In the book of Genesis we learn that God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. What could be the source of this evil if God is all good? The Bible does not directly answer this question, but we do know that knowledge of evil was possible by eating the fruit of this tree.
All things created by God were originally very good. Yet in the Bible, Satan is identified as the Evil One (Jn. 17:15; 1 Jn. 5:18-19). So if he was originally good, how and why did he ever have the desire to be evil, to have hatred towards God who is love and spend eternity in the state of torment? The Bible gives us enough information where we can assume how evil came about and made its way into God’s good and perfect creation, and through the wisdom of God it makes perfect sense, as you
will see that it is the most basic, foundational, elementary lesson taught repeatedly throughout the whole Bible, starting with a fallen angel and then working its way into humanity, the two creatures God has made with having a free-will.
If God does not create evil1, then how did the Evil One become evil? By observing the meaning of his various names we may get a better understanding. Basically, the name Satan means “adversary, resister,” and the name Devil means “accuser, slanderer.” These two names are used inter-changeably to refer to the Evil One throughout the Bible.
There are two popular passages in the prophetic books of Ezekiel and Isaiah that describe the downfall of two kings, which are also thought to be partially describing the origin of the Evil One who is influencing the kings to be as foolish as he was in the way of prideful thinking.2 In Isaiah 14:12 the king is being compared to a celestial being, Lucifer, which means “light-bearer” or “bright or shining one.” If these verses are describing the Evil One as once being the bright son of the morning, of having the exalted dignity and high office of being the “cherub that covers” to protect the throne of God, then we can see how his name change took place based on his actions.3
Isaiah 14:12-15:
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Ezekiel 28:14-15:
14 “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.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.”
Ezekiel 28:15 reveals that this privileged anointed cherub was perfect in his ways from the day he was created until iniquity was found in him. He allowed self-assertion and conceit to overcome the wisdom of God. Crossing over that line from being God-dependent to self-reliance is to be anti-God, which is another name for being evil. By crossing that line, evil comes into existence. The desire to be opposed to God is made into a personal experience, and it is an evil experience because it is a rebellious act of the creature towards their Maker by attempting to assume the role of being God. There is only One God who is all loving, all wise, and all powerful. How would you describe someone who is not content with being submissive to their Creator who has provided them with everything they could possibly need? How could they rule any better than the perfect ways of God? The “self” motivated life will always cause disunity, but in Christ we all can become unified by being of His likeness.
I think the following verse is key to understanding the origin of evil:
James 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
From this verse we can see that there can be desires that rise up within us from not being content with the ways of God, who is love. To act upon them would be rebellion, which is to be evil. We can see an example of this in the story of Cain and Abel (notice when God counsels Cain, He tells him that he is responsible for his actions):
Genesis 4:3-8 “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
(See footnote for commentary on what was wrong with Cain’s offering).4
We can see how the disposition of Cain and his error seems to reflect the situation that may have given occasion for angels that fell in the same way:
Jude 6 “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;”
1 Timothy 5:21 mentions ‘elect’ angels, and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 9 there is mention of an Arch angel, and Isaiah 24:21-22 mentions a host of exalted ones who will be punished in the heavens. These verses suggest there are ranks among the angels which may have given occasion for discontentment or jealousy to arise within them. By allowing wayward thoughts and emotions to fester within themselves, instead of taking counsel from God to subdue them, they can drive them to the point of being acted upon, and therefore, exposing the evil potential within them. Although all of humanity is in a sinful condition inherited from Adam by the original sin (Rom. 5:12), we are subject in the same way to evil impulses, but now we can be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to help us overcome them (Gal. 5:16). Angels cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit but humans can because we are not a spirit and are made in the image of God.
But what is the source of evil? Does there have to be a source? There is no source of darkness. It is the absence of light, just as cold is the absence of heat. Just as good exists, so does evil. Do we know who created God, where He is from and how it is that He is “good?” No, so it is the same with evil, it just is. If there is good in existence, then respectively there has to be a comparative evil, the opposite of good, which is now “embodied” by Satan (1 Jn. 5:18-19; 2:13). It’s as if he “birthed” it into existence through his envious desires to be like God instead of being content as God’s created being. Evil will always exist, though only permanently in the Lake of Fire, never again to bother those who are redeemed by God (Rev. 20:10; Rev. 21:27).
In the article “The Origin of Evil” by John Meakin and Robert C. Boraker, they explain that “By defining that which is good, we also define the opposite way of evil,” and how “Evil stems from wrong choices – the rejection of what is right.”5
In an article by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, he makes this statement: “When God created moral beings, there was no actual evil. In fact, evil is not a ‘thing’ in itself, even though it is real. Rather, evil is the privation of some good that something ought to have, as Augustine pointed out.”6
Along these same lines of thought here is a quote from “The Problem of Evil” from Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, “But with freedom comes the possibility of evil, so God is responsible for making evil possible, but free creatures are responsible for making it actual.”7
To have free will, then having options would be necessary. With God, our moral choice is to worship Him or not. God is the source of all good, so any alternative of Him, be it a person, spiritual being, or behavior, is evil. Evil was possible, but was not manifested in any person or spiritual being until acted upon, by rejecting good (God).
We saw how Lucifer became full of pride and became the Evil One with no outside source to tempt him. We were made in the image of God, and like the angels, we are able to think and be rational, and be responsible. Our soul is the source of our personality that has its own preferences and desires of choice. For Adam and Eve to choose evil for the first time, to choose rebellion, it came about through the deception and instigation by an outside evil source. Was there any reason for them to think of evil rebellion towards God since they had it so good? They had the potential in them to be evil and it was awakened by the serpent. Who knows how long it would have taken them to be in a circumstance where they would have been tested to act upon the option to be evil apart from the temptation of the serpent, if at all. But the Evil One was permitted to tempt us (Adam and Eve), and we were given the opportunity to learn a great lesson from our mistake, although it came at a great price, the Lord’s gracious provision of sacrificing His own Son for our salvation from self-reliance which leads to death.
So you can see how this story line that originated in the heavens is repeated throughout the history of mankind. There is only one true living God, all else is a vain attempt to imitate Him, which leads to eternal death. You can especially see the exposure of mythological beliefs and their ineptness when Moses confronts Pharaoh to let His people go to worship God. Ten times God shows Himself to be greater than Pharaoh’s gods (Exodus 6 ff.). After forming the nation of Israel, you can see how God repeatedly gives them the opportunity of blessing or curse, life or death, (Deut. 11:26-28; 30:1-3; 15-20; Exod. 20:1-6; Lev. 26:1-46; 2 Chron. 17:1-19; Judg. 5:8; etc.) depending on their desire to worship Him or not.
These are practical lessons that reveal the difference between the holiness of God and of evil; and the consequence of dishonoring and rejecting God. They also reveal that holiness cannot dwell with the profane (Deut. 29:19-20; Ezek. 22:26; 44:23; 2 Cor. 6:14-17). These historical lessons as well as our own experiences of “blessings or curses” based on the choices we make should instill the “fear of God” (Prov. 1:7) within us. We would be wise by not taking for granted His fair warning of the final day when our choice to obey God and receive His free gift of salvation or reject Him will determine our permanent destination (Matt. 25:31-46).
Notes
1. “Isaiah 45:7 ‘I create Evil’: here evil is not the antithesis of good, but of peace. It speaks of God’s hand upon men in chastening judgment.” – Quote from “Satan- His Person, Work, Plan and Destiny” by F.C. Jennings, Pg. 58.
2. Although theologians may say these verses are based on the mythology of the pagan religions during that time period, they are being used to be comparative of the behavior of these two kings. But where does the source of these myths come from? Could they not be based from the factual knowledge of the fall of Lucifer that is plainly and poetically described in these particular verses that may now, at the time of these writings, have been put in written form? Many of the ancient myths are based on the same story line – the exaltation of pride followed by defeat and death. It would seem that they are based on an original actual spiritual event that took place as described here in Ezekiel and Isaiah. It is the Evil One’s demise and expertise to inspire an imitation account of reality and the truth of God, in his attempt of making it out to be a deceptive myth.
(Jack Finegan defines myth: “Myth may be defined as a form of symbolic thought in which intellect, imagination, and emotion combine to communicate a perceived truth. A myth is not, then, in the first instance a fanciful tale, but a symbolic or poetic expression of that which is incapable of direct statement.” -Myth and Mystery – An Introduction to the Pagan Religions of the Biblical World by Jack Finegan, Pg. 15.)
For more information on how the prophets made use of mythology in these verses, see “Theology of the Prophetic Books – The Death & Resurrection of Israel” by Donald E. Gowan, Pgs. 73; 130-131.
3. Ezekiel 28:11-19 refers to the king of Tyre, and in a similar way Isaiah 14:3-23 refers to the king of Babylon. They describe human kings who are being used by Satan, but you will notice certain verses can only describe a spiritual being. This interpretation is comparable to the Messianic psalms, the Psalmist may be referring to himself but in reality they apply to the Messiah. See Satan – His Motives and Methods by Lewis Sperry Chaffer, pgs. 15-18; and Satan- His Person, Work, Plan and Destiny by F.C. Jennings, Pgs. 44; 64-65.
4. 1 John 3:12 “not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
“What were these evil works of Cain? The ordinary popular answer is that Cain’s life was bad. But surely it was not because he was a drunkard, or profane, or a libertine that he slew Abel; yea, even that murder is not, in itself, his evil work, but the result of it. He murdered because his works were evil. The narrative in Genesis answers the question clearly – awfully clearly – his evil works were his good works! It was because of the rejection of his offering that he wroth and his countenance fell, and he slew his brother.
And Abel’s ‘righteous works,’ what were they? God Himself tells us, for he witnessed – not of his life or conduct – but ‘of his gifts that he was righteous’ (Heb. 11:3).
Cain was not one whit less religious than Abel; not one word is said as to any inferiority in his morality. If we were speaking in the phraseology of the Lord’s time we should say that they both ‘went up to the temple to pray’; if of this day, they both went equally to a place of worship, or attended church: were equally religious men. The only difference was in that by which they approached God. Cain’s offering said ‘I have done my best; what more can any man do? It is true it is the fruit of a cursed earth; but can I help that? A curse is all that God has given, and I only bring the result of the sweat of my brow, my work, here Thou has that is Thine, what can man do more?’
Abel’s offering said ‘I have heard a sweeter story far than that from my father’s lips and at my mother’s knee: how God has far more than a curse to give; for it was He who provided the skins that covered them, so I work not; but, ungodly, I confess my helplessness, and the Lamb, His gift, dies in my stead, and so again God’s love provides what coves me: blessed be His Name.’
And so Jehovah speaks to wrathful Cain: ‘If thou doest well,’ that is, dost confess that simple truth as to thyself, and bring a propitiatory offering, ‘shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou dost not well,’ that is if thou bringest thine own works, ‘sin lieth at the door.’ It is not removed. Sin blocks the entrance: thou canst not reach me, I cannot get to thee in blessing; for ‘without the shedding of blood there’s no remission of sins.’
Here then is why Cain was of that wicked one, the Devil; not because he was not religious, or refrained from attending a place of worship; but simply because his bloodless offering showed the same evidence of the Devil’s work in proud self-complacency, as did practically the same thing in the Pharisee in the temple, and does in the Christ-less clergy and church members of our day.
The Devil has sent, is sending, myraids in the way of Cain, to the temple, to the church; but never from the beginning of the world, to the present day, nor as long as he works amongst men, will he work in any heart the cry, God be merciful to me a sinner, for that is the way of Abel, and the first righteous word a sinful child of Adam can ever speak; and at once God meets him with the Ransom He has found (Job 33:24).” – Satan- His Person, Work, Plan and Destiny by F.C. Jennings. Pgs. 94-96.
5. The Origin of Evil by John Meakin and Robert C. Boraker, https://www.vision.org/origin-evil-733
6. Why would a loving God allow death and suffering? By Dr. Jonathan Safati, https://creation.com/why-death-suffering
7. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Evil, Problem Of Pgs. 219-220, https://archive.org/details/NJCBANGALORESPRICTUAL/mode/2up
References for further study:
A. Satan – His Motives and Methods by Lewis Sperry Chaffer (1871-1952)
http://www.lewissperrychafer.org/SATAN.pdf
B. Satan- His Person, Work, Plan and Destiny by F.C. Jennings (1848-1948)
(Someone mentioned that “F.C.J. went way astray in the end it appears, denying the resurrection of the body,” so be discerning when you read any resource. Although much of this book was very enlightening, I found part three questionable, and sometimes his writing style can be hard to discern what he means.)
C. Myth and Mystery – An Introduction to the Pagan Religions of the Biblical World by Jack Finegan. This is an excellent resource that goes through the various pagan religions and how they are similar to the Biblical account of God.