Epstein’s Shadows as Proof of God’s Mercy and Judgment

How the Exposure of Darkness Points to Both God’s Wrath and His Restraining Grace

The great evil we see in this world is often a smokescreen for the evil that happens behind closed doors. What we usually see are only the façade and the shadows of darkness. Yet every now and then, the light breaks in and allows us a brief glimpse into the depths of the evil within human hearts (Luke 8:17). We believe we are safe, but in reality, the evils and death of this world are lurking around every corner.

In the last few weeks, additional court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have been made public through federal court unsealing orders connected to prior civil litigation. These documents include depositions, previously sealed testimony, flight logs, and associated names. It is important to note that the release of names in court documents does not in itself constitute proof of criminal guilt, and many individuals named have not been charged with crimes related to Epstein. At the same time, Epstein himself was previously convicted in 2008 in Florida for solicitation involving a minor and was later federally charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors before his death. While the full scope of what occurred is still debated and investigated, what has been presented is truly horrifying.

I want to state plainly that this evil actually serves as an apologetic for the goodness and mercy of God (Romans 3:5–6).

Evil has not suddenly become more rampant than ever before (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Rather, God, in His restraining hand, has often prevented us from seeing the full extent of our own depravity. Scripture teaches that the human heart is desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). And when God allows this evil to bleed out before our eyes, He enables us to see the red stains of our own guilt laid bare (Romans 3:23).

The argument that we are merely the products of random chance, and that the only meaning and morality in this world are things we must create for ourselves, is fatally flawed—and it is dying before our very eyes. When confronted with real evil, people instinctively appeal to objective moral standards. That instinct testifies that morality is not self-created but grounded beyond us (Romans 2:14–15).

I have seen several people say that after reading and hearing about the evils detailed in these files, they now better understand why God in the Old Testament would judge entire cities and flood the world (Genesis 6:5–7), and why in the New Testament He states clearly that all of us will be judged for what we have done (2 Corinthians 5:10), and that apart from salvation there is eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). This evil that is unveiled before us on the news lives in our own chests (Mark 7:21–23). Although God restrains it, the old phrase remains true: there but for the grace of God go I (1 Corinthians 4:7).

We burn with anger and desire vengeance when we see the veil pulled back. Scripture reminds us, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Only when the vileness is made plain do we begin to honestly reflect and see the need for the justice and wrath of God—things we often push to the back of our minds because we cannot handle the truth: although we desire this justice for those men, we cannot stand before the fact that we deserve this justice as well (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

We try to suppress this truth (Romans 1:18), like a child pushing a beach ball under the water, only to find that it slips free and comes bouncing back into their face. The claim that morality is subjective collapses when confronted with real evil in the real world.

As C. S. Lewis argued in The Abolition of Man, we are becoming “men without chests.” We have severed reading, writing, math, history, and science from religion, morality, philosophy, and beauty, as though facts can float free from meaning. Yet truth is unified because it is grounded in the God who is Truth (John 14:6).

We have trained ourselves to deny objective morality, and yet when confronted with real evil, something within us protests. Our outrage betrays us. It reveals that we know this is not merely socially inconvenient or evolutionarily disadvantageous. It is wicked.

According to the secular worldview, morality is constructed, preferences are personal, and power defines reality. But when evil of this magnitude is exposed, we do not respond with detached analysis—we respond with moral condemnation. The very reaction proves that we cannot escape objective standards.

We do not need a more consistent secularism. We need a unified worldview grounded in Christ—the One in whom truth, justice, mercy, and judgment are held together

We have turned from the worship of the one true God and exchanged Him for idols (Romans 1:22–25). The apostle Paul wrote that “an idol has no real existence” (1 Corinthians 8:4), yet he also warned that sacrifices offered to false gods are offered to demons (1 Corinthians 10:20). When societies suppress the knowledge of God, Scripture says He gives them over to their desires (Romans 1:24–28). What then follows? Sexual immorality, exploitation, greed, violence, and the unraveling of the family (Romans 1:29–32).

Evil is the apologetic of the good. We know evil when we see it because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Even if that image is marred, we cannot bury the moral law written on our hearts forever (Romans 2:15).

So if you are burdened by the evils of this world, if your soul is inflamed by what you see before you, there is an answer—and His name is Christ (Matthew 11:28).

Christ is King, and He will return to judge this broken earth (Acts 17:31). Call out to Him for salvation (Romans 10:9–13). Trust in His finished work on the cross (John 19:30). Believe that He can save you—and He will (John 6:37).

He bore the wrath that justice demands (Romans 3:25–26). The question is often asked, “Why do good men suffer?” The answer is that it has only ever happened once (1 Peter 3:18)—and He did it willingly (John 10:18).