In this series, we are being faithful to Paul and Peter’s admonitions in Colossians 4:6 and 1 Peter 3:15. Paul told us, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Peter instructed, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Today we are going to look at the question, why do natural disasters and sicknesses happen?
A person might say, “Okay, I understand how the evils of men could come from the Fall, from their separation from God, but what about the natural disasters?” This is also a good question because a lot of apparently bad things happen in this world. Catastrophic events happen, and they seem to come from the natural order of this world. Why do natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis ravage the world God created? Why do kids get cancer? Why do horses sometimes fall on us? Why do we have to deal with pandemics such as COVID-19? Why did our loving God make nature so cruel?
We are going to evaluate some passages in the Bible to answer this question, and we are going to discover two things. First, we will learn that the world was not meant to be this way. Second, we will find that the world is not going to remain this way.
How God Created the World
Our examination commences with a look at how God made the earth. Moses informed us,
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Gen. 1:27-31)
If you are scratching your head after reading that, I can relate. That does not sound like the world we inhabit where people get sick and hurricanes wreak havoc. That sounds like a wonderful creation. Plus, God said it was very good, and the Bible does not describe God as Someone who believes childhood cancer is very good. How else is this description of earth different from what we see?
God said that we would have dominion over all of the animals. I have heard of superheroes that can get animals to do whatever they want, like Aquaman or something, and I have met some very good horse trainers in my time, some real horse whisperers. It almost seems like they can read the horse’s mind and communicate directly to it. They get those horses doing some pretty fancy stuff. I have even heard of people training lions and bears and tigers, but for every story of a tiger trainer, you also hear about some fool who thought he had his tiger trained and got eaten. I do not know about you, but when I go out in the woods, the animals run from me. Maybe I need to take a bath? I do not know. I do know that no one has Aquaman-like control of animals. That type of ability is the stuff of comic books. However, these passages in Genesis 1-2 indicate that God granted humans dominion over all animals to the extent that Adam had them parade in front of him so that he could name each one. That does not happen today. What else is different?
This passage also seems to teach that humans and animals will eat nothing but plants: “I have given you every plant…You should have them for food.” There is nothing there about eating the animals over which we have dominion, unless we should just assume that we can eat them. Perhaps, that is implied in having dominion over them. However, look again at verse 30: “Everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” That sounds like all living creatures will eat nothing but plants—no predator/prey cycle, which goes for the bacteria and viruses and whatnot as well. If they even existed at this time, God did not allow them to feed on other life forms either. If the bacteria and viruses cannot attack people, then that means no one would get the illnesses that they now cause. That world sounds a lot different than the world we inhabit today.
Then, of course, we know about Eden, the paradise where God put Adam. The Bible describes a beautiful world with all sorts of fruit trees and plants. God put Adam there to tend that paradise, and if that was not enough, God then made the most beautiful of all creatures to help Adam out. Adam named her Woman, and he called her Eve. I bet she was something to behold too, the first woman. Can you imagine how beautiful she must have been? For you women, I am sure Adam was not a bad-looking dude either. Plus, these two beautiful, married (don’t forget that part) humans never wore clothes. Adam and Eve walked around their garden paradise naked all day. Plus, there was no sickness, no natural disasters, and no death—paradise. What happened?
How Humans Broke the World
Well, we know what happened next. The serpent, somehow animated or possessed by the devil, started talking to Adam’s beloved Eve. The serpent tricked Eve into disobeying the one command that God had given them. You had one job!!!! Sin works that way. If someone tells you not to do something, that becomes the one thing you most want to do in the whole world. That is basic human psychology, and of course, Adam and Eve both fell for it (just like you and I would have done if we are being honest). When they disobeyed God, everything changed. According to Tim Keller, “Human beings are so integral to the fabric of things that when human beings turned from God the entire warp and woof of the world unraveled. Disease, genetic disorders, famine, natural disasters, aging, and death itself are as much the result of sin as are oppression, war, crime, and violence.” When mankind rebelled against God, it actually changed the nature of Creation.
Moses described the results of the Fall in Genesis 3:14-19, which reads,
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
First, God cursed the serpent. I want you to understand that this curse of the serpent was also a prophecy about Jesus’ triumph over Satan. This is the first messianic prophecy we see in the Bible, but more basically than that, this prophecy set into motion some other aspects of nature as it is today. You can take this prophecy and broaden it out into nature as a whole. “Cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field” implies a new hierarchy to nature that did not exist before the Fall (Gen. 3:14, emphasis added). You have heard it said that nature is red in tooth and claw. I watch those nature shows sometimes on BBC, and you see it. Have you ever watched a tiger tear into an antelope? The violence we see in nature, the predator-prey cycle, came as a result of humanity’s Fall. The curse also changed the behavior of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and things of that nature. They became meat-eaters as well.
The curse affected human nature. Look how the Fall changed life for Eve. Childbearing became an issue, which we certainly see in life. Pregnancy was never meant to be so hard. The verse, “In pain you shall bring forth children” applies to the mother certainly, but that verse also applies to the pain the child may experience. Before Original Sin, there was no pain. Now, there are all sorts of avenues for pain. Just as woman get sick during pregnancy now, Eve’s children (read: everyone) sometimes may experience pain along with her. This pain results in tragedies such as stillbirths and miscarriages, as well as autoimmune diseases and birth defects. The curse also inaugurated marriage problems, but that falls outside the purview of this discussion (and outside the limits of my knowledge).
Let’s transition to something decidedly within the range of my knowledge, sin’s effect on men. God cursed the ground. No longer would it yield its fruit easily, but men would have to work to make plants grow. If you have ever planted a garden, you know this difficulty. You have to break up the ground. Nowadays, we have tractors and motorized tillers to help, which make it easier, but it is still a job. Then, you have to deal with pests trying to destroy your crops. Sometimes, you can do everything correct, and the crops still fail to grow correctly. In Eden, the Bible describes gardening as something easy, but after the Fall, planting a garden became a chore. Moreover, this Scripture linked eating food with pain and death. “In pain you shall eat of it…till you return to the ground.” Again, this refers to the diseases and bacteria that will attack man from the earth. This is things like cancer, COVID-19, the Flu, the common cold, and everything in between. Then, this talk of thorns and thistles means literal thorns and thistles of course, which aggravate us. Have you ever tried to run through a briar patch? It is not fun, but could this be a reference to natural disasters as well? Romans 8:20-23 yields the broader meaning of these thorns and thistles in Genesis 3:18.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom. 8:20-23).
We caused creation to get cursed, and now it is trying to kill us. How about that? That is basically what this passage says. The creation was “subjected to futility, not willingly,” and is groaning “in the pains of childbirth.” Our sin corrupted creation, and we eat our just deserts.
Creation’s current state is unnatural. We call things like tornadoes and animal attacks “acts of nature,” but they really are not. They are actually unnatural. God made this earth to be peaceful and wonderful. Original Sin changed the fabric of creation, bringing in the unnatural violence that we now see in nature. If Creation was “subjected to futility,” then it was changed somehow. Earth was different before this subjection. How was it different? It was “very good” just like God said at the end of Genesis 1. That paradise that he describes in Genesis 1 and 2 is how the earth was before the corrupting influence of sin hit it. Earth was Eden before we rebelled. Now, it is still good; however, just like within us, that potential for bad stuff is there as well. Now, people can get sick. Now, animals can attack and hurt one another as well as us. Now, natural disasters can rock communities. Things were not meant to be this way.
How God Will Redeem the World
Look what else Paul wrote in Romans 8. This is the good part. The line “creation will be set free from its bondage” tells us that at some point God will change this world. Creation is waiting to be changed to how it should be, just like us. Neither God’s Creation nor you and I are as they should be. We need our new, incorruptible bodies, and earth awaits renewal as well. Do you think it seems weird that God’s Creation is so violent and hostile? Do you think it seems weird that arid places exist where no food can grow? Do you think it seems strange that God would make a world that is corrupted by things like cancer and other diseases? Do you think it seems wrong that tsunamis can pop out of the ocean and kill thousands? Well, so does God, and He has done something about it. God solved the problem that sin created. He sent his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have everlasting life with God when he redeems us and the rest of his creation. What might that be like?
In Revelation 21:1-5, the apostle John painted a beautiful picture of God’s redemption of the earth:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
God will redeem Creation. If it was “very good” before Original Sin, then it will be even better when the new Jerusalem comes. Look what he says in this passage. “The sea will be no more” means the earth will be totally different. We will not have to worry about any tsunamis or hurricanes anymore, but this sentence carries more weight than that. Scientists can tell you that the ocean is integral for how nature functions. The ocean is the primary catalyst, along with the trees, in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen for us to breathe. No seas would eliminate at least half and perhaps up to 85% of earth’s oxygen supply. That tells you that the new earth will be drastically different. Plus, the seas naturally represent barriers between civilizations. No seas means no barriers, which means no racism or xenophobia. We will all be one people in truth on the new earth.
Furthermore, it says that God will dwell with us and that He will eliminate all death, pain, and mourning. That bit right there speaks volumes. First of all, our bodies will clearly be totally different. God told Moses that no man can look on him and live, but he says here in Revelation that he will live with us and there will be no death. Then, he goes on to say that there will be no pain or mourning either. That means all of the unnatural natural things we see in nature today will be made right. Nature will be fundamentally different. Look what Isaiah says about it: “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain” (65:26). Well, the serpent apparently does not get off so easily, but as for the rest of the Creation and us, it will be nothing but peace and paradise when God makes all things new—no cancer, no sickness, no natural disasters, no animal attacks, nothing but peace and love.
Does this world sometimes seem harsh and futile? Do you sometimes feel as if you do not belong here? In prison, I felt like that a lot. I used to think sometimes, “Is this real life? Am I really in prison right now? Am I really here right now?” Do you ever look around and think that it wasn’t supposed to be this way? I have felt that way my whole life. I have had this feeling in the world that I am just out of place, like a fish out of water. I am convinced that everyone feels that way to some extent, especially us Christians. Our spirits sense that we were not created to live this way. We perceive that this creation was meant to be better than what it is, and the closer we get to God, the more we long for Heaven. This is our temporary home. We are sojourners here. Heaven is our permanent home. Saint Augustine wrote, “Let all the faithful mark this; let them realize where they are. They are in the desert sighing for their homeland.”
You are an alien here on earth. You will continue to feel out of place until you are raised with Christ, but when that day comes, you will be home. God will eliminate all violence, storms, pain, and suffering, and you will live forever with God in paradise, IF you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus is the One who makes all of this possible. His atoning sacrifice on the Cross provided the vehicle for God’s renewal of this fallen world, but you have to allow Him to redeem you before you can participate in the redeemed Creation. If you have not done so yet, please ask Jesus to save you today. If you have already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, thank Him again for such a wonderful gift.