There is no shortage of evil in this world. As far back as recorded history, we read about wars, murder, violence, prejudice, pain… Will God destroy evil?!… How can we be sure?! Below are…
Three ways Jesus specifically defeated evil:
But first… in order to understand how the Lord God might work in the future, we must first look back at what He’s already done in the past. Let’s start where it all began…
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. ~ Genesis 1:1-4
From there, God created the sun, the moon, the stars…
He created creatures in the sea, like the Dumbo Octopus. (Weeeeird!)
He created creatures on the land, like Madagascar’s Lowland streaked tenrec. (Cute? Eh…)
He created a person, and then He created another person, and He put them in a garden.
All the things were “very good” (Genesis 1:31), until they weren’t…
The serpent was called “crafty”, which, in the Hebrew language, is another word for “cunning, deceitful, attractive”. But, as the years have gone by, that serpent’s title has grown even bigger. That serpent, and all that he represents, is often referred to as “the devil, satan, the accuser, the adversary, the prince of darkness, the father of lies, the enemy, the evil one”… and more.
The entertainment industry has given this entity a red pitchfork and a cape, and they’ve added witches and vampires and zombies to the mix; but, we can be assured…
… demons are not that obvious.
They live in the subtle… the illusive… the blurry.
That serpent introduced evil into the world that day. Sin entered the mix, and it all went downhill from there… murder, racism, total oppression of people groups… wars, and more wars, and more wars… floods and droughts… natural disasters that affect families, regions, entire countries… cities burned, nations wiped out… things that can only be described as spiritual warfare, the wickedness of something far deeper than the average human mind can go.
Call it “Satan”. Call it “darkness”. Call it “lies”. You would be right. It’s evil, in all kinds of shapes and sizes. In fact, many philosophers have placed these shapes and sizes into…
Three main categories of evil:
1. Moral Evil:
This is the evil that exists due to the choices humans make in this world. This form of evil breeds all kinds of violence, racism, addiction, greed… It stems from all kinds of sins: hatred, bitterness, rage… the list goes on.
2. Natural Evil:
This is the evil that exists due to natural forces, out of our control. This category of evil is seen in the forms of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods… It has the ability to bring huge waves of pain and anguish upon families, cities, states, and nations, all at once.
3. Metaphysical Evil:
This is the evil that some argue does not exist… because you can’t see it with your eyes. It is the evil that lives outside of our concrete thinking. It is illusive. It is dark. It is other-worldly. It is… spiritual warfare.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ~ Ephesians 6:12
That’s a lot of evil. So, the question becomes…
“Will it ever go away?!”
Will there ever be a world where sin, once again, is not? It obviously hasn’t happened yet; and yet, we have glimpses – hints of complete healing, recordings of restoration, testimonies of total transformation…
If we keep reading past Genesis 3, we begin to see these people start popping up called “prophets”. People like Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah, Amos… They are tearing their clothes at the grief… the pain… the destruction that the world’s evils have caused.
But, at the same time, they keep talking about this day… this day that will come. They keep saying that “on this day” justice will be served and wickedness will no longer stand, and evil will be defeated at last. For example…
And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established… And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations…. Nation will not lift a sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.… ~ Micah 4:1-3
(You should read all of chapter 4. It gets better and better from there…)
Now, these prophets say this, but hundreds and hundreds of years go by, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Until…
… this man comes along.
He grew up in Nazareth, but he’s started walking into synagogues on the Sabbath, around Israel, teaching the people. And, he is really good at it. Like, really good. Most rabbis and scribes and preachers of the day stand up there on the Sabbath and just read the scriptures, and talk, but this guy…
He’s so different. Not only does he teach in this incredible way, but he does these incredible things. For instance, there was…
1. … this time Jesus defeated moral evil.
Jesus was in Capernaum, teaching in this house, with crowds so eager to see him that there was a line out the door. Nobody could get in. It was like trying to break through a crowd at a Justin Bieber concert.
These four friends, though, have a buddy who is paralyzed, and they are determined to get him to Jesus. So, as any reasonable set of friends would do for their bestie, they begin to tear apart the roof of the house… obviously. When the hole is large enough, they figure out a way (pulley system, perhaps?) to lower their friend, on his mat, all the way down, right at the feet of Jesus.
Crazy thing is, Jesus doesn’t just say, “You’re healed. You can walk now.” No, he starts off by saying, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” … It is as if, perhaps, this paralyzed man, at some point in his life, did something morally wrong that put him in this difficult position, and Jesus, in that moment, simply… fixed it. Jesus just, like… reversed the sin that had caused this. He didn’t just give the man the ability to walk. From the words he proclaimed, he basically erased the whole thing. …
All of these people, most especially the religious people, were AMAZED, but they were also like, “Who IS this guy?! Who can just take away sin!? Who has the power to do that?!”
(Just wait… It gets better… cuz then there was…)
2. … this time Jesus defeated natural evil.
Jesus got in a boat to cross this body of water called the Sea of Galilee. He was with the main guys he traveled with, who were also learning from him daily, called his “disciples”. As they were sailing across the sea at night, a storm came.
It was a really bad storm. In fact, the word scripture uses to describe the storm is the same word scripture uses to describe parts of the “tribulation” in the last book of the Bible. If you know anything about the speculation of “end times”, then you know… the tribulation period ain’t fun.
The storm is furious… mighty… the waves begin to break apart the boat, and these men, the disciples, are freaking out. But then…
Jesus gets up (from “the cushion” he was sleeping on, which is one of my favorite “random details of the Bible”).
He “rebukes” the wind, commanding it to “Be silent!” (like a parent sternly speaking to his child).
And, immediately, it is. … Instant. Peace.
Again, there is utter amazement from the people around him, mixed with exclamatory whispers of, “Who IS this guy?! Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Who can control nature with just a word?
(You know what I’m gonna say… It gets better… cuz then there’s…)
3. … this time Jesus defeated metaphysical evil.
Jesus gets off the boat, after this mighty squall, and he enters this region called Gerasa. As soon as Jesus gets out of the boat, this man comes out from behind these tombs to meet him. We find out that his name is “Legion”, deemed that name because of the “many demons” that have taken up residence within him.
This demon-possessed man starts shrieking and screaming at Jesus, exclaiming, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” (Mark 5:7) It’s as if these demons already know who He is… and they fear him.
Throughout the Gospels, people are constantly amazed at what Jesus does and says. They are constantly speculating, asking each other, “Who IS this man?!”
But, the demons, in far more scriptures than this one, already seem to know him… They seem to know that this man is the one who can defeat them. This man is the one with the power. This man is the one that can destroy their mission. This man is the one who can save.
We see the demons in Legion begging Jesus… They beg him to release them and place them into a herd of pigs not too far away. So, as scripture says, Jesus “gave them permission” (like a parent giving into a begging child), and the demons are cast out of that man.
In just three short texts (and, trust me, there are many more), we see testimony of Jesus Christ defeating moral evil… natural evil… metaphysical evil… He conquers it, just like that… with mere words. Wouldn’t you know…
The same God who can speak the universe into existence with a word is the same God that can defeat evil with a word as well.
When Jesus was on the earth, he didn’t heal everyone… He didn’t calm every storm… He didn’t heal every type of spiritual strife… He still doesn’t.
But, he did give us a glimpse. He gave us all the arrows that point to who He is.
And then, in his all-powerful, all-good self, he hung on that cross, taunted by the crowd who yelled, “If you’re the Son of God, get yourself down from there.”
He was more than powerful enough to do so, to conquer that temporary evil, but he didn’t. Why?!… Because Jesus knows, as the prophets foretold years and years before… one day all evil will be defeated. It will be extinguished… conquered… finished.
It was finished on that cross; though, we cannot yet see it with our own eyes. But, we will… one day.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. ~ Revelation 21:4
May you, friends, when faced with the evil of this world, focus on the One who will one day conquer it all. This world is broken, but He is not finished.
As Jesus said to his disciples long ago, he still says to us today…
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. ~ John 16:33
Written by Danielle Walker
For more on the subject of good versus evil, see: God vs. Satan, Good vs. Evil… Who Wins?! [And also, how to play checkers with your kid…]
For more on fighting temptation, watch Voice of God vs. voices of the world [Psalms]
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