Everything God created was good: the cosmos, the angels, Earth and all it contains, and humanity. Moreover, God, in His wisdom, established natural laws to maintain the perfection of creation.
The sun provides warmth and light, the planets spin in their orbits, Earth produces plants and living creatures are capable of reproducing themselves. Winter and summer, day and night, friendly denizens inhabiting land, sea and sky, all God created was good.
Evil first appeared when God gave the higher forms of creation free will. He did not want puppets, He desired creatures who would return His love and share His heavenly abode. Thus the angels came to be.
The angels were privileged creatures. They were beautiful, intelligent and powerful. However, some of them, led by Lucifer, rebelled and tried to overthrow their Creator. They were defeated and thrown out of Heaven by the loyal angels, led by Michael.
In time, the first man and woman were created. They were not allowed into Heaven until they had proven their love and loyalty, but they were gifted with a beautiful abode: the planet Earth. They had only to enjoy the perfection of their surroundings, love and obey their Creator, and in due time, be received into Heaven.
Lucifer, now known as Satan, and his band of fallen angels were intensely jealous of these new creatures who were destined to take their places in the heavenly realm. They resolved to do all in their power to foil God's plan and drag as many humans as possible down to the lake of eternal fire, which was created as their eternal destination.
The Bible relates how Satan tempted Adam and Eve and they sinned. They, and we as their descendants, are subjected to temptations, illness, suffering, pain and death before we gain our reward in Heaven or alternately, earn eternal punishment with the fallen angels in hell.
The Earth also lost its created perfection. Some animals became enemies; humans henceforth had to work to make the soil yield its bounty. Natural disasters, like the flood in Noah's day, became distinct possibilities.
God does not cause evil. It comes from those creatures to whom He gave free will. Satan and his demons continue to tempt humans to sin, in order to keep them from heaven.
Too many humans give in to temptation. We disrespect and ignore the Creator. Some of us instigate war, others condone war, we injure, kill and steal from each other. We waste resources and despoil the environment. We have followed Satan almost to the point where we ourselves will become extinct on Earth.
The schemes for evil, or bad things in the world come from Satan and his cohorts. They are still powerful and intelligent. Too often they are aided and abetted by humans, who have turned away from God and chosen to follow the devils' promptings or their own inclination to evil.
However, good always triumphs. God provided a path to salvation for those who will follow it. Heaven will be populated by Michael, the good angels and God's loyal followers from Earth. God's plan will be fulfilled.
For further details, and to ascertain just how this will happen, please consult your Bible.
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