, they rejoice that, as they said, “even the 258 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:40,729 demons are subject to us through your name.” They were talking about the 259 00:16:40,730 --> 00:16:44,290 fact that they were able to cast out demons from people by the spirit of God. 260 00:16:44,710 --> 00:16:48,439 That's when Jesus said that He was beholding Satan as 261 00:16:48,460 --> 00:16:49,699 lightning fall from heaven. 262 00:16:49,970 --> 00:16:53,430 He's talking about the fact that as the disciples cast out these 263 00:16:53,430 --> 00:16:57,689 demons that were under Satan's power, Satan was losing his grip. 264 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:03,270 He was losing his power and influence because these messengers, these demons 265 00:17:03,290 --> 00:17:05,659 of his, were being cast out of people. 266 00:17:05,980 --> 00:17:08,690 So He wasn't talking about Satan himself falling. 267 00:17:08,700 --> 00:17:12,040 He's talking about Satan's workers or his messengers. 268 00:17:12,530 --> 00:17:17,050 So this only leaves two possibilities about where the devil came from. 269 00:17:17,690 --> 00:17:23,849 Either he is eternal, like God, or God created him and at some 270 00:17:23,849 --> 00:17:25,770 point he sinned against God. 271 00:17:26,450 --> 00:17:30,820 What we read in the Bible points to the devil being a created being, an 272 00:17:30,830 --> 00:17:33,119 angel who rebelled against the Creator. 273 00:17:33,599 --> 00:17:37,680 It's not consistent with the Bible to say that God created Satan 274 00:17:37,750 --> 00:17:42,279 as an evil being, that God made him sinful and made him to sin. 275 00:17:42,590 --> 00:17:46,129 That goes against everything that we see in the Scriptures about the nature of God 276 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:48,820 and also the nature of free will in sin. 277 00:17:49,450 --> 00:17:52,739 But is it possible that Satan has always existed? 278 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,490 Could it be that he is eternal like God? 279 00:17:55,639 --> 00:17:57,210 The answer is no. 280 00:17:57,889 --> 00:18:03,170 If Satan were eternal, that would mean that he would be equal to God 281 00:18:03,660 --> 00:18:08,320 because he would not be dependent then upon God for his existence. 282 00:18:08,860 --> 00:18:10,750 He would be self existent. 283 00:18:11,290 --> 00:18:14,320 But if there's one thing that we see from nature and the Bible, 284 00:18:14,670 --> 00:18:19,560 it is that everything outside of God owes its existence to Him. 285 00:18:19,850 --> 00:18:22,760 God is the only one who is eternal. 286 00:18:23,010 --> 00:18:25,640 But there's another problem with saying that Satan is eternal. 287 00:18:26,030 --> 00:18:30,230 This is like the old Zoroastrian and Manichean views of good and 288 00:18:30,230 --> 00:18:34,789 evil because this would mean that good and evil are co-eternal. 289 00:18:34,820 --> 00:18:36,899 And that brings on another question. 290 00:18:37,340 --> 00:18:40,960 If good and evil are both eternal, then how would you ever know which 291 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:42,570 one is good and which one is evil? 292 00:18:43,340 --> 00:18:45,220 Both are eternal according to that view. 293 00:18:45,469 --> 00:18:50,269 That would mean that there would have to be some standard of good and bad 294 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:56,879 outside of this so-called eternal good and eternal evil so that we could know 295 00:18:56,890 --> 00:18:58,760 which one was good and which one was bad. 296 00:18:59,370 --> 00:19:02,440 Do you see the problems that emerge when you go down this 297 00:19:02,470 --> 00:19:03,710 path that we're discussing? 298 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:09,030 Good has always existed because God has always existed, but evil 299 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,090 did not and cannot come from God. 300 00:19:11,469 --> 00:19:15,490 That means that evil had to come from the beings that God created: 301 00:19:15,850 --> 00:19:20,190 first, some of the angels that sinned and second, mankind. 302 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,630 So some look at the problem of evil and say there is no God. 303 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:26,959 Others say there is no evil. 304 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,530 Still others say there is no problem. 305 00:19:29,719 --> 00:19:33,170 Then others say there is no other possible scenario. 306 00:19:33,610 --> 00:19:35,820 But there's another approach to this problem. 307 00:19:36,170 --> 00:19:38,490 It's the idea that there is no hell. 308 00:19:39,170 --> 00:19:42,820 Some believe this alleviates some of the burden of trying 309 00:19:42,820 --> 00:19:46,229 to reconcile the suffering of this life with the power of God. 310 00:19:46,629 --> 00:19:50,220 These people say that eternal punishment in hell is 311 00:19:50,270 --> 00:19:52,229 incompatible with the love of God. 312 00:19:52,870 --> 00:19:57,260 They say that if souls are in hell forever, then that means that 313 00:19:57,270 --> 00:20:01,470 they will always be evil souls and they will always be suffering. 314 00:20:01,509 --> 00:20:07,060 As a result, some preachers and some churches tell us that hell does not exist. 315 00:20:07,540 --> 00:20:11,290 Some people who say that there's no hell believe that the souls of 316 00:20:11,290 --> 00:20:13,110 the wicked will be annihilated. 317 00:20:13,570 --> 00:20:17,350 They usually say that souls will be punished for a time, but that 318 00:20:17,350 --> 00:20:20,449 time will be limited and the suffering will come to an end. 319 00:20:20,710 --> 00:20:25,540 Others believe that there is no such thing as hell at all, or they believe 320 00:20:25,550 --> 00:20:30,980 that even if some are punished in hell, God will eventually save everybody. 321 00:20:31,060 --> 00:20:34,800 In other words, they believe in universal salvation. 322 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,389 They believe that everyone will be saved. 323 00:20:37,410 --> 00:20:42,109 Now, some of them even take that to the point of saying that the devil and 324 00:20:42,109 --> 00:20:44,990 his angels will eventually be redeemed. 325 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,730 Now, how is this an answer or a solution to the problem of evil? 326 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,679 Well, it doesn't remove the suffering of this life. 327 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:57,169 It doesn't explain why God made the world and allows man to sin, 328 00:20:57,660 --> 00:21:02,139 even if there is no hell and God is going to save everybody in heaven. 329 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:06,930 There is still a great amount of evil and suffering in this present time. 330 00:21:07,420 --> 00:21:10,160 Those who deny that there's a hell admit this. 331 00:21:10,550 --> 00:21:14,999 What they're saying is that if there's no hell after this life and everybody 332 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,980 goes to heaven, then all the pain and sin of this world will fade 333 00:21:18,980 --> 00:21:21,520 away into nothingness in eternity. 334 00:21:21,750 --> 00:21:24,139 Now, there's an element of truth in that comparison. 335 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:28,270 Not that we have to deny eternal punishment to see it, but that 336 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,539 when we compare heaven to all the suffering in this life, it 337 00:21:31,540 --> 00:21:33,110 will seem as nothing in heaven. 338 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:38,110 Paul said “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 339 00:21:38,110 --> 00:21:41,949 are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed 340 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,120 in us” [Romans eight, verse 28]. 341 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:44,175 I 342 00:21:44,230 --> 00:21:49,130 In fact, Paul said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 343 00:21:49,380 --> 00:21:54,100 is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” [Second 344 00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:56,310 Corinthians chapter four, verse 17]. 345 00:21:56,620 --> 00:21:59,920 But it's not necessary or Scriptural to deny hell in 346 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,449 order to have this perspective. 347 00:22:01,910 --> 00:22:05,500 Now this view is obviously contrary to what the Bible says. 348 00:22:05,780 --> 00:22:10,159 Jesus said that on the judgment day He will say to the lost “Depart from 349 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,880 me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and 350 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:16,930 his angels” [Matthew 25, verse 46]. 351 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:22,030 That chapter ends with him saying, “And these shall go away into everlasting 352 00:22:22,030 --> 00:22:26,280 punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” Paul said that Jesus 353 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,830 will come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them who do not know God 354 00:22:30,830 --> 00:22:35,000 and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 355 00:22:35,370 --> 00:22:39,920 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 356 00:22:40,099 --> 00:22:44,080 and from the glory of his power” [Second Thessalonians one verses eight and nine]. 357 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,250 Some people cringe at verses like these. 358 00:22:47,730 --> 00:22:52,020 They cannot imagine a God who is perfect in love punishing 359 00:22:52,020 --> 00:22:53,860 people in hell for all eternity. 360 00:22:53,950 --> 00:22:59,090 In fact, this is the more serious part of the problem of evil to them. 361 00:22:59,849 --> 00:23:04,259 Some of these people are atheists for this very reason in their thinking. 362 00:23:04,389 --> 00:23:07,530 It's one of their strongest arguments against God. 363 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,110 On the other hand, some of them are religious. 364 00:23:10,530 --> 00:23:15,490 They see the idea of a perfectly loving God and the doctrine of eternal torment 365 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,410 in hell as being absolutely incompatible. 366 00:23:18,860 --> 00:23:23,069 Being religious, they don't want to give up the idea of God, so they reject 367 00:23:23,070 --> 00:23:24,620 the doctrine of eternal punishment. 368 00:23:24,930 --> 00:23:29,490 Now, the main problem with these religious people is that they define 369 00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:31,660 love the way that they want to define it. 370 00:23:32,010 --> 00:23:33,090 That's the issue. 371 00:23:33,750 --> 00:23:37,049 When they say a loving God would never punish people in hell, they're 372 00:23:37,049 --> 00:23:40,410 talking about a different kind of love than we see in the Bible. 373 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,780 In fact, they're talking about a different kind of God. 374 00:23:44,130 --> 00:23:49,070 The Bible says that God is a God of justice, not just a God of mercy and love. 375 00:23:49,490 --> 00:23:54,720 Paul talks about the goodness and severity of God in Romans 11, verse 22. 376 00:23:55,370 --> 00:23:57,650 God is good, but He is also severe. 377 00:23:58,109 --> 00:24:04,010 He is just as good as He is severe, and He is just as severe as He is good. 378 00:24:04,510 --> 00:24:08,350 Now, think of what it means to deny divine punishment after this life. 379 00:24:08,860 --> 00:24:14,690 If there is no hell, then that means that every Adolf Hitler or Jack the Ripper can 380 00:24:14,690 --> 00:24:19,650 lie, torture and murder innocent people and never be punished for it in this 381 00:24:19,650 --> 00:24:22,399 life, and then die like everybody else. 382 00:24:23,270 --> 00:24:28,260 People who give up the idea of hell change the very concept of God himself. 383 00:24:28,610 --> 00:24:33,990 God is a just God, but He decides the proper punishment for sin. 384 00:24:34,410 --> 00:24:38,730 We do not, and we cannot say what that punishment ought to be. 385 00:24:39,260 --> 00:24:44,240 That's why it is preposterous for mere human beings to tell God how He 386 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,909 can and how He cannot punish sinners. 387 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,450 We are all sinners ourselves in the sense that we have all sinned, and for that 388 00:24:51,450 --> 00:24:56,790 reason, we are poor judges to say the least of how sin ought to be punished. 389 00:24:57,030 --> 00:25:01,550 So in the end, when people try to resolve the problem of evil by denying what 390 00:25:01,550 --> 00:25:06,580 the Bible says about hell, they end up changing the definition of God himself. 391 00:25:07,070 --> 00:25:10,000 But that brings us to another question about the nature of God. 392 00:25:10,639 --> 00:25:15,420 Did God know before He created the world, that man would sin and bring 393 00:25:15,430 --> 00:25:17,110 all this suffering into the world? 394 00:25:17,610 --> 00:25:23,370 Could it be that God is perfect in power, perfect in love, but He did not foresee 395 00:25:23,370 --> 00:25:26,040 the evil in the world when He created it? 396 00:25:26,710 --> 00:25:30,919 Now, that is the answer that some people give to the problem of evil. 397 00:25:31,310 --> 00:25:33,770 They recognize God's love and his power. 398 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:38,420 They take evil and suffering in this life seriously, but they just say that 399 00:25:38,420 --> 00:25:39,870 God didn't know this would happen. 400 00:25:40,660 --> 00:25:41,889 Could this be true? 401 00:25:42,309 --> 00:25:42,789 No. 402 00:25:43,190 --> 00:25:47,929 The Bible shows that God knew before He ever created the world that man 403 00:25:47,930 --> 00:25:53,080 would sin, and He knew that He would send His son to die for our sins. 404 00:25:53,470 --> 00:25:59,740 In First Peter chapter one, verse 20, the Bible says that Jesus indeed was 405 00:25:59,780 --> 00:26:06,139 “foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last 406 00:26:06,150 --> 00:26:09,500 times for you.” God knows the future. 407 00:26:10,030 --> 00:26:12,230 He always has and always will. 408 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:17,359 Our feeble finite minds cannot comprehend this, but it's foolish 409 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:21,150 to deny what God has said just because we don't understand it. 410 00:26:21,639 --> 00:26:26,550 We can't comprehend the eternity of God either, but that is no reason to deny it. 411 00:26:26,990 --> 00:26:30,810 There are other beliefs in Eastern religions like Buddhism and 412 00:26:30,810 --> 00:26:35,030 Hinduism that try to lessen the problem of evil and suffering. 413 00:26:35,030 --> 00:26:39,290 Now, one of these views is pantheism, the belief that God is 414 00:26:39,290 --> 00:26:41,310 everything and everything is God. 415 00:26:41,740 --> 00:26:45,600 If that's true, then there is nothing really evil. 416 00:26:45,830 --> 00:26:47,730 Evil is just an illusion. 417 00:26:48,110 --> 00:26:54,210 The world and everything in it is just a manifestation or an extension of deity. 418 00:26:54,650 --> 00:26:58,799 It's tragic that hundreds of millions of people still believe this. 419 00:26:59,250 --> 00:27:03,240 The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. 420 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:04,820 [Genesis Chapter one, verse one]. 421 00:27:05,020 --> 00:27:09,500 The Bible also warns against worshiping nature instead of worshiping the One 422 00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:12,649 who made it [Romans one, verse 25]. 423 00:27:12,650 --> 00:27:17,579 Then there is the idea also in these religions called reincarnation, the 424 00:27:17,580 --> 00:27:22,370 idea that the spirit or soul of a person comes back after death in 425 00:27:22,370 --> 00:27:27,240 another form or another body—a human being, an animal, or some other form. 426 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:31,070 This is actually a cycle of rewards and punishments. 427 00:27:31,179 --> 00:27:34,090 If you do well, according to these religions, you will 428 00:27:34,090 --> 00:27:35,409 come back in a better form. 429 00:27:35,529 --> 00:27:38,480 If you do wrong, you will come back in a lower state. 430 00:27:38,810 --> 00:27:43,290 Now this cycle continues until a person climbs higher and higher and 431 00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:45,990 ultimately reaches the state of nirvana. 432 00:27:45,990 --> 00:27:50,960 There is a lot of suffering in cultures who believe this, and its relationship 433 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:55,870 to the problem of evil is that it lessens the problem of human suffering 434 00:27:55,870 --> 00:28:00,880 and evil because eventually people are said to reach the stage of nirvana. 435 00:28:01,250 --> 00:28:03,160 But this is nothing more than superstition. 436 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:08,320 The story of the rich man in Lazarus in Luke Chapter 16 shows that departed 437 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:10,660 spirits do not come back to the earth. 438 00:28:10,959 --> 00:28:15,110 Ecclesiastes nine verse five and six say that the dead do not see 439 00:28:15,110 --> 00:28:16,210 what we're doing on the earth. 440 00:28:16,540 --> 00:28:19,179 They certainly don't come back to it in another form. 441 00:28:19,710 --> 00:28:23,059 But again, I emphasize that one reason these beliefs began in the 442 00:28:23,059 --> 00:28:26,700 first place is because people were looking for some relief to the 443 00:28:26,700 --> 00:28:28,360 pain and suffering of this life. 444 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:33,210 Now, these are some of the theories, beliefs, and even superstitions that 445 00:28:33,210 --> 00:28:36,840 seek to somehow resolve this perplexing question that we're looking at. 446 00:28:37,390 --> 00:28:41,149 There are also some practical, everyday selfish ways that people 447 00:28:41,150 --> 00:28:42,699 respond to the problem of evil. 448 00:28:42,710 --> 00:28:46,070 For instance, we say that life is unfair, and that's true. 449 00:28:46,750 --> 00:28:49,370 How do we feel about that and what do we do about it? 450 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,030 Do we try to fix things or make things right? 451 00:28:52,340 --> 00:28:55,159 Well, obviously we should amend our bad ways. 452 00:28:55,310 --> 00:28:57,380 That's the whole idea of repentance. 453 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:01,129 But many people practice another kind of approach when 454 00:29:01,130 --> 00:29:03,280 life has been unfair to them. 455 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,319 They tried to get even with life. 456 00:29:06,330 --> 00:29:09,460 Now we think of Cain in Genesis chapter four. 457 00:29:09,750 --> 00:29:12,760 He offered a sacrifice to God that the Lord didn't approve of. 458 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:14,450 And what was his response? 459 00:29:14,610 --> 00:29:15,379 He was angry. 460 00:29:15,910 --> 00:29:19,400 He felt that it was unfair that God would accept his brother's offering 461 00:29:19,420 --> 00:29:24,129 and reject his, so he got even and took vengeance by killing his own brother. 462 00:29:24,430 --> 00:29:28,280 Then when God told him about his punishment, Cain said that his 463 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,860 punishment was greater than he could bear [Genesis four, verse 13]. 464 00:29:32,059 --> 00:29:35,330 In other words, he's telling God that this is not fair. 465 00:29:35,700 --> 00:29:39,890 Isn't it amazing how a person's view of justice changes from how he 466 00:29:39,890 --> 00:29:42,229 sees others to how he sees himself? 467 00:29:42,790 --> 00:29:45,510 People try to get even with life in a lot of ways. 468 00:29:45,830 --> 00:29:49,400 If they grow up poor and have nothing, they think life owes them. 469 00:29:49,700 --> 00:29:52,050 They think they have the right to steal from other people. 470 00:29:52,250 --> 00:29:55,249 They think the government should give them entitlement not to 471 00:29:55,259 --> 00:29:56,590 have to work like other people. 472 00:29:56,780 --> 00:30:00,069 After all, they've been victims and it's time to get even. 473 00:30:00,369 --> 00:30:03,220 Or it may be that they're disadvantaged in some way. 474 00:30:03,470 --> 00:30:07,030 To put it in a better way, they see that others have things that they 475 00:30:07,030 --> 00:30:11,070 don't have—money, intelligence, talent, or beauty—and their 476 00:30:11,070 --> 00:30:13,129 thought is that this is not fair. 477 00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:17,629 Life is not fair, so they decide to set things right and get even. 478 00:30:17,910 --> 00:30:19,660 They live a life of envy and hate. 479 00:30:19,820 --> 00:30:23,560 They try to destroy people who are or who have things that they don't 480 00:30:23,570 --> 00:30:26,750 by gossiping and even doing physical harm to the people they resent. 481 00:30:27,150 --> 00:30:30,860 Then others try to get even with life because of a disease or accident 482 00:30:30,870 --> 00:30:32,559 that robs them of a normal life. 483 00:30:32,889 --> 00:30:35,860 “It's not fair for others to enjoy good health when I don't,” 484 00:30:35,869 --> 00:30:38,750 they say to themselves, so they try to make others pay. 485 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,720 They try to make others miserable. 486 00:30:41,190 --> 00:30:44,490 And on a wider scale, communism is really no different. 487 00:30:44,770 --> 00:30:49,979 Marxism seeks to do away with social classes and put an end to class conflict. 488 00:30:50,410 --> 00:30:53,910 Now Communism calls for the abolition of the family. 489 00:30:54,049 --> 00:30:56,810 It calls for the abolition of private property. 490 00:30:57,010 --> 00:31:02,669 It teaches that there is no God, no soul, no heaven or hell, and by implication, 491 00:31:02,860 --> 00:31:05,169 no real standard of right and wrong. 492 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:10,250 And yet Marxism makes the grandiose claim that by forcibly putting 493 00:31:10,260 --> 00:31:14,810 everyone on the same social level, the world will be a much better place. 494 00:31:15,010 --> 00:31:16,879 How absurd and ungodly. 495 00:31:17,410 --> 00:31:21,679 The Bible teaches us to be happy for those who are blessed [Romans 12, verse 15]. 496 00:31:21,849 --> 00:31:24,489 The Bible teaches us to be content with what we have. 497 00:31:24,889 --> 00:31:29,209 One of the most deceitful and destructive feelings in the world is envy, but 498 00:31:29,209 --> 00:31:33,179 one of the most powerful things in the world is the love that God shows us 499 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,340 and teaches us to have for one another. 500 00:31:35,670 --> 00:31:39,970 These are just a few of the ways not to respond to the problem of evil. 501 00:31:40,190 --> 00:31:44,680 Lord willing, in the weeks to come, we will look to God and let the Bible tell 502 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,720 us how to think and feel about the problem of evil and suffering in the world. 503 00:31:49,150 --> 00:31:51,420 Thank you for listening to My God and My Neighbor. 504 00:31:51,550 --> 00:31:57,320 Stay connected with our podcast on our website and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, 505 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,250 or wherever fine podcasts are distributed. 506 00:32:00,809 --> 00:32:04,510 Tennessee Bible College, providing Christian education since 1975 507 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:08,909 in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers undergraduate and graduate programs. 508 00:32:09,270 --> 00:32:10,510 Study at your level. 509 00:32:10,990 --> 00:32:13,550 Aim higher and get in touch with us today.