| THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD A DIFFERENT VIEW Mike Clegg |
| Other Forces |
T or F: All evils natural or otherwise are ultimately due to wills other than God's.
There seems to be spiritual forces at work against the will of God also. Daniel
chapter three details the prayer Daniel prayed and God answered but the answer
was arrested for three weeks. An angel appears and informs Daniel that from the
first day he prayed God heard his prayer and the answer was dispatched. Was this
God's will for Daniel, if so, then why didn't God wait 21 days and just send the
answer then?
The delay in Daniel's prayer had nothing to do with God's will or the faithfulness of
Daniel but was due to an entity outside of the main characters involved. There are
many mysteries here that are not discussed such as who told the opposing angel
that God dispatched the answer? Why didn't God just oppose the delaying entity
and others? The account does say it required the angel Michael to assist and get
the answer delivered. And yet--- we don't know what the answer was.
The detriment of the fall of man is much more far reaching than man getting his
sins forgiven and a home in heaven. Romans 8:20-22 declares the whole of
creation was subjected in frustration and is groaning for the deliverance of all
things, for a return from chaos perhaps. Col 1:19-20 says that Christ is reconciling
all things including things on earth and in heaven. Is it safe to ascertain that if all
things need reconciling then nature as we see it is not the original state God
intended? James Kallas states in the Satanward View: a Study of Pauline
Theology, “since the cosmos itself is in bondage depressed under evil forces, the
essential content of the word 'salvation' is that the world itself will be rescued, or
renewed, or set free. Salvation is a cosmic event affecting the whole of creation.
Salvation is not simply the overcoming of my rebellion and the forgiveness of my
guilt, but salvation is the liberation of the whole world process of which I am only a
small part.”
So, God, for a limited time must deal with the operations of the freedom of choice
He gave to those He created. He also must in His wisdom, put up with, work
around, and bring to restoration the fallen influence of those whom He gave the
freedom of choice to—all the while bringing about His kingdom. Does He have the
power to revoke the freedom of choice? Yes. But if God revokes the freedom of
choice He gave us, then He really gave us nothing at all that is free.
The early church fathers had their ideas about calamities as well. Origen — held
that every aspect of nature was under the care of “invisible husbandmen and
guardians” (Against Celsus, 8.31). “Natural” evil was consistently explained in the
early church as resulting from these spirits rebelling against God and thus abusing
their authority over creation. Hence, for example, Origen argued that famines,
scorching winds, and pestilence were not “natural” in God’s creation: they were
rather the result of fallen angels bringing misery whenever and however they were
able (Against Celsus, 8.31). These rebel guardians were also “the cause of
plagues…barrenness…tempests… [and] similar calamities” If the early church
fathers are correct, we don’t need to search for good divine purposes behind
“natural” evil any more than we need to search for them behind evil that humans
inflict on one another.
If there exists in creation a power other than the Creator that can restrict the power
of God causing a failure in the purpose of God then God is not Omnipotent. If God
is infinite in power then that means He cannot fail in His divine plan. The world
system is not controlled by the power of God but by the law of God. This law is the
outworking of His plan or purpose utilizing His character and power and all the
while honoring the gifts He gave men in restoring their dominion in creation.
There seems to be spiritual forces at work against the will of God also. Daniel
chapter three details the prayer Daniel prayed and God answered but the answer
was arrested for three weeks. An angel appears and informs Daniel that from the
first day he prayed God heard his prayer and the answer was dispatched. Was this
God's will for Daniel, if so, then why didn't God wait 21 days and just send the
answer then?
The delay in Daniel's prayer had nothing to do with God's will or the faithfulness of
Daniel but was due to an entity outside of the main characters involved. There are
many mysteries here that are not discussed such as who told the opposing angel
that God dispatched the answer? Why didn't God just oppose the delaying entity
and others? The account does say it required the angel Michael to assist and get
the answer delivered. And yet--- we don't know what the answer was.
The detriment of the fall of man is much more far reaching than man getting his
sins forgiven and a home in heaven. Romans 8:20-22 declares the whole of
creation was subjected in frustration and is groaning for the deliverance of all
things, for a return from chaos perhaps. Col 1:19-20 says that Christ is reconciling
all things including things on earth and in heaven. Is it safe to ascertain that if all
things need reconciling then nature as we see it is not the original state God
intended? James Kallas states in the Satanward View: a Study of Pauline
Theology, “since the cosmos itself is in bondage depressed under evil forces, the
essential content of the word 'salvation' is that the world itself will be rescued, or
renewed, or set free. Salvation is a cosmic event affecting the whole of creation.
Salvation is not simply the overcoming of my rebellion and the forgiveness of my
guilt, but salvation is the liberation of the whole world process of which I am only a
small part.”
So, God, for a limited time must deal with the operations of the freedom of choice
He gave to those He created. He also must in His wisdom, put up with, work
around, and bring to restoration the fallen influence of those whom He gave the
freedom of choice to—all the while bringing about His kingdom. Does He have the
power to revoke the freedom of choice? Yes. But if God revokes the freedom of
choice He gave us, then He really gave us nothing at all that is free.
The early church fathers had their ideas about calamities as well. Origen — held
that every aspect of nature was under the care of “invisible husbandmen and
guardians” (Against Celsus, 8.31). “Natural” evil was consistently explained in the
early church as resulting from these spirits rebelling against God and thus abusing
their authority over creation. Hence, for example, Origen argued that famines,
scorching winds, and pestilence were not “natural” in God’s creation: they were
rather the result of fallen angels bringing misery whenever and however they were
able (Against Celsus, 8.31). These rebel guardians were also “the cause of
plagues…barrenness…tempests… [and] similar calamities” If the early church
fathers are correct, we don’t need to search for good divine purposes behind
“natural” evil any more than we need to search for them behind evil that humans
inflict on one another.
If there exists in creation a power other than the Creator that can restrict the power
of God causing a failure in the purpose of God then God is not Omnipotent. If God
is infinite in power then that means He cannot fail in His divine plan. The world
system is not controlled by the power of God but by the law of God. This law is the
outworking of His plan or purpose utilizing His character and power and all the
while honoring the gifts He gave men in restoring their dominion in creation.
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