Recent Reads: "The Problem of Evil and the Judgments of God"

"Where did evil originate?"

Mankind has been asking this puzzling question for a very long time.

And the answer has been right in front of us, hiding in plain sight. It's been read by millions, but believed by few. God, speaking for Himself in Isaiah 45:7 says, "Former of light and Creator of darkness, Maker of good and Creator of evil, I, Yahweh, make all these things" (Concordant Version of the Old Testament - CVOT).

Well, there it is in black and white in the best selling book of all time:

God is the Creator of evil.

Nobody likes to hear this ... at first.

But what's the alternative? Evil is created by another? Who, then is this other creator in the universe? What are his/her/its plans for the creation of evil? And can God control this inventor of evil, or is it an independent entity that has no leash?

If God is love, and the Scriptures teach us that He is (1 John 4:8,16), and if God is the Creator of evil, which the Scriptures also teach us, can we trust that He will use the evil that He creates for His ultimate goals of goodness for the entire universe? Or will the universe forever be infested by evil and its untamable creator?

These questions have solid answers that will bring you peace of mind and comfort knowing that your loving heavenly Father is in control.

So I'm recommending to you a solid-answer book that I've recently read:


Following is the description of the book from the publisher, Concordant Publishing Concern:

This book traces the divine function of evil (whatever is harmful or destructive) from its inception to its consummation, by presenting scriptural solutions to the various long-debated questions concerning God and His sovereignty. As one of its subjects, it probes and takes issue with the commonly accepted explanation that Satan, and not God, is responsible for evil. To quote the book’s author: “Almost all of us are shortsighted. We see the judgments, but fail to recognize that they are only part of God’s way with mankind, that they are definitely not an end. We confuse the going with the goal. Judgment is God’s strange work. He uses it as a preparation toward a glorious consummation.” The message in this book is especially valuable to us in these days of doubt and distress, to lead men to rely on and rest in God alone.

Below I've listed the book's individual article titles that are put into 2 main categories - The Problem of Evil and The Judgments of God: 

The Problem of Evil

• Evil and Sin
• The Source of Sin
• Sin for Sin
• The "Fall" of Satan
• Satan's Supreme Sin
• The Knowledge of Good
• Man's Greatest Mistakes
• Sin in Act and in Fact
• The Human Heart
• Conscience
• Man's Will or God's
• The Phantom of Free Will
• The Transmission of Sin
• The Unpardonable Sin
• Sin's Justification
• The Repudiation of Sin
• The God of Judas Iscariot
• God's Will and Intention
• The Deity of God

 

The Judgments of God

• "Responsibility"
• What is Judgment?
• The Dais of God and His Christ
• Requital at the Dais
• Revealed by Fire
• Suffering and Shame
• Endure and Reign
• Tribulation and Wrath
• The Judgments of the Nations
• The Function of the Great White Throne
• The Second Death
• The Appreciation of God

I'm planning on doing a series of posts on this book. In each part I'll choose an individual article and give you some of the best and most thought-provoking quotes.

I encourage you to order the book here. I'm not making any money from the sale of these books. I'm simply pointing you to good information when I find it. And I've found it in this book by one of the best authors I've ever studied under, A.E. Knoch.

The book also contains a helpful Scripture Reference Index.