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Understanding the Mystery of Prosperity and Suffering

This text explores the perplexity of why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, referencing biblical passages and philosophical musings. It encourages readers to wait on the Lord and trust in His plans, reminding them that God works all things together for good.

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Understanding the Mystery of Prosperity and Suffering

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  1. We have a mess on our hands. 2. Something needs to change.

  2. Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? Jeremiah 12:1

  3. Asaph says in Psalm 73: For I was envious of the arrogantAs I saw the prosperity of the wicked.For there are no pains in their death,And their body is fat.They are not in trouble as other men,Nor are they plagued like mankind.Therefore pride is their necklace;The garment of violence covers them.Their eye bulges from fatness;The imaginations of their heart run riot.They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;

  4. (Psalm 73 cont) They speak from on high.They have set their mouth against the heavens,And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them.They say, “How does God know?And is there knowledge with the Most High?”Behold, these are the wicked;And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

  5. When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:9-10

  6. God’s answer: Relax & Wait

  7. And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also. Revelation 6:11

  8. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.Cease from anger and forsake wrath;Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.For evildoers will be cut off,But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.But the humble will inherit the landAnd will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. Psalm 37:7-11

  9. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

  10. Not many years ago when I was an atheist, if anyone had asked me, “Why do you not believe in God?” my reply would have [been]: “Look at the universe we live in.” . . . History is largely a record of crime, war, disease, and terror. . . . The universe . . . is running down. . . . All stories will come to nothing: all life will turn out in the end to have been a transitory and senseless contortion upon the idiotic face of infinite matter. If you ask me to believe that this is the work of a benevolent and omnipotent spirit, I reply that all the evidence points in the opposite direction. Either there is no spirit behind the universe, or else a spirit indifferent to good and evil, or else an evil spirit. (C.S. Lewis: The Problem of Pain, 13–15)

  11. If you don’t believe in God, how can you explain why anything good ever happens to anyone? It doesn’t handle your question about evil. It would be easily answered.

  12. The assumption that nothing bad would ever happen in a world created by a all-good, all-loving God Who had everything under His control is a reasonable assumption, given only those facts.

  13. The world is messed up. 2. Something needs to change.

  14. Both our beliefs are faith-based: I have faith there is a God. You have faith there isn’t, or at least seriously doubt there is.

  15. Until I came into the sanctuary of God;Then I perceived their (the wicked’s) end.Surely You set them in slippery places;You cast them down to destruction.How they are destroyed in a moment!They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 73:17-19

  16. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

  17. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

  18. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 1 Corinthians 4:17

  19. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

  20. God’s answer for all the bad stuff happening now is: “What you see is not the complete story. Just relax and wait to see how I will handle things.” What are we waiting for? What do we hope will happen?

  21. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:19-25

  22. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

  23. And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:5-8

  24. What I do know: All sin will be punished. (Romans 6:23) Some of us will plead the blood of Jesus and be forgiven because He took the punishment for our sins. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Others, who have rejected the blood of Jesus by unbelief, will be punished forever for their sins. (Revelation 21:8) There will be no more sin. (Romans 8:29, 1 John 3:2) All things will work together for good for the redeemed. (Romans 8:28) The first things will have passed away. (Rev. 21:4)

  25. For I proclaim the name of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. Deuteronomy 32:3-4

  26. Every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11

  27. And He Who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5

  28. Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28

  29. Could the God of the universe Who created everything by the Word of His mouth, Who holds all things together by His Word, and Who is not bound by time because time is something He created, can He somehow undo all the bad stuff that has ever happened in the history of the world and make it like new – like it never happened – or even better, like it should have happened? Well, I think so, He is God!

  30. Both good and evil, when they are full grown, become retrospective. . . . Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory (C.S. Lewis: The Great Divorce/HarperSanFrancisco, 1946], 69Problem of Pain, 13–15)

  31. The Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward. (C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

  32. Behold, I am making all things new.

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