Jesus is the Light of the world and according to Revelation 1: 8 He said: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Therefore, if we are to understand the end we must start in the beginning! In Genesis 1: 1 we read “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Scripture gives us no data for determining how long ago the universe was created. The Hebrew word “Elohim” is used for God in this verse and is a plural noun and suggests the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Old Testament scriptures reveal the existence of a Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe and of man, the Source of all life and of all intelligence, who is to be worshipped and served by men and angels. The Apostle John provides more insight in I John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Son of God) and the Holy Spirit and these three are one.” The revelation of Deity in the New Testament illuminates that of the Old Testament that the latter is seen to be, from Genesis to Malachi, the foreshadowing of the coming incarnation of God in Jesus the Christ. In promise, covenant, type and prophecy the O.T. points forward to Him. According to 1 John 1: 5 we read: “This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]. ... And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].” Therefore, according to Genesis 1: 26 were created in His image after His likeness as His Children of Light.
Genesis 1: 2 presents us with a relevant question: “And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” If according to the scriptures we just read, God is Light and in Him is no darkness, then where did the darkness come from? The theme of light and darkness is prominent throughout the Bible, representing Satan’s evil domain and the sinful deeds of those who do not obey God, so we must conclude that somewhere in eternity pass evil was introduced that brought darkness and chaos to God’s original creation. The Hebrew words for the condition of the earth in verse 2 is “tohu and bohu” which appear in Isaiah 45: 18 as an act of Divine Judgment. Isaiah 14: 12-17 introduces us to Lucifer who defied His Creator with his five “I will” statements and sin began. Also, the passage in Ezekiel 28: 1-9 contains references to the defiant Satan and God’s judgment upon him: “I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God and I will destroy thee.” So immediately after God brought perfect order in His creative acts in Genesis 1 and 2 we see Adam and Eve in the Garden as God’s perfect Children of Light.
In Genesis 3 we see Satan (the adversary) appearing to Eve as “an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11: 14) in the form of a serpent. He is described in Scripture as subtle—being difficult to detect or describe and cunning—crafty, deceitful, tricky, charming and appealing. Remember, Lucifer’s description in Ezekiel is a beautiful, anointed cherubim in God’s hierarchy of heavenly creations. God always planned for heaven and earth to be one so it is quite possible that Adam and Eve had interaction with heavenly beings as God Himself walked and talked with them in the Garden. We know the account of how they choose to disobey God and how death (separation from God) entered mankind. God created mankind for life—not death and for fellowship and relationship, not separation. Essentially, they rejected God as one day would be revealed in His fullness in Jesus—the Way, the Truth and the Life. They embraced Satan’s lies and became children of the devil as Jesus would later describe to the Pharisees in John 8: 44: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks lies he is just being himself—for he is a liar and the father of lies.” In other words, all mankind are born as Children of Darkness!
God’s plan of redemption for mankind was planned before the foundation of the world—the Lamb that was slain. (Rev. 13:8) In 1 John 3: 8 we read: “[But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].” Jesus said in John 8: 12 “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” When we accept Jesus as Savior, we are born again by His Spirit so that we become Children of Light. Scripture gives us the instructions as to how to walk in the Light in 1 John 1: 5- 10 and Ephesians 5: 13. Through the Word of God the indwelling Holy Spirit shows the Christian that he: (1) still possesses an old nature (v. 8) and (2) needs the forgiveness of his sins (vv. 9-10). Last week, we studied about the conditions for having our prayers answered. This is a daily walk whereby we choose to obey God and confess any sin that would separate us from Him. In other words, we must choose to walk as Children of Light if we are to experience God’s blessings and purpose for our life. (3) do not follow the ways of the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (I Jn. 2: 15-17) (4) abide in the love of Christ and His Word (v. 28 and I Jn. 3: 18-20) (5) test the spirits whether they are of God (I Jn. 4:1-4) (6) do not fear 4: 17-18) (7) walk as Children of Light as Paul commands us in Ephesians 5:8 “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”
Truly this is a Holy Spirit alarm for such a time as this as we have experienced great darkness and manifestation of evil this month throughout the world driven by the god of this world. October 31, Halloween is considered the witches’ sabbat and marks the transition to a new year, like our New Year's Eve. It’s a sacred time for witches and is known as one of two “spirit nights”. Halloween is a “magical interval when the laws of time and space are suspended.” (Dr. Laura Sanger) Witches practice divination in which they seek knowledge by contacting a deceased loved one. Jonathan Cahn said this week that there are more witches in America today than they are Presbyterians. Social media and especially Tic Tok has a huge presence of witches and their allurements. Halloween has always been the Festival of the Dead, and was believed to be the best time to contact those who had passed over. Hence, we see all kinds of manifestations of death and darkness throughout our neighborhoods, shopping malls, on TV and movies—skulls/skeletons, ghosts, horror movies, haunted houses, zombies, costumes portraying evil and we could go on and on. We must not turn a blind eye that these all bring glory and worship to Satan and his demonic spirits. Fear is of the devil and mankind is weakened by fear, fright and terror! Do you wonder why the terrorists attacked during this time and the spirits of darkness are raging with their campaign of death and destruction. The festivities of Halloween are rituals in honor of Satan. It’s a sacred time for the kingdom of darkness. The enemy is a legalist. If we participate in any form of Halloween, we are entering into an agreement with the kingdom of darkness. Satan loves when we provide him with loop-holes by which to enter our lives and torment us. Deuteronomy 18:9-11 “When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you, don’t take on the abominable ways of life of the nations there. Don’t you dare sacrifice your son or daughter in the fire. Don’t practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery, casting spells, holding seances, or channeling the dead. People who do these things are an abomination to God.” We must clear the darkness in our life; confess our sin and step into the light. Light has to come head to head with the darkness.
Paul in Ephesians 5 gives clear instructions to the Children of Light as to the walk of a believer as God’s dear child. Take time to read this whole chapter and allow God’s truth to soak into your being as Paul contrasts the walk of children of darkness and Children of Light—we were once children of darkness but now are Light in the Lord; manifest the fruit of the Spirit; have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Paul gives us our marching orders as believers in Christ—as Children of Light: “Wake up, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Jesus will shine on you. So pay close attention to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise. Make the most of your time because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is…be filled with the Spirit always giving thanks for everything to God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.” (vv. 14-20) Jesus commanded us to be salt and light. "No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:15-16). Jesus gave to Paul our Divine Commission in Acts 26: 18—to open the eyes of the world so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive release from sins as well as a place among those who are made holy through trusting in Jesus. We need to be before the Lord, spend time with Him, seek Him afresh day by day, and even be desperate before Him, especially as things happen; the more real we get with the Lord, the more real He will become to us!