Brethren, after forgiving 'the woman taken in adultery' Jesus said “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Have you ever given the phrase "light of life" any deeper consideration or wondered what it was? Tonight's sermon will answer that question and so much more. Jesus once told John the Revelator “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8) making Him the very Creator of that same Light and Savior of Israel. Let's begin:

(Let There Be Light:)

    Turn to the very first page of the Bible and begin reading; “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was 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. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen 1:1-5).

    Alpha God creates the heavens and the earth and there's no length of time given. This section of scripture features the infamous 'tôhû va bôhû' period meaning an age when that same earth became without form and void or “laid waste” (Strong's H#8414). Consider the playing field, two kingdoms - heaven and earth. There's also two elements - darkness and light. Darkness has reign over the void until the Creator says “Let there be light” and only this Light is considered good condemning the darkness giving all strength to the sacred Light.

    Once divided, this time period is known as "the first day" or a thousand years (II Peter 3:8). As it takes the sun to measure a proper day, Jesus Christ is later foreordained in this verse; “Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” (Malachi 4:2). Already we can see that the Light is superior and the darkness is a pale comparison, this is important for understanding the fourth day and in proving the omnipotence of Yahweh.

(Greater and Lesser Light:)

    Skip forward to the fourteenth verse of Genesis 1 to continue reading; “God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so” (Gen 1:14-15). These are entirely different 'days' of creation and thousands of years apart so it can not be a re-telling of the same account, this light gives life to the earth's new foliage.

    Consider that this is the fourth day and the Creator generates lesser lights not only to illuminate the earth's gloom but for further dividing the formerly created day (Light) and night (darkness). God is the divine author of the universe holding all the cards for His people, only He chooses the positions of these lesser lights. Later Jesus commands us “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16) and “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

    Let's continue, this next part is very important; “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:16-15). Stars represent the sons of god or angels in scripture (Job 38:7) so naturally the greater and lesser lights represent Christ and the adversarial paths.

(The Children of Light:)

    Bearing in mind what we've covered thus far, consider this verse by Paul found in I Thessalonians 5:5; “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” When teaching on false prophets, he also clarifies; “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (II Corinthians 11:14-15).” These verses confirm there are abundant "lesser lights."

    For example, the moon doesn't generate any light of its own but instead reflects the Sun while antichrist really means "instead of Christ." Both illustrations are inferior but attempt to give the illusion that they are the genuine Light which is Christ alone. This also means that the war is between two factions, those who follow the authentic Light and those who follow the artificial minor light. No real surprise, the Bible teaches that; “Yahweh hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Proverbs 16:4).

    Knowing that “By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent” (Job 26:13) should convince you that it was only by God's hand that Eve was tempted in the garden of Eden. Like a divine and intricate game, the field players are offered two paths from the very beginning - the Light or darkness. This is why predestination is taught so adamantly in scripture, mankind is either given eyes to see or blinded from the onset of creation (Matthew 13:15). Simply put, one is either chosen by God or he isn't.

(Body Full of Light:)

    When teaching about earning treasure in heaven, Jesus said; “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness” (Matthew 6:21-23)! If a Christian is focused on God and inclines his direction towards righteousness alone he will be greatly blessed by Yahweh with wisdom and a pure mind.

    John's epistle begins by saying; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:1-5). Here again we see a distinction between the Light and darkness but are also taught that the genuine Light is life (also meaning that darkness is death).

    Further proving that Jesus is God, Paul tells us this about Christ; “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:16-18). So what does all this mean?

(Witness To The Light:)

    Back to John's epistle for a moment, he further elaborates that the Word (that was God) “was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) again confirming that Jesus is Yahweh. We also know that if an individual chooses to set his eyes towards the things of the world or fleshly desires that he will also eventually become engulfed by that darkness, this is why one must always seek the true Light. Those without any light can only stumble around in darkness as if they're totally blind, many appear to be Christian but really aren't.

    When speaking of John the Immerser, John said that he “came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light [Jesus], which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:7-9). It's because Jesus is this precious Light that the antichrist have no real chance of redemption. “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14) but it's guaranteed they'll argue for hours on the way down.

    Christians are to seek the truth in all things from the Word of God (John 17:17) but no man can even read without light. If we seek Jesus first while shunning the darkness we can also reap great rewards and not live as the blind masses. Christ has given His preordained bride special gifts by way of discernment and no treasure on earth is worth losing a jot of wisdom. Understand that God is all things to all people, He is a demon to the wicked and a Savior to those who seek His righteous ways. Like John, always witness to that Light.

(Intention:)

    My intention with this sermon is to help others draw the contrasts between Satan's earthly world of darkness and Christ's heavenly Kingdom of Light. I pray that by examining God's creation of different lights in the Bible it will strengthen the Christian walk of others by helping to show another face of our Creator. Yahweh will stand as an adversary to those who deny His Law so we must always go to the Word itself for proper guidance. Pray for one another - there are many perilous days ahead, may Jesus be our Light. Amen. [Part II]