16:00 – Dr. Gerstner says that evil does not come from God himself, because God is good in nature. And because God is good all the time, so also are his plans and purposes. Evil, therefore, originates from something other than God; evil, is something that has come up and risen against God and his good purposes for mankind and the universe. However, even though God allows evil to exist, his attitude toward evil is to work around it, and turn evil’s plans around into something that can be used for good. The crucifixion, for example. To make lemonade out of lemons, so to speak. Rather than omnipotently destroying evil’s existence in a single moment, the general attitude of the God of the Bible, is to take evil as a unit, and work around it, and offer a way out of it. The free choice of angels, demons, men, women, and God are all allowed to exist, and to act, and to place faith in either the Gospel or the various evils that Satan has wreacked upon mankind through temptation, delusion, and sin in the world.

18:30 – Dr. Gerstner says that evil must have originated from beings which were created good, just like God is, like the angels in heaven, and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Good creatures made with a good nature, and created by a good God. One of these good creatures, which was good in nature, and came down from the good mind of God, must have fallen through choice. The Bible tells us that the first good creature to choose evil was a cherubic angel named Lucifer, Satan, and the devil (Ezekiel 28:13-15; Isaiah 14:12-15; Luke 10:18). The second stage of evil was when he led a third of God’s angels in rebellion to become demons (Revelation 12:3, 4, 9). The third stage was when Eve was deceived by Satan in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 3:1-7. –J.B.