---

Why does God allow it all to happen?
War, murder, torture, catastrophes, terror, death, suffering, hate, hunger, manslaughter, unrighteousness

Matthew 24:4-14 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Many people complain about God, saying: "God, if you really do exist, why is there so much injustice on earth? Where are you? Why don't you make the effort to come down from your throne above sometime and take a look at all the suffering going on down here. There is hunger, war, catastrophes, torture, terror, murder, manslaughter, etc. Now what do you have to say about it all, God?"

It hurts to hear the people talk like that. What right do they have to make such accusations against an almighty, wonderful, sovereign, holy, and above all, righteous God; and why does it seem that God just remains silent in such cases? He does not have to answer these people, yet He does; and this takes place through His Word - the Bible. There was once a time when they mocked and complained about Him. Yes, they sneered at Him and even beat Him. What was the reason? Surely it is not possible to hit someone like God, who says that heaven is His throne! Yet this is exactly what they did because they did not recognize who He really was. He took on human form, and came to this earth (which HE had given to us) for the purpose to take our punishment upon Himself. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came down unto his own, and his own received him not." (John 1,10-11)

It was during this painful path to the cross which He took that they degraded Him even more, beating Him severely. He bore the punishment for our iniquity upon the cross. Really, on account of our sin we should have been punished and condemned. Everything has its price, but this price is much too high for anyone to be able to pay it. It seemed that He was buying back something which was of great value to Him; ETERNAL LIFE for His people. He is righteous, and it is impossible for Him to give up His righteousness. Only a pure, spotless sacrifice could redeem mankind who had fallen deep in sin. The individual who brings accusations against God should take a close look at His great humility and love. The prophet Isaiah spoke about it "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter." (Isaiah 53,7) When somebody puts the blame on God, they are literally hitting Him with words. His heart is aching because there are still so many people do not realize who He is, even now in this day and age. But why does He continue to hold His peace?

He could put an end to all the misery in our world right now. The reason for His silence is His LOVE and GRACE. He is just, and when He speaks about justice, then this includes justice for EVERYONE! He has set a day for the great judgment, whereby every sinner who was not obedient to the gospel of Jesus will be judged - there is absolutely no way out. How great His love is, considering that He is still waiting before He allows this day to come about; and that He does not even mention one word against the injustice which is presently taking place. The resurrected One knows that there are still people out there, scattered all around, who are seeking God from their whole hearts. If they call upon Him and turn away from their evil ways, He will hear them.

The time of grace will soon be over. But what is with the people who are suffering now? Jesus says: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matt. 5:4) However, even they are required to do the very same thing just like everyone else if they want to be saved: Find a church which teaches the whole truth, and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost – John 3:3-8; Acts 2:38. jf

Additional scriptures for further study: Ecclesiastes 3:8; Romans 6:23; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 3:13-21; 19.