“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7 KJV)
I think that if there ever was a verse that helped to give stray theologies a reality check, this may be one of those verses. I have heard depictions where God is on one side and evil is some sort of counter balance on the other. Maybe not a great option, but a counter balance of some sort. In reading this verse plainly for what it actually says, it seems to be less of a choice of side A or side B, but an acceptance or a rejection of what is. At the very least, it is a healthy reminder to us to be careful about building models of what we think a structure looks like, but rather to listen with open ears as to what is really being said.
The previous verse actually underscores this idea rather than retreats from it. “…and there is none else.” To keep looking for something else blinds us. To keep listening for something else deafens us. To ignore him makes us truly foolish. We may have a limited understanding of what is going on around us. We may be concerned about events that seem to be very bad. The Lord will bring into judgement, separate things out, and bring great clarity in his time. Make no mistake that the dividing line is not between him and another, it is an acceptance or a rejection of him.
“That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:6 KJV)