I’m sure it’s not just me noticing the increasing contrast of good vs. evil, or to put it another way, light vs. darkness in this world. By “light” I mean biblical and spiritual revelation from our Creator that gives us a “lamp unto our feet” directing us how to walk in all that is Godly in an ungodly world. By “darkness”, I mean a complete lack of Holy Spirit direction leading to a life of doing what we please, which is really a life directed by the god of this world, Satan himself.
The Prophet Isaiah spoke of this coming darkness when prophesying about the coming Messiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2). Also: “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:2). In this scripture, the darkness prophesied to cover the earth is, in Hebrew choseck, meaning among other descriptions, misery, destruction, ignorance, and wickedness. But when he says “deep darkness” the people, it’s a different Hebrew word that is similar, but emphasizes grossness or thickness. You may have heard the expression “it was so dark, you could have cut it with a knife”. This is the kind of darkness I see manifesting itself in today’s world. Very gross, deep, heavy. Something only the “Light of this World”-Jesus can penetrate.
The Prophets Joel and Amos speak of the “day of the Lord” as being especially dark. “For the day of the Lord is coming, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Joel 2:1-2). “For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness and not light.” “Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light?” (Amos 5:18,20).
When Jesus hung on the cross and evil celebrated triumphantly those three hours were characterized by darkness: “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” (Matthew 27:45). The Apostle John contrasted Jesus with the darkness of this world: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5). “And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:15). And there you have it-the reason for all this darkness. It provides cover for evil deeds. Jesus-the real Light exposes it all.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “The night is far spent; the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12). He then says this about us Christians; “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (Colossians 1:13). And: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day (of the Lord) should overtake you as a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 5 4).
Yes, darkness, an evil thick darkness, seems to be slowly enveloping the world much like it did during the days of Noah. It’s prophesied in your bible and will continue to get worse and worse right up to the Day of the Lord ending the great tribulation. As for us we must continue to walk in the light as He is in the light. As we walk more and more in the Spirit, our light will shine brighter and brighter pushing the darkness into oblivion, at least as far as we’re concerned. Let your light shine and you’ll dispel this present darkness.
Maranatha, Jim