… so that when the day of evil comes,
Summary: “Good” and “evil” are two terms we toss around a lot. But what do they mean? Do we all use the same definitions? If we don’t use the right one, we might not recognize when the day of evil is here.
I suspect that when it comes to topics like “good” and “evil,” a lot of us rely on the adage, “I’ll know it when I see it.” The problem with not having an objective standard for good and evil is something called relativity. If everything is relative to everything else, we can never know exactly where we are.
Allow me to provide an example.
If you go out in a boat, you need a fixed reference point to know where you are. It has to be something that is reliable and never changes. A compass points to magnetic north and always points to magnetic north. If you can see land, that is a fixed reference point. If you can see the sun, you have another reference point, although not a fixed one.
All these reference points are useful for finding your way. But what if you lose your compass overboard? What if the fog comes in and blots out the sight of land and sun? Life without reference points is like a boat in the fog. We have no way of knowing where we are.
Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “Such and such is like boiling a frog?” Personally, I’ve never boiled a frog. The story is that if you place a frog in a pan of water, he will sit there happy and content. If you add heat to the pan, the frog will jump out. However, if you add the heat very slowly, the frog doesn’t notice the water is warmer. Like a ship in the fog, there is no reference point. The temperature changes so slowly the frog is never sure when to jump. When the frog realizes the water is too hot, it is too late. The frog is dead.
So what about us? When it comes to good and evil, are we like the frog in the pan? How much evil can you tolerate without being too evil? How much evil can we swim in without ending up in hell?
Evil is the absence of good, just like darkness is the absence of light. The Bible tells us that only God is good (Mark 10:18). If that is true (and I believe it is!), then everything that is not God is, in some measure, evil. When it comes to telling good from evil, God is our fixed reference point.
The Greek word for “evil” in this passage is “ponērós,” (Strong’s G4190). Strong’s defines this word as meaning a hurtful or malign effect. (The Greek uses a different word to describe someone or something evil by nature.)
The “day of evil” is any day where things go wrong. Maybe you wake up with a toothache. You get out of bed and stub your toe. When you arrive at work, you find out you’ve been fired. It could be a day when the doctor gives you bad news, or someone close to you betrays you. You get the idea.
Every day has some evil in it. Paul wants us to be ready so that when the day of evil comes, we recognize it for what it is and don’t lose our bearings. He doesn’t want us to be like the frog in warm water. Instead of being boiled alive, he wants us to jump into the arms of God.
Application: Spend time in God’s Word every day so you can recognize what is good.
Food for Thought: Is Paul talking about some particular day that is far off, or is he pointing us to the dangers we face every day? Explain.
I believe He is speaking to the dangers we face everyday. I believe sin and evil creeps in. There may be days when things “converge” but evil starts in the decisions we make everyday. It may be our own decisions, it may be someone else’s decisions, but it always starts small and takes root.
Putting on the armor of God protects us from evil, in whatever capacity is comes at us. Reading His word, prayer, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, I believe we can discern some of the evils that surround us. Even more so, Jesus has overcome the world. Greater is He that is in me. Even if we miss a small root, looking to Him for guidance in our next step and following it, assures us that evil will not overtake us.
I can look at the story of Joseph in Genesis and see how the evil his brother perpetrated on him started small, and grew. I can also see how faithful devotion brought about victory over that evil.
Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Chris,
I really like how you brought Joseph into your answer! The Genesis 50:20 quote is very appropriate, too. (It is consistent with Romans 8:28.)
I agree with CH. Every day can be the day of evil. A day of temptation or trial, etc. (Ephesians 5: 15 – 17). Each day we need to be prepared and each day we need to decide to follow after Jesus (Luke 9: 23).
Rich,
Yes! We do need to be prepared! That is why it is so important to be in the Word. 🙂
Is Paul talking about some particular day that is far off, or is he pointing us to the dangers we face every day? Explain.
“ The “day of evil ” comes sooner or later for all us. And it comes again and again. We are called to stand our ground and to fight to the end so that we may be still standing when the day is done. Everything we need for this period of time “ The Armor of God “, and the power of Jesus Christ to stand our ground, is provided for us.“
Ephesians 6:13
Our Bibles tell us in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. Today society is rejecting God and embracing evil in radical ways. Widespread pornography, open Satan worship, widespread drug and alcohol abuse, sexual immorality, legalized killing of the unborn and the sweeping redefinition of marriage. Mankind is openly rejecting God and His Word as they become fools, turning from God, to worshiping the idols of their own making.
2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:1-2, 4:3, Romans 1:18-22
Satan is very active because we are living in the last days. We are rushing like a freight train toward the end of human history, and we shouldn’t be surprised that Satan has redoubled his efforts, knowing that his time is short.
Revelation 12:12
Thanks Ron!
I think you sum it up well with “it [the day of evil] comes again and again.”