Reference: Evil
Hastings
EVIL is an older form of the word 'ill'; used, both as substantive and adjective, to tr various synonyms and ranging in meaning from physical unfitness to moral wickedness. The former is archaic, but occurs in Ge 28:8 (Authorized Version margin), Ex 21:8 (Authorized Version margin), Jer 24:3 (AV), and Mt 7:18, though the two last passages are not without an ethical tinge. But the word almost invariably connotes what is either morally corrupt (see Sin) or injurious to life and happiness.
1. In the OT the two meanings are at first scarcely differentiated. Whatever comes to man from without is, to begin with, attributed simply to God (Am 3:6; La 3:38; Eze 14:9; Isa 45:7). Destruction is wrought by His angels (Ex 12:23; 2Sa 24:16; Ps 78:49). Moral temptations come from Him (2Sa 24:1; 1Ki 22:23), though there is a tendency to embody them in beings which, though belonging to the host of heaven, are spoken of as evil or lying spirits (1Sa 16:14; Jg 9:23; 1Ki 22:22). The serpent of the Fall narrative cannot be pressed to mean more than a symbol of temptation, though the form which the temptation takes suggests hostility to the will of God external to the spirit of the woman (2Co 11:3, cf. Ge 3:1-3). Then later we have the figure of the Adversary or Satan, who, though still dependent on the will of God, is nevertheless so identified with evil that he is represented as taking the initiative in seduction (Zec 3:1; 1Ch 21:1, but cf. 2Sa 24:1). This marks the growth of the sense of God's holiness (De 32:4 etc.), the purity which cannot behold evil (Hab 1:13); and correspondingly sharpens the problem. Heathen gods are now identified with demons opposed to the God of Israel (De 32:17; Ps 106:37; cf. 1Co 10:20). This tendency, increased perhaps by Persian influence, becomes dominant in apocryphal literature (2Pe 2:4 and Jude 1:6 are based on the Book of Enoch), where the fallen angels are a kingdom at war with the Kingdom of God.
2. In the NT moral evil is never ascribed to God (Jas 1:13), being essentially hostile to His mind and will (Ro 1:18-21; 5:10; 1Jo 1:5-7; 2:16,29; 3:4,9); but to the Evil One (Mt 6:13; 13:19; 1Jo 5:19), an active and personal being identical with the Devil (Mt 13:39; Joh 8:44) or Satan (Mt 4:10; Mr 4:15; Lu 22:31; Joh 13:27), who with his angels (Mt 25:41) is cast down from heaven (Re 12:9, cf. Lu 10:18), goes to and fro in the earth as the universal adversary (1Pe 5:8; Eph 4:27; 6:11; Jas 4:7), and will be finally imprisoned with his ministering spirits (Re 20:2,10, cf. Mt 25:41). Pain and suffering are ascribed sometimes to God (Re 3:19; 1Th 3:3; Heb 12:5-11), inasmuch as all things work together for good to those that love Him (Ro 8:28); sometimes to Satan (Lu 13:16; 2Co 12:7) and the demons (Mt 8:28 etc.), who are suffered to hurt the earth for a season (Re 9:1-11; 12:12).
The speculative question of the origin of evil is not resolved in Holy Scripture, being one of those things of which we are not competent judges (see Butler's Analogy, i. 7, cf. 1Co 13:12). Pain is justified by the redemption of the body (Ro 8:18-25; 1Pe 4:13), punishment by the peaceable fruits of righteousness (Heb 12:7-11), and the permission of moral evil by the victory of the Cross (Joh 12:31; Ro 8:37-39; Col 2:15; 1Co 15:24-28). Accept the facts and look to the end is the teaching of the Bible as a guide to practical religion (Jas 5:11). Beyond this we enter the region of that high theology which comprehensive thinkers like Aquinas or Calvin have not shrunk from formulating, but which, so far as it is dealt with in the NT, appears rather as a by-product of evangelical thought, than as the direct purpose of revelation (as, e.g., in Ro 9, where God's elective choice is stated only as the logical presupposition of grace). St. Paul is content to throw the responsibility for the moral facts of the universe upon God (Ro 9:19-24; cf. Job 33:12; Ec 5:2; Isa 29:16), who, however, is not defined as capricious and arbitrary power, but revealed as the Father, who loves the creatures of His hand, and has foreordained all things to a perfect consummation in Christ the Beloved (Eph 1:3-14 etc.).
J. G. Simpson.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Now the snake was wiser than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God truly said that you may not take of the fruit of any tree in the garden? And the woman said, We may take of the fruit of the trees in the garden: read more. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, If you take of it or put your hands on it, death will come to you.
For the Lord will go through the land, sending death on the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the two sides and the top of the door, the Lord will go over your door and will not let death come in for your destruction.
If she is not pleasing to her master who has taken her for himself, let a payment be made for her so that she may go free; her master has no power to get a price for her and send her to a strange land, because he has been false to her.
He is the Rock, complete is his work; for all his ways are righteousness: a God without evil who keeps faith, true and upright is he.
They made offerings to evil spirits which were not God, to gods who were strange to them, which had newly come up, not feared by your fathers.
While you are living, all will give way before you: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not take away my help from you or give you up. Take heart and be strong; for you will give to this people for their heritage the land which I gave by an oath to their fathers. read more. Only take heart and be very strong; take care to do all the law which Moses my servant gave you, not turning from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may do well in all your undertakings.
And she said to them, Get away into the hill-country, or the men who have gone after you will overtake you; keep yourselves safe there for three days, till the searchers have come back, and then go on your way.
But let there be a space between you and it of about two thousand cubits: come no nearer to it, so that you may see the way you have to go, for you have not been over this way before.
And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come to me here: and give ear to the words of the Lord your God.
And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the townsmen of Shechem; and the townsmen of Shechem were false to Abimelech;
Now the spirit of the Lord had gone from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was troubling him.
Again the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and moving David against them, he said, Go, take the number of Israel and Judah.
Again the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and moving David against them, he said, Go, take the number of Israel and Judah.
Truly, in saying this you are wrong; for God is greater than man.
He sent on them the heat of his wrath, his bitter disgust, letting loose evil angels among them.
Be not unwise with your mouth, and let not your heart be quick to say anything before God, because God is in heaven and you are on the earth--so let not the number of your words be great.
You are turning things upside down! Is the wet earth the same to you as the one who is forming it? will the thing made say of him who made it, He made me not: or the thing formed say of him who gave it form, He has no knowledge?
I am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Then the Lord said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs are very good, and the bad very bad, and of no use for food, they are so bad.
Do not evil and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
And if the prophet, tricked by deceit, says anything, it is I the Lord by whom he has been tricked, and I will put out my hand against him, and he will be cut off from among my people Israel.
If the horn is sounded in the town will the people not be full of fear? will evil come on a town if the Lord has not done it?
Before your holy eyes sin may not be seen, and you are unable to put up with wrong; why, then, are your eyes on the false? why do you say nothing when the evil-doer puts an end to one who is more upright than himself?
And he let me see Joshua, the high priest, in his place before the angel of the Lord, and the Satan at his right hand ready to take up a cause against him.
Then said Jesus to him, Away, Satan: for it is in the Writings, Give worship to the Lord your God and be his servant only.
And let us not be put to the test, but keep us safe from the Evil One.
It is not possible for a good tree to give bad fruit, and a bad tree will not give good fruit.
And when he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, there came out to him from the place of the dead, two who had evil spirits, so violent that no man was able to go that way.
When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside.
And he who put them in the earth is Satan; and the getting in of the grain is the end of the world; and those who get it in are the angels.
Then will he say to those on the left, Go from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which is ready for the Evil One and his angels:
Then will he say to those on the left, Go from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which is ready for the Evil One and his angels:
And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them.
And he said, I was watching for Satan, falling from heaven like a star.
And is it not right for this daughter of Abraham, who has been in the power of Satan for eighteen years, to be made free on the Sabbath?
Simon, Simon, Satan has made a request to have you, so that he may put you to the test as grain is tested:
You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false.
Now is this world to be judged: now will the ruler of this world be sent out.
And when Judas took the bread Satan went into him. Then Jesus said to him, Do quickly what you have to do.
For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing; Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them. read more. For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.
For if, when we were haters of God, the death of his Son made us at peace with him, much more, now that we are his friends, will we have salvation through his life;
I am of the opinion that there is no comparison between the pain of this present time and the glory which we will see in the future. For the strong desire of every living thing is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God. read more. For every living thing was put under the power of change, not by its desire, but by him who made it so, in hope That all living things will be made free from the power of death and will have a part with the free children of God in glory. For we are conscious that all living things are weeping and sorrowing in pain together till now. And not only so, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we have sorrow in our minds, waiting for the time when we will take our place as sons, that is, the salvation of our bodies. For our salvation is by hope: but hope which is seen is not hope: for who is hoping for what he sees? But if we have hope for that which we see not, then we will be able to go on waiting for it.
And we are conscious that all things are working together for good to those who have love for God, and have been marked out by his purpose.
But we are able to overcome all these things and more through his love. For I am certain that not death, or life, or angels, or rulers, or things present, or things to come, or powers, read more. Or things on high, or things under the earth, or anything which is made, will be able to come between us and the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But you will say to me, Why does he still make us responsible? who is able to go against his purpose? But, O man, who are you, to make answer against God? May the thing which is made say to him who made it, Why did you make me so? read more. Or has not the potter the right to make out of one part of his earth a vessel for honour, and out of another a vessel for shame? What if God, desiring to let his wrath and his power be seen, for a long time put up with the vessels of wrath which were ready for destruction: And to make clear the wealth of his glory to vessels of mercy, which he had before made ready for glory, Even us, who were marked out by him, not only from the Jews, but from the Gentiles?
What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.
For now we see things in a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now my knowledge is in part; then it will be complete, even as God's knowledge of me.
But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ: Even as he made selection of us in him from the first, so that we might be holy and free from all evil before him in love: read more. As we were designed before by him for the position of sons to himself, through Jesus Christ, in the good pleasure of his purpose, To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely gave to us in the Loved One: In whom we have salvation through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, through the wealth of his grace, Which he gave us in full measure in all wisdom and care; Having made clear to us the secret of his purpose, in agreement with the design which he had in mind, to put into his hands The ordering of the times when they are complete, so that all things might come to a head in Christ, the things in heaven and the things on the earth; in him, I say, In whom we have a heritage, being marked out from the first in his purpose who does all things in agreement with his designs; So that his glory might have praise through us who first had hope in Christ: In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope, Which is the first-fruit of our heritage, till God gets back that which is his, to the praise of his glory.
And do not give way to the Evil One.
Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
Having made himself free from the rule of authorities and powers, he put them openly to shame, glorying over them in it.
And you have not kept in mind the word which says to you as to sons, My son, do not make little of the Lord's punishment, and do not give up hope when you are judged by him; For the Lord sends punishment on his loved ones; everyone whom he takes as his son has experience of his rod. read more. It is for your training that you undergo these things; God is acting to you as a father does to his sons; for what son does not have punishment from his father?
It is for your training that you undergo these things; God is acting to you as a father does to his sons; for what son does not have punishment from his father? But if you have not that punishment of which we all have our part, then you are not true sons, but children of shame.
But if you have not that punishment of which we all have our part, then you are not true sons, but children of shame. And again, if the fathers of our flesh gave us punishment and had our respect, how much more will we be under the authority of the Father of spirits, and have life?
And again, if the fathers of our flesh gave us punishment and had our respect, how much more will we be under the authority of the Father of spirits, and have life? For they truly gave us punishment for a short time, as it seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, so that we may become holy as he is.
For they truly gave us punishment for a short time, as it seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, so that we may become holy as he is. At the time all punishment seems to be pain and not joy: but after, those who have been trained by it get from it the peace-giving fruit of righteousness.
At the time all punishment seems to be pain and not joy: but after, those who have been trained by it get from it the peace-giving fruit of righteousness.
Let no man say when he is tested, I am tested by God; for it is not possible for God to be tested by evil, and he himself puts no man to such a test:
For this cause be ruled by God; but make war on the Evil One and he will be put to flight before you.
We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.
Be serious and keep watch; the Evil One, who is against you, goes about like a lion with open mouth in search of food;
For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged;
And the angels who did not keep to their kingdom but went out from the place which was theirs, he has put in eternal chains and in dark night till the great day of the judging.
To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.
And at the sounding of the fifth angel I saw a star falling from heaven to the earth: and there was given to him the key of the great deep. And he made the great deep open and a smoke went up from it, like the smoke of a great oven; and the sun and the air were made dark because of the smoke. read more. And from the smoke locusts came out on the earth; and power was given them, like the power of scorpions. And they were ordered to do no damage to the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only to such men as have not the mark of God on their brows. And orders were given them not to put them to death, but to give them great pain for five months: and their pain was as the pain from the wound of a scorpion. And in those days men will be hoping for death, and it will not come to them; and they will have a great desire for death, and death will go in flight from them. And the forms of the locusts were like horses made ready for war; and on their heads they had crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates like iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of carriages, like an army of horses rushing to the fight. And they have pointed tails like scorpions; and in their tails is their power to give men wounds for five months. They have over them as king the angel of the great deep: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek language Apollyon.
And the great dragon was forced down, the old snake, who is named the Evil One and Satan, by whom all the earth is turned from the right way; he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him.
Be glad then, O heavens, and you who are in them. But there is trouble for the earth and the sea: because the Evil One has come down to you, being very angry, having the knowledge that he has but a short time.
And he took the dragon, the old snake, which is the Evil One and Satan, and put chains on him for a thousand years,
And the Evil One who put them in error was sent down into the sea of ever-burning fire, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their punishment will go on day and night for ever and ever.