Darkness to Light

If the study about ‘thieves and robbers’ were a ‘hand’, then this study would be considered the ‘foot’. They go hand and foot together in concept, but as with all scripture, those scriptures put together for this study simply give a slightly different perspective of any given concept or doctrine when combined together.

Christ tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him, and we know that the cross represents death. What we want to focus on today, though, is that it also represents Life in Christ. In this study, we will explore darkness being equated to death and Light representing Life. Of course, there is so much that can be said about what darkness and light mean and how God uses these two things in our lives to manifest Himself to all of humanity.

However, for this study I will simply just follow where the Lord leads me in regards to how we live each and every day with the knowledge, understanding and implementation of these concepts in our lives.

The inspiration for this study today came from Joh 12:35 which reads:

Joh 12:35 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.

To give us a little context to what is being said; I will read some verses surrounding Joh 12:35.

Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

And ‘will glorify it again’.

Joh 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
Joh 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Joh 12:35 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.
Joh 12:36 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.
Joh 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

I know that was a lot of verses, and this is a story with which everyone is mostly familiar, but I wanted to read it in context so that we could see where it is Christ made this comment.

Christ mentions this ‘hour has come’ to also have the Father say ‘my name is glorified and will again be glorified’, to be summed up to, “now is the judgment of this world”.

The very next verse says that Christ will be LIFTED UP and draw all men unto Him. So, it is fairly easy to conclude that judgment of this world comes and is accomplished with the cross.

Knowing all of this as I have just explained, and after Christ was asked, “who is the son of man,” He answers, “a little while the light is with you, so walk in it”.

What does this all mean?

“I will make darkness light before them”

Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness LIGHT before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Isa 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
Isa 42:18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Isa 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

If you’ll recall from the ‘thieves and robbers’ study, there were two thieves hanging next to Christ on crosses.

In order for another to lead a blind person to a place that they do not know, they themselves must know the Way. Otherwise, the blind lead the blind. For a ‘new’ man to be born, an old man must first be present and exist.

In like manner, in order for one to be the Lord’s servant they must know what it is like to NOT be the Lord’s servant in order to know when they are serving the Lord.

The Lord’s servants have first been the unrepentant thief who wants salvation for themselves and sees Christ as being the same as them, because of the way they mock the Christ, ‘you are no better than me up here on this cross’. The Lord’s servant gets to the point of being the Lord’s servant because sight is given to them due to their blindness, and hearing comes because of deafness.

This will sound very familiar to those to whom this Way is familiar.

One of the miraculous things which happens is that before ‘men’s eyes’, the darkness that they see, will be made into Light ‘in the twinkling of an eye’. In other words, the darkness that once dwelled in a person will be used to bring forth Light as God calls darkness out of Light.

The only way a servant of God knows of what He speaks is to be Saul on the road to Damascus who is struck down with a great light; thus creating Paul eventually.

Act 22:4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Act 22:5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Act 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

For those who have gone through this experience this is a great mystery of Light because it is something they have lived through, but it is darkness for those who are in it, and it is not a fun place to be.

Blindness is likened unto death, and death is likened to darkness. It really is spiritually all the same thing described in different terms and spiritual words.

So, someone who is blind has NO IDEA what Light really is.

I often walk out of my darkened room in the morning into a flood of the morning sun in the living room. When I do this, my eyes need to adjust, and I usually close them for a bit because suddenly being presented with bright lights hurts.

When Christ comes to those who dwell in darkness, and do not know it for lack of comparison, it is hurtful and blinding at first. Yes, Light can be blinding!

‘The day of the Lord’ and ‘the hour at hand’, to which this experience can be equated, are really saying one and the same thing. This is the point when Christ is being presented to someone as Light, and the immediate reaction is to see for the first time, but we all need some spiritual adjusting of the eyes in order for us to start to see clearly.

As an example, look at the process which shows us what the giving of sight to a physically blind man entails.

Mar 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Mar 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Mar 8:26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

We are being witnessed to here with a great witness of how Christ works in mankind’s lives when He comes into their lives.

When the Light comes to darkness, it takes a process for Christ to fully reveal the situation to those to whom He is giving sight. Thus, He tells His servants to ‘keep it to yourself because you are just a babe’.

You might be saying, “But Christ didn’t say that. He said to not go into town or tell it to any in town.” But I ask you why did Christ tell the man to not tell any about this? The reason is that when we are brought from darkness and given the Truth about what men (mankind) is, then that work alone will be the witness that others will see.

That very work done to them/us by Christ will be what is used against the person as they judge themselves out of their own thoughts and mouth, just like the unrepentant thief challenges Christ to prove yet again that He is the Son of God.

It should be getting crystal clear that we are the first ones who don’t see who Christ really is and who “His Christ” are first BEFORE we are given to be the thief who realizes who he is and why he is hanging on a cross with and next to Christ.

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Hope of Salvation

The hope of salvation that has been given to those which walk in the day are given to those who are following Christ where He is, and this is of no doing or work of themselves.

It is Christ’s beckoning to pick up the cross and follow Him that gets the chain moving in this process.

So, the focus of this study is to present the Truth that as we are sent out into the world amongst our family and friends, peers and loved ones, we are to do so knowing from where it is we have been delivered. That deliverance is from the enemy of darkness/blindness/sleep in the night/DEATH, and this is a continual life-long process.

You can only bring LIFE and salvation to a DEAD person, but just where is DEATH as Christ presents Life to His servants in order to be used to present it to others?

2Sa 22:1 And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
2Sa 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2Sa 22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2Sa 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
2Sa 22:6 The sorrows of hell (sheol:grave) compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2Sa 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
2Sa 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
2Sa 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
2Sa 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Our hope of salvation is bringing the TRUTH of the LIGHT of the Gospel to those who Christ is dragging to His Father.

Again, when is it that Christ does this?

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

When we present this Truth out of the Word of God to someone, we are presenting the JUDGMENT of the Word of God on “all that is in the world” in that person.

Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Is it any wonder that they think we are being judgmental? They see the MESSENGER claiming to be the Son of God, of which we are, who then says, “here is what the Word of God says.”

Thus, the result is this, among other things:

2Co 11:12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 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.

We will be accused, just as Christ was, of being self-righteous and full of evil spirits:

Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Mat 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Nevertheless, we needn’t be concerned with this because this is the calling to which we have been called.

There simply is never going to be a way around being persecuted for telling the Truth, because Light reveals what the darkness is hiding.

All around, it is simply death of the old man and his carnal ways which people experience as we spread Fire through the dry wood, hay and stubble of their minds and hearts.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 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!

“The Light that is in thee”

The light that is in any of us, the Word of God that any of us have dwelling in our hearts and minds, now lives in a place that was once full of darkness.

This is NOT simply knowing a bunch of scriptures, memorizing a bunch of verses and speaking them as often and quickly as possible. Rather, what does show forth with this Light in us is the Fruit of what the Spirit is working in our lives, and it is a LIFE-long process of these things being grown up in us until we take our last breath. This process with be something that develops in us the following things, Lord willing:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

What we have been talking about today is the flesh being crucified on the cross. What encompasses the flesh is NOT simply our flesh, bones and blood but also the mindset the goes along with it. We know this as the carnal mind, and if we get anything out of this study, it is that we ALL have a continual war going on in our minds which pits the carnal mind against the mind of Christ, the old man against the new man, and natural against the spiritual.

If this is a war in our minds, how much more is this the same war which goes on in the hearts and minds of those who are in our lives whether they be friend, family, peers, loved ones and so on.

After all, it was just a short time ago that we lived in complete darkness to these things, yet we have a friend in Christ who is there to give us peace to handle whatever God’s will is for us in our lives, and as of yet, they do not if the Lord has not willed Himself into their lives yet.

This is what we see with this war:

Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The hour and the day of the Son of God comes when no one is watching. It comes as a thief in the night, so we must always be vigilant to realize that though we are “the Light of the world” in Christ, lightning is a frightful event to most.

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Luk 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

The darkness which is replaced with Light is a trying life to live, but it is one with GREAT reward.

The reward we are promised will not have a benefit for “all that is in the world”, but it will have a wonderful benefit in the spirit as it produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

We should take joy that God dwells in us and is using the light He has created us to be, to drag others to Himself to join us in this process.

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

With the dragging that the Lord does, we should all strive to bring forth to the forefront of our minds just how precious those whom the Lord is working in now are.

Luk 9:37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
Luk 9:38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
Luk 9:39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
Luk 9:40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
Luk 9:41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
Luk 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
Luk 9:43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
Luk 9:44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
Luk 9:45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
Luk 9:46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
Luk 9:47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
Luk 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

Christ is “all the day long” delivered into the hands of men by the Fire He puts in our mouths which is the Word of God.

Keep the Faith, and know that God works this work in you and will deliver many from darkness to light in this process He uses in you all.