by Jonathan Gillies

12th December 2019

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Sometimes it seems that wherever we look in this world, there is suffering and pain.

Chronic illnesses, disabilities, floods, fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, animals hurting people or other animals, etc.

Many people see these things and conclude that God can’t exist, or if he does then he can’t be both loving and all-powerful as the Bible tells us.  What is the answer to this?

Broken by sin

Genesis tells us that in the beginning God’s creation was perfect, with no suffering or death, but in chapter 3 we are told that Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit.  As a result of that they fell from their previous state of perfection and became sinners who sinned daily like we all are.  The punishment for their disobedience was death – both physically and spiritually – forever.  God could have justly sent them to hell forever when they sinned – but he didn’t.  He shewed them amazing mercy by allowing them to live on in this world for many years, although their bodies were slowly degrading.  Even more merciful was his plan to save themselves and their descendants spiritually.

We read in Genesis 3:14-15 that God cursed the serpent because he had succeeded in getting Eve to eat the fruit and he said to him that the woman’s seed would bruise his head.  The woman’s seed is Christ, and the bruising of the serpent’s head refers to Christ defeating the devil’s plan to destroy man.  Christ did this by coming into the world and dying on the cross to pay the punishment for the sin of those who put their trust in him. (Galatians 3:13-16)

Genesis 3:16-19 tells us that God judged Eve by making it more difficult for her both to have children and to happily submit to her husband.  They also shew us that God judged Adam by cursing the whole creation for his sake, which would mean that it would be more difficult for him to provide for his family.

Aspects of this curse includes the appearance of thorns, which seem to have been unknown until now, and also suffering and pain in the animal kingdom.  (Before now people and animals ate only plants. (Genesis 1:29-30))

This explains why we see animals attacking and killing each other today.  Instead of feeling confused or angry at God, it should remind us of the seriousness and awfulness of sin, and the horrible death that Christ the innocent Lamb of God had to die to save his people.

Designed to kill?

But there is another issue that puzzles people.  They ask: “If God didn’t intend there to be any death in the world, why do so many plants and animals seem to be specifically designed to either kill or to protect themselves from being killed?”  For example: Venus flytraps, spiders, lions, snakes, sharks, bombardier beetles, etc.

I believe verses 14, 16 and 18 of Genesis 3 can give us a clue:

• Verse 14 tells us that the serpent was made to move on its stomach, which would imply that he possessed legs up until then.
• Verse 16 tells us that Eve would now find it harder to have children.
• Verse 18 tells us that the earth was going to bring forth thorns and thistles.

These three things are all physical changes, so it doesn’t seem unlikely that God would have made physical changes to other creatures also.  For example, the Venus flytrap could have been given the spring to trap flies, the spider could have been given the organs to make webs, snakes could have been given venom, the bombardier beetle could have been given the organs to fire its defensive chemicals, etc.

Maybe there is another explanation for other creatures though.  For example, maybe animals before the fall did have sharp teeth and claws.  These could have been used for grabbing and crunching up vegetation.

There are still animals today that only eat plants but have extremely vicious-looking teeth or claws.  Examples would include fruit bats, spider-monkeys, marine iguanas, pandas and gorillas.

It’s even possible that the viruses that cause us so much misery now were there before the fall, but had beneficial uses.  They have probably degenerated to their present harmful state by losing information through mutations.

So even though there is much suffering and pain in this world, the Christian can praise God for saving him from eternal misery and can look forward to the day where the curse of sin will be reversed.

Isaiah 11:6: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…

Isaiah 65:17: For…I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not…come into mind.

Revelation 21:4: …and there shall be no more death…neither shall there be any more pain…

Revelation 22:3: And there shall be no more curse…

Further reading:

Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?

https://answersingenesis.org/suffering/why-does-god-allow-bad-things-to-happen/

How Did Defense/Attack Structures Come About?

https://answersingenesis.org/evidence-for-creation/design-in-nature/how-did-defense-attack-structures-come-about/

Skeptics challenge: a ‘God of love’ created a killer jellyfish?

https://creation.com/skeptics-challenge-a-god-of-love-created-a-killer-jellyfish