Is Evil Necessary?

We’ve been discussing the angelic powers from the Bible that reveal God’s character and nature to humanity. These angelic powers help us understand God and give us insight into his character and nature. God’s invisible, but we can see him in the actions and activities of these angelic powers we’ve discussed. As I’ve said in previous episodes, the seven-branched Jewish Menorah in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness represented the Seven Spirits of God spoken of in Revelation 4:5. We’ve discussed six of the seven angelic expressions of God: Angel of Death, Angel of the Abyss, the Mighty Angel, the Angel of Great Authority, the Angel of the LORD, and the Angel of God’s Presence. In the last episode, we began discussing the seventh angelic power – Satan, by biblically defining good and evil.

We saw that good (tov) within the Torah meant harmony with God, creating a pleasing communal relationship between God, humanity, and the entire creation. We also saw that evil (ra’) meant disharmony with God, something disrupting the relationship between God, humanity, and the creation. In the ancient Biblical culture, good and evil revolved around God’s purpose and relationship toward humankind and the creation. In the previous episode, I showed how the biblical audience defined good and evil differently than we do today. One great example of our differing definitions of good and evil was the story in Genesis of Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. Today, we read what happened to Joseph and asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But the Jews saw his situation much differently. Joseph didn’t blame God or hold his brothers accountable for what happened to him. Joseph understood that everything happening in his life was going according to God’s purpose. How did he know this? Because he didn’t define evil as we do today. What happened to him was for the greater good (tov), in harmony with God’s purpose. He understood that the so-called evil (ra – meaning obstacles and challenges) he faced would ultimately result in God’s good. How do I know this? Because Joseph knew the character and nature of God through those obstacles and challenges he faced – we would call it evil – but he had faith in God’s purpose of good – establishing harmony between God and his children. Let’s look at Genesis 45:1-8 for some answers.

Joseph was 17 when his brothers sold him. He spent 13 years as a slave and in an Egyptian prison. It had been about nine years since his release from jail because God gave Pharaoh a dream about famine and gave Joseph the interpretation.

Paul understood what Joseph was saying (Romans 8:28). In the context of Romans 8, the believers were suffering in Rome. And what fueled that hope for the Roman believers to preserve patiently? Faith. Faith is the fuel of hope that will save them.

And what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 explains faith to us. We don’t see God, but we believe he is. We don’t see the creation that God has planned for the world, but we have hope that God will fulfill his purpose for humanity and the universe to live in a harmonious relationship with him for eternity. Faith is the energy of our hope in God’s plan. Faith is the assurance of what we hope for. But where does this faith come from? Are we born with faith? If everyone had this faith, then everyone would believe. But everyone doesn’t believe it. Faith comes from living through adversity, like Joseph, and seeing God accomplish his will despite obstacles and challenges. In Hebrews, faith is trusting God’s promises and overcoming anything that contradicts them, such as challenges like suffering or even death.

In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul plainly states that faith isn’t in us naturally; it’s a gift from God. How does God give us the gift of faith? In Romans 10:17, Paul answers that faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Joseph hoped that one day, he would be set free. His hope came from his faith that God’s purpose for his children was to have eternal harmony with their creator. But Israel’s slavery opposed that hope. What they saw physically didn’t match God’s promise. But those who persevered in their hope and saw the invisible promises of God were strengthened in their faith through the opposition to faith. Opposition, challenges, and obstacles strengthen and build faith.

It’s the same for us today. Death, illness, poverty, hunger, injustice, iniquity, worldly riches, these things we physically see are in opposition to God’s promises, which we don’t physically see because they must be seen spiritually through the eyes of faith. The opposition, what we call evil today, is critical to creating good – harmony with God’s purpose – because opposition to faith verifies and strengthens faith in God’s promises and fulfills God’s purpose. Adversity in creation – futility, as Paul described it – is part of the plan to fulfill God’s purpose, which is for his children to be with him forever. Through adversity, we learn to see beyond the visible and physical world to the actual reality of God’s promises, which are invisible to the human eye but visible to the spiritual eye by faith.

Ask God where faith comes from. You and I weren’t born with the faith that sees the invisible promises of God. That faith comes through the message of Christ as we face adversity and opposition, and through God’s word and Spirit, we realize that the world is a liar and filled with falsehood. This is the necessity of obstacles, the very reason for an adversary – ha, satan – to test and challenge us and show us that what is seen is only overcome by faith and perseverance in the hope of the unseen promises of God through his son Jesus Christ. Where does faith come from? Does everyone have faith? Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us that Jesus is our faith’s pioneer (beginner/author) and perfecter (finisher). Jesus saw beyond the visible cross and its shame and saw the invisible glory when he sat down at God’s right hand. He saw for us that faith is the demonstration of things unseen.