Darkness, Spiritual

Mike Ford focuses on Ecclesiastes 11:7-8, proclaiming that light is sweet and that it is a pleasure to see the sun. Even though still don't know a lot about the nature of light, God has revealed its cause and symbolic meaning in His scriptures. Light symbolizes God, righteousness and purity, while darkness symbolizes ignorance, evil, and depression. With day comes perception and hope, darkness brings fear and despair. When darkness spreads its pall over people's minds, they mistakenly believe God does not see their sins. Satan, the adversary dedicated to destruction, is the ruler of darkness and death. The Apostle John repeatedly emphasizes that God is light, and in Him there is categorically no darkness at all. If we keep His Commandments, we are walking in the light. If we hate our brother or if we become enticed by the ways of the world, we are living in darkness. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and provides bright—but deadly—lures to his dens of sin. In the New Jerusalem, the luminosity (symbolic of righteousness) of God the Father, Jesus Christ and His Bride will obviate the light of sun and moon. It behooves God's called-out ones to walk in the light of righteousness, keeping His laws and commandments. We must not let the pulls of the flesh and the world conceal the light we reflect as we walk in the light of His Truth.

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the prophecy pertaining to the synagogue of Satan in Revelation 3:9, has concluded that this group of people who claim to be of Jewish descent are neither ethnic or spiritual Jews, but an insidious persecuting sect of vile, irreligious humanist elites, currently characterized by the Media as the "Deep State." This group of oligarchs have attempted to control the finances of the entire world, including the Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission, and the Council on Foreign Relations, all having the common aim of seizing control of governmental and economic power by ruthless, underhanded, and criminal, if necessary, means. America, from its founding, has never been a Christian nation, even though it received moral underpinnings from the Puritans and from British Common Law, established on a modicum of biblical principles. "Christendom" itself considers God's law, especially that 'odious and burdensome' Sabbath, done away, and have instituted pagan holidays replacing God's Holy Days. The Constitution, in some ways, makes a mockery of God's sovereignty, preferring a hodge-podge of syncretism of the world's religions. Neither the Puritans of yesterday nor today's amalgam of Protestant evangelicals have ever embraced God's Law or followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, but have had an indistinct—and wrong-headed—vision as to what constitutes real Christianity.

David Grabbe, reminding us that the "last great day of the Feast" is not the Eighth Day, asserts that everything from John 8:1 through John 10:21 took place on the Eighth Day. A common theme of His teachings on that day revolved around light and darkness, and twice on that Holy Day He proclaimed that He is the Light of the World. Light represents abundant life, truth, purity, and enlightenment, overcoming the depravity of sin and the darkness of ignorance and death. To give light is the essence of resurrecting them to life; as the Light of the world, Jesus can teach us to see what is right and the safe way to walk, shining brightly on the pitfalls of sin. Jesus is the only hope for those who dwell in darkness. On the eighth day, following the Millennium, the whole world will walk in the light as the New Jerusalem descends out of Heaven, fulfilling in the ultimate sense, " Let there be Light" God will be all in all. May God speed the Eighth and glorious day.

Gary Montgomery:  Many children in various churches sing a song called "This Little Light of Mine," and those who sing it sing, "I'm going to let it shine." Based on Matthew 5:16, it speaks about a light shining out into a dark world. ...

Richard Ritenbaugh, citing Francis Shaeffer's observation, that bitterness rather than doctrine divides and estranges one member from of Christ's Body from another, suggests that individuals often look for a 'doctrinal' reason to cover up the real reason for leaving a congregation. Perhaps the principal cause of the estrangement between brethren can be explained by the Parable of the Leaven in Matthew 13:33, an image of a process of exaggerated growth, parallel to the mustard see analogy, in which a garden plant unnaturally grows into an imposing tree. Although many Bible Commentaries have assumed that both of these similes simply mean what started small will grow to something large, they fail to take into account the necessity of symbols remaining consistent beginning with the first mention in scripture. Leaven symbolizes corruption from sin, even as we examine the wave loaves, composed of humans laden from sin (from which they have repented). As ambassadors for Christ, already having our citizenship in Heaven, we still have sin in our nature. Interestingly, the grain offering in Leviticus 3, designated for the peace offering or fellowship offering did not contain leaven. As a biblical symbol, leaven stands for hypocrisy, false teachings, sexual immorality, vile corruption, malice and wickedness, a condition which will not exist in God's Kingdom, but is rampant in the Church of God today as it syncretizes doctrine with 'knowledge' derived from the Babylonic worldly philosophies. The woman sneaking in the leaven with three measures of meal in Matthew 13 evidently represents the Church, who surreptitiously mixed Christ's pure doctrine with a little sourdough of worldly wisdom, puffing up the church with intellectual vanity, but destroying the prospects of unity or reconciliation between the numerous splinter groups. With this leavening, Satan has destroyed the relationship between church members by corrupting the doctrines that had bound us together.

Joe Baity, reflecting on the electromagnetic spectrum, observes that the visible part of the range is a very small part of this continuum. We are only able to see when light rays bounce off luminous matter. There is much, much more that we cannot see—a kind of invisible connective tissue throughout the universe. More is unknown than is known. The luminous matter constitutes less than 5% of the universe. What we cannot see may constitute unseen spirit or spirit energy. Light is a metaphor of truth. In this world of darkness, we must walk in God's truth, seeing the spiritual path a little bit at a time until we arrive in the New Jerusalem, needing no external illumination. Eventually we will be like God the Father and Jesus Christ, seeing Them as They are

In this parable, found in Matthew 9:27-31, two blind men doggedly follow Jesus into a house—probably Peter's—so that He will restore their sight to them. Martin Collins explains the lessons Christians can learn from the examples of these two persevering supplicants.

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the parable of the faithful and wise servant and the evil servant as well as the wise and foolish virgins, suggests that the Day of Trumpets emphasizes the state of caution and faithfulness required at the turbulent end times. The parables focus upon the relationship which we must have toward our fellow workers, warning us not to fall into a state of spiritual malaise in the midst of increasing stress. As a metaphor, sleep often has negative connotations of insensitivity, lack of alertness or awareness. Because the exact time of Christ's return is not known, we must be continually motivated as though His return were imminent. Those not prepared for the Day of the Lord will be blindsided by its unexpectedness. Christ and Paul realized that God only knows the time of Christ's return and have subsequently warned that we cannot rest on our laurels or fall asleep as in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. We must be making our preparations individually, not cuing in on our brethren, our family, or the world around us. As children of light we must conduct ourselves soberly, making positive use of our time, not allowing it to drift away. Being spiritually asleep or drunk will lead to poverty. We must wake up spiritually, taking off our carnal pajamas (the old carnal man) and clothing ourselves with the armor of God (Christ), redeeming the time and urgently pressing toward sanctification, holiness, and the Kingdom of God. The apostle Paul, afflicted with multiple health problems and considering his past life as worthless refuse, nevertheless, with sterling self-discipline, single-mindedly pressed on toward his spiritual goal, providing us an example for conduct under affliction and pressure. If we follow Paul's advice, we will not be emulating the wicked servant or the foolish virgins; we will be prepared.

Human history proves that individuals quickly absorb the course of the world, losing their innocence and becoming self-centered and deceived like everybody else. John Ritenbaugh contends that Christians must continue to fight against these anti-God attitudes long after their calling to deepen and strengthen their relationships with God.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that when human beings are born, they are a blank slate with a slight inclination toward self-centeredness. But after living in this world, we become incrementally influenced by both evil spiritual influences and worldly influences. The Apostle Paul describes the gravity of these contrary pulls in Romans 7. Our carnal nature—-the sensual fleshly pulls—unfortunately will pursue us right to our very grave. God commands us to come out of Babylon, giving us spiritual tools and resources to do so, including faith, vision, hope, and love. The media through which these will be supplied are the relationships we have with the Father and the Son. Co-existence with sin is absolutely out of question in the life of a Christian; there is no middle ground. In regard to fornication with the world, God says, "save yourself for our marriage." Sin has an addictive quality incrementally hardening our hearts. Knowing God is the key to eternal life. As communication with God increases, communication with the world must decrease. We, like the Apostle Paul, must follow God's directions and do exactly what we are told, submitting and yielding totally to His will. The only thing that Babylon can communicate to us is sin; we must meticulously extricate ourselves from the world, and continue in the process of communicating with God until we are totally conformed to His image. Everything depends upon who we communicate with through prayer, Bible Study, and meditation.

Richard Ritenbaugh, responding to a challenge of our understanding concerning Satan the Devil, systematically substantiates Satan's existence. Christ was an eyewitness to Satan's fall from heaven, and Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 verify the veracity of this event. Jude and Peter add detail regarding the sins of the angels, and their confinement as demons. Sadly, we as humans share the prison cell inhabited by Satan and his fallen demons. Pride, vanity, presumption, and self-absorption led to Satan's demise—being cast out as a profane thing. Satan's madness (that he is his own god) is the spirit of this world, and he still possesses great spiritual and political power on this earth, even to deceive the very elect. We become protected from Satan's destruction by 1) the blood of the Lamb, implying our deepening relationship with God; 2) the conduct of our lives, constantly adding to our character; and 3) the willingness to sacrifice for righteousness.

Peter's first sermon took place on the Day of Pentecost, yet his subject seems to 'fit' the Day of Trumpets. Charles Whitaker explains that the fulfillment of Pentecost begins what will be completed in the fulfillment of Trumpets.

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is not just an eye condition. It also describes a worldview that is quite limited and limiting. Understanding Christian myopia can help us to see the "big picture."

Howls of protest arose this past week because the mayor of Fort Worth, Texas, advised residents not to allow their children to trick-or-treat from door to door this year, due to the recent terror attacks on the U.S. ...

Halloween has seen a recent surge in popularity, now ranking second only to Christmas in retail sales. There is no doubt, however, that Halloween should never be celebrated by true Christians. Not only is it pagan in origin and practice, but it also promotes self-indulgence, deception, and other ungodly behaviors. Far from being a harmless holiday, Halloween has the potential to destroy our relationship with God.

Focusing on the infamous Pearl Harbor attack, John Reid develops the concept of preparing for total war, including rationing, scrap metal drives, and victory gardens. Spiritually, we are also in a total war, requiring that we mobilize all we have to win the conflict that faces us. We face conflicts on three fronts: 1) the world with its attending lusts and pride, 2) Satan the Devil and his army of demons, with seductive temptations to self-centeredness, and 3) our own carnal mind or human nature. Countering these three deadly fronts, we have the intent and power of Almighty God to save us. Following the example of the apostle Paul, we need to don the whole armor of God, using His spiritual weapons to bring every thought into obedience to Christ, with the intent of destroying the enemy's capacity to make war.

John Ritenbaugh explores the source or origin of sin. God gave us a nature oriented to the physical, having a heavy pull toward self-centeredness, totally ignorant of moral responsibility, but capable of being enlightened. Because of this blindness and ignorance, our human nature has a predisposition toward sin - leading to a continuous indwelling struggle, something God intended us to endure, enabling us to build character by resisting its powerful pull. Though influenced by Satan and the world, sin is still a personal choice rooted in pride and vanity (originated by Satan). Christ's sacrifice and God's Holy Spirit provide our only defense against its deadly pulls.

Using primarily the story of Joseph, John Ritenbaugh expounds the lessons we can learn and the encouragement we can glean from God's dealings with men during the time of the Feast of Trumpets.