No. 22 - THE GREAT LIGHTS By: John J. Blanchard Saturday, August 10, 2002 I would like to start by turning to Genesis chapter 1, starting in verse 1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then 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. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” So when the Spirit of God moved over the earth in Genesis 1, the earth was darkness. The earth was without form and void (tohu and bohu), which means waste and desolation, chaos and confusion. That term “over the waters” or “over the deep” there means “over the abyss”. In other words, the abyss is where Satan dwells. Satan is the god of this world so the world was a mess when God’s spirit moved over it in Genesis. When God shed light upon the earth, He said it was good. Let us drop down to Genesis 1, verse 14: “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so.” Verse 16: “Then 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. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on 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.” These two great lights, one for the day and one for the night, obviously are the sun and the moon. Now at the point that we are talking about here approximately 6,000 years ago, the physical sun and the physical moon were probably close to 13 billion years old. So what did God do 6,000 years ago? If we look carefully we noticed in verses 14 through 18 that God started marking off time. He started marking off time by the sun and the moon for God’s plan. God’s plan for mankind did not take effect before mankind was on the earth, before Adam. Therefore, the sun and the moon were not marking off time in relation to God’s plan. But after this point forward, they were. The sun and the moon, therefore, became symbols. They became symbols of something God is doing with mankind. So we noticed that, first of all, they are time markers and they are time markers for seasons, for days and for years. We know that the sun marks off 24 hours a day. We know that the new moon each month signifies the start of another month. We know that the sun in relation to the earth marks off seasons with the spring equinox and the fall equinox. The seasons are marked off by the sun. We know, being in God’s Church, that the holy days, therefore, are in direct relation to the seasons. The holy days mark off year after year, as do the seasons with the sun. Because the holy days and the seasons of the sun go together, we can mark off certain prophecies in the Bible that have beginning and starting points and have certain events that rotate around the holy days. In other words, the prophecy of Daniel of the 69 weeks can actually be measured off according to the sun. So these are symbols that God uses but He also said that the light was good because it opposes evil. The light was good as opposed to darkness. So the light is good and darkness was evil. If you were to look it up in your Strong’s Concordance, the sun means “helios, a ray, the sun or by implication light plus east”. In other words, “light from the east”. We know Christ comes from the east. If you were to look up moon, you would find that it says “brilliancy through the idea of attractiveness”. The word “month” in the Bible means “new moons”. So God marks off months by His moons. Astronomically now out in outer space we know that the light of the night from the moon is simply reflected sun light. The moon simply reflects sun light. We just read that these are symbols. They became symbols of what God is doing. So the sun and the moon have become symbols for something very important that God is doing. Let us first take a look at the sun. The sun represents, without a doubt, Jesus Christ. Turn to John 1. As we saw in Genesis, the sun gives light and the light was good. John 1, beginning in verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Verse 6: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” Verse 11 of John 1: “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” So Jesus Christ was the Light. In Genesis the sun is the light, therefore Christ is the sun. Now if that only seems that it is true by association, let us turn to Malachi chapter 4. Malachi chapter 4, starting in verse 1: “‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.’” So we see that Christ is the Sun. This is spelled “Sun” here, the Sun of Righteousness. We know Christ as the Son of Righteousness, the “Son”. So God is showing us clearly here that His Son is portrayed as the sun in the sky (the Sun of Righteousness). It is as clear as can be. We know that light comes from the sun. Let us take a look at a few scriptures now and nail that point home. Go back to Psalms, chapter 4. Starting in verse 6 of Psalm 4: “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us any good?’ Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” We are being shown here that the light of God’s face, His countenance, is light that helps us to grow, bear fruit and to dwell in peace and safety. That is the light that Jesus Christ represents. Psalm 36, verse 5: “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.” God’s mercy reaches down from the heavens. The sun portrays his mercy, the light that reaches us from the countenance of His face. Psalm 43, verse 3: “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.” Once again showing the light from Jesus Christ, the truth, will lead us. We know we are led by the Holy Spirit, the mind of God. It is the light that God uses to teach us about Him and His truths. Psalm 97, verse 10: “You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.” So we can see here again that light is sown so that we may bear fruit and be glad of heart and give all the praise, glory and honor to God for that, for the light comes from Jesus Christ. Psalm 118, verse 25: “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” So God has given us light. We know the Light was Jesus Christ. We read that in John. We know from Malachi the Sun is Jesus Christ and we get light from the sun. We are almost done with these scriptures regarding Jesus Christ being the Sun. There are many, many and I am just reading you a small sampling. Psalm 119, verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” So that light comes to us by God’s word, the scriptures, and an understanding of those scriptures. So we are not to look for a physical light at our feet, but we are to read God’s word and understand it. When He helps us to understand the revealed word through His Holy Spirit, it is the light that we are given to understand what God is doing. I Peter 2, verse 9: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” So when we have obtained that mercy that comes from God and we are called into His priesthood and become part of His Church, we are called out of darkness (because that is what the world is in); and we are called into His marvelous light. For one last scripture, let us turn to Revelation chapter 1, verse 16, which is speaking of a description of Jesus Christ and this is what John saw. “He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” So if Christ were to be here present in all of His glory, He would look like the sun. The sun is merely a symbol of Jesus Christ. That is why we are told in Deuteronomy and in other places that we should not worship the sun and the moon for they are only symbols. Do not worship the creation, just look at the creation to understand God and to worship Him. The second point is that the moon represents the Church. Let us go to Revelation chapter 12, verse 1: “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” We have understood for a long time that this is picturing the Church. If you read all of Revelation 12 you would see that it goes on to show how Satan makes war with the Church. The sign that John saw in the heaven was the moon clothed with the sun, a Church clothed with the light of Jesus Christ. That woman, as we have seen many times in the recent past when we described the woman, the daughter of Zion, the Church, is pictured as the moon. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse 12. This is Moses’ final blessing to the people. “Of Benjamin he said: ‘The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders.’ And of Joseph he said: ‘Blessed of the Lord is his land, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath, with the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months...’” The King James says “of the moon”, referring to the produce of the months. Continuing in verse 15: “‘With the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills, with the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come “on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’” His glory is like a firstborn bull...” So God is saying the precious things of His people come from the sun and the sun bearing fruit through the moon. Psalm 136, verse 7, which is referring to the great lights of Genesis, the great lights of Jesus Christ and the moon. “To Him who made great lights for His mercy endures forever - the sun to rule by day, for His mercy endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy endures forever.” So without a doubt the sun reigns during the day and the moon at night. It is now night for Christ is not here walking upon the earth but His Church is. During the night the Church should be reflecting the light of the sun. During the day you do not see the moon except on unusual occasions for a little while you can, as it is rising or setting, but it is reflecting sun light. That is the only way we get light from the moon. The only way we get light from the Church is by its reflecting the light of Jesus Christ, the countenance of His face, His love and His mercy, shining through His Church. Now I want you to notice the sun always overcomes the night. Every morning you see proof sun light is more powerful than darkness. Christ will defeat Satan and his darkness. In contrast the moon does not always reflect sun light. If you look at the month sometimes the moon has gone out. Sometimes the moon is partially there and sometimes it is fully there reflecting the light of the sun. By analogy the Church is the same way, brethren. Sometimes it reflects the light of Jesus Christ very well. Sometimes it reflects it so so. Sometimes it does not reflect it at all! As a matter of fact, the moon can block out the sun light! It is called a solar eclipse. When the moon gets in the way of the sun, the sun goes dark. The Church can get in the way of Jesus Christ. Also we have what we call lunar eclipses. When the moon goes dark, the earth is in the way. The earth has come between the sun and the moon. So when this world and worldly cares and Satan’s government gets in the way of the Church, he makes us go dark! So just as we can get in Christ’s way and block His sun light, the world and Satan’s system can get in our way and block our light. The Church, of course, must always try to fight this and get its light out there again for the world to see. The story of mankind and of the true Church is a matter going all the way back of the moon sometimes reflecting the sun light and sometimes not, sometimes burning brightly and sometimes not. That was true before Jesus Christ and that was true after Jesus Christ. The first ecclesia was sometimes a good example. God’s apostles who were reflecting the light of Jesus Christ and had His Holy Spirit would show God’s light, and sometimes the people would pay attention and sometimes they did not. That has always been true. When the prophets wrote the inspired word of God, they were always faithful. That is why the foundation of the prophets, the word that we have before us in the Bible in the Old Testament is sure. A sure foundation has been laid it says in I Peter 2. It never waivers. God’s word is always true. Now I want to go back to Genesis chapter 3. With all of this knowledge that we have just looked at closely here, we should be able to get more information out of Genesis. So let us read Genesis chapter 3. I think you will agree with me, it makes a lot more sense now. Genesis chapter 3, verse 14. After the fall of Adam and Eve, God said this to the serpent. “‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed...’” This is referring to enmity between Satan and the moon, the daughter, the woman. Continuing in verse 15: “‘He shall bruise your head, and; you shall bruise His heel.’” So the Church will get bruised in the foot but the Church will help Jesus Christ crush Satan’s government. Verse 16: “To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’” When you look at that now, is it talking about physical childbirth and difficulty that women go through? That is the most minor of importance here. It is only the symbol of what God has done spiritually. How easy has it been for the last 6,000 years for the Church to bear fruit? Has it not been hard? Has it not been impossible without the love of Jesus Christ and His mercy? All have fallen short of the glory of God because all have sinned. Without Jesus Christ we would have no hope, and we would all be destroyed. Yes, the moon has been bearing fruit under great duress for 6,000 years. That is what God was trying to show us here. We know in the end, God will win and His Church will win. The sun and moon will burn brightly and all the things that portends for the world there that are good during the Millennium will occur. But, unfortunately, we are still under the time when there is enmity between the seed of the moon (the woman) and Satan and his seed. Enmity means hatred, hostility, adversary. He is our adversary and we are his adversary. That explains why he hates us. We are in his way because we are going to replace him and his government. So he hates us. Because of that, he will bruise our heel and we will bruise his head, which means to gape or to overwhelm, to overwhelm as with a flood. He has overwhelmed God’s Church. We can see that in Revelation, but the Church will in turn overwhelm him when Jesus returns. He knows it. The Church will overwhelm Satan’s government and break it in pieces. Now how Satan has harmed the Church through all of these 6,000 years is through tribulation, the tribulation of God’s people. I showed you in the sermon titled, “The Curse Is Reversed, Except...” how tribulation is mentioned in multiple Church eras, and John said he was the brother of the brethren in the tribulation back in his time. It says that in Revelation chapter 1. Jesus Christ told His apostles because they persecuted Me, I tell you they will persecute you. As long as you are in the world, you will have tribulation. Why did He say that? Because the Church has had tribulation living in Satan’s government for 6,000 years. So when we say “the great tribulation”, let us keep in mind it is only another one. If you could go back 2,000 years ago and talk to the brethren who were in the coliseum facing the lions and say, “At least you are not in the great tribulation...” Do you think they would have felt better? That is ridiculous isn’t it? The great tribulation is great only for one reason. Instead of bearing fruit little by little for 6,000 years, there is going to be a huge outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, which will lead to an incredible harvest of an innumerable multitude. All of those people in the innumerable multitude are going through pressure, which is what “tribulation” means (“pressure, persecution and trial”), because Satan will try their minds to get them to reject God. They will have to choose right. It is the job of the Church to help them choose right. When they cannot see the Church because the Church is hidden and gone dark, Satan has them right where he wants them with no hope and with nobody to teach them. So the importance of those two symbols is to show that the Church must shine brightly. The Church must reflect the light of Jesus Christ so the world can find Him. The world must be able to see us and see the light. It is in Matthew 5 where it says we are part of the light of the world. So, brethren, that is how important it is to go beyond looking at symbols out there and realize that symbols are just that “symbols”. The real thing, the real sun, the real moon, Jesus Christ and His Church, must work hand in hand with each other. The Church must be willing to be living sacrifices to shed His light abroad for all of mankind and bring hope to everyone who dwells in the face of the earth.