IS GOD
INDIFFERENT?
If
we examine critically all that is written about Satan, some people, whether
believers or not, may get the impression that he is omnipotent or almost so,
while God stands aside with His arms crossed. They feel God is indifferent to
the sorrows and suffering of mankind, deaf to their cries for help, thus
leaving to Satan complete freedom to do all the evil that he desires to do in
tormenting mankind.
To
correct this false impression, we believe it would be helpful to mention the
principal works and character of God which prove beyond any doubt that our
Creator is far from indifferent about Satan's activities and the suffering he
causes mankind. We will note how God's activities stand out in contrast to
Satan’s, neutralizing
them.
It
is not true that God has given Satan full liberty to do whatever he pleases.
That would be abdicating His Divine supremacy and control over all His
creation. According to the Holy Scriptures, God permits a limited liberty of action, as was evident in Job’s
case, for the purpose of teaching a lesson to all His intelligent creatures, be
they earthly or heavenly, about the terrible consequences of disobedience, and
how, contrary-wise, faith is rewarded.
When this lesson is fully learned, Satan will be permanently destroyed (Isa.
After
the creation of our first parents at the end of the sixth day or creative
epoch, God rested from all His works (Gen. 2:3). This rest, (which should not be understood as a literal
or physical rest (see Isaiah 40:28) has continued to this day and will
continue to the end of the Millennium, when the Lord Jesus will turn the
restored Kingdom back to God, so that “God
may be all in all “(1 Cor. 15:24).
During
the Millennium God will hand the work of the Kingdom over to the Lord Jesus
Christ, His beloved Son, the Logos
or the Arm of Jehovah. In almost all the
manifestations in the Old Testament, the Logos played a very important part,
speaking and acting for God until He came to earth as a perfect man to give His
life a ransom for the
entire world. After His resurrection
from the dead, Jesus continues His
work of restoration until the end of the Millennium with one difference;
before His coming to earth the person of
Jesus, the Messiah, was
veiled under various types and
symbols, whereas after His coming
to earth He openly revealed Himself to men as the Son of God and Redeemer of mankind.
GOD'S ACTIVITIES
A
question that often comes to the mind of thinking people is this: ‘If God so
loves the world, why does He permit evil'? What has He done and what does He
plan to do for the benefit of all mankind? Does He plan to help or is He
indifferent to all our afflictions? At what point can we be sure that Satan's
kingdom will be destroyed, and replaced by God's Righteous and
The
Bible answers the above questions very positively. It tells us that God has
always loved the world because it is His creation. Just, think how He provides
food, sun, air, rain and all things
indispensable for life itself to all living creatures.
He
also created the mountains, rivers, flowers, animals, birds, fish and
everything for the enjoyment of His creatures. If man is incapable of fully enjoying
all these blessings, the fault is principally that of Satan who has led man
down the path of avarice, greed, selfishness, pride, arrogance, superstition, ignorance, and ingratitude, which has
degenerated and corrupted his nature, leading him to weakness and death, no
longer being in the image of his Creator.
WHAT HAS GOD DONE FOR HUMANITY?
It
would make a very long list to enumerate all the things that God has done for
humanity. Chief of all is His Plan for man’s salvation from the quicksand of
sin and death. Even before creation began, God, knowing that sin would enter
into His perfect world, planned for the eventual salvation from the abyss of
sin and death.
The
One that this Plan centered around from the beginning,
was His Only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who willingly agreed to be
the executor of His Father's Plan at great cost. Our Savior left the glory of heaven, emptying
Himself to come to a sin-cursed earth,
culminating His life by dying a tortuous death on the cross, being
confident of the Father's promise
to raise Him from the dead
and immeasurably reward Him for
His supreme sacrifice.
Two
thousand years later, the majority of the human race still has never heard or
read the true, complete story of Jesus despite the millions of Bibles sold and
translated in most languages of mankind, namely, that God’s kingdom will bring
blessing upon blessing to all willing and obedient. This hope for ALL mankind
is in the promised resurrection, with the grand offer of eternal life, without
fear of poverty, sickness, suffering, sorrow or death. What a blessed
hope!
But for those who have been translated out
of Satan’s kingdom and into the kingdom of the Son He loves, becoming His
children now, what innumerable blessings this new relationship has brought!
Under His daily care He leads, teaches and blesses them as they yield their
obedience, being abandoned to His will while abiding in His dear Son. If this
is true of you, then you know what God has done and is
still doing for and in you by His Spirit.
The reward for this trust and obedience is almost beyond our ability to
take in! In this life, there is His
peace, friendship, and a transformation of character into the likeness of the
Lord Jesus. Yet, there is more! For the faithful believer of this Gospel Age,
God has planned an everlasting life in heaven in the glorious presence of God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, companionship with all other faithful overcomer, as well
as fellowship with the myriad company of angels. Have we any idea what all
those blessed dwelling places in the
Father's house will be like which the
Lord Jesus went to prepare? They must be
of magnificent splendor, impossible for us to visualize, describe or take
in. Yes, every detail of God’s wonderful
Plan for all His creation will be accomplished under the Lord Jesus Christ and
the Church, His Bride. Will it not be
worth all the trials and suffering we endure?
All
this should convince us that God is not indifferent to the present conditions
of mankind, nor
of His children in particular. “But as it
is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him” (1
Cor. 2:9). “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the
desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and
rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of