Many people wonder why Jehovah has permitted the world to continue in the state it has displayed for millennia. There is no doubt that what the Bible describes as wickedness and evil abound, yet we are told that Jehovah is a loving and just god. The two just do not seem to go together. In fact, there is a good explanation in the scriptures about what is happening and why.

Let us set the scene. The first couple were given a beautiful place to live, a paradise in fact. Then a malicious angel interfered in their lives, and Jehovah’s plans for them, by enticing them to disobey him. I say he was malicious, because any angel who had any concern for the couple whatsoever, would never have put them in that position, but would have encouraged them to be obedient to Jehovah. Obviously, that angel did not care about the couple at all, only what he wanted.

Later, there is an explanation as to what that angel was doing found in the book of Job. In that book, this angel is referred to as "the opposer", whcih is the meaning of ’satan" and openly challenges Jehovah’s authority and his right to rule over his own creation. He is never actually named, and is referred to merely by this description. Other terms have been used as well, Jesus referred to him as the Lord of Flies (Beelzebub) for instance. In Mathew 10:25 Jesus said, "If people have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household?"

The incident is recorded in Job, 1:6-12, and is made a second time in Job, 2:1-6. To read these please Click Here

This account shows the basic accusation that Satan made about why people serve Jehovah: that it is only because he protects them and makes them prosperous. In effect he is claiming that Jehovah buys their worship and that is the only reason that people serve him. He claims that people do not worship Jehovah because it is the right thing to do and that he deserves that worship, but only for what they can get out of it and that he, Satan, can do it better and get mankind to serve him in preference to Jehovah.

The rest of the account in Job then goes on to show that the accusation is not true, that it is a lie, that Job worships Jehovah for who Jehovah is,

not for material gain. Job, of course, remains faithful, proving that Satan is a liar, although we already knew that.

However, in a greater context, the accusation remains: that people serve Jehovah for personal benefit and that when times get difficult, people will abandon him. So what is Jehovah to do? An accusation has been made in front of the whole universe of angels, to the effect that Jehovah has to buy worship, that men will abandon him as soon as things get difficult, that Satan can entice men away from god and do a better job of providing for them.

As was the case with Job, Jehovah has allowed Satan an opportunity to prove his accusation. Jehovah has allowed him to do what he wants to support his claim. As was the case with Job, and as is obvious from the state of the world now, Satan has failed in that. It has become clear that there have always been people who serve Jehovah because he is the creator, and because it is the right thing to do, and that there are still people today who serve Jehovah because it is the proper thing to do.

Now that the matter has been settled, the time that Jehovah has allowed Satan to prove his claim is rapidly coming to an end, and we can confidently expect changes to take place that will result in a completely different world, a New World, as it were. This promise was given in Isaiah, 65:17, "For look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, nor will they come up into the heart." Later, the apostle Peter repeated this in his second letter, 2 Peter, 3:13, "But there are new heavens and a new earth earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell."

So, this is the promise, there will soon be a world in which there is no more trouble, no more distress, just righteousness and with no distressing memories of the world as it is today. Will you be there? Would you like to be there? If so, ask for a bible study to learn more.

If you have a question about this or any other bible subject, please ask it in an email.