Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would be hesitant (in the absence of an unmistakably clear circumstantial relationship) to ascribe any particular adverse event occurring on earth to God's decretive will (that is, something that He has directly commanded or originated).

However, even though the Bible describes Satan as "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), neither he nor the demonic forces that he controls can go any further than God's permissive will allows in connection with such events. In my opinion, bringing people to recognition and repentance for their sins -- with the aim of then drawing them to redemptive faith in Christ -- is one of the purposes underlying that permissive will.

In that sense, earthly afflictions and catastrophes (particularly as such events increase in frequency and severity, as Jesus noted in passages such as Matthew 24) are always a warning, both with regard to the growing imminence of the close of the age, and also as a call to repentance and faith for eternal life, when such events will no longer exist for the redeemed.

June 13 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report