What is Evil

Definition

Defining Evil

Before answering the question, “Where does evil come from?” we must first define it. 

Biblically ... evil is anything contrary to God’s Word. God is holy. Therefore, anything that comes against His holy nature is evil. 

You must comprehend truth versus a lie to see where evil comes from.  

Truth must be absolute. It cannot change. If it isn’t absolute, meaning it is relative, then by definition, someone’s view of truth must be false, making it an untruth (or a lie). Opinions can be relative, but truth cannot. 

Evil starts with a lie. 

If humanity, not God, defines what is good or evil, it only ends in…

Chaos

Division and disagreement

An imbalance of power

Selfishness

The Bible says that God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and cannot lie (an attribute of truth)…

“God is not a man, that He should lie…”—Numbers 23:19

“…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…”—Titus 1:2

“…that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”—Hebrews 6:18

The Bible also says that God—Father, Son, and Spirit—is truth.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”—John 14:6

“…the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”—John 14:17

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”—John 15:26

Therefore, what is written in God’s Word must be truth. He gets to define what is good and evil because He is incapable of lying. Therefore, whatever He states as truth is truth and whatever is contrary to Him is a lie and is evil. 

So then, what words describe what evil is?

According to the Bible, evil is…

Anything contrary to God’s Word

Wickedness

Morally wrong

Sinful

Actions that cause harm

Disaster, calamity

Murder

Theft

Adultery

Unbelief

Idolatry

Blasphemy

Disobedience

As Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland stated, “Evil is a lack of goodness. It is goodness spoiled. You can have good without evil, but you cannot have evil without good.”

With this understanding of truth, we can now dig further into the question, “Where does evil come from?”

Where Does Evil Come From?

In short, evil comes from Satan. Satan is known as the devil, the enemy, the accuser, the adversary, Lucifer, and the father of lies, just to name a few. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10) and schemes against us (Ephesians 6:11).

Below are a few Bible verses about Satan and his evil attributes…

“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”—1 John 3:8 (emphasis added)

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”—John 8:44 (emphasis added)

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”—1 Peter 5:8 (emphasis added)

God is not the author of confusion, lies, or evil. Reading the words of J.P. Moreland again, we can conclude that God isn’t the author of evil. Rather, it is His holiness that defines it. Romans 12:21 reminds us that we do not have to be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. And, as we’ve learned, God is good. 

Understanding Evil and the First Spiritual War

In 1 John 1:5, it says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 

So then, where did darkness come from? Ephesians 6:12 says…

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (emphasis added)

God is always associated with light in the scripture. Every time God shows up in the Word, it is described as a bright, intense light. This isn’t a metaphor. It is literal. 

God is light, and in Him there is no darkness: This means that when there is only God, there is only good and only light. In the book of Revelation, when all things are made new…

“The city (Jerusalem) had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”—Revelation 21:23 (emphasis added)

“There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”—Revelation 22:5 (emphasis added)

Genesis and the First Spiritual War

In the first few verses of the Bible, we find something that has already subjected God’s creation to darkness. 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.”—Genesis 1:1-3

God said, “Let there be light!” Then He divided that which was good from darkness, which was evil. 

This separation of light from the dark was God judging Satan’s rebellion. What does this mean? It means that Satan was perfect and established by God at some point and then opposed and went against Him for some reason.

Why and When Did Satan Rebel?

The reason? Pride.

In Ezekiel 28:14-15, God said…

“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 28:14-15 (emphasis added)

Ezekiel 28:16,17 goes on to describe Lucifer’s (Satan) pride…

“By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned… Your heart was lifted up [pride] because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor…” (emphasis added)

Lucifer was an exalted angelic being, created by God, but became proud and wanted to take over God’s throne. God removed him from the position. However, Satan continues with his ultimate goal today: to take over the throne of God. Again, this understanding gives depth to the question, “Where does evil come from?”  

Isaiah 14:12 describes Lucifer as the light bearer of God, the shining one, or the day star. Where does evil come from? From the iniquity found in Lucifer, his pride and rebellion against God.

God Divides the Light from the Darkness

By verse 3 of the Bible, we see God’s mission to separate the evil from us. He divided the light from the darkness, and He continues to do this today. God called the light “good.” But He didn’t call darkness good. Every time the sun descends and night sets in, it is a reminder that there is sin in God's creation. 

The Hope You Can Have Even When Evil Is Present…

God works through all situations to bring about His good purpose (Romans 8:28). Only a loving, gracious, and almighty God can restore, redeem, and reconcile what is broken, stolen, or lost because of evil. 

Discover more about Satan’s plan of opposition in the last days and his plan of worldwide dominion in our Book of Daniel Bible Study. 

Have hope because there will be a day when the universe comes full circle and is made new. There will be no darkness, and the Son, the Lamb, will give light to all for eternity.Be encouraged because God has a plan for restoration. The Word says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). Jesus in you is powerful! Look forward to His promise that there will be no more tears or evil.  Trust in God and take this time to make Jesus your King!

What is Evil?

One of the great questions facing those who believe the Bible is the problem of evil. If God is all-loving and all- powerful, then why do we have evil in the universe? Did God create evil? If so, why did He do it? Would that not make Him a bad God?

The other possibility is that God is a good God, but does not have the ability to do anything about evil. This would mean that God is a good God, but not all-powerful. So which is it? Is God a bad God and won't do anything about evil, or is He a good God and cannot do anything about evil?

Actually there is a third possibility. God is neither bad nor limited in His power. It is true that if God created evil it would make Him a bad God. But this is not the case. Evil came as a result of sin, and sin is something that God did not want in the universe. Christianity Recognizes Evil

Unlike many religions, Christianity recognizes that evil does exist. The Bible, in both testaments, acknowledges that the world is presently in an evil state.

Humanity Is Responsible For Evil However, the origin of evil lies not with God but with humanity. When God created human beings He gave them a choice to obey or disobey. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God they brought evil into the universe. Evil is an action or relationship, not a created substance. Did God Create Evil? One passage of Scripture seems to teach that God created evil. In the King James Bible Isaiah 45:7 reads the following.

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things”

However this is not what the original Hebrew says. The word translated "evil" is the word ra. It also means sorrow, calamity, disaster, afflictions, and adversity. Modern translations have correctly translated the passage with a different English word such as the following example.

“I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7).”

Therefore the Scriptures do not teach that God was the originator of evil.

God Gave Humanity Choice God did not create evil and neither is He to blame for the evil in the universe. God could have made people in such a way that they would be robots who would react when God made them do so. But that would not give humanity any significance. God decided to make people in such a way that they could choose whether or not to obey Him.

Evil Was The Choice Of Humankind Furthermore, much of the evil in the universe is due to the direct choice of individuals. Murder, stealing, lying, and such cannot be blamed upon God. People choose to do these things and must be held accountable.

Natural Disasters Are A Result Of A Fallen World What about earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, and famines? Though natural disasters such as earthquakes and famines are not caused by humans, humanity is indirectly responsible for their occurrence. They occur as a result of our sin. When sin entered the universe everything was affected. Suffering and evil go together. The perfect working order is now tainted by sin. The Bible says that the entire creation is now suffering. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:19-23) He Is Able To Do Something About Evil If God is a good God then why is there evil in the universe? Is it because God is not good, or is it because God is not powerful enough to deal with evil? Asking this question infers God is either unable or unwilling to deal with evil. But neither is the case. God is certainly able to do something about evil. The Bible teaches that God is all-powerful.

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27).

The fact that God is powerful enough to deal with evil is not the issue. He has demonstrated time and time again that He has the capability to end evil.

God is also a God of love who cares for His people. The Scripture teaches that God always has the best interest of humanity in mind in every decision that He makes.

Summary The Bible recognizes that evil does exist but God did not create evil. Evil came as a result of humanity's choice. Natural disasters are a result of humanity's original sin. Therefore God cannot be blamed for the evil that continues. Humanity is directly or indirectly responsible for evil.

Does God Control Everything? A Definition of Evil

A DEFINITION OF EVIL

To explain what I mean, I want to turn to the historic definition of evil. What is evil? To be clear, I am not talking about natural evil or metaphysical evil; rather,

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Evil

EVIL Since pre-Christian times, philosophers have wrestled with the coexistence of a completely good sovereign God and evil and suffering. Christian theologians have struggled with how to relate God’s providence and evil. Many believers have asked “Why me?” when personally faced with suffering. In contrast with other religions and philosophies, however, the Bible provides adequate answers.

Whereas many philosophers and theologians have discarded belief in divine omnipotence and goodness, or even the existence of God or evil, according to the Bible there is no true philosophical problem of evil. Instead, the Bible simply teaches that God has His reasons for allowing evil. Christian thinkers have traditionally classified God’s reasons into two categories: (1) Creaturely volition (at least in the case of Satan and Adam) would not be free if there were no possibility to disobey God’s will. Evil results, therefore, from the abuse of freedom. (2) Suffering can be providentially used to develop Christian character. Scripture, however, provides more than two reasons and in doing so never compromises the reality of either the living God or evil.

Biblical Reasons for Evil

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Evil

Mystery The book of Job teaches that reasons behind one’s suffering may be hidden from the sufferer and misunderstood by observers. Job ultimately learns to rest in God, even without a full explanation (