In my study of various religious beliefs, only one I have found actually reconciles an evil world with death, disease, and suffering. All others include either a God who created an imperfect world with death and suffering and does not much care, or various gods at war with each other, often some evil and some not, or an imperfect god intrinsically both evil and good; thus, this world reflects his nature.
But according to the Bible, death was brought into this world by the original sin. By the created and their choice, not the Creator (Romans 5:12). It is not part of God’s plan but is, in fact, an enemy of God. (1 Corinthians 15:26). The Bible says God created a world after his own nature and in accordance with his own design. He created a perfect world without death, sin, disease, or suffering. People did not kill each other, and animals did not kill each other—man and animal were created to be vegetarian.
However, God also created free will. Love is a relationship. It needs to be chosen. God could have created us as objects fitted only to obey his will, follow his commands, and do his bidding—to be our master but rather, he wanted to be a friend. He wanted mankind to choose to love him. But the flip side is man also has the power to rebel against his creator, reject him, despise him, ignore him, and even war against him. In short, to hate him. The first Man, Adam, sinned against God, rejected him, chose his own path, and separated himself from a Holy and sinless God.
Since God cannot dwell with sin nor endure it without his judgment, sinful man can no longer live with God as he once did in the Garden, in paradise (Psalm 5:4, Habakkuk 1:13, Isaiah 59:2, Psalm 7:11). God is Good only, and the source of all good. Being separated from that source means this once perfect creation is now corrupted and falling apart, and mankind has spiritually died (Genesis 2:17). We can really expect no more of his goodness to be done on our behalf. We are, in part, getting what we asked for—life on our own terms, without God. What we are experiencing is a taste of the results of having pushed him away—a bit of Hell on earth.
Thus, all suffering and death result from man rejecting, thus separating himself, from God. The sin was judged with the curse; not just on mankind but creation itself (Genesis 8:21). Man’s sin destroyed the original perfect creation. Every bad thing happening, according to the Bible, has its ultimate source and cause in this rejection of and separation from God. That is why when Jesus was around, he fought disease and conquered death; he is “the last Adam” (Romans 5:12-21, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 44-49) to correct the ills brought by the first Adam.
God is one of restoration. Just as he would not abandon Adam and Eve, or sinful Israel (Hosea 11:8) kill them off, and start over with dogs, cats, or any other one of his creations, he also will not leave the world he created. He will restore this world, renewing it as it was in the beginning, this time enjoyed by those who chose to live with him eternally.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:1-5; also see Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 25:8).
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:6-9).
However, free will also has more direct and widespread consequences. In our fallen world, bad things happen because our world itself became imperfect, corrupted – put under the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19). For example, when people asked Jesus whether the deaths of 13 builders in Jerusalem who perished due to a collapse were a result of their sins, Jesus said no, that sometimes bad things happen to good people. All creation is in this condition (Romans 8:20-22), as is time itself – the only thing our God has given to us to redeem during our stay here. (The Greek word translated ‘redeem’ means ‘to ransom, buy back, rescue from loss’ and put to an entirely new and different use (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5)). Time will serve the darkness if we do not rescue it to serve His Light.
Christians rightly pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10) because we know our will is our own, corrupted, and rarely aligns with the Lord’s. Mankind wages war, enslaves, mistreats, and commits all kinds of sin. This world is not what God intended in the beginning, or intends for its end. These are two very different things. God’s will is not done here [often]. Ours is. God gave us stewardship of the earth (Psalm 8.6, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15). Our abuse of that stewardship is another cause of suffering resulting from free will.
It is no Longer God’s Creation
“Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage” (C.S. Lewis).
God is the creator of the universe and all in it, whether it obeys him or not; thus, he can do whatever he wants with his creation whenever he wants. He holds authority over it, and He has the power to do what he wants with it as He sees fit. In fact, he has done so by allowing free will – but . by allowing free will – by handing over his creation to those he loved and built it for – when mankind gave way to sin, though we were the stewards of the earth, we effectively handed it on to satan, who corrupts and twists it to his own will.
Jesus calls the devil “the prince and ruler of this world,” and in John 8:23 and John 18:36, Jesus clearly says I am not of this world. In Matthew 4:8-9, Satan offered Jesus the world if he worshipped him! Paul calls Satan the “God of this age” in 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Perhaps this is hard for we moderns who have constantly lived under centralized power and enforced obedience to understand, but this sort of feudal lordship, or kingship of God, would be easily understood in a Christian or Biblical society (See the book Missing Monarchy: Correcting Misconceptions About The Middle Ages, Medieval Kingship, Democracy, And Liberty).
Death as a Gift
But was it harsh for God to institute death as a punishment for sin? Is that not a bit severe? It is harsh, but choosing death over life, and ruining a perfect world, is a great sin. And continuing in this fallen world eternally is far worse. Imagine being trapped in a concentration camp or torture chamber. Or suffering forever from great illness and decay. Many of the older generation, when they hit their late 70s and beyond, are “ready” for death. They have seen and endured enough evil for one lifetime.
It is part of the human soul to desire rest, peace, and eternity in paradise; we were never meant for this world (Ecclesiastes 3:11 Philippians 3:20). From God’s perspective, this sin-sick fallen world is so far from reality it should be driving us to seek His eternity. Any light we see here is just a shadow of what we are designed for. Death is an escape from this fallen world into life as it was meant to be, for those who choose it.
Looking at J.R.R Tolkien’s works on Middle-earth, which he said he wrote to be “consonant with Christian theology,” we see this is why the elves thought death was God’s gift to mankind, “The gift of death, which comes to men from Ilúvatar.” When the men of Númenor were upset that humans died while elves and Valar did not, the Valar replied, “Thus you escape, and leave the world and are not bound by it, in hope or in weariness. Which of us, therefore, should envy the others.” Living forever in a fallen world brings weariness, and the paradise we all desire could not be attained without death.
Speaking through the elves, Tolkien took this stance from Genesis 3:22–24. God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden because if they ate the fruit of the tree of (everlasting) life, they would go on living forever as fallen, corrupt, sinful, decayed human beings spiritually dead and disconnected from God. This is not God’s plan for them; he would not accept and could not allow evil to continue forever. Psalm 116:15 reads, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” Likewise, Saint Francis wrote, “Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death.” From this point of view, death is a gift.
“The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil” (Isaiah. 57:1).
Further, if there were no heaven or hell, then there would be no eternal consequences or rewards for any individual, and mankind could act however they wanted. We would have hell on earth, mankind living eternally separated from God. This all could have been avoided, but God’s standards are, by necessity, perfection – and who can live up to God’s standards?
“Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion, Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother’” (Zechariah 7:8-10).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The Solution: The Gospel
“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as “God on the cross.” In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us…The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak.” (John Stott, The Cross of Christ).
The solution to death and suffering lies in the reason Jesus, the Messiah, both man and God, was sent as a perfect, sinless sacrifice. By living a sinless life, sacrificing himself for mankind, taking the penalty of death and sin on the cross, and then returning to life and defeating death (John 10:18) people can place their trust in him rather than themselves, their works, or other gods and receive by grace the free gift of salvation (Isaiah 53:5-6, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 3:9-11 6:23).
In this way, and only this way, can a perfect God judge and punish the world, thus keeping justice and demonstrating love and mercy for those he loves. The most vital obstacle to the human condition is solved.
proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:6-7)
Picture God as a judge; He is a loving, forgiving, and perfectly holy one. If God is loving and forgiving and truly abhors sin (as an all-loving and just God would), then He cannot allow any sin to go unpunished. He must judge all sin, or He would not be just or fair since mankind is sinful (Romans 3:23). He might desire that all are saved (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, Matthew 23:37) but not all will cooperate.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?,’ says the Lord God, ‘And not rather that he should turn from his way and live? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,’ says the Lord God. ‘So turn and live! Say to them, “As I live,” says the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways. For why will you die? (Ezekiel 18:23,32; 33:11)
But according to the Bible, death was brought into this world by the original sin. By the created and their choice, not the Creator (Romans 5:12). It is not part of God’s plan but is, in fact, an enemy of God. (1 Corinthians 15:26). The Bible says God created a world after his own nature and in accordance with his own design. He created a perfect world without death, sin, disease, or suffering. People did not kill each other, and animals did not kill each other—man and animal were created to be vegetarian.
However, God also created free will. Love is a relationship. It needs to be chosen. God could have created us as objects fitted only to obey his will, follow his commands, and do his bidding—to be our master but rather, he wanted to be a friend. He wanted mankind to choose to love him. But the flip side is man also has the power to rebel against his creator, reject him, despise him, ignore him, and even war against him. In short, to hate him. The first Man, Adam, sinned against God, rejected him, chose his own path, and separated himself from a Holy and sinless God.
Since God cannot dwell with sin nor endure it without his judgment, sinful man can no longer live with God as he once did in the Garden, in paradise (Psalm 5:4, Habakkuk 1:13, Isaiah 59:2, Psalm 7:11). God is Good only, and the source of all good. Being separated from that source means this once perfect creation is now corrupted and falling apart, and mankind has spiritually died (Genesis 2:17). We can really expect no more of his goodness to be done on our behalf. We are, in part, getting what we asked for—life on our own terms, without God. What we are experiencing is a taste of the results of having pushed him away—a bit of Hell on earth.
Thus, all suffering and death result from man rejecting, thus separating himself, from God. The sin was judged with the curse; not just on mankind but creation itself (Genesis 8:21). Man’s sin destroyed the original perfect creation. Every bad thing happening, according to the Bible, has its ultimate source and cause in this rejection of and separation from God. That is why when Jesus was around, he fought disease and conquered death; he is “the last Adam” (Romans 5:12-21, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 44-49) to correct the ills brought by the first Adam.
God is one of restoration. Just as he would not abandon Adam and Eve, or sinful Israel (Hosea 11:8) kill them off, and start over with dogs, cats, or any other one of his creations, he also will not leave the world he created. He will restore this world, renewing it as it was in the beginning, this time enjoyed by those who chose to live with him eternally.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:1-5; also see Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 25:8).
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:6-9).
However, free will also has more direct and widespread consequences. In our fallen world, bad things happen because our world itself became imperfect, corrupted – put under the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19). For example, when people asked Jesus whether the deaths of 13 builders in Jerusalem who perished due to a collapse were a result of their sins, Jesus said no, that sometimes bad things happen to good people. All creation is in this condition (Romans 8:20-22), as is time itself – the only thing our God has given to us to redeem during our stay here. (The Greek word translated ‘redeem’ means ‘to ransom, buy back, rescue from loss’ and put to an entirely new and different use (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5)). Time will serve the darkness if we do not rescue it to serve His Light.
Christians rightly pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10) because we know our will is our own, corrupted, and rarely aligns with the Lord’s. Mankind wages war, enslaves, mistreats, and commits all kinds of sin. This world is not what God intended in the beginning, or intends for its end. These are two very different things. God’s will is not done here [often]. Ours is. God gave us stewardship of the earth (Psalm 8.6, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15). Our abuse of that stewardship is another cause of suffering resulting from free will.
It is no Longer God’s Creation
“Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage” (C.S. Lewis).
God is the creator of the universe and all in it, whether it obeys him or not; thus, he can do whatever he wants with his creation whenever he wants. He holds authority over it, and He has the power to do what he wants with it as He sees fit. In fact, he has done so by allowing free will – but . by allowing free will – by handing over his creation to those he loved and built it for – when mankind gave way to sin, though we were the stewards of the earth, we effectively handed it on to satan, who corrupts and twists it to his own will.
Jesus calls the devil “the prince and ruler of this world,” and in John 8:23 and John 18:36, Jesus clearly says I am not of this world. In Matthew 4:8-9, Satan offered Jesus the world if he worshipped him! Paul calls Satan the “God of this age” in 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Perhaps this is hard for we moderns who have constantly lived under centralized power and enforced obedience to understand, but this sort of feudal lordship, or kingship of God, would be easily understood in a Christian or Biblical society (See the book Missing Monarchy: Correcting Misconceptions About The Middle Ages, Medieval Kingship, Democracy, And Liberty).
Death as a Gift
But was it harsh for God to institute death as a punishment for sin? Is that not a bit severe? It is harsh, but choosing death over life, and ruining a perfect world, is a great sin. And continuing in this fallen world eternally is far worse. Imagine being trapped in a concentration camp or torture chamber. Or suffering forever from great illness and decay. Many of the older generation, when they hit their late 70s and beyond, are “ready” for death. They have seen and endured enough evil for one lifetime.
It is part of the human soul to desire rest, peace, and eternity in paradise; we were never meant for this world (Ecclesiastes 3:11 Philippians 3:20). From God’s perspective, this sin-sick fallen world is so far from reality it should be driving us to seek His eternity. Any light we see here is just a shadow of what we are designed for. Death is an escape from this fallen world into life as it was meant to be, for those who choose it.
Looking at J.R.R Tolkien’s works on Middle-earth, which he said he wrote to be “consonant with Christian theology,” we see this is why the elves thought death was God’s gift to mankind, “The gift of death, which comes to men from Ilúvatar.” When the men of Númenor were upset that humans died while elves and Valar did not, the Valar replied, “Thus you escape, and leave the world and are not bound by it, in hope or in weariness. Which of us, therefore, should envy the others.” Living forever in a fallen world brings weariness, and the paradise we all desire could not be attained without death.
Speaking through the elves, Tolkien took this stance from Genesis 3:22–24. God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden because if they ate the fruit of the tree of (everlasting) life, they would go on living forever as fallen, corrupt, sinful, decayed human beings spiritually dead and disconnected from God. This is not God’s plan for them; he would not accept and could not allow evil to continue forever. Psalm 116:15 reads, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” Likewise, Saint Francis wrote, “Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death.” From this point of view, death is a gift.
“The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil” (Isaiah. 57:1).
Further, if there were no heaven or hell, then there would be no eternal consequences or rewards for any individual, and mankind could act however they wanted. We would have hell on earth, mankind living eternally separated from God. This all could have been avoided, but God’s standards are, by necessity, perfection – and who can live up to God’s standards?
“Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion, Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother’” (Zechariah 7:8-10).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The Solution: The Gospel
“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as “God on the cross.” In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us…The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak.” (John Stott, The Cross of Christ).
The solution to death and suffering lies in the reason Jesus, the Messiah, both man and God, was sent as a perfect, sinless sacrifice. By living a sinless life, sacrificing himself for mankind, taking the penalty of death and sin on the cross, and then returning to life and defeating death (John 10:18) people can place their trust in him rather than themselves, their works, or other gods and receive by grace the free gift of salvation (Isaiah 53:5-6, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 3:9-11 6:23).
In this way, and only this way, can a perfect God judge and punish the world, thus keeping justice and demonstrating love and mercy for those he loves. The most vital obstacle to the human condition is solved.
proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:6-7)
Picture God as a judge; He is a loving, forgiving, and perfectly holy one. If God is loving and forgiving and truly abhors sin (as an all-loving and just God would), then He cannot allow any sin to go unpunished. He must judge all sin, or He would not be just or fair since mankind is sinful (Romans 3:23). He might desire that all are saved (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, Matthew 23:37) but not all will cooperate.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?,’ says the Lord God, ‘And not rather that he should turn from his way and live? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,’ says the Lord God. ‘So turn and live! Say to them, “As I live,” says the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways. For why will you die? (Ezekiel 18:23,32; 33:11)
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Thank you!
