The Light Of The Messiah-Hanukah 2002

The first utterances of creation laid down the pattern for humanity's salvation. Yeshua is the light of the world. God spoke this from the very beginning when He declared, "LET HIM BE LIGHT." He is that light that still shines today in the hearts of men and women, boys and girls who have come to Him in saving knowledge. Those who reject the light will always wind up in darkness and if they refuse to repent they will spend eternity in a darkness Yeshuah referred to as the "outer darkness." During this holiday season, this is a journal to encourage us all to behold the Light of Creation And The Light Of The World and "LET HIM BE LIGHT" in our lives, our homes and in our churches.

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: Genesis 1:3-4

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

When God speaks things happen. Everything that exists today has it beginning IN GOD. Moses the great leader and prophet of Israel said as much when he sat down and penned the words “IN THE BEGINNING GOD.”

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

That was a powerful statement coming for someone who had spent 40 years in Egypt’s courts learning about the heathen deities of the world’s most powerful empire at the time. Luke wrote in the book of Acts that Moses was “learned” in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, yet when it came time to pen the Torah, Moses started it all out by saying “IN THE BEGINNING GOD.” Glory to God, don’t you feel that? I do! Sometimes when I sit down to write a journal like this there are times when the Holy Spirit just illuminates certain things to me as I write and this is one of those times. In the beginning GOD. IN HIM we breathe. In HIM we live. In HIM we have our being. There is no other Gods like HIM. There are NO other Gods that we will all stand and give an account to but the God of heaven, the one who SPOKE and the worlds formed.

Acts 17:28-30

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (KJV)

Neighbor, when we close our eyes in death and go to the other side of eternity, believe me that it will not be ALLAH who we stand before. It will not be Buddha. It will not be Mohammed. It will not be Confucius. It will not be the heathen Greek deities of Zeus or Apollo. It will be JEHOVAH, ELOHIM, ADONAI, the Lord God Almighty. And when God created the heavens and the earth He also created in man the breath of life. We didn’t come from monkeys. We didn’t evolve. We didn’t get our start from some type of “big bang.” Neighbor it ALL begins with God and it will all END with God. There is none other like HIM. Praise God and Praise God.

We celebrate the Jewish feast of Hanukkah at sundown on November 28, 2002 this year. Hanukkah is the celebration of a powerful period in Israel’s history when her very survival was held in the hands of just a few godly people known as the Maccabees. The Maccabees were members of the Hasmonean family of Jewish leaders and rulers, made up of the sons of Mattathias and their descendants, which reigned in Judea from 167 to 37 B. C. This term is especially applied to Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, who defeated the Syrians under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the Seleucid ruler of Syria, 175-164 B. C.) about 165 B. C. and who rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.

In the spirit of an oriental tyrant, ANTIOCHUS IV Epiphanes fanatically determined to impose HELLENISM-- the adoption of ancient Greek language, philosophy, customs, art-- on all the subjects of his empire. The story of Antiochus' edict is told in the Old Testament apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees: "The king then issued a decree throughout his empire: his subjects were all to become one people and abandon their own laws and religion. The nations everywhere complied with the royal command, and many in Israel accepted the foreign worship, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath" <1 Macc. 1:41-43>, (NEB).

In seeking to unify his empire, Antiochus attacked Israel's religious practices. He prohibited the observance of the Sabbath and the traditional Jewish festivals and feast days. He also outlawed the reading of the law of Moses and gave orders that all copies should be burned. Temple sacrifices were forbidden, circumcision was outlawed, and other characteristic Jewish practices were declared illegal. The penalty for disobedience was death. Antiochus' ultimate affront to the Jews occurred on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, in 167 B. C. He rededicated the Temple to the pagan Greek god Zeus, set up a statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies, and sacrificed swine upon the altar. These outrages brought on the revolt of the Maccabees.

The home of Mattathias, a priest at Modein (or Modin), a town situated about 27 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of Jerusalem, quickly became the center of resistance against the Hellenizing policies of Antiochus. With Mattathias were his five sons: "John called Gaddis, Simon called Thassis, Judas called Maccabeus, Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus" <1 Macc. 2:3-5>, (NEB). The title Maccabeus was first given to Judas, the third son of Mattathias, but it was soon transferred to the entire family. Some scholars believe the term is derived from the Hebrew word makkebeth, or from the related Aramaic word makkaba, meaning "hammer," probably in allusion to the crushing blows inflicted by Judas and his successors upon their enemies. Thus, Judas may have been called "the Hammer" or "the Hammerer," or, as some scholars prefer, "Extinguisher" or "Quencher" (of the enemy).

Antiochus had sent commissioners throughout the entire country of Judea to enforce his decree. Appalled by the sacrilegious acts committed in Judea and Jerusalem and moved by his fervent zeal for the law of Moses, Mattathias killed one of the officers of the king sent to enforce pagan sacrifice. He and his five sons then fled from Modein, taking refuge in the rugged hills nearby. Joined by a growing number of sympathizers who detested the "abomination of desolation" set up on the altar by Antiochus, the Maccabees carried on guerilla warfare against the Syrians and the Jewish collaborators.

In December 164 B. C. Judas Maccabeus recaptured most of Jerusalem. Then he forced the loyal priests, those who had not collaborated with Antiochus, to cleanse the Holy Place and erect a new altar. On the 25th of Kislev 164 B. C., precisely three years after Antiochus hai defiled it, Judas rededicated the Temple.

According to Jewish tradition, only one undefiled cruse of oil could be found. This cruse contained oil for only one day. Miraculously, however, the cruse kept burning for eight days. The Hebrew word Hanukkah, which means "dedication," is the name still used today for the Jewish Festival of Lights that commemorates this event. Celebrated for eight days from the 25th day of the month of Kislev to the second day of Adar, Hanukkah occurs near or at the same time as the Christian celebration of Christmas.

Even though Hanukkah is not listed in Israel's prescribed feast days in Leviticus 23, our Lord and Messiah celebrated Hanukkah like He did ALL of Israel's feasts. It was called "The Feast of Dedication" in the New Covenant. John recorded in the 10th chapter of the gospel bearing his name that Yeshua walked on Solomon's porch during this sacred day on Israel's religious calendar "and it was winter." <John 10:22>.

John 10:21-23

21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

(KJV)

In honor of the “feast of lights,” I want to share with you today about THE LIGHT – the Messiah of Israel - Yeshua Ha'maschiah. We know that all of Israel’s feasts point to HIM and He fulfills ALL of Israel's feasts. This feast is no different. Jesus IS the light of the world. How He came to be that light is found in the very words of creation. From the very foundations of our universe He has been that light that has kept men from darkness and set men free from the powers of hell and bondage.

Light On The First Day

Genesis 1:3
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1:3 states that God created light on the First Day of creation. Yet, the sun, moon, and stars which provide light to our planet were not created until the Fourth Day (Gen. 1:14-19). Many would look at that and say “how could light exist before the sun existed?” It’s a question to be quite frank with you that has baffled both Jewish and Christian scholars.

The Torah Anthology highlights two differing perspectives related to the events of creation. These two viewpoints were expressed by two rabbis in a discussion among the Sages concerning the order of creation. According to Rabbi Yehudah, the Torah (first five books of the Bible) was to be interpreted literally with the understanding the events of creation took place in six literal days. A contrasting opinion was offered by Rabbi Nehemiah, who believed that creation was spoken into existence in the first instant of God’s words. In this concept, successive days of creation merely revealed the specifics of what had already been initiated at the moment of creation. Actually both viewpoints are probably correct and recent scientific data does not deny either one. Most scientists and scholars (even the heathen ones) have basically agreed that the earth we live on today is about 15 billion years old (give or take a billion years or two (SMILE) but regardless of the time element – the DNA of this universe is traced back to one source – THE WORD OF GOD. He spoke the worlds into existence!

Hebrews 1:1-3

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, [2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; [3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

To understand God’s plan of redemption for man and appreciate the magnificence of His creation it is important for us to look at the FIRST LIGHT of creation. In this LIGHT we see the antitype of what the LIGHTS OF HANUKKAH stand for. The light that was revealed on Day One of creation was completely unlike any other light in its brilliance and qualities. Rabbinic literature refers to it as the ‘Primeval Light” and that it was spiritual in nature. One opinion noted that this light was “seven times brighter than the sun.” Isaiah 30:26 notes that during the Millennium that a light seven times brighter than the sun that will illuminate the world when Messiah returns. Some have interpreted this to mean that there will be a miraculous “increase” in the radiance of the heavenly luminaries.

Isaiah 30:26

Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

But Yeshuah spoke that in the end times prior to His coming to Earth, the sun itself will actually DARKEN, not increase in its intensity:

Matthew 24:29-30

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Could it be that this light, seven times brighter than the sun, is NONE other than the LIGHT OF THE MESSIAH, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, the LIGHT spoken of in Genesis 1:3-4? It’s the same light that the RIGHTEOUS will share with Messiah when we return WITH HIM as well:

Col. 1:12

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

The Nature Of This Light

Genesis 1:3-5

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. [5] And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The Hebrew word for “light” in this passage is “or” which means “illumination” or “luminary.” Its root word means “to be, cause to make luminous” and “enlighten” and may be used literally and/or metaphorically. In the metaphorical sense it refers to light of a spiritual nature. Just as the true believer is referred to as a “LIGHT” in this world, so too is the MESSIAH referred to as the “LIGHT” of creation. God calls the LIGHT OF THE MESSIAH “GOOD” and separates it from the “darkness.”

Matthew 5:14

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Philip. 2:14-15

Do all things without murmurings and disputings: [15] That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Rabbinical understanding also reveals the light of Genesis 1:4 to be associated with Messianic fulfillment. On a far more interesting scale, according to Rabbinical tradition, the numerical equivalence of the Hebrew words (gematria), the light of creation is shown to be related to the light of the Torah, God’s instruction according to the 613 commandments given in the first five books of the Bible.

Yeshua is refereed to in the New Covenant as the “WORD” and the “LIGHT.” In John 1:1 the “WORD” literally references the LAW or TORAH that Yeshua fulfilled when He came to earth. As the TORAH, He becomes the LIGHT to the world that directs man to obedience through MESSIAH = the only way to have the TORAH fulfilled in us. We cannot fulfill the Law on our own. Man is a sinner. Man has broken God’s law. In man, there is nothing but DARKNESS. But when Man comes to Yeshua, Man ceases to be filled with darkness but is then filled with the LIGHT and the GLORY of the Messiah through the glorious work of the Holy Spirit at regeneration and throughout the believers' life if that believer will but walk IN the power of the Holy Ghost.

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

T The word “beginning” comes from the Greek: arche (GSN-746), which means a “beginning, origin, first; the dateless past (Genesis 1:1; Proverbs 8:23). Messiah has been here since BEFORE the foundations of this world existed as the LIGHT and the WORD of God. The light on Day ONE was actually the LIGHT OF THE MESSIAH and it preceded the LIGHT on day four. David wrote in Psalms 104:

Psalm 104:1-2

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty. [2] Who covers thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

Peter Micas, author of an excellent book, The Rod Of An Almond Tree, connects these dots by saying this about the Light of Genesis 1:3:

"The Creator of the universe is someone who is “covered in LIGHT.” God wanted to express Himself to man through the LIGHT of Himself. As God looked out over this dark universe He saw more than just a morass of blackness. He saw into the future and saw the hearts of men, women, boys and girls, whose heart would one day be blackened by SIN. He saw the darkness of humanity and knew that the only way to reveal Himself to a darkened world was going to be through HIS LIGHT. Sad to say that not everyone would receive this light when it would be revealed. But God still planned it this way."

And as we light the Hanukkah candles this season we need to be reminded that we were all once in darkness as creation was, but thanks be to God He has given us HIS LIGHT that we might be saved. That LIGHT is the MESSIAH Himself. There is no other source of light just as there is no other source of salvation.

For centuries Communism boasted that it was the "enlightenment' of the future, but neighbor, as every Russian citizen found out the cruel and hard way - THERE WAS NO LIGHT IN KARL MARX! Germany found out that there was NO LIGHT IN HITLER. We as American citizens are finding out slowly but surely that all the money and technology in the world can't buy us peace of mind and security. THERE IS NO LIGHT in the Almighty dollar. There is only ONE Light, ONE LIGHT - and that is Jesus Christ - the son of the Living God.

Let “THERE” Be

The other Hebrew word in this passage that is just as important is the word for “let there be.” The word “there” does not appear in the original Hebrew text but has been added for English translators. That is a masculine form of a word that actually refers to “HIM” rather than an “it.” Therefore the actual Hebrew rendering of Genesis 1:3-5 is “LET HIM BE LIGHT.” It was in this way that the light of the Messiah was revealed in the original Hebrew words.

This is how the original Hebrew text reads for Genesis 1:3-5:

Genesis 1:3-5

And God said, Let <HIM> be light (lige, natural and spiritual, prosperity; honor, joy and all manner of happiness and redemption in this world and the next; encouragement, comfort, hope in adversity; the saving knowledge of Elohim and of the Messiah;: and <HE> was light. [4] And God saw (the revelation of) the light (MESSIAH), that HE (the knowledge and wisdom of HIM) was good: and God divided the light (Of Messiah) from the darkness (spiritual deception, spiritual darkness, spiritual ignorance). [5] And God spoke “YOU WILL BE LIGHT” until darkness is defeated. And Elohim called the darkness a state of spiritual chaos and confusion. And <Lucifer> was the evening (the originator of spiritual darkness) where spiritual truth began to be obscured, and there was also the morning (The word of GOD, LIGHT, TRUTH) as LIGHT dawned (happiness) the first age.

What does that mean to us today? It means that God expressed Himself through this Primeval Light when He commanded the LIGHT to be revealed. By His WORD, God’s knowledge, wisdom, and purpose for this world burst across the chaotic waters in a blinding revelation of God’s glory – and that glory is found in the FACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! – YESHUAH Ha'maschiah!

2 Cor. 4:6
For 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.

It would be into this perfect world that God would place His most precious gift – humanity. He would create Adam and Eve with perfect understanding and knowledge as well as perfect obedience. Yet while creating them He would create in them a free moral agency where they would not just understand obedience but they would also know exactly what disobedience would mean to His commands were as well. They would then have a choice to obey or disobey God. That is the ultimate fairness of the Creator of the Universe. Let no man say who is in hell today that God made him go there or sent him there. No sinful man sends HIMSELF there by the disobedience and rejection of God’s LIGHT. This LIGHT of the MESSIAH would be later fulfilled at Calvary when as the LIGHT OF THE WORLD He would die in the very darkness He broke at creation so that all of humanity could be free from sin.

The Origin Of Sin

Genesis 1:2

And the earth was (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.

The darkness here is not merely the absence of physical light but it means a “spiritual darkness” as well. The Hebrew word for darkness in Genesis 1:3-5 actually alludes to the DEATH ANGEL, implying a spiritual significance. It conveys a picture of a spiritually dark void and darkness enveloping the world. When God said “LET THERE BE LIGHT,” it was more than just God wanting to see what He was doing. On account the world sat in darkness, LIGHT had to be revealed. As light overcame darkness in the spiritual realm, so too this pattern became mirrored in the physical (natural) realm. That is why day follows night and why night and day are considered “one day.” The Jewish timetable embodies this concept with each new day beginning at SUNSET, followed by daylight, and ending just before the following Sunset.

When God made the sun and moon in Genesis 1:16 another Heberw word meorah is also translated as “LIGHT.” It refers to a “luminous body” or “luminary.” So the light in Genesis 1:3-5 is called “or” in Hebrew and “meoroth” in verse 16. The answer to this is very simple and it holds the key to man’s redemption.

Lucifer, the father of darkness, had already rebelled at this time. In fact many Bible scholars believe that the act of Genesis 1:1 was the creation of a Pre-Adamite world. A world that Lucifer himself ruled over. Lucifer was created by God and given the highest position among all the angels (Ezekiel 28)

Ezekiel 28:12-15

Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. [13] Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. [14] Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. [15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

A unique aspect of Lucifer was that he was created with an ‘anointing’, meaning that he was given a special purpose. He was commissioned to “cover” or to “protect” and placed in the garden of Eden. However, Lucifer became proud because of his unique anointing and position. He had been given the knowledge of God, knowing the difference between good and evil – light and darkness. Desiring to be equal with God, his ambition was to be worshipped as the Most High. As he rebelled against his Creator, sin originated in him. Instead of Lucifer meaning “light-bearer,” he became known as Satan, the Adversary, and the father of darkness.

God’s gift to Lucifer before his rebellion had been the kingdoms of this earth. Because the “gifts” of God are irrevocable, Satan will remain in this world until the Final Judgment, at which time he will cast into the lake of Fire with all who rebelled against God, including the kingdoms and powers of this world.

But somewhere between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 a cataclysmic judgment hit this earth because of Lucifer's rebellion. Jeremiah 4:30 speaks of the "nations" being overthrown and uses the exact same Hebrew words found in Genesis 1:1 and 1:2:

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] 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.

Jeremiah 4:23-31
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. [24] I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. [25] I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. [26] I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. [27] For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. [28] For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. [29] The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. [30] And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. [31] For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

In both instances the word "was" there actually means "BECAME," in Hebrew signifying that the earth was made perfect by God but BECAME a wasteland because of judgment. Jeremiah described this judgment speaking of the mountains trembling and the cities being "broken down." There is no other place in scripture which talks about such an event which has led many (myself included) to believe that before Adam and Eve there was a world, "that then was," as Peter put it in his epistle. The darkness covering the planet was the result of a great flood that Peter described as being different from that of Noah's flood:

1 Peter 3:20-22
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. [21] The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: [22] Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

2 Peter 3:2-18
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: [3] Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, [4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. [5] For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: [6] Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: [7] But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. [8] But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The world of Noah's day did not perish because Noah and his family were saved. The flood spoken of in SECOND Peter was the flood of Genesis 1:2 which was described in Jeremiah 4. ALL human life perished off the face of the earth. The events of Genesis 1:3-3:1 are days of "recreation" if you will. God recreated the heavens and the earth and made them perfect once again.

You may ask the question, well weren't there humans alive on the first earth, the "Pre-Adamite" earth. To be quite frank there is no way of knowing. However, I think an educated discussion would lead one to believe that the inhabitants of that first earth were probably angelic beings under Lucifer's rule and dominion, who eventually tried to rebel with Lucifer against God. We know a third of them threw their lot in with Satan and are held in chains in the place called "Tatarus," in the Spirit world. I don't want to get so deep here I lose you but its vital to the understanding of God's plan of redemption where sin got its origin. Sin didn't start with Adam and Eve - sin started in the darkness of Lucifer's heart when it became filled with PRIDE.

After the six days of recreation of the earth, the LORD then created MAN in His image and placed him in the Garden of Eden. God BREATHED into man the “breath of life” and man became a LIVING SOUL. The very essence of the life-giving force of God was breathed into the soul of man. This does NOT make man a “little god” as some teach, but an eternal living being. Mister, a billion years from today you and I will be ALIVE somewhere. A trillion years from today you and I will be ALIVE. That’s what makes our decisions in this life so important as it relates to eternity. We’ve stop preaching about eternity in our churches today. We enjoy speaking about “blessings, blessings, blessings,” but the LIGHT of Hanukkah testifies to the fact that THE LIGHT has come to shine out of the darkness of man's sin and if we refuse that light we will wind up in eternal darkness. It’s that serious friend. It’s that serious neighbor.

Adam was created as a whole being, complete in form, containing a balance of male-female and a balance of logic-emotion. Then God separated from Adam another Adam if you would as a helpmate (Gen. 2:21-22; Gen. 5:2) whom he named Eve. They were designed to work together as one complete being. To Adam and Eve, God gave the knowledge and choice of obedience and disobedience to His commands – just as He had done Lucifer.

As Satan watches God's love for man reveal itself in the Garden of Eden, he seeks to destroy God's most prized creation - man. He promised Eve the very thing He coveted when he rebelled against God – to be as the most High:

Genesis 3:5

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Eve followed what Satan had instigated – disobedience and rebellion against God. Likewise, Adam followed Eve’s advice and ate the forbidden fruit. When God asked them, “Who told you that you are naked?” He knew they had been exposed to the knowledge of good and evil, with evil presented as good and good presented as evil. Because Adam and Eve failed to act as a unit, they became vulnerable and succumbed to DARKNESS and disobedience to God.

From that second on – the human race would now need the full manifestation of the LIGHT that God placed into the earth realm for redemption. This was God’s preeminent One, the MESSIAH – the ONLY ONE of uncorrupted truth, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Yeshua Himself. Not only did God provide the Messiah as the only means of salvation, but He also gave each individual the choice to receive or reject the Messiah’s redemptive gift. We can CHOOSE light or darkness.

The Light Of The World

In the New Covenant, the Greek translated word as “the Light” of God is phos, which is derived from the word phao (“to shine”). These words can also be traced to another Greek word phone meaning “voice,” “saying,” or “language.” It is the word used in Genesis 1:3-5 and in John 1:1 and speaks not only of Messiah’s brilliance but of the LIGHT of God’s WORD. It refers to the WORD incarnate, MESSIAH Yeshua.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men. [5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:14

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Psalm 119:105

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 27:1

A Psalm of David.

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?

There is only ONE thing that can save an individual from spiritual darkness – the knowledge of the TRUTH and the LIGHT of the Creator and Saviour. God’s FIRST WORDS to the world contained the knowledge of HIMSELF, the very essence of Himself – the INCARNATE WORD. This was THE LIGHT that shone so brilliantly on Day One. It was the gift of the LIGHT of GOD, the Primeval LIGHT that was revealed to a world that had been consumed in darkness and chaos because of sin. God’s master plan for man was formulated on Day One with four words – LET HIM BE LIGHT. It contained EVERY detail of God’s plan in unparalleled precision. The LIGHT contained the knowledge of God, including the plan for creation of a perfect universe, and the redemptive plan for mankind, which was implemented AFTER the fall and fulfilled at Calvary.

This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Colossians:

Col 1:13-23

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--

23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

(NIV)

Verse 23 clearly states that all CREATION proclaims the Gospel, God’s master plan of salvation, and the MESSIAH as its fulfillment. God provided a path of redemption by providing knowledge of HIMSELF through Yeshua in order to reconcile humanity to Himself:

2 Cor 5:18-21

18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

(KJV)

The purpose of the master plan was the point humanity to its CREATOR and its SAVIOUR – YESHUA, so that man would not wander in darkness without the knowledge of God and remain lost forever. David declares in Psalms 19 that the “heavens” declare the “GLORY” of God:

Psalm 19:1-2

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showed his handiwork. [2] Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showed knowledge.

Paul agreed with David in his writing about Christ:

1 Tim. 6:15-16

Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; [16] Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen

2 Cor. 4:6

For 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.

The LIGHT that came forth on day one came forth in the FACE OF JESUS CHRIST. When we look at HIM we will truly see THE FATHER. When we look at HIM, we will truly see the TRUTH. When we look at HIM – we will truly see the way out of the darkness of our lives. When we look at HIM – we see our redemption, our holiness, our sanctification. He just don’t “give” us those things – HE IS THOSE THINGS to us! Praise God and the Lamb forever.

Some of you reading this were at one time some of the worst sinners wondering in a sea of darkness and hell imaginable. But one day, God spoke and said “LET HIM BE LIGHT” and the power of the Holy Ghost convicted you and showed you the way out of that hell and darkness. I was visiting a church the other night in north Georgia to see my 9-year old get baptized. As I was seated I watched about 50-70 young people walk in – young men and women – precious to behold – clean shaven, looking sharp, rejoicing, praising God. These young men and women filled an entire section of the church’s service that Friday night. Someone leaned over to me and said “see those young people over there? They are all ex-drug addicts and have been saved just a few months now. They belong to Teen Challenge here in Rock Springs and come to church to worship God every Friday night.” Tears just welled up in my eyes and heart as I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to know that when God speaks “LET HIM BE LIGHT” to those in darkness – no power of hell can stand against that.

My Lord I want to shout. My Lord I want to praise God right now. My Lord I want to dance like David did before Him. Neighbor are you hearing what I am saying to you today. You can be FREE drug addict. You can be free homosexual. You can be free alcoholic. You can be free from that lying spirit sir. You can be free from internet pornography. You can be free from illicit affairs and sexual immorality. You can be free from that horrible temper and vulgar mouth sir. You can free lady from that demonic spirit driving you to starve yourself to death so you can have a nice figure. MY LORD I feel this. No matter the darkness, no matter the bondage, no matter the evil, no matter the wickedness, no matter the powers of hell that are afflicting you or holding you right now – when God speaks LET HIM BE LIGHT – There is light! There is light! There is light! There is light! There is light! There is light! There is light!

The People Who Have Walked In Darkness……

Isaiah 9:2

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. [2] For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. [3] And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 60:19

The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Neighbor this earth is about to be, let me change that, this earth IS being enveloped in darkness more and more each day. The enemy knows his time is short and as the end approaches he will try and “cover” the earth with his darkness. Remember Lucifer means “the cherub that covers,” and believe me he is doing all he can to cover people’s lives today with his filth, his lies, his deceit, his wickedness, his murder, his hate, his arrogance, his pride, his immorality, his deception, his greed, his contempt for God and everything that is right. Satan is having his time right now and he will have even a bigger time during the Great Tribulation period through the Antichrist.

The only source of truth today is to behold the MESSIAH and see HIS LIGHT. HIS LIGHT will dispel the darkness. Israel as a nation may sit in darkness right now, but one day she will behold this light fully and declare “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!” She will receive the light she rejected so long ago.

He That Walks In Darkness…..

John 12:35-36

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. [36] While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

John 12:46

I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

1 John 1:5

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.

Jesus declared that they who embrace HIM as their Messiah will not walk in darkness. When we walk in darkness we don’t know where we are going. And that describes the state of the world today - and sadly most of the church. We look at Washington D.C., and as much as President Bush tries and our Congress tries and the Supreme Court tries to steer this country in the right direction, as a whole America is a drift because America has rejected light. Let me change that a little – AMERICA HAS REJECTED THE LIGHT. Little by little the light of the gospel torch is trying to be extinguished by forces inside our government. The voices of godly men are being silenced each day by new laws and new pressure being put on our government to rid this land of its godly heritage.

The horrible part of that is that the apostate church in America spews out a message that has nothing but darkness in it because it does not embrace the TRUE LIGHT – JESUS. Preachers get on television and preach on riches, money and blessing but they never preach about the fact that God has spoken and said “LET HIM BE LIGHT” and that LIGHT died for the sins of mankind in the darkness of the crucifixion so long ago. Paul said I am determined to know NOTHING but CHRIST and HIM CRUCIFIED. Yeshua was the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, yet in gross darkness HE DIED. He died, He died, He died, He died. The cross sir, it’s the cross. The cross preacher, it’s the cross. Preach the cross. Preach the cross church. Preach the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua Ha’maschiah. The souls in hell don’t care who you got coming this Friday night in concert preacher. The souls in hell don’t care what the church softball team is doing this year in the standings. The souls in hell don’t care what color your carpet is or the size of your new gym. God help us. NO NO NO NO, the souls in hell are in eternal darkness because they rejected the LIGHT OF THE MESSIAH and died lost and without God. Jesus called it “outer darkness.” And friend you’re headed there today if you haven’t made Yeshua Lord of your life today. It’s either Jesus or hell. It’s either Jesus or the pit. It’s Jesus or darkness. It’s Jesus or death. There are no alternative answers to man’s problems in this life. The only way out of man’s darkness are the words spoken by Elohim so long ago- LET HIM BE LIGHT.

I Jn 1:5-10

5 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.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 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.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

(KJV)

John said that if we walk in the light as HE is in the light, we have FELLOWSHIP one with another. Neighbor, light and darkness don’t mix. Jesus Himself said that if the light in you “be darkness,” then “how great was that darkness?” You can’t have one foot in and one foot out. You can’t say I’m saved, and have “LIGHT” and live like hell itself. You can’t say I’m saved and I have received light and be spiritually blind to the things of God. It’s impossible. John said that if we say we walk in the light and deny we are sinful then we have deceived ourselves and the LIGHT of the gospel is not in us.

I Jn 2:8-12

8 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.

9 He that saith he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.

10 He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

11 But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

(KJV)

John makes it abundantly clear that the light that shines in our heart will cause us to love one another. If we say we’re in the light and hate our brother then we are deceived and walk in darkness. He says that the “darkness” of the enemy has BLINDED his eyes. That is spiritual deception and it’s the darkness Yeshua has come to dispel.

The Lamb Is The Light

Rev 21:23-22:5

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 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 honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

John saw the Holy City where there was no MOON or SUN because the GLORY of God did lighten it. The GLORY OF GOD is the same light we have been talking about from the beginning of this journal – the MESSIAH. John likens this light to the LAMB which speaks of His sacrifice on Calvary. He will forever be the eternal LAMB OF GOD, never forget that. When we walk in that city and see Him face to face, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the first thing He will show us will be the “marks” and “wounds” of slaughter that He suffered that we may be citizens of heaven and not hell. The church needs to get this truth again. We’ve lost it and as a result men are wondering in darkness among us. That’s another journal for another time.

In Closing….. Men Loved Darkness Rather Than Light

John 3:16-21

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

(KJV)

Many of us reading this journal today have known John 3:16 since we were children. The verses that follow John 3:16 though tell the tale of millions in hell today without God and no hope for eternity. MEN LOVED DARKNESS rather than light and because of that they chose to remain in that darkness and not repent of their evil deeds. That is the world’s condemnation. That is America’s condemnation. That is the apostate church’s condemnation. And that is YOUR condemnation today if you have not repented of your sins sir. If you love the light you will come to the light to have your deeds exposed and reproved. In other words, you will come to God and CONFESS those deeds as evil and repent and allow the Lord’s GRACE to wash you and cleanse you from those sins through the precious blood of that LAMB that John saw who was the LIGHT.

As I close this journal today I have tears in my eyes because I know that there is a chance that some of you reading this are not going to receive the LIGHT given to you today. The people in hell are in darkness right now. They have rejected light. Neighbor, it’s getting late both prophetically and it’s getting late for your soul today. You’re not promised of tomorrow. Your life is but a vapor. You must be born again. When you are born again you will be given the LIGHT OF THE MESSIAH.

As we light the Hanukkah candles this holiday season, let us remember the words of creation – LET HIM BE LIGHT. He is our Light today and He is YOUR light today too sinner friend. Embrace that light before it is eternally too late. I want to close this journal out with the words of an old gospel song "In the City Where the Lamb Is The Light," I heard many years ago. As I sit here and write this message to you I feel the Holy Spirit prodding me to pen the words to it. If we will receive Messiah today - we will go to a CITY where the LAMB is the light! Shalom, God Bless.

There’s a country far beyond the starry sky,
There’s a city where there never comes a night;
If we’re faithful we shall go there by and by,
’Tis the city where the Lamb is the light.

In that city where the Lamb is the light,
The city where there cometh no night;
I’ve a mansion over there,
And when free from toil and care,
I am going where the Lamb is the light.

Here we have our days of sunshine, but we know
That the sun which shines upon us now so bright
Will be changed to clouds and rain until we go
To the city where the Lamb is the light.

There the flowers bloom forever and the day
Shall be one eternal day without a night;
And our tears shall be forever wiped away,
In that city where the Lamb is the light.

Here we have our disappointments all the while,
And our fondest hopes but meet with bitter blight;
Tho’ by night we weep, the morning brings a smile,
In that city where the Lamb is the light.

Then let sunlight fade, let twilight bring its gloom,
Not a shadow can my blissful soul affright;
For I know that up in Heaven there is room,
In that city where the Lamb is the light.

Also: “The Second Hanukkah” from a journal we wrote last year concerning the coming Antichrist and Israel’s hope in her REAL Temple Cleanser – Yeshua.

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