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Plan of God

Chapter 1

Darkness to Light

Genesis 1:2 ...Darkness was upon the face of the deep.

It is a very simple concept to understand.  It is as easy as flipping on a light switch in a dark room.  The idea is easy to grasp.  What takes a little digging to comprehend is what God means when He begins to expand on this clear-cut notion of darkness to light to arrive the deeper spiritual terms that He uses, like ‘marvelous light’ and ‘unapproachable light.’

The entirety of the Scripture is salted with so many phrases that build on this stunning theme.  Ultimately all Scripture points to Jesus Christ.  It is wise to establish – without a doubt in our minds – that Jesus and His way of life is the true enlightenment.  Then, it goes without saying that we must know why He came to this earth and what He stood for.  And since knowing is not enough, we must also follow in His steps, without exception, throughout life, until death.

Have you ever wondered what God was thinking before He ever started His vast creation that we see all around us?  What is He doing right now?  Is God a hands-on creator, always tweaking the direction we are headed, or is He a hands-off God, just waiting to see what happens to everything?  And, where is all of this headed?  Will the sun and all the stars finally fizzle out as the result of eons of entropy, or is there somehow something wonderful to look forward to?  Believe it or not, the Bible contains all the answers to these questions and much, much more.  God is constantly interfacing with His people so that His positive expectations for us are met.  Jesus said, “I am working and my Father is also working.”  (John 5:17)

It would certainly do us well to know what God is working at so that we can be a part of it.  Why are so many people unaware of the answers to the most important matters?

How will man ever emerge from his abysmal ignorance into the dazzling wisdom of God?  Some will maintain that man has arrived at the epitome of his intelligence and reasoning acumen.  We are so sure of our genius as homo sapiens – that we’ve named our species, “wise man.”  If we are so smart, how is it that man has written such a long and terrible history of devastation and destruction for his legacy?  If we could be honest with ourselves for a moment, we would realize how utterly helpless man has been in establishing an enduring and orderly planet for himself and his children.  Every king and president promises change for the better throughout his tenure.  So, how is it that inevitably, hostilities, invasion or epidemics always dash the hopes for a utopian world?  Few realize that the Bible promises a future that will emerge from dark obscurity—into a forthcoming brilliant and more than idealistic existence of life forever more—and we can be a part of it!  God’s Kingdom and rule will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end for the children of God (Isaiah 9:7).

There are many things we would not know of, except for the Bible.  There are many themes we generally accept for fact that would be unknown except for the Bible.  There is much evidence for the spirit world, but only if one accepts Scripture as the source of truth (John 17:17).

How profound is “Darkness,” and what is it?  It is much more than the lack of electromagnetic radiation that stimulates sight and makes things visible.  What, for instance was lacking in the Dark Ages?  Darkness is much more than a supposed lack of scientific and cultural advancement – it is a lack of Godly involvement and direction.

It is the same with “Light.”  Light can be too brilliant for the eye, but not the spirit.  It is not an oxymoron to state that one of the purposes of this book, to illuminate light.

John 8:12  Jesus spoke, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Paul reveals to us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is light!

2Corinthians 4:4,6 ...The light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God… For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.


Brilliant Glory

Before creation there was nothing.  We might think of it as outer space with no stars or anything at all in that vast emptiness.  But the truth of the matter is that there was not even any outer space – there was absolutely nothing.  God called it Darkness.  Now what happened is this:  God came up with His Plan.  God exists in a brilliant state the Bible calls ‘glory.’  The night before He died Jesus petitioned His Father to restore His glory that had been set aside so that He could join us humans in the flesh.

John 17:1, 5  These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee… And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world existed.

That glory of God is something that is not only too intense to look upon – its brightness exceeds that of the sun – it is so intensely brilliant it is impossible to comprehend with our finite minds.  That brilliance, God calls Light.

In that same prayer, the night before His crucifixion, Jesus revealed that His life and resurrection had made it possible that we mere men be able to join Him and the Father in their glory—and that would be everything—the fulfillment of God’s Plan.

John 17:21-22  That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me.  And the glory which you gave to me I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one.

Darkness to light then is the story God has given to us of how the nothing of darkness will ultimately be developed into everything in Christ Jesus.

Habakkuk 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the splendorous glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.


Nothing to Everything

Revelation 21:7  He that overcomes shall inherit Everything; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

It is too incredible to grasp!  Can you imagine that as Sons of God absolutely everything will be at our disposal to do with as we see fit?  We will understand God’s Plan perfectly – and be an integral part of it.  Nothing will be withheld from us because we will be on the same page that He is on.

Psalm 84:11  The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.

God uses the darkness and light symbolism for the purpose of making known His much deeper Plan—His spiritual Kingdom that we need to comprehend more fully.  There are more than fifty verses in the Bible that specifically utilize both ‘darkness’ and ‘light.’  As we read how God utilizes darkness and light we will see that it is a most important theme throughout the pages of the Scriptures.

Men readily comprehend the disparity between phrases such as, “works of darkness” and “let one's light shine.”  Almost instinctively, we perceive that one is evil, while the other is proper and beneficial.  Darkness is associated with things that are evil, like ignorance, sin, death and the Devil.  In the same way that we cannot remember our own first steps, we cannot remember the first time we heard the words, “works of darkness” or, “let your light shine.”  Our very existence is centered in light.  And yet, we too often take it for granted.


Let there be Light

Light in the Bible is often a metaphor for life, happiness, righteousness, and understanding – especially spiritual understanding and spiritual wisdom which reflect God’s character, will and attributes.  Light is a symbol for righteousness and goodness.  God is life-giving spiritual enlightenment – and Jesus Christ is the epitome of that Light.

We are given the concepts of physical darkness and light to express the death and despair of godlessness as compared to the life and truth that come with Godliness.  Light is one of the most common allegories utilized in the Bible to reveal a higher spiritual concept.  The light of God has far-reaching connotations.  This light is the wisdom of God, it is His truth and His law; it represents His perfect way that leads to life everlasting.

Romans 11:33-34  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!  For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Isaiah 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

In the same way that physical light allows us to see our way, spiritual light reveals the way and truth of God.  The spiritual light found in the Scriptures is necessary for spiritual life.  The light of God's way of life dissipates the darkness of ignorance and falsehood.

When God said, “Let there be light,” in Genesis 1:3, our first thought is that He was bringing physical light into existence—electromagnetic radiation in all its wavelengths—the source and conveyor of all energy and matter throughout the universe.  But, that light is only a mere physical type of the True Spiritual Light of God that dissipates spiritual darkness (Genesis 1:4).  Paul expresses this meaning here:

2Corinthians 4:6  God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God is Light (1John 1:5). When God said, “Let there be light,” He was stating His elaborate Plan whereby He would bring many divinely enlightened sons and daughters into His brilliant Light, the superb glory of His divine Family (Hebrews 2:10, Ephesians 3:15).  

God’s intent, “Let there be light,” was uttered prior to the creation of the sun at the center of our solar system (Genesis 1:14-18).  Here, on day four, God was speaking physically of the sun—seemingly the source of all energy and growth—because it too, dissipates the darkness (Genesis 1:4).

Let us understand how the Bible is written.  God is speaking of light.  But He is speaking of the illumination of sunlight shinning forth which is only a type of the much greater spiritual meaning in God’s scheme of things which is the pure enlightenment of God Himself.  When God said, “Let there be light,” He was more importantly alluding to a much more profound eventuality wherein He would inaugurate spiritual wisdom and life—even life everlasting.  The beloved apostle John makes that clear:

John 1:4-5  In [Jesus] was life; and that life was the light of men.  And the light shone in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Jesus is that soon coming light that will finally and entirely enlighten the world.  We must ask ourselves how we can come out of darkness and enter into His glorious light—there is no more important subject than that.  Jesus is the Light that is the ultimate goal of man.  We need to understand what this means.

Paul explained to Timothy that Jesus Christ resided in the light which was all too intense and dazzling for mere mortal man to endure.  It is the habitation of Jesus and the Father right now!  Unapproachable light is off-limits to mere mortal man.

1Timothy 6:16  [Jesus Christ] only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting.

Why does Paul say that the dwelling light of God is unapproachable?  The answer is that Paul was harkening back to God at Mount Sinai where Moses ascended the mount and God revealed the Ten Commandments.  No one was able to approach the mountain except Moses who was given a divine safeguard.  We know how Moses could not look directly on the intense glory of Jesus Christ’s brightness and yet live (Exodus 33:18-23).  That light is associated with the radiance of God’s glory and when that glory appeared, humans and animals had to keep their distance.

That is how unapproachable God was to ancient Israel.  But as spirit-born beings in the coming resurrection, this light will become our reality.

Analogy of Light

God chose the analogy of natural light to help us visualize a much more splendid and obscure characteristic of Himself.  This comparison of natural light to God’s unapproachable spiritual light is appreciated by only a small number of converted people at this time.  That is true, because everyone thinks he knows what light is; that is, until you ask them to explain what it is.  Light is both beautiful and mysterious to us.  Our finite minds cannot begin to grasp what physical light is – let alone the spiritual light in which God dwells.  Scientists tell us that natural light is that cause or driving force that stimulates sight and makes things visible to us.  But, they cannot explain what it is.  They only have theories.  In some conditions light can be measured as a stream of mass-less photons, but acting like particulate matter.  Light also behaves as an electromagnetic wave that is able to oscillate in the vacuum of deep space and be measured with regard to its wavelength (color), its intensity, and its frequency, etc.  With all that, scientists still cannot really explain why or how light works. It is indeed a spectacular and inexplicable thing that God created life sustaining light that is able to carry energy and heat across the darkness of space.

It travels fast.  The speed of light is one hundred eighty-six thousand miles per second.  But God in His omnipotence is not limited by time or space.  In the Bible we are being shown that there is so much more in store for man than meets the eye.  We must rely on the many ways God expresses light in Scripture to begin to glimpse the complexities of spiritual light and what it foreshadows for mankind.

Make no mistake, this world is in darkness, and men love it so.  The reason that men prefer darkness is because truth and light expose their wrong ways.  God says that the foolish will have misfortune because they put darkness for light (Isaiah 5:20).

That is why paganism is idolatry.  It usurps the worship of the True God with the worship of the bright sun.  Sun-Day worship violates God’s Commandment:  “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).  And, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).  However, it is fitting and right that God draw an analogy between His utmost righteousness and the intensifying light of the rising morning sun:

Malachi 1:11  [The Lord of hosts says,] From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great...

Malachi 4:2  [The Lord of hosts says,] But unto you that revere my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise..."

As physical flesh and blood individuals we should feel the warmth of the sun on our face and realize that He who made the sun is so much greater than that which He has created.

Light and darkness are very different from one another; they are not only opposites.  Light dispels darkness.  “It is better to light one candle than to stumble in the dark.”  But, darkness cannot dispel light.  Think about this:  You have two rooms side by side – one is lit and the other is dark.  When you open the door between the rooms light flows into the dark room.  Darkness does not flow out into the lighted room.  You can project light, but you cannot project darkness.  We would be wise to ask ourselves if our light shines in this darkened world.

Philippians 2:15  Become blameless and harmless children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.


Kingdom of Darkness

When Jesus came, He brought the truth of God to a dark world void of spiritual understanding.  The light He ushered in is the wisdom of God that represents His perfect way that leads to life eternal.  Jesus Christ, the light of the world, came to dispel darkness.  Those are beautiful words, but unless we can understand what they mean they are without profit to us as Christians.  We must allow the Holy Scriptures to define what God means by these words that are much more than merely pious sounding sentiments.  The importance of these words cannot be overestimated in that they represent the way to eternal life—the light of life.  Jesus gave us a most stern warning with regard to the path a Christian must walk when He said,

Matthew 6:23  If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Jesus was telling us of the importance of knowing who the source of true light is.  We live in a world of darkness and god-less-ness.  This world is Satan’s kingdom—the kingdom of darkness (Matthew 12:26).  As saints, God’s people have separated themselves from this evil world (2Corinthians 6:14-17).  And we give thanks to God because of what we will inherit:

Colossians 1:12-13 We have qualified to partake in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light.  [God the Father] has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.

What an incredible thing to be told that as saints we have qualified for the Kingdom of Light – which is the very purpose of God’s Plan in the first place.  Satan has deceived and blinded the minds of those who do not believe, with the intent of preventing them from having the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine unto them.  Jesus has qualified to replace him forever.

How can anyone know whether he is truly walking in the light rather than darkness?  That’s the most important question a person will ever answer for himself.  John tells us that it’s all about Godly relationships.  God does not allow Christians to opt out of their Christian duty to others by simply watching while other brethren persist in the darkness of sin, knowing that those in darkness will be excluded from the Kingdom of God (Leviticus 5:1, James 5:20, Galatians 6:1).  Christians cannot sit idly by and watch others continue in darkness, knowing that those in the darkness of sin are destined for death.

Jesus Christ, the light of the world expels the darkness and imparts His wisdom everywhere—we are to do the same.  If we are walking in the light of Jesus, then we will be showing love toward the saints – wherever they are.  If we are unwilling to lay our lives down for the sake of the brethren, we walk in darkness, and are not cleansed from all sin.

1John 1:5-7  This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.


Who is Your Father

We are seriously warned not to make the mistake of putting darkness for light, and vice versa.  Jesus says that the answer to walking in light lies in who it is that you have for your father.  Jesus spelled it out so that there could be no doubt.  The world has Satan for its father – while the saints have the true God for their Father.  That is a most important distinction.  Jesus made that distinction perfectly clear when He said:

John 8:42-44  If God were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but He sent me… You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.

Many who think they are saints – are still walking in darkness.  Only God’s people are able to understand the difference between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light.  When Jesus came, He brought the truth of God to a dark world void of spiritual understanding.  The light He ushered in is the wisdom of God that represents His perfect way that leads to life eternal.


Fountain of Life

It is only the word of God that contains the way of truth (John 17:17).  Man, without God’s truth, will always stumble in the dark because of his ignorance of God’s perfect way.  Man must drink of the fountain of life—Jesus Christ.

Psalm 36:8-9  They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of your house; and thou shall make them drink of the river of your pleasures.  For with you is the fountain of life: in your light we shall see light.

Jesus informed the Samaritan woman that He was the Messiah and the true fountain of life:

John 4:14  Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the [living] water that I shall give him shall be in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

We use the phrase "I’m in the dark" to indicate when we do not know something, or we are confused, or we do not understand, or things are unclear to us.  There is a way to come out of the darkness and into the light of God.

The Bible abounds in symbols, metaphors, types and antitypes to help us understand the deeper meaning of God’s rich spiritual truth.  God reveals His truth to us in this manner because there are no human words to adequately express His profound spiritual concepts.  Often a figure of speech is incorporated in order to establish a basic concept such as when Jesus spoke of a “rock” to give us the certainty of a sure spiritual foundation.  He spoke of water and air to help us comprehend the unseen and inestimable workings of His Holy Spirit.

Are we sure that we know what God means to convey to us when He speaks mysteriously to us of darkness and light?

The Prophet Isaiah helped develop the Biblical concept that light is associated with goodness, while darkness is synonymous with wickedness.  Isaiah introduces the contrasting dichotomy of walking in light as opposed to walking in darkness in:

Isaiah 5:20-21  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

As the analogy develops in Scripture, we begin to see how ‘light’ represents the perfect characteristics of God - while ‘darkness’ signifies the absence of Godliness.  ‘Light’ begins to be used to symbolize God, His wisdom, and holiness, as well as many other of His attributes.

As the concept of light expands in Scripture, we begin to see how light represents the upright characteristics of God – while darkness epitomizes the vile and contemptible aspects associated with the absence of Godliness.  Light is used to symbolize God, His holiness, and goodness, among His many other attributes.  God is spiritual radiant light.  God’s essence is of light.

Matthew 17:2, Habakkuk 3:4  His face did shine like the sun…, His radiance is as the sunlight.

The Bible definition of darkness has to do with sin, ungodliness and even Satan.  Whereas the definition of Light is—Jesus Christ.  John tells us, “He is the Light.”  The world does not know that it lies in spiritual darkness.  From cover to cover, the Bible gives us the answer for combating that deficit with its pervasive theme of Darkness to Light.


From Genesis to Revelation

The theme of Darkness to Light opens with darkness in Genesis 1:2 and runs through the entirety of the Bible to the very last chapter of the Book of Revelation where we read in 22:5, “The Lord God gives them light.”  This topic’s importance is shown by the emphasis it receives by being cited time and again throughout the pages of the Scriptures.  Immediately, in Genesis, God began developing the contrasting concepts of light and darkness.

Genesis 1:1-4  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth became without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Everything had become darkness [Hebrew ‘coshek’].  In verse 4, God in dividing the light from the darkness gave meaning to the darkness and light metaphor of His Plan to eradicate all evil and establish His ultimate righteousness.  Spiritually speaking, all the wickedness of darkness will be eliminated and replaced by the light of decency and uprightness.  God’s Plan will usher in the time when none will hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the enlightenment of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Dividing light from darkness—that is the story of the Bible.  We do not have to live in the dark ages.  Darkness was upon the face of the deep.  God did not create that darkness.  That darkness prevailed over all creation as a result of Satan’s rebellion.  The fallen angels’ rebellion reduced them to hatred and bitterness toward God and His Plan for all humanity.

Right away in the very first four verses of Genesis we find the specific purpose statement of the entire Bible which shows that it is for us to escape spiritual darkness by the hand of God—into His glorious light:

1Peter 2:9-10  You [Church brethren] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people purchased and possessed by God; that you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Who in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God.


God’s Law is Light

There can be no greater quest for us than to be able to come out of darkness and become the people of God.  Yes!  True Christians have been plucked up out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness, and relocated into Christ’s Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:13).  Without a doubt, God shows that it is He alone who calls us out of darkness, and the one who separates light from darkness.  For us to escape spiritual darkness requires intervention on our Creator's part.  And so we find this persistent theme throughout the Bible establishing the premise that God illuminates the journey from darkness to light.  The Bible, God’s word, shows the way.

Psalm 119:105  [O Lord] Your word [the Bible] is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Proverbs 6:23  For the Commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

It is God’s word that is able to lead those in this dark world to light.  Since Jesus Christ has come to this world, man no longer has to live in the darkness of ignorance where mankind has rejected the knowledge of God.

Romans 1:21 When they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, neither were they thankful; but they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

1Thessalonians 5:5  You are all Children of the Light and children of the day.  We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.


Abide in the Light

As Children of the Light, we are to reflect His light onto a world darkened by sin.  Over and over God distinguishes between light and darkness, and the choice we have to make.

2Corinthians 6:14  Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what participation has light with darkness?

The great majority of mankind remains to this day in the dark because they have not learned how to live true faith.  They remain in the dark because they do not know the love of God.  God is love (1John 4:8).  The love of God has to do with dealing with others in compliance with the Ten Commandments.  In other words, we do not fight, steal, lie, cheat, or in any way hurt or mistreat others.  How can a person know whether or not he is availing himself of the light of Jesus Christ?

1John 2:8-11  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines.  He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.  He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.  But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not whither he goes, because that darkness has blinded his eyes.

John insists in almost every chapter of his writings that the true test of Christianity has to do with loving our fellowman.  True Christianity has nothing to do with locating the exact right corporate organization with which to associate.  No!  He that loves his brother abides in the light.  For example:

1John 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His Commandments.

What does the phrase, “abide in the light,” mean?  “Light,” is all about remaining in right relationships with God and with our fellowman.  Without that simple, straight forward light, there is reserved for us the blackness of darkness forever (Jude 1:13).  There is no in-between – there is only life or death:

1John 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that does not love his brother abides in death.

John could just as easily have written, “We know that we have passed from darkness unto light, because we love the brethren.  He that does not love his brother abides in darkness.

As part of God’s Plan, Jesus came among men.  God came into the fleshly realm of man in order for man to be able to attain unto the extraordinary spiritual realm that is God’s.  This is the great mystery of the ages.  The most amazing thing is that it is so plainly hidden in open sight right there in the pages of the Bible.  The Scriptures speak of Jesus’ existence long before He came to the earth as Emmanuel—God with us—in the flesh:

John 1:2-4  [Jesus] was in the beginning with God.  All things [the universe] were made by Him [Jesus Christ]; and without Him was not anything made that was made.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Then, John begins to interface with the Genesis account showing that Jesus is that Light and life-giver.

John 1:5  And the light [God’s Truth, God’s Word, God’s Way] shone in darkness; and the darkness [Satan’s way] comprehended it not.

This dark world is still unable to see what God has in store for all.  Only those who are specifically selected and converted by the Father are able to grasp the things of the Spirit of God.  To the worldly man, the things of the Spirit are foolishness: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1Corinthians 2:14).  Jesus is the summation of all wisdom, truth, understanding, honesty, knowledge, enlightenment, life, and salvation.


Jesus is the True Light

John 1:7-10  [John the Baptist] came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light [Jesus Christ], that all men through Him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That [Jesus Christ] was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.  He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.

The beloved apostle John explained that without the true light, Jesus Christ, men did not stand a chance – but were doomed to condemnation.

John 3:19-21  And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that does evil hates the light neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.


New Heaven and a New Earth

Light is uncomfortable to those who are accustomed to the dark.  The world loves its own.  The vast expanse of this great gulf between the two, darkness and light, make obvious to us the consequence of the backwardness of ignorance and sin, as distinguished from the ultimate spiritual enlightenment of God’s truth.  God makes it possible for us to come out of darkness and into His light.  A great deal of man’s history on earth has been lived in spiritual darkness—not knowing the purpose for his existence, and not knowing how to escape death's dark door.

By establishing this powerful theme of darkness to light, God shows that it is He alone who separates light from darkness.  The narrative of the Bible is clear:  Mankind must be brought entirely out of darkness in order to walk in the light.  The time is coming when Jesus Christ will by His brilliant glory illuminate the new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:23):

Isaiah 60:19-20  The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you: but the Lord shall be your light forever, and your God your glory.  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

Our eventual destiny is to have darkness far behind us and to dwell, not just in enlightenment, but to exist in the ultimate spiritual light of God.  John repeats the definitive goal of God’s theme of Darkness to Light in the last chapter of the Bible, while describing man’s everlasting reign within God’s Kingdom.

Revelation 22:1-5  He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb… And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him…  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for all eternity.

Through His Prophet Daniel, God foretold how there would be a people who believed and submitted to His sovereign rule over their lives to overcome this world’s darkness.  He spoke of a future resurrection to everlasting life in which the obedient, converted saints, who had triumphed over this world’s darkness, would radiate as beams of light like the stars of heaven:

Daniel 12:3  They that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.


A Light Shines in a Dark Place

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Do we turn others to Christ?  In Proverbs 4:18 we see righteousness symbolized as the “morning sun.”

Proverbs 4:18  The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Jesus chose a title for Himself which reflects His purpose for coming into the realm of mankind.  He said of Himself, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”  (Revelation 22:16) This Bright Morning Star reference is given in fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy about Christ.

Numbers 24:17  I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.

The significance of that title, “The Bright and Morning Star,” designates Christ’s role as our Savior.  Jesus also said unto the Churches, “He that overcomes, and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations… And I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:26-28).

It is abundantly clear that Jesus Christ came to bring light to the world.  It may be translated various ways, but, “The Dawning Sun,” “The Morning Sun,” and, “The Day Star,” all properly refer to the Messiah.  Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, used the expressive title, “The Dayspring” in describing the Messiah.  Zacharias, was moved by the Holy Spirit to prophecy of his son and of Jesus Christ:

Luke 1:78-79  Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby The Dayspring [the manifestation of Christ the Messiah as the morning sun] from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Jesus often drew the analogy of Himself as the rising morning sun that gives light and life to the earth—after all; He is the Light that gives eternal life, just as without sunshine there would be no life possible on this earth.  The apostle Peter was explaining how we might be partakers of God’s divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world (2Peter 1:4) when he said of Jesus Christ:

2Peter 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day [of our Lord] dawns, and the day star [morning sun] arise in your hearts.

The picture that Peter painted for us is of the pitch-black darkness of a moonless night, punctuated by the early dawning of the brilliant morning sun as it springs up over the eastern horizon.  When that happens, a new day has fully arrived, bringing with it everything that was hidden in the dark of night.  We see that Jesus is described just that way—as the dayspring, or morning star bringing understanding and wisdom to a dark world steeped in ignorance and iniquity.

Revelation 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

God’s intent is that we not walk in darkness.  In Christ Jesus is bound up in all the meaning and fulfillment of all the prophecies of how this world, void of Godly love and understanding, would find redemption in the True Light:

John 8:12  Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world [light to the nations, Isaiah 42:9; 49:6]: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life [That is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23)].


The Light of the World

We find here that it is Jesus who is the ultimate light.  Those are extremely powerful words.  The reason that the Bible has so much to say about ‘light’ is for the crucial reason it is a most important subject.  For emphasis, John declares Christ’s definitive role again in the next chapter where Jesus says:

John 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Matthew reiterated the prophecy that Isaiah was inspired to write by God’s Holy Spirit about Jesus Christ coming as the “Great Light.”

Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light [Jesus Christ]: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined.

Paul witnessed this great light, this worthy light, and he tells us that it was none other than the resurrected Jesus Christ.

Acts 22:7; 9:3-5  …Suddenly there shined round about [Paul] a great light from heaven…  And he said, Who are you, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus…

Light brings vision and understanding.  When we understand a matter we say, “I see.”  The Messiah’s light will bring spiritual understanding to a darkened world.

Isaiah also describes the attributes which the Messiah, Jesus Christ would possess.  He would usher in everlasting order and peace with righteousness and justice.  The eyes of the blind would be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.  There will be the Highway of Holiness bringing all men unto Him.  His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 35:5-8; 9:6-7).

Isaiah 2:5  O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Daniel foretold how Jesus would establish the Kingdom of God over all the earth:

Daniel 7:27  The Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.


Spiritual Light

It is so interesting how well the concepts of light and darkness have been developed.  Light exposes that which is hidden in darkness; it shows things as they really are.  Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, came to dispel the darkness and impart His wisdom to all.  The use of the terms “light and darkness” are widely used and accepted language referring to wisdom and understanding – or the lack thereof.

We need to understand God’s self-revelation—and that is the fact that God is brilliant spiritual radiant light.  As a perfect Savior, Jesus died a most ignominious death so that we do not have to die for our own sins and transgressions, and He was raised to life by His Father that we too may live.  He did that in order to elevate us out of darkness into the light of life.  Jesus’ ‘light’ illuminates the path of life that we are to walk – if we are to be like Him.  King David realized that:

Psalm 18:28  For thou [O Lord] will light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

David is saying that an awareness of God’s word and way of life brings enlightenment to us in how we are to live.


Children of Light

All throughout the Scriptures, Jesus tells us that this world is operating in the dark without a road map – and that what He brings to the table is that much needed illuminating guidance.

John 9:39  Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they who cannot see will be given sight.

1John 5:20  …the Son of God has come, and given us deep understanding.

Jesus is that Light and He fully intends that we become children of light, and not remain in the darkness of worldly ignorance like the religious leaders of His day (John 9:39-41).  We find Jesus correlating physical light with spiritual vision:

John 12:35-36  Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes.  While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light.


Walk in the Light

Jesus clearly demonstrates here that He alone is the source of spiritual light and truth for mankind.  The revealed allegory He used speaks to the light of His life, the light of His truth, and the light of His word.  Perhaps Paul best captured the significance of Jesus Christ as ‘light’ when he said,

2Corinthians 4:5-6  We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, so that we can enlighten men with the knowledge of the glory of God as we see it in the face of Jesus Christ.

That is so beautifully phrased.  We would all like to live in a perfect world, and be able to assemble with perfect people every Sabbath.  However, Jesus knows that we must be making every strenuous effort to put the forces of darkness behind us, and be building Godly character in His light which guides us in growing in grace and in knowledge.  It is like a weight lifter “pumping iron.”  Without the weight to exert his strength against, he cannot build bulky muscles.  Describing the constant struggle of a Christian against forces of darkness, Jesus put it this way:

Matthew 11:12  From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of heaven is attained only with an utmost struggle on your part, it is acquired only with a maximum effort, and with all your being and strength; and it is only the most serious and dedicated ones who will obtain the Kingdom.

It may often seem that our Christian struggle is with people—but it is not.  God ascribes all the works of darkness to Satan.  We must understand that our battle is not with people because darkness does not originate with them.  Speaking of Satan and his demons, we read:

Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It is Satan who plunges us into darkness.  Our Christian battle is against Satan and his agents.  Our clash is with the author of darkness, but we have the Light for our strength.  King David knew it well:

Psalm 27:1  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

We never join forces with the dark enemy – the devil and his demons.  As we saw, only God’s law is to be the lamp unto our feet, and the light to our path.  If we turn tail and run away from the Light, we are deserters, and not loyal forces of the King who has called us and recruited us (John 6:44, 65).  God is calling a people out of this dark world to be a separate and holy people of light.

Ephesians 5:8-11, 14  You were sometimes darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light…  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them… Consequently, the Scriptures say: Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

Paul is generally quoting Isaiah 60 here.  To walk in the light means to repent of sin, examine our hearts’ motivation, know God, understand the truth, and live in righteousness.  We must come out of darkness entirely and walk in the light.  Unless our righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, and if our life’s motivation is not singularly on God’s perfect way, we are doomed.  Isaiah prophesied of the glorious millennial day of which God prophesied:


Rise and Shine

Isaiah 60:1-3  Arise, shine; for your light [the rising daybreak] is come, and the glorious splendor of the Lord is risen upon you.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall shine upon you.  And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

The millennium will usher in Godly light to this dark world – when Jesus Christ will have established His Father’s Kingdom over this entire earth.

1 Timothy 1:5  Now the goal of the Ten Commandments is Godly love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.

We cannot go outside of the law of God and hope to achieve His will by doing so.  The Bible makes it plain that only those who keep the Commandments have a clear view of God’s will (Psalm 111:10).  Purity and singleness of mind are the result of keeping God's law.

Matthew 6:22-23, Luke 11:34-36  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single [a pure heart set on God], your whole body shall be full of light.  But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!  If your whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give you light.

Satan attempts to cloak himself in a camouflage of light – but to no avail.  He has a voracious appetite for hatred, destruction and deception.  He even attempts to co-opt Christ’s own personal title of “the morning sun” to himself.  Lucifer was used mightily by God in the original formation of the physical universe.  “Lucifer” literally means light-bringer.  Imagine how involved he was in the development of the material cosmos until iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15).  Satan expropriated the title, “the morning sun,” that rightly belongs only to Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!

Paul clarified how Satan wanted to seize for himself the title of being the bright morning sun that enlightens the world.  Warning:  The works of darkness abound in the world today.  It is more than prudent to ask whether faith is founded in Christ or not.  Paul demonstrates how Satan is that false light who is deceiving mankind (Revelation 12:9).

2Corinthians 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Solomon was astute enough to realize that darkness and wrongdoing are sometimes more attractive than the truth of light:

Ecclesiastes 2:13-14  I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.  The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in darkness.

Romans 13:12  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.

We would not know about darkness, if it were not for the word of God.  Satan has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9).  Sadly, for so many, they actually love their deceived state of mind – worshiping on Sun-Day and Easter morning Sun-Rise services – which God calls an abomination (Ezekiel 8:13-17).

We will see more about Satan later, but suffice it to say here that he fell from his original role as the greatest and most enlightened spirit-being ever created by God.

Remember when Jesus said to Nicodemus, “This is the condemnation, that light [Jesus Christ] is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”  Both Paul and John wrote of those who are in darkness—deceived—through works of darkness.

John 1:9-10  [Jesus] was the true Light, which enlightens every man that cometh into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew him not.

James, the half-brother of Jesus described this ‘darkness’ that is foisted on man.  To the unconverted mind this conduct appears to be smart and wise, and the way to get ahead, but it does not originate with God, but from Satan.

James 3:14-18  If you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.  This kind of wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

2Peter 2:4  God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [‘tartaroo’] and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment…


God’s Nature

John says that God’s very nature is light.  Jesus imparts His light to the world.  The important lesson for us to gather from this is that we are invited, as the Children of God, not only to exist in the same dazzling light that is God—but to actually become that Godly light as eternal spirit beings in the Kingdom of God.

It is God's Plan that eventually – not yet – all men will come out of this darkened world into His splendid spiritual light.  We are invited as the Children of God, to actually become that godly light as eternal spirit beings in the Kingdom of God.  That is part and parcel with the Plan of God.


Jesus – Savior of the Church

Before Jesus Christ came to this earth, it was impossible for men to draw near to God.  But, because of Christ’s redemptive act of paying for our sins with His death on the cross, He made reconciliation with God the Father possible.

Colossians 1:19-22  It pleased the Father that in [Jesus] should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.  

Prior to those two perfect acts of love:  First, by God the Father in the giving of His Son (John 3:16), and Secondly, by Jesus Christ on the cross in the giving of His life – mankind could not approach unto God because of their sin.

Isaiah 59:2  Your iniquities [sins] have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear you.

However, because of repentance, faith and conversion, Church brethren are able to avail themselves of God’s reconciliation.  The greatest part of this evil world is not yet ready to believe and do what Jesus says.  They do not possess His uncompromising standards.

Revelation 21:23-25  The [Holy City Jerusalem (Revelation 21:10)] has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb [of God, Jesus the Messiah] is the light thereof.  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:  And the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

Mt. Sinai was the physical type of the spiritual Mt. Zion.  Now, Jesus has given His Church brethren access to the throne of God.  God is no longer unapproachable.  God the Father, through Jesus Christ, has made Himself open to them, and will share His immortality with believers.  John describes Jesus as being as brilliant as the sun itself in Revelation 1:13-16.  But what about the resurrected saints?

1John 3:2  Beloved, now are we the Children of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.

Even now, as His begotten children we are able to have a unique relationship with God.  Now we are able to approach unto God – not as men but as Children of God.  We have been reconciled to God the Father by Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.


The Bible is the Word of God

From the time before the fall of man until the fruition of God’s Plan, only the Bible reveals knowledge of God’s direct involvement in man’s quest to come out of the darkness of ignorance and sin, and into the glorious light and liberty of God’s radiant life.

2Corinthians 4:6  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 [Jesus’ face shone like the sun].

Matthew 17:2  [Jesus] was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

On the wrong side of the scale is the eternal darkness of death, while the ultimate goal of the Plan of God is for mankind to attain to its vital and glorious destiny of becoming sons and daughters of God in His eternal Kingdom.  That is the purpose for which man was created.  It is God's Plan and desire that every human being that has ever lived be a child of God – each in his own order.  God can and does intervene in our lives at all times to keep us headed toward His Kingdom.

Proverbs 16:9  A man's heart devises his way: but the Lord directs his steps.

God’s first offspring to be added to His family will come from His Church.  They will be the first to become God beings.  Evidence of this is found in God’s instructions to the Philadelphians in the Book of Revelation.  Keep in mind that only God is to be worshipped—not angels or men.  Jesus is referring to those who are persecuting the saints:

Revelation 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

The resurrected saints will be worshipped, as God is worshipped, by those men who once reviled them.  This is only one of many verses that shows that those who constitute the Church will be a part of God’s divine family of beings.  The goal and purpose for mankind is that we might be made the righteousness of God:

2Corinthians 5:21  For [God the Father] hath made [Jesus] to be sin for us [on the cross], who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

King David said it this way in Psalm 119:105:  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The narrative of the Bible is clear:  Mankind must come entirely out of darkness and walk in the light.  ‘Walking in the light’ means living according to the principles that Jesus taught.  Unless man's righteousness becomes the righteousness of Christ, he is doomed to death and to be cast into the hopeless outer darkness reserved unto the blackness of darkness forever (Matthew 8:12, Jude 1:13).  As Paul expounds on Daniel’s words, “the righteous saints shall shine as the stars forever” (Daniel 12:3), he notes that some resurrected saints will shine more brightly than others:

1Corinthians 15:40-41  There are also celestial bodies [stars in the heaven], and bodies terrestrial [men on earth]: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  There is a brilliance of the sun, and a lesser intensity of the moon, and another glow of the stars: for one star differs from another star in [brightness].

Paul is saying that just like on earth there are those who are recognized as being important people, and there are others who are not as notable, in the Kingdom, the resurrected saints will have been raised to various states of majesty and grandeur, having differing responsibilities as Jesus said in Luke 19; some over five cities, and others over ten cities.  Paul is speaking of the resurrected saints being given greater or less prominence with significant positions of distinction and leadership in the Kingdom of God.


Let Your Light so Shine

Yes!  The righteous saints shall shine as the stars forever.  This incredible actuality is contingent on our letting our lights shine now as Jesus has directed us to do.

Matthew 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Godly enlightenment is bestowed on those who are being led by God's Holy Spirit.  God’s way must be lived however, in order to emanate it to others.

The truth of God must be acted on – we must live it before we are able to let our light shine for others to see (Matthew 5:14).  The light of which the Bible speaks must be acquired before it can shine forth to another.

James 1:22 Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

This could easily be paraphrased this way, “Talk is cheap, you are only fooling yourself if you are not living it.”  Someone once said it more astutely, “Salvation lies not in belief of a concept, but in literally following the narrow path to enlightenment.”

However, Christians, like the moon reflecting the light of the sun, have no light of their own right now.  It is incumbent upon us that we mirror that true Light.  In our daily lives, we must be reflecting the light of Christ, seeing and doing things as He does them, for all to see.  We must exhibit His mercy, graciousness, compassion, and righteousness.

Jesus, the sinless Son of God, is the “true light” (John 1:9).  As children of God, we are to reflect His light onto a world darkened by sin.  One of our duties is to witness to others who have not heard the Gospel message.

Acts 26:18  To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

And what is that Light?  That Light is God Himself.  The message is that God is completely perfect, absolutely holy, with no taint of sin, nor hint of iniquity, and no trace of injustice.

John 4:24  God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that He is the exclusive source of spiritual light for man.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 14:6  Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.

We find then that light is God’s essence, as is life, law, and love.  John says it so well:

1John 4:8, 16  He that has no love does not know God; for God is love

And we have come to know for certain that God loves us.  God is love; and he that abides in Godly love dwells in God and God in him.

John 11:25  Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the life:

1John 5:3  This is Godly love that we keep His Commandments.

1John 1:5  This is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.


True Light

It is God's Plan that eventually – not yet – all men will come out of this darkened world into His splendid spiritual light.  It was Paul who explained how the Father relegated the implementation of the Plan of God to His Son, Jesus Christ.  We are told that God the Father brings forth the ages or periods of time in which the steps of His Plan are implemented.

Hebrews 1:2  [God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds (brings forth the ages).

The remaining seven chapters of this book describe the steps that God is following in order to make us His eternal children.  He started long ago and He has a way to go yet, but we are all being called in His order to have an incredible part in His Plan (1Corinthians 15:23).

As we saw, many of these verses are speaking metaphorically and figuratively about light to suggest a resemblance to God’s greater fulfillment of spiritual wisdom, freedom, deliverance, righteousness and even eternal life.

The ultimate fulfillment to all these references to light is the way of life represented by the life of Jesus Christ.  We must discern the figurative from the spiritual and begin to understand, with Godly wisdom, what it means to go from darkness to light.  The rest of this book describes how God, over the past millennia, perhaps eons of time, has been bringing about His Plan—and is bringing about His Plan - darkness to light.  The time to act for us is now.

The entire story is in the Bible which is God’s word that He has reserved for us.  Being a Christian is not easy.  It was not easy for Jesus Christ.  He died in performance of God’s will.  The good news is that He was raised so that we might have life.  He set us an example so that we can follow in His steps.

1Peter; 2:21  For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.

The important thing to do is make sure that it is His steps in which we are following.  Jesus warned us that there would be many false teachers in these last days.

Jesus Christ is coming again soon to establish His Father’s Kingdom over all the earth.  It will be a bright and new day—the dawning of a new era.  But let us understand that it is always darkest just before the morning light.  There is a coming time of unprecedented darkness on the people of North America and the British Commonwealth.  This horrendous tribulation descending upon us is defined in the Holy Scriptures as the time of “Jacob’s Trouble.”  The good news is that God’s people will be saved out of it.

Jeremiah 30:7  Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it:  It is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.


May Darkness Become Light

This book is able to help in that anticipation that some be saved out of the coming tribulation.  It will begin with the modern Israelites and then sweep the earth—Jacob's trouble.

This book is the story of how God’s Plan began, where it is today, and where it is going.  The account, from beginning to end, is right here in our Bible—a little here and a little there (Isaiah 28:10-13).

Psalm 36:9  With you [O Lord] is the fountain of life: in your light shall we see Light.

Jesus came to turn things around – and for those of us in God’s Church, He has.  He has shed His light on us.  But what about the rest of this fouled up world – will they ever come out of darkness?  God prophesied through Isaiah that the time is coming when this blinded world will also be enlightened by Him.

Isaiah 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.  These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

This present evil world has rejected God’s word as it is given to man in the Holy Bible.  They fear to read what it says.  They are unable to understand Scripture because they have formed an adverse impression that is opposed to everything it contains.  Jesus says that He will turn their minds and set them straight.

Isaiah 29:18  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

Pure religion has to do with serving others – especially those who are in dire need.  To those who are blind and in darkness it is a non sequitur that providing for the needy would be able to change one’s way of thinking.  For them, it is illogical that their minds could be opened to see clearly what they have been missing.

And for now, they go their own way seemingly secure in their dark ignorance.  But this is a sure promise that God makes to us:

Isaiah 58:10  If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

It is in the practice of true Christianity that one becomes truly enlightened.

James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

At the fulfillment of the Plan of God there will be no further need for the sun in the heavens because the Light of God will shine for all.  Darkness will be eradicated when the Plan of God comes to fruition.

Revelation 22:5  There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light.

This book is all about how man is able to come out of darkness and enter into that glorious light.  Now, we will begin to look at how it is that God is making it possible for us to implement His way into our lives so that we begin to resemble His Son Jesus Christ – the Light of life.

Everyone who is wise should want to know – for himself and his loved ones – the way from darkness to light.  There is only one way to get from darkness to light, and that is the way shown by the Plan of God.  That Plan is set forth in the pages of this book.  Be mindful of this one thing – God's Plan is sure.  Every person should take to heart the Prophet Daniel’s admonition for the end-time:

Daniel 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Chapter 2: Before the Beginning


Teach Us To Pray