In The Beginning

Let’s begin our search by looking at the one who receives all the blame for evil’s existence. In the beginning, God created. I am sure you understand that God did not begin all creation with us. There were beings created before us, the Hosts of Heaven, the angels. For our traceable beginnings, we need only go back as far as The Bible. We will start with several verses from Genesis chapter one.

“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

…And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. “ ~ Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31

Do you see it? Have you noticed a pattern? One thing you can depend on with God. He is consistent. His consistency shows forth in these seven verses. They all say that what He created was good. In fact, it says in verse 31 that it was very good! So one would think that everything He creates would be good as well.

“He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” ~ Deuteronomy 32:4

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” ~ Matthew 5:48

Not only is God's work perfect, He is perfect. Why then would He create something imperfect?

What or rather who do you think of when thinking of evil? No, not the in-laws or a sibling. Most people think of Satan; also called The Devil. As far as we know, evil began with him and God created him as well. So let’s take a quick look at this.

The Origin of Evil

The book of Ezekiel is the only place where the description of Satan’s creation exists. The description in Ezekiel 28 is lengthy. The point I want to make in found in verse 15…

“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”

As you can see, even when God created Satan, he was good. In fact, he was perfect! The word ‘ways’ describes his behavior and his being. So where did evil come from? Look again at verse 15. He was perfect until he rebelled! This, my friends, is when and where evil originated. God did not create evil. One of His created beings became filled with hubris and chose to rebel against God’s and thus, evil was born.

Free Will

Free will is the ability to make one’s own choice. Here is one thing you might not have realized. Our Heavenly Father did not give free will us alone. All God’s creation has free will, including the angels! I mean, how else would Satan be able to rebel and fall (be cast down) from Heaven? A third of the host sided with Satan. The rest remained faithful to God and remain so to this day.

One Verse Explained

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”  Isaiah 45:7

This verse may cause one to think this entire article is in error. God is speaking to Cyrus through Isaiah in a dialog addressing His omnipotence. Note how He says “I make peace, and create evil…”. The contrast in terms also reveal the context.

God is saying He can be peaceful and He can be wrathful! When God's wrath is kindled, evil is the result.

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.”  Revelation 15:1

Conclusion

I hope this post was able to answer the question about where evil originated. Our Creator did not set us up for failure by creating evil to war against us. He loves us and wants only the best for us. We have the choice to choose his love or settle for evil.