Very important matter:
We're told the devil sinneth from the beginning. And that's when the very first sin, and thus evil, had to have begun. Not by Adam and Eve, but by the cherub Satan. God originally created Satan perfect in his ways, and then iniquity was found in him when he rebelled against God in coveting His Throne (Ezek.28; Isaiah 14). That's why "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is a symbol for Satan. God created him good, but he became evil.
When Satan first sinned, that also must be the time when God assigned to him the power of death. Satan has already been judged and sentenced to perish per Ezekiel 28 also. Likewise with the angels that rebelled with him (Jude 1). Satan is thus the author of evil, not our Heavenly Father for evil is a product of sin. Assigning evil to God's Hand is like saying He capable of committing sin.
The idea of death also had to have existed prior to God warning Adam and Eve about eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that in the day they did eat of it, they would die. That's also how we know the idea of 'death' was before Adam and Eve were created, pointing back to the first sin by Satan.
That also means, we must move any idea of the corruption of God's creation backwards before Adam and Eve's sin also. It does sound logical that Paul in Romans 8 meant right after Adam and Eve's sin the creation was made subject to bondage and also seeks redemption along with us. But since Satan had the first sin, the placing of the creation in bondage must be moved back to that time also. That's why the subject of a previous earth age before Adam and Eve can be found written in God's Word, for that's the time when Satan first sinned.
ALL THAT IS A REQUIREMENT TO UNDERSTAND HOW GOD USES EVIL, WHILE NOT BEING THE REAL AUTHOR OF IT
Since Satan rebelled, and the first sin came into existence by him, God since then has used Satan and evil to punish those who are likewise rebellious with Satan. God has given Satan a certain amount of control to work evil. And sometimes, Satan goes too far. Much of this is written in the Book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 10, God uses "the Assyrian" as a type for Satan, and calls him "the rod of Mine anger". That's very important to understand, because God revealed that He will use Satan as His punishing rod upon the wicked.
And when God does use Satan as a rod upon the rebellious, is God doing evil? No. Even with the idea of calamity or strife which God will bring, it's done through the devil and his workers. All those negative acts originated with Satan's rebellion against God.
Why is this so important for us Christians to understand? It's because of the devil's own workers behind the pagan idea that good can't exist without evil.
Don't be fooled, because the idea that good and evil, positive and negative, are natural parts of God's creation hides His ultimate Truth of a future new heavens and new earth where death and the former things will no longer exist. Simply because during this world age the duality of opposites can be found in this present creation, does not automatically mean it will exist in the next world with God's eternity. It's real easy to fall into the trap of thinking the duality of good and evil is a natural order with God and His creation. It is not. And that's specifically why Paul showed in Romans 8 that the creation also mourns together with our spirit inside us, waiting for the manifesting of the sons of God and the redemption of our body.
In its worse form, the duality of opposites in the nature of today's world can mislead the Christian into accepting the idea that evil must co-exist with good, just as electricity won't flow without two opposite poles. That's the fallacy of applying things of today's creation with God, when God placed this present earth age in a state of corruption.
