If the Creator Cares, Why So Much Suffering? -When Will Relief Come?

Actually, the fact that human suffering is on the increase shows that the time for it to end is near.  Why can that be said?  The Bible reveals what happened in the invisible realm in Job's day, and it does so again regarding our day. Its last book Revelation, focuses on a conflict that took place in the heavens.  The result?  Satan  "was hurled down to the earth" with his demon hordes.  "On this account," That Bible book continues, "be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them!  Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time." -Revelation 12:7-12. 

A detailed consideration of Bible prophecy points to this century as the time when that event took place. As you may know, respected historians acknowledge that there was a major turning point in history in 1914, when World War I began.   Since then, suffering and woes have increased. Jesus pointed to this same time period when his intimate disciples asked him about "the sign of [his] presence and of the conclusion of the system of things."  Jesus said: "Nation will rise  against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs."  (Matthew 24:3-13; Luke 21:5-19) These words indicating great suffering, are having their full-scale fulfillment for the very first time in history.

The Bible describes these events as a prelude to a "great tribulation such as not occurred since the world's beginning until now, no, nor will occur again."  (Matthew 24:21) This will be God's decisive intervention in human affairs. He will act to end the wicked system of things, which has caused suffering for ages.  But this will not mean the 'end of the world' by a nuclear holocaust that destroys mankind. God's Word assures us that there will be survivors.  "a great crowd . . . out of all nations and tribes and people and tongues" will come out of the tribulation alive. -Revelation 7:9-15. 

To get a rounded-out picture, consider what the Bible says will follow.  The gardenlike home originally purpose for mankind as their dwelling will be restored.  (Luke 23:43) You will see no homeless people. Isaiah wrote: "They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. . . . For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be:  And the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full.  They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance, because they are  the offspring made up of the blessed ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them. . . . The wolf and the lamb themselves will feed as one, and the lion will eat straw just like a bull . . . They will do not harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain,' Jehovah has said." -Isaiah 65:21-25.

What of suffering on a personal level?  There will be no war, violence, or crime.  (Psalm 46:8, 9; Proverbs 2:22; Isaiah 2:4)  There will be no more hunger, since the earth will be restored to an ecological balance and will produce abundantly .  (Psalm 72:16) Indeed, sources of suffering that we now see will be things of the past.-Isaiah 14:7.

This certainly qualifies  as the best of news. Yet, some might feel that there are two dark clouds, so to speak. A person's enjoyment of those blessings would be limited if he had to expect  that after just 70 or 80 years he would die. And might he not feel sad about loved ones who died before the Creator ended human suffering?  What is the answer?

Next time: If the Creator Cares, Why So Much Suffering? - Undoing the Worst Suffering

From the book: Is There a Creator That Cares About You?