What’s God doing about all the evil?

It’s the question people ask me most often if we start talking seriously about Christian things. And it comes in many forms: “If there’s a God, why does He let so much bad stuff happen?” “Why doesn’t God do something about all the suffering?”

And let’s just be clear—it’s not a trick question! It’s a totally fair thing to ask!

The Bible tells us God is good. The Bible tells us God is powerful. And so it’s only natural to wonder how those things fit with our experience of evil in the world.

Because evil is something you don’t have to look far to find. In the news. In the street. In our own lives. All of us experience evil, and we commit evil.

Evil is there. It’s real. And we all know it.

There’s an old saying: “It’s strange to deny God, but fear the devil.” But many people do, because the reality of evil in the world is so obvious.

And so, it just begs the question: What’s God doing about all the evil?

Three things we’ll see today from our Gospel passage in response to that question:
—God will bring evil to an end
—So, Jesus warns us to prevent suffering
—And, Jesus warns us to prevent deception

The first of those, God will bring evil to an end.

One day God will judge the world and bring a complete end to evil. Before that, in history, there have been moments when God brings a partial judgement; a partial end to evil at a particular time and place.

These historical times of judgement are pictures for us of God’s final time of judgement. We see one of these historical pictures of judgment summarised in vv. 21-22:

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Jesus is prophesying the destruction of the second Jewish temple, and the final destruction of the Israelite nation in AD 70.

There had been many historical judgements like this in the past:
—the destruction of Egypt, and the Exodus of the Israelites in 1440s BC;
—the destruction of the first Jewish temple, and the Israelite nation going into exile in 586 BC;
—the fall of Babylon, and return of the Jewish people in 539 BC.

So, the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 is not an anti-Jewish thing: These major historical moments that picture the last judgement, have happened to the Egyptians, the Moabites, the Hittites, the Perisites, the Babylonians, and many others.

But Jesus does say this particular moment is especially intense. And Jesus tells us about the final event that these historical moments of judgement picture in vv. 27-28:

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

This is the final moment in history, when Jesus will return, coming on the clouds of heaven to judge the whole world.

It will be instantaneous, just like the light from the sun rising in the East instantly hits the hills in the West.

And it will be obvious, just like a flock of vultures circling a carcass. The end will come any moment. You’ll know it when you see it—it will be impossible to miss.

And at that time, all evil will come to an end. Light will dawn on the whole earth. Evil and suffering will become a corpse.

So, What’s God doing about all the evil? The question so many of us struggle with…

Well, God will bring evil to an end. And he’s shown us what it looks like, multiple times in history before. And like cancer surgery: it’s not a pretty sight. God ending evil will be a catastrophic event.

Yes, it is like the dawning of the light. But, it is also like a corpse, around which vultures will gather.

And so because Jesus cares about us, he gives us two warnings about God bringing evil to an end.

The first of those warnings is this: Jesus warns us to prevent suffering. Please look again at vv. 15-18:

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 is the turning point when it finally became publicly clear that Christianity and rabbinic Judaism are different religions.

Prior to that moment, many Christians met in Synagogues. Christians, or “Followers of the Way” as they were called were treated by the Romans as a Jewish sect. And Jews and Christians had a strained, but real, relationship.

But when Christians did not help fight for Jewish independence in the Jewish-Roman war starting in AD 66, the Jewish and Christian communities became permanently separated.

Why did Christians not join the fight to free Jerusalem of Roman rule? —Because Jesus had warned them not to.
v. 16 let those who are in Judea flee…
v. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down…
v. 18 let the one who is in the field not turn back…

And so through this prophecy, the world was split by Jesus Word: Between those who heeded his Word of warning, and those who didn’t. And Jesus’ Word of prophecy also splits the world into two today.

Jesus gives that word of warning because he cares about people, and wants to prevent suffering, vv. 19-20:

And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

God will bring an end to the evil that pervaded the Jewish nation, but even then, before his judgement falls, Jesus gives his Word to help people avoid facing that judgement.

Jesus’ warning applies not only to Jerusalem, as an historical picture of final judgement, but Jesus’ warning applies to us now about God’s final judgement.

God will bring evil to an end. He will judge the world. Jesus wants nobody to face that judgement. He wants you to be saved from it, to escape it. And so he gives us his Word.

Will you share that warning with others? …with people at your school? Your work? Your social club?

And God himself shares that feeling, that desire for nobody to face judgement. Vv. 21-22:

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

On the one hand God is patient, slow to judge, to give his Word time to warn people. On the other hand he cuts short the days of suffering for the sake of those who trust him.

Jesus warns us to prevent suffering.

Secondly, Jesus warns us to prevent deception. Look again at vv. 23-26:

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus talks about faith many times, but in this Gospel, he never actually commands people to believe.

Yet, here, twice Jesus commands us “do not believe it”.

In modern church culture, it is unpopular to use words like “false teaching” or to say things like “false belief.” Yet, throughout Matthew’s Gospel, organised around 5 major speeches Jesus gives, “false teaching” or “false belief” is a major theme of Jesus’ Words.

Having talked about the destruction of Jerusalem as an historical picture of final judgement, Jesus is now talking about the final judgement itself: his second coming, the end of the world, when God will put a final end to all evil.

And he warns us that the period of time we now live in will be marked and characterised by false teaching.

And, he says, that false teaching will very persuasive, v. 24 again:

false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect

For 5 years, I served as a missionary in Ethiopia lecturing pastors, and again and again I was told this: we know that such and such a teaching is true because we’ve seen such and such miracles.

It’s an argument that I’ve been hearing here in the UK since I was a child:
—“A, B, C teaching is true, because the Holy Spirit did X, Y, Z.”
—“I know that God works in such and such away today, because I have this and that experience in my life.”

But, that way of defining true teaching, Jesus explicitly warns us against in the strongest terms:

false prophets will arise and [they will] perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect

Don’t be led astray! The era of the church we live in today is an era characterised by false christs, false prophets and false teaching. And it will remain that way until Christ himself returns, v. 26:

So, if they say to you,—says Jesus—‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

Now, Jesus warns there will be many false christs and false prophets, but the New Testament also warns us of a particular false christ “the” false christ if you will.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, the Apostle Paul writes this:

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Before Christ returns, there will be a man, says Paul, who has a throne in the temple of God—within the church. And that man will proclaim himself to be God.

The Pope is a man, and can only be a man. He has a throne in the temple of God—the church. And he claims to be the one vicar of Christ —the sole representative of Christ on earth. And claims the right to be able to speak the very words of God with papal infallibility.

Paul goes on, vv. 9-11:

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

Since the 4^th century, as the Papacy emerged, amazing miracles have been performed within the Catholic church. Just as Jesus prophesies here:

false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders

Those signs and wonders are real. Those miracles really happened. But as for the teaching that accompanies those miracles: twice, Jesus warns us:

do not believe it

And Jesus warns us to prevent deception Jesus doesn’t warn us of false teaching because he’s intolerant. He warns of us false teaching because he loves us.

This is not a self-centred people-pleasing false appearance of love, but real love—love that is prepared to be unpopular.

Jesus doesn’t say that love means we should dismiss our differences as just a matter of interpretation.

Jesus doesn’t say that love means we should tolerate all view points in our teaching and Bible studies.

No, Jesus loves you, and so he warns you. Jesus warns us to prevent deception

What’s God doing about all the evil?

Well, be assured that God is ending evil. He will judge the world. And there are many moments throughout history when God ended evil in a historical picture of this final judgement.

And while the outcome of that judgement is justice, and peace and blessing, we should look at those pictures in history, and see from them how awful that final judgment will be.

And so, Jesus warns us to prevent suffering. He warned people about the judgement of Jerusalem. He warns us about the judgement of the whole earth.

And he does that because he cares about you, And he wants you to be ready for it.

But, until that judgement comes, this age we live in will be full of false christs and false prophets,

So, Jesus warns us to prevent deception. False teaching, Christ tells us, will be persuasive. And will be accompanied signs and wonders: miraculous signs and wonders, intellectual signs and wonders, successful signs and wonders.

But, twice Christ warns us: don’t believe it.—because, Christ cares about you; He loves you. He wants you not to be deceived.

That’s what God is doing about evil. What can we do about it? Receive his Word: Hear it. Read it. Memorise it. Having confidence in the assurance Jesus gives us in v. 25:

See, I have told you beforehand.