Who created sickness?

from the old testament

• God created everything perfectly. Genesis 1:31 reads, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Being “very good” includes physical perfection. There were no defects, and thus no disease or sickness.
• When God created, He created men and women to rule over the rest of creation (Genesis 1:26–27). That intertwined all of creation’s future with ours.
• God also commanded Adam, the first man, not to eat from a particular tree, or else he would die (Genesis 2:17). Unfortunately, he and his wife disobeyed and ate from it (Genesis 3:1–7). As promised, the judgment was death, but it was not instant death. Instead, God cursed both humans and the creation under their domain (Genesis 3:16–19). The result was a judgment of corruption leading to death. Disease, genetic errors, and so forth are all byproducts of that curse. Sickness was, therefore, not created. It was a side effect of humanity’s judgment.

from the new testament

• Paul would later note that sin and death spread to all mankind because of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12). While he was specifically talking about moral ramifications, that also includes physical ones. A few chapters later, he would refer to creation as “subjected to futility” because of our sin (Romans 8:18–22).
• But Paul also pointed forward to the future when creation would be released from its bondage of corruption, a time John later wrote about in Revelation 21. There, just after God judged the world (Revelation 20:11–15), God will create a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). At that time, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In that recreated perfect world, sickness and death will no longer exist.

implications for today

If anything explains how sin affects more than just the person committing it, it’s the effect our sin has on creation. It was innocent, operating as God designed, but our rebellion brought it down with us. Not only do we die, but animals die, and earthquakes happen, and disease runs rampant. Sometimes people ask, “Why does God let bad things happen?!” Yet, it’s all our fault (Romans 8:20–22). We rebelled against God, and this broken world became our inheritance.

Actually, rather than blame God, we need to praise Him. He has sustained us despite our rebellion. He has allowed us to discover cures for diseases and ways to reduce pain and discomfort. Things are not as terrible as they could be because of God’s mercy and love for humanity. Humanity has received what it deserves, but God has restrained the effects so we can also enjoy His creation and, indirectly, enjoy Him.

One day, God will bring everything to a head. He won’t keep holding back sin and its effects in the physical world forever. Near the end, Scripture indicates that things will get horribly bad as God’s judgments come (e.g., Revelation 16:1–21). However, God will also mercifully keep that time short. He will then stop everything. He will resurrect all of humanity for their final judgment for every sin they committed, casting those who remained unbelievers into the lake of fire for eternity (Revelation 20:11–15). He will then recreate heaven and earth, with all sin removed (Revelation 21:1–4).

Animals will no longer die, and destructive earthquakes will no longer happen. No longer will anyone die or be infected with disease. “No longer will there be anything accursed” (Revelation 22:3). From that time through eternity, things will be as God created them: “very good” (Genesis 1:31).