Question: What is the battle between good and evil all about? Why is it necessary?
Answer: Originally, there was no force of evil, because Jehovah God Almighty did not create anything evil. Evil was created only after a great angel rebelled against God.
Jehovah created countless number of angels, who are heavenly servants who do the will of God. One such angel was of great beauty and position. Because of his pride, he wanted to exalt himself even above his Creator, and wanted all to worship him--and still does. This rebellious angel became Satan, which means "adversary," and he is the devil we know today.
Soon, some other angels followed in Satan's footsteps. Satan uses his followers, who are now called demons, to do his will, just as good angels do the will of Jehovah. Their goal is to go against Jehovah in every way, through whatever means they can think of.
The devil's first rebellious act was cajoling the first two humans to disobey God, saying that if they broke God's only commandment to them, they would know right from wrong just like God. In other words, what he meant was, "You will no longer need God's guidance; instead, you will be able to be on your own." Yes, Satan challenged God's very right to be our Ruler, as if Jehovah were not good enough for the job and as if we would be better off without Him!
Later on, Satan, in front of other angels in heaven, indicated that the righteous man named Job would no longer be God-fearing if God took Job's good health away: "But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce thee to thy face." (Job 2:5, American Standard Version) Did Job denounce God after Satan made him ill? Absolutely not. True worshippers of God will endure Satan's testing to the end, thus proving him wrong and giving glory to God.
Why has Jehovah allowed Satan and his demons to continue rebelling against Him and making people miserable?
Without providing the time required to answer Satan's challenges, humans will never obtain the truth--that Jehovah is the best King for us--on their own. If God had destroyed Satan on the spot and re-established His kingship over us, stubborn humans would always go on wondering whether they could indeed live successfully without God's guidance.
And if Jehovah destroyed Satan on the spot leaving the devil's challenge unanswered--we wouldn't know if people, like Job, would still remain faithful to God if they received no benefits from Him. We wouldn't know whether people loved God just because of His wonderful gifts, or because they truly love Him from the bottom of their hearts simply for who He is.
This is a reason why Jehovah permitted Satan to inflict Job with tragedies. While God does not need verification of Job's loyalty and faithfulness, angels needed to know, and we needed to know. When Job remained faithful after Satan wounded him, the answer became clear to all witnesses: faithful people will remain faithful under any circumstances.
Now, since Jehovah has allowed Satan to exercise his rule over the world and given us the freedom we wanted, it has become quite clear to us that Satan is a horrible liar and that we desperately need God to rescue us from the troubles we have brought upon our own heads.
Soon, Jehovah will destroy Satan, demons, and all their evil human followers and their works, on His appointed time, and will establish His loving kingship over us. Then and only then will the battle between good and evil end, and when good will triumphantly prevail over evil. Amen!
(Do you have questions about the Bible? Something you don't understand? Do you need a bit of guidance in developing a relationship with Jehovah? Then Shirley would like to help you! Please contact her via her site at http://www.shirleycheng.com and she would be more than glad to do her best to answer your questions! Never hesitate to ask questions, for no question about the Bible is ever too small or stupid.)
(Question submitted by Bill Christy, who was born in Washington State and after Army in mid 1970's, moved to Florida, and has been there ever since. He is in his mid 50's, reformed (this is a daily thing) addict, born again Christian type, white male. Socially more liberal, fiscally more conservative. Hate the sin; love the sinner; that is a good working goal for each of us. Separated, 4 kids and 12 grandkids.)
Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled award-winning author (with 21 book awards, including nine Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Awards), motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, poet, author of nine books (including "Do You Love Jehovah? God Almighty's Infinite Love & Wisdom to Propel You to Greatness"), contributor to nineteen, and a parental rights advocate, has had severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since infancy. Owing to years of hospitalization, she received no education until age eleven. Back then, she knew only her ABCs and very simple English; other than that, her book knowledge was non-existent. However, after only about 180 days of special education in elementary school, she mastered grade level in all areas and entered a regular sixth grade class in middle school. Unfortunately, Shirley lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen. After a successful eye surgery, she hopes to earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University. Visit http://www.shirleycheng.com for more inspiration.