Last week God began to put these words into my mind and heart: “Out of Darkness into the Light.” He brought together the Bible study and events of the week to unfold the meaning of His words. On Tuesday our study on the Dragon Prophecy by Jonathan Cahn was entitled “The Unholy Days” that focused on Satan’s attack against God’s people and His Holy Feast Days—Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles which lay out God’s Plan of Redemption. Therefore, as Satan seeks to oppose and counterfeit God’s plan, he seeks to achieve his goal of being worshipped like God on his High Holy (Separate) Day—Halloween—a celebration of the dead, witchcraft and the occult! The Bible makes it clear that God is the source of light and truth while Satan is associated with darkness, deception and death. (Col. 1: 12-14; Eph. 5:8) Through this study it becomes clear that the central theme of Scripture is this: Jesus is the true and lasting light, while Satan, once a star, has fallen and is now associated with darkness and death. According to Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” God’s Word is a spiritual guide that directs us to Jesus—the Light of the world. 2 Corinthians 4:6 makes it clear “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Paul sounds a warning to us today in Romans 13: 11-12: “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.” I believe that God is calling Christians, the Church and our nation to come out of darkness into the Light as such a time as this!
We read in 1 John 1: 5 that: “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” So, the question we must address first is this: “Where did the darkness come from as Genesis 1:1 says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth”? The answer begins to unfold in verse 2 where darkness is first mentioned: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep…” We can draw from these verses a couple of things: Scripture gives no data for determining how long ago the universe was created nor the period that elapsed between verse 1 and 2. Isaiah 45: 18 gives further insight: “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited; I am the LORD, and there is none else.” In Genesis 1:2 it is only the earth and not the universe that is said to have been “without form and void” which in Hebrew describes a condition produced by Divine judgment. What would have caused Divine judgment as man had not been created?
First, we learn from what is considered to be the oldest book in the Bible—Job in 38: 4-7 that angels were present at the creation of the world and were created prior to it. Verse 7 is especially enlightening: “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Angels are here described as morning stars and sons of God. Isaiah 14: 12-17 provides insight into a particular angel highly exalted above the other angels named “Lucifer” which means “bearer of light” or “morning star.” The prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 28: 13-19 describes his beauty, wisdom and perfection as God’s anointed over the holy mountain of God. We learn from these passages that Lucifer became prideful and desired to rule as God—to be like God. God expelled him from heaven along with 1/3 of the angels who rebelled with him to earth. (Rev. 12: 4) Lucifer became Satan—God’s adversary and judgment was pronounced upon him in Ezekiel 28: 18-19 where he would be a terror on earth and his final fate would be eternal fire with his followers. (Rev. 20: 10) Remember his title as “morning star” as we will return to this as God unfolds His plan of redemption in His Word.
God has a dynamic strategy on how darkness gives birth to Light as we read in the remainder of Genesis 1:2: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Psalms 107: 30—31 magnifies God’s work: “Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth. The glory of the LORD shall endure forever; the LORD shall rejoice in His works.” In the remainder of Genesis 1:2 we see the LORD (Jesus in His preincarnate form) completing the work of restoration. John describes perfectly that work in 1: 1-14—“All things were made by Him; in Him was life; and the life was the Light of men; the Light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not; that was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world; He gave power to become the sons of God to them that believe on His name; He is full of grace and truth.” We see the darkness being dispelled by Light—pointing to Jesus!
Genesis 1:3-4 describes the creation of the world, where God separates light from darkness. This initial distinction sets the stage for the ongoing contrast between God’s light and human darkness. God’s creative command, “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3) brings illumination and order, while darkness represents chaos and disorientation. God set about with each day’s creative work to define a day as evening and morning. Again, this is another revelation of God suggesting that every night is, in a sense, a return to the chaos and darkness of the precreation, and the morning is a reenactment of the first creative work. God ordained this pattern of a 24-hour day for His chosen people as the Hebrew calendar day begins at 6:00 p.m. one day and ends at 6:00 p.m. the next day. I read an explanation for this from Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn that gives us insight into God’s pattern of a day. He said: “If the day leads to night, then everything goes from light to darkness. Everything gets darker. Everything is in the process of darkening. And so is the way of the world. We go from day to night, from youth to aging, from strength to weakness, and ultimately from life to death. It’s the way of the world, but it’s not the way of God. When God created the universe, it was not day and night. It is written, “There was evening, and then there was morning.” The day began with night. In God, it is the night that comes first. A Jewish Biblical day begins at sunset. There is evening and then morning. The world moves from day to night, but in God, it is the opposite. It goes from night to day…from darkness to light. The children of this world live from day to night, but the children of God live from night to day. They are born again in the darkness and move to the day and if you belong to God, then that is the order of your life. You are to go from darkness to light, from weakness to strength, from despair to hope, from guilt to innocence, from tears to joy, and from death to life, and every night in your life will lead to the dawn. So live according to God’s sacred order of time…that your entire life be always moving away from the darkness and to the light.” The contrast between man’s calendar and God’s calendar highlights the importance of understanding and observing the divine plan for redemption. While man’s calendar serves practical purposes, God’s calendar is a tangible expression of God’s sovereignty and authority over creation. The world has been rigged to distract us and keep us in the dark!
God continued to expand upon His strategic plan out of darkness into the light throughout the Bible but especially in the account of Exodus 12 when God was freeing His chosen people from the bondage and slavery in Egypt (“darkness.”) God used Moses to perform miraculous signs and wonders before Pharoah but each time he hardened his heart and refused to let the people go. It was the last plague where we see the reality of death and darkness connected and in juxtaposition to liberty from bondage by the blood of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8) It was at midnight that the LORD (preincarnate Jesus) smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt and spared all those Israelites who had the blood of the lamb upon the lintel and the two side posts of their house. (Connecting the blood forms a Cross pointing to the perfect sacrifice—Jesus.) God further commanded them to observe this rite which became known as Passover (death passed over by the blood of the Lamb) when they entered the Promised Land. This was God’s first Holy Day enacted and was to be the first day of their biblical year.
Celestial imagery is another facet of juxtaposition between darkness and light in the Bible. We return to the account of Lucifer who became Satan. Lucifer had the potential to be a servant angel, to remain in the presence of God, not in power, but in relationship. He could have reflected God’s light to Adam and Eve and their offspring. Instead, he used his power to lead them to sin. Lucifer as Day Star descended as a Fallen Star. His light was extinguished due to pride and rebellion and became a bringer of darkness, deception and destruction. He was a prideful being seeking to elevate himself above God. He became the source of lies and death. The Day Star fell from heaven, leading to eternal darkness. (Isaiah 14: 12) Satan now represents “the long dark night of suffering on earth.” In sharp contrast we see Jesus with His title as the Morning Star in Revelation 22: 16 that signifies not only His eternal reign but also His role as the Light that brings hope and salvation to humanity. Unlike Satan, whose light was extinguished due to rebellion, Jesus’ light shines eternally, guiding believers out of darkness and into eternal life. His eternal light never fades! He was a humble servant and submitted to God’s will. He is the Source of eternal life and truth and shines forever, bringing eternal day. Christ is not only the true and lasting light of morning, but He was the first light, with God at the beginning. Those who are searching for Light will find it in Christ as they see it working through God’s people, but they must experience the warmth and hope of light in order to be attracted to it and that is our role—to embrace the Light and let our light shine before men that they will desire the Light! As we await Christ’s return, it sometimes seems as though Satan has won, that his power exceeds Christ’s. BUT JESUS is the eternal Morning Star who will return to send him to eternal damnation in the lake of fire!
The early settlers of America covenanted with God to be a beacon of Light and hope. It was that Light that John Winthrop, a Puritan preacher spoke of in America in 1630 in his proclamation that “we shall be as a city upon a hill.” A few days before the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961 he gave an address to his home state of Massachusetts where he said: “I have been guided by the standard John Winthrop set before his shipmates on the flagship Arbella three hundred and thirty-one years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier. We must always consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us. Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us—and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, we must be as a city upon a hill—constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities. For we are setting out upon a voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the Arabella in 1630. We are committing ourselves to tasks of statecraft no less awesome than that of governing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, beset as it was then by terror without and disorder within.” Beginning in the 1970’s Ronald Reagan as well placed that line, from that sermon, at the center of his political career. Tracing the story of America from John Winthrop forward, Reagan built a powerful articulation of American exceptionalism—the idea, as he explained, “that there was some Divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.” In 2012, American exceptionalism—as summarized by the phrase “city on a hill”—became an official plank in the platform of the Republican party. We have become very aware that this nation was established to be Light and Hope—"as a city upon a hill” has been and continues to be under attack from Satan—the Dragon—the Ancient Serpent—the Prince of Darkness—the Devil and his minions as both Kennedy, Reagan and now Donald Trump have been the targets of assassination from the Murderer—the present god of this world! Indeed, it is time for all America to pray that God will intervene and turn this darkness into light—to JESUS WHO IS THE LIGHT! We must pray for revival, live in revival and ask for an outpouring of God’s Spirit! God’s Word for God’s people: Read Isaiah 60: 1-2. “The time has come for the great separations, a great silence, blackouts, and the overthrow of unruly governments and the world elites and all their control over everything in your lives. Because of a deep sleep of deception that the world has been under, it took place. But now is the time for the great awakening, so hold on, My children, for this great awakening across the world. But remember, I am moving. I am judging. I am removing. I am overthrowing. I am getting rid of the evil and darkness. And everything I have done in the unseen is about to be seen. The hour is late, and I am about to show you how great the Great I AM really is!” (JG)