What is Evil?
The word "evil" is commonly used to describe a depraved person who engages in vile actions, such as a cruel and oppressive dictator, a mass murderer, a Satanic cult leader, or some similarly very disagreeable person who engages in wanton and heinous actions. Therefore these people and the acts they commit are both referred to as being evil in common usage. While this may all be true, if that common view adequately defined the subject it would not be covered in this book; but that view of evil is too narrow to align with God's view. The Bible defines evil as being much more complex, inclusive and pervasive than common usage would suggest. So how does the Bible define “evil”?
Since evil is a complex subject, let's begin with an overview. Evil is mentioned in over 400 Bible verses, so it is an important subject area to understand. As a starting point to enable understanding the issue, evil at its core is about opposition to God and His plan. There are two vantage points in life, and this split defines one side as evil and the other as true good. On the true good side is God and His plan, including those who are aligned with God and His plan. Everything else is opposed to God and His plan and is considered evil, and this is Satan's Cosmic System and those aligned with it. This is the divide between good and evil, and it generally defines evil as being opposed to God and His plan. Although believers are in God's overall plan since they have salvation, they can still cross over and support aspects of the evil plan of Satan.
At a more detailed level evil is about causing "unjustified harm" to another. Then defining the applicable forms of harm becomes the hard part. First and foremost, those who oppose God and His plan are committing harm against God. But you might ask, how can God be harmed? That is a good question which requires a detailed explanation and will soon be dealt with, but in general it is not actual harm but rather a specific type of offense against God resulting from rejection of Him by creatures. Then there is unjustified harm against people, and this can take many forms. Therefore during this chapter it is important to keep in mind the issue of unjustified harm as the core part of defining evil. To expand on the broad overview of evil, the Bible includes within the category of evil both thoughts and actions, therefore both can be evil. The Bible says there are inherently evil people. And God's view of those He considers to be inherently evil will surprise many since it includes most of the people of the world. So in God's view the majority of the people on earth are evil even though most of them would never seriously harm anyone from the human viewpoint. And of course Satan and his fallen angels are evil. Even believers can think evil and perform evil deeds. And institutions, organizations and groups can be evil. These issues show that evil is a more complex subject than most would imagine, and likely raises more questions than it answers at this point. But we are making progress.
It helps to understand the subject of evil by describing those creatures, both angelic and human, the Bible calls evil. This will also lead us to the answer to the question regarding "harm" to God. Evil is mentioned very early in the Bible in Genesis when Adam and the woman were in the Garden of Eden, but evil began way before that, long before there were humans. As one might suspect, it began with Satan, so let's start with examining Satan since he is the originator of evil. Satan is defined as inherently and totally evil because Satan has set himself up in direct opposition to God, opposing all that God is, does, and stands for. That is part of the "harm" against God mentioned earlier, namely opposition to God. Therefore the word "harm" is used in relation to God to help humans understand how God views this issue, that He is very seriously displeased by direct opposition from His created beings. The fall of Satan at his original sin was an act of evil, and in fact it was the very first evil which ever occurred. It was evil because it was a revolt which opposed God, and this is the first clue in defining evil, that the most basic form of evil is opposition to God because it says that God is not God. That is "harm" against God, that His created creatures reject Him, say God does not exist, that God should not be sovereign over all creatures, should not be the only one worshiped, that He is lying about Himself, and other forms of rejection by created beings. In his original sin Satan said "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14) and he therefore said God is not my God, so I can set myself up as His equal. God sees that as "harm" in the sense we can understand that God does not lightly accept such arrogant affronts to His sovereignty. Therefore, when a created creature acts in opposition to God, that act is evil. And when one thinks and acts in a pattern in opposition to God, that person or creature is actually evil. We will shortly discuss how God views idolatry as evil. In fact, it is the number one thing referred to as being evil in the Bible. Satan is referred to as “the evil one” fourteen times in the New Testament including in 1 John 5:19 which says: "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." Satan and his fallen angels are called evil, and their control over the "whole world", which refers to all unbelievers, is focused on opposition to God. Satan gained rulership over the world when Adam fell and lost that title to Satan, then Satan established his rule inside a Cosmic System of evil. As the evil one Satan and his fallen angels are inherently evil, and everything they do is called evil, since they are focused on opposing God in every way, and in all they do. Satan even does things which most people would call "good" as he seeks to advance his argument that he should not be put into the Lake of Fire, but because this "good" comes from Satan it is actually evil. Therefore there are also evil forms of good based on the sources and motivations.
As noted, Satan is evil, and his entire Cosmic System kingdom is evil. Satan invented evil, and it is his primary tool for opposing the plan of God. And all those who are part of Satan's Cosmic System are also evil, whether they are active or passive participants. All unbelievers are in this category as being in Satan's kingdom, therefore all unbelievers are called evil by the Bible because they reject God's salvation, so they are by default on the side of Satan, whether they actively seek to be or not. There are only two choices, and everyone makes their choice if only by lack of making a choice. 2 Thessalonians 3:1 says: "pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith." In fact, God considers all unbelievers to be inherently evil, even the nicest ones, since they are not covered by salvation and the righteousness from Christ it provides. This is where the subject becomes tougher for many to understand, that all unbelievers are considered inherently evil, even the nicest, sweetest, most giving and most sincere ones. However, rejection of salvation is calling God a liar, which is evil opposition to God, and by their rejection of salvation unbelievers are saying that the Bible is a lie, and that Jesus Christ is not the Savior. Therefore unbelievers are committing harm against God and His Word by rejecting both, so they remain part of Satan’s Cosmic System kingdom which is opposed to God. They are considered to be inherently evil since they are part of the kingdom of the evil one Satan, regardless of their actual deeds. We can see that evil is indeed far more inclusive and pervasive than most would think since the majority of people and one third of all angels are inherently evil in the sight of God.
Genesis 8:21 says “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” This is because every person is born in need of salvation, and under the control of the sinful nature. Until salvation occurs no person is covered by the righteousness of Christ, and is therefore not capable of pleasing God in any way. Every person is opposed to God and part of Satan's evil Cosmic System unless they accept God's plan. This makes God's love toward such people even more amazing, given how He views them. It is salvation through faith in Christ as Savior which transforms the person from being inherently evil to a status of being acceptable to God. And it is not the works of man, but the grace of God which enables this salvation through Jesus Christ the only Savior. Colossians 1:21 says: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Even though believers remain sinners, they cease to be inherently evil at the point of salvation because they claim the righteousness of Christ as their own. Believers are still capable of committing evil acts, and can revert to being an evil person, but they are no longer inherently evil. If they are to become evil they must choose evil, but every unbeliever has already chosen evil by rejecting God's salvation through Jesus Christ.
Adam and Eve chose evil when they sinned in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:9 says “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:17 adds “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 3:5 quotes what Satan said to the woman when tempting her: “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” After the man and woman sinned God is quoted in Genesis 3:22 “And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” These passages show how pervasive the concept of evil is in human history, and how man gravitated to it from the very beginning in defiance of God's will.
But what does it mean Adam and Eve understood good and evil after eating the forbidden fruit? Creatures invented evil, first Satan, and then Adam and Eve created it for mankind. We see that the first sin by Satan was the first act of evil since it was a revolt against God. So also the first sin by mankind led the previously righteous man and woman to not only understand evil but also become embroiled in an act of evil, which was rebellion against God, a form of "harm" against God. Therefore the first sins by both angels and man were also acts of evil. The man and woman had not known sin or evil before they sinned, but they learned about both at the same time. When the Bible says they now knew "good and evil" it means they had gained a sinful nature. This was a loss of status which also took them into a condition of being evil since they were now opposed to God, having taken the side of Satan even though it was by deceit on Satan's part, at least for the woman. Romans 6:12 says "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." The word "sin" here is the sinful nature ruling the soul. They were the first people to have fallen from perfection into a status of being unacceptable to God, therefore unsaved. In this condition of sin mixed with evil they were hopeless to find a solution on their own. But God provided a way of salvation, and the two believed and were saved. But they did not lose their knowledge of evil since it was now part of the sinful nature they acquired at the point of their fall. And that sinful nature, and the associated knowledge of evil, have been passed down to every human since that time with one exception, namely, Jesus Christ.
As we see from the discussion about unbelievers being inherently evil, their actions may not appear to be evil in the sense we normally might define it. But that is because we mis-define evil and apply it to those we view as particularly bad, and most unbelievers do not generally appear to be evil on the surface. After all, it is obvious that many unbelievers do a lot of nice, decent, and honorable things. Most unbelievers do not commit acts commonly viewed as being evil any more than some believers. But that does not change the fact that unbelievers have chosen Satan's side either passively or actively. They reject God's offer of salvation, therefore they are calling God a liar. That is harm against God. Unbelievers cannot please God in any way, no matter what they do, unless it is believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. They are unacceptable to God in every way and are inherently evil since they are aligned with Satan’s side. And there are only two sides, God’s side and Satan’s side. One is good, and the other is evil.
Looking at the issue of evil from a historical perspective through the lens of the nation Israel, one of the most persistent themes about evil in the Bible is that idolatry is evil. God considers idolatry to be evil since it is a personal attack on and affront to Him, essentially saying that God is not the true God, but rather someone or something else is. In the Old Testament the thing most commonly referred to as being evil was idolatry. This is the most drastic form of humans saying God is not God. The history of Israel was generally one of short periods of obeying and pleasing God mixed with much longer periods of abysmal failure. During these periods of failure Israel generally turned to idolatry. The kings of Israel who promoted such idolatry were said to have "done evil in the sight of the Lord". Most of the kings of Israel ended up in this category and were called evil in the Bible for allowing or enabling idolatry. The entire Old Testament is full of references to idolatry being evil, such as Deuteronomy 4:25, 13:11, 17:2, etc, etc. God views idolatry as evil and therefore harmful, which is why it was one of the Ten Commandments. Therefore any king of Israel who allowed idolatry to exist in Israel was said to have done evil in the eyes of the Lord. There are close to a hundred verses in the Old Testament which refer to idolatry as an evil. It has always been Satan’s approach that God should not be the one worshiped, but rather Satan believes he should be worshiped. That makes idolatry the single most fundamental form of evil because it is a clear statement by Satan and his followers that the true God is not God at all. There are many other serious affronts to God, but they are all generally wrapped up into giving Satan and his Cosmic System more respect than God, whether by deliberate acts or by passive refusal to accept God's existence or authority. And simply believing God exists is not enough. Satan believes God exists, and he is inherently evil.
So we see that Satan and all fallen angels are inherently evil, and since unbelievers are on Satan’s side whether they know it or not, they too are inherently evil. Only salvation changes that. After salvation the believer still has a sinful nature passed down from Adam but can partially overcome it, with various degrees of success. But regardless of success against sin, believers are no longer inherently evil after salvation. But believers can still think and act in evil ways and/or do evil things when they align with Satan’s side in opposition to God. The degree to which this happens in a believer’s life runs the gamut from rarely to regularly. But doing evil does not cause loss of salvation, since salvation is by a single act of faith in Christ, not by being “good” or by avoiding evil. Believers can engage in evil, whether to oppose God and His plan directly or indirectly. Lust often leads to evil as 2 Timothy 2:22 says: "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 1 Timothy 6:10 says: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." The lust for money can lead to doing evil to gain it, often in a way which does significant harm to others to whom it belongs. Any type of scheme which tries to do harm to others by taking what is rightfully theirs is an evil scheme and results in an evil act. Bringing harm against God's believers is considered evil. When someone puts in place a scheme to do harm to a believer, that is an act of evil since it opposes a member of God's plan, and therefore by extension opposes God. Evil actions are usually a pattern involving lust and scheming, not normally an isolated sin. People who live by their lusts are called evil, since evil thinking becomes a pattern of evil action which harms others.
As already noted, the Bible distinguishes between sin and evil. Sins are not always evil, but acts of evil are sin. And some acts of sin can pave the way for doing evil. But simply defining more heinous sins as being evil is not enough. For personal sins to be evil they must oppose God's plan or members of His plan, or oppose the orderly society God has put into place for humans to live under. Sins which are disruptive to an orderly society include being a false witness in court against another, scheming against people to defraud or defame them, slander, persecution, stealing, murder or any type of violence against innocent people since such things cause innocent people harm. Adultery also causes harm to an innocent spouse, so it is called evil. In contrast, fornication (two unmarried people) is not called evil even though it is a similar type of sin, since it does not harm an innocent third party. So we see that evil in relation to other people is generally scheming to commit harm, and also acting on that scheming. Both the scheme and the act are called evil. Lusting to commit acts which would harm others is also called evil. So the lusting, the scheming and the action are each separately evil since they are a pattern of planning to cause harm to innocent people, and then acting on that plan. The Ten Commandments cover many of the issues cited above, and Israel was specifically warned to avoid those ten since they could tear apart the fabric of a nation, especially one prone to idolatry such as ancient Israel. The Ten Commandments are not a list of the worst sins, but rather a list of the evil sins which would be most destructive to the nation Israel under the direct rule of God (theocracy).
Looking at the issue from another viewpoint, Jesus told the self-righteous Pharisees of His day that they were evil. These were men who strictly obeyed the Mosaic Law, so He was not accusing them of immorality. Rather, Jesus was accusing them of taking a stand against Him as God's representative on earth. Matthew 12:33 says: “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." The Pharisees were viewed as the most moral of people but were told by Jesus they were evil and what they said was evil. This is because the Pharisees lived their lives based on lust for power and approval of the masses, and tried to gain favor with God based on their own idea of goodness. But they were embroiled in Satan's plan and in his evil Cosmic System. They were opposing God's plan by opposing the Messiah, so by definition they were evil. Their evil blinded them to the fact that they personally witnessed the promised Messiah, and yet rejected Him and asked the Romans to crucify Him.
There are also evil institutions, not just creatures. Nations can be evil. Some of them oppose God by suppressing the gospel of salvation, and others use their power to consistently harm the innocent as a pattern of action. There are many evil nations, and for different reasons. Some wage war to take what belongs to other nations and groups of people. Some wrongly take away the freedom of innocent people inside the nation, or persecute certain segments of the population, including Jews throughout history. Others sponsor or support terrorism, which is intended to deny freedom and impose an alternate system of acting and thinking. Some impose evil institutions by force, such as socialism which takes by force what belongs to some and gives it to others. Laws can be evil, especially those which attempt to suppress freedom to worship and evangelize. All evil nations have one thing in common, they suppress freedom and take away the basic human rights God has put in place which allow each person to make a choice for God's plan of salvation and spiritual growth. And since at its very core evil opposes God and His plan, and Satan's plan is only evil, evil intends to prevent humans from having the freedom to make choices for or against God. Those nations which take away freedoms in general and harm the innocent are suppressing God's system of individual liberty which allows people to live out their lives and make a free will choice about salvation, worship of God, and living the spiritual life God has for each believer. Therefore, nations which limit individual freedom and hinder the rights of people to make choices for or against God and His plan are evil. When governments take away the rights of individuals to freely choose how to please God, such as who should be the recipients of their generosity and giving, forcing people to approve of immoral behavior, forcing anti-Biblical behaviors on individuals, and such are all examples of evil. This makes dictators, socialism, government controlled religion, intrusion into privacy by government, and many other freedom-limiting actions evil. God's system of divine laws diffuses power among numerous nations in order to limit Satan's ability to control humans.
Other institutions can also be evil, such as religions which reject the Bible and therefore claim the God of the Bible is not the true God. Organizations which seek to tear down legitimate authority and societal structures established in accordance with divine laws are evil since they oppose a stable society ordained by God where all can make free choices for or against God. Many different types of institutions, organizations and groups can become evil when they promote agendas which oppose God, His plan, or His divine laws in one form or another. It does not take much of an imagination to see that the world is full of evil nations, institutions, organizations, groups, and other collections of people who oppose God and/or His believers in some way. Evil is not always glaring, but is often subtle. This should not be surprising since Satan rules this world, and he and his plan are both pure evil. The history of mankind is one of mostly evil nations with very occasional exceptions. But even within those exceptions evil will still find its way into the fabric of society to some degree. And evil never gives up trying to break down the divine order which God has put in place to enable freedom to choose for or against God and His plan.
So the definition of evil becomes somewhat more clear, namely that evil is first and foremost opposition to God, to God's plan, to those in God's plan, and/or opposition to the system of divine laws and individual liberty God has put in place by which each person can make a choice for or against God. Secondly, evil is harm planned and committed against others. When evil is viewed in light of these concepts, it can be seen that evil is something far more pervasive, pernicious, and common than most would think. In fact, evil is what the world runs on. This is because Satan is inherently evil, his Cosmic System plan is inherently evil, and as a result he bases his world rulership on evil. And since every unbeliever is inside Satan's plan, whether by direct choice or by failure to make a choice, they are inherently evil in God's eyes. It is therefore harder to avoid people and entities which are evil than commonly thought. Oddly, once we understand the subject of evil we need a stronger word than "evil" to describe those actions which are truly heinous such as mass murder and the people who commit such heinous acts.
The Bible also distinguishes between good and good. Satan incorporates “good” into his Cosmic System, which is his evil system set up in opposition to God. Therefore “good” inside Satan’s system is not good to God, but rather it is evil when it comes from Satan or any source which is on Satan’s side. And since Satan does many things which people consider to be good deeds, that is complicating. Satan and fallen angels can accomplish no true “good” as God defines it, but they can accomplish plenty of pseudo good, which the world often sees as just plain “good”. These issues will be covered in the "Satan's Strategy" chapter so will not be repeated here, but in summary pseudo good is what Satan uses to oppose God while appearing to offer good to mankind, often by cleaning up Satan's world by human powered self improvement. It is not easy to distinguish true good from pseudo good which is evil, as Hebrews 5:14 says: "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Only the truly mature believer who understands God's Word in detail can consistently distinguish between good and evil in a manner which lines up with God's thinking on the subject. The evil form of good from Satan is not an oxymoron since Satan and his forces only use pseudo good in order to accomplish evil and to further his evil plans in opposition to God. Since Satan does some things considered to be good to advance his evil plans, everything Satan does is always entirely evil. Every part of Satan’s Cosmic System is therefore evil, even the pseudo good in it, since it is done to advance the cause of evil.
Therefore there are two types of good and one type of evil. The only true good is associated with and sanctioned by God. Every other “good” is pseudo good, since it is not from God. Pseudo good is that which appears to be good, but in fact is opposed to God and His plan. And all evil is apart from God, since there is no evil in God (James 1:13). True “good” is what is done within God’s plan, and includes nothing in Satan’s plan. All which is done within Satan’s plan is evil, even if the world views it as good, which is often the case. And each person is either in God’s plan because they have believed in Jesus Christ, or they are in Satan’s plan, which is only evil. But a person does not need to act in an evil manner to be inherently evil. Again we see why this is such a difficult concept, because “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (Samuel 16:7) But people embroiled in evil do not see themselves as evil, otherwise they would not be able to accept themselves as being good, which most evil people indeed believe they are good. This is where the mixture of evil with an evil form of good occurs. For example, this is where the concept of the end justifying the means comes into play. Even if the means is wrong, the outcome is viewed as good and therefore justifies the wrong actions used. True good from God's viewpoint (the only correct one) does not mix evil with good, since the outcome of the mixture is always evil. Satan seeks to confuse his forms of good with what the Word of God says is true good. Satan wants his human minions on earth to do many forms of Cosmic System good, since that distracts them from seeking God. The theory becomes that if man can improve himself, then he does not need God. If man can improve his environment, then who needs God's plan for the Millennial Kingdom? Thus Satan's forms of good become an alternate religion designed to thwart God's plan.
In conclusion we see that evil at its core is opposition to God and His plan, including opposition to those who are in His plan. Satan is evil, and his entire kingdom is evil. And all those who submit to and support his Cosmic System are also evil, whether they are active or passive participants. Therefore Satan and all unbelievers are called inherently evil by the Bible. Unbelievers have no relationship with God, so they have by definition rejected God and His plan, and therefore are part of Satan's plan. They are on Satan's side simply because they are not on God's side. There are only two choices, and everyone makes their choice if only by lack of making a choice. Until salvation occurs no person is capable of pleasing God in any way, and therefore they are considered evil unless they accept God's plan. It is salvation through faith in Christ as Savior which transforms the person from being inherently evil to a status of being acceptable to God. Evil is also opposition to those in God's plan, since that is a type of opposition to God. And harming the innocent is evil since it interferes with the freedom of that individual to choose for or against God, interfering with the salvation and spiritual growth process God has established. Therefore, evil is not as limited as most would imagine, but rather is one of the most pervasive forces in history, driving untold misery and human suffering.