My Bible is open to John 8 and I can’t stop reading. He enthralls me, and I hang-hungry on every word.
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
As our days shorten and darkness steals more & more time, my thoughts have turned to the rich imagery and history of this season. The events of John 8 and 9 happened in the days after the fall Feasts, leading up to winter’s Feast of Dedication (mentioned in John 10). The people of Israel were busily preparing their hearts & homes for these eight days of remembering their miracle working God and His miracle of lights, while the Romans occupying Israel were hanging up garlands and wreaths decked with holly and preparing their homes for the celebrations of Saturnalia. Into this setting Jesus stood before the people and said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
It hit me hard this week; hits me still in waves. In the bleak, black of winter’s shortest days, during these two spiritually dueling holidays occurring in Israel, God-in-the-flesh strode into the darkness and boldly announced that we no longer need fear the dark because the light of life had come, and He wasn't the sun god but the Son of God.
He didn’t stop there and I can’t stop reading.
“I am the door of the sheep...If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture...I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” John 10:14-16
Jesus has my full attention here.
Again, contextually, these were the days leading up to the Festival of Dedication, Hanukkah in John 10 (just as it is now); a time that often coincides with the winter solstice and the 12 days of revelry the Roman world engaged in, to honor the rebirth of the sun god. And here is Jesus openly musing about a future day when His flock would be a mixed multitude of both Jew and Gentile together - sheep from many folds filing in through the threshold of one door - the Son of God - to become one flock under one shepherd.
It's a mystery I confess I have not paid nearly enough attention to until recently, and I am now wonder-struck that Jesus chose to mention this mystery of oneness in the days leading up to this particular Feast of remembrance...
...when a Zeus-worshiping King desecrated the Temple Solomon built for God in Jerusalem by tearing down the menorah, smashing the jars of consecrated oil, erecting a statue of Zeus inside, sacrificing a pig on the altar of YHWH in honor of Zeus' birthday, and then forcing the Jews to eat it’s meat or die…
...this remembrance…
...when an antichrist figure gave the nation of Israel - every man, woman and little child - the choice between apostasy or death.
In the days leading up to the remembrance of this tragedy and it's miracles that occurred alongside the very celebration that provoked Antiochus IV to desecrate the Temple in the first place, Jesus spoke of a day when Israel would be -Jew and Gentile - one flock, and one family, living full and abundant under one shepherd - the true Light of the world.
This has always been the desire of God' s heart; the promise He made to Abraham: “...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). All the families of the earth...
I have to sit with this for a moment and let it sink.in.deep; read between the lines and understand.
God had to break into the story and fight for Israel if any of the Messianic promises were ever to come to pass. Jesus needed both the lineage and heritage of David and Abraham to exist, and a temple to be dedicated in for the promises to be fulfilled. The reality of the situation is that Israel would have been wiped off the map had not God stepped in and anointed the Maccabean revolt, now remembered as the Feast of Dedication. God gave His people a victory that could not have come from any human hand and a celebration of their own during this annual worship of the sun god.
Three years ago our family began to celebrate Hanukkah, and as we delved into its rich history and incredible significance to all Christ followers, we realized how this Feast of Dedication kindles the flickering promise of the Messianic hope. Messiah comes as the light of the world, to redeem our bodies as His own temple, and gather all people from all nations unto Himself. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).
Isaiah prophesied of a light that would illuminate earth's deep darkness; Jesus manifested this light, this hope in bodily form as the Sun of God come to redeem the earth from the powers of darkness.
Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 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. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1-3
If you follow the timeline of John the Baptist’s birth (& the priestly duties of his father etc), you’ll find that Jesus’ birth (six months later) was in the fall, most likely the month of September. Nine months before that was this very time of deep darkness...the winter solstice...the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights that took place on the 25th of Kislev. 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.
Everything in the Kingdom of God begins in seed form, and the hope of Messiah is no different. This is so beautiful and fascinating to me, since learning that scientists have witnessed an actual spark of light when a sperm attaches itself to an egg. Life begins with light. In all likelihood, it was this very season of deepest darkness that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and implanted the seed of heaven - the Messiah - into her womb. Any honest student of history (and the Bible) will tell you that December 25th is admittedly not the birthday of Jesus. We know this without question.The first Christ-mass came from the Holy Roman Catholic Church - the new religion of an empire suspiciously attached to sun god worship from its conception.
For you hungry-curious,
a deep dive into Church history
& the history of world religions (paganism)
will reveal that December 25
is actually the venerated birthday of
the sun god,
known by many different names
throughout many different nations and empires.
To research:
Emperor Constantine: Is Western Christianity based on a lie?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E_bRADucBI
The Christmas Question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yei17uJeKuw
The Truth about Christmas by Norm Franz Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKZfs3eQA0o /
Hanukkah is for Christians: https://www.torahclass.com/bible-studies/other-studies/688-hanukkah-is-for-christians
What the Bible says about the Christmas Tree: https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/504/Christmas-Tree.htm
Jesus comes into a world covered in thick darkness, a darkness extenuated by occult practices enacted to demonic principalities, and He stands with His arms wide open, "Come to Me all who are weary and I will give you rest for your souls..."
With arms wide, He stands,
a door —
hinges swinging,
bearing Heaven wide-eyed & open.
Arise, shine; for your light has come!
When Jesus told the people during the Feast of Dedication in John 10, that He was the door of the sheep pen, the shepherd and the savior of the sheep, He didn't mention anything about separating His sheep into categories. On the contrary, He said there is only one flock and one shepherd. I know we all know this, but do we know this? Do we practice this? Do we live this? We are one family in Christ - one body, one bride. This is the mystery Paul proclaims in his letter to the Ephesians, and this is the mystery that confounds the Church still. Your skin color, past, family name, ethnicity, biological makeup, station in society, one broken-open heart...none of it defines you when you enter His sheep fold and become one with His flock. He gives you a new name, a new nature, a new family, a new mind and a new way of life -HIS. Becoming one with His flock is not about losing your individual identity but about gaining a corporate identity that becomes your chief mode of operandi - you are His very own, set apart, treasured people. (Deuteronomy 7)
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29
You are Abraham’s seed if you are Christ’s! You are part of His one flock Israel, and Jesus was looking forward to this unity all the way back then...before Peter’s vision, before His blood spilled out of His body making this unity possible...before the disciples had a clue! Think about that. The New Covenant made all things new, including Israel. The treasured family of YHWH, descended from Abraham, and betrothed to God in the wilderness - Israel - is now a unified body of Jew and Gentile who are one in Christ. Together we make up spiritual Israel, and are heirs according to the promises given to Abraham.
The book of Acts documents the disciples and those first several hundred followers of Christ’s Way as a unified body of both Jews and Gentiles, working together, serving each other, pouring into the community, honoring God’s Sabbaths and keeping God’s Feasts. We have to understand that before Peter’s vision with the sheet and unclean animals in Acts 10, the Gentiles were unclean to the Jews according to the Mosaic Law. They could not even share a table together, let alone be a unified body. Peter’s vision opened the door of the gospel - Christ’s sheep pen - wide and inviting and without discrimination to anyone wanting to taste of the love of Jesus and follow after the light of the world.
How beautiful that Jesus was already thinking about us, together in unity, in the days leading up to this time - the Feast of Dedication. Could He have been dreaming about the day His Spirit would come and inhabit our own bodies as His temple? Could He have been longing for the day when His one true flock from many pens would follow in His footsteps and be His treasured people, together? I like to imagine so...
John taught some wonderful doctrine in his letters to Christ's ecclesia - the word we get "church" from, meaning "called out assembly."
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. 1 John 2:3-6
Jesus was born into a Jewish family, and our spiritual heritage as His bride is the heritage of Israel - the people God called out of this world to be holy unto Himself. These are unchangeable facts of our faith. If we want to know and understand who we are, whose we are, and where this story is going, we have to go back to our origin story - Israel - because we are part of spiritual Israel whether we know it or not. If you are Christ’s, you are Abraham’s seed...
Paul said in Romans 2:28-29,
"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
So Christian, my dear, dear brothers and sisters, fellow sheep in the Shepherd’s happy sheep pen, be proud of your spiritually Jewish heart and your physically Jewish King! Praise God for your acceptance into spiritual Israel! Be proud of your heritage in Christ! It is an honor to be counted among His treasured people, and I am humbled to step into this magnificent story through oneness with His people Israel. There is absolutely no room for replacement theology in the Church because the Bible could not be any more clear: if you are Christ’s, you are a spiritual Jew. We do not replace, we are grafted in to His remnant (Romans 9-11).
Jesus was a descendant of Abraham and Moses but also carried within his lineage a kind of firstfruits of this promise of unity in the fact that He had Gentile women such as Rahab and Ruth in His lineage as well. What a beautiful picture this is! Jesus has always represented the oneness of those who will put their love and trust in the God of Heaven’s Armies, whatever their past. He desires love more than empty sacrifices and His arms are spread to everyone, without reservation...the light of the world.
This oneness of Christ’s body is the design & desire of our Father in Heaven and is only possible through the cross of Christ.
And here lies the crux of the cross to everyone attempting to pick it up and follow Him: The cross is death to self. Death to the old life, the old way of thinking, the old nature, the old identity...death to what was your mode of operandi to give way to His new. As we give up the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life, Christ gives us Himself. He gives us grace on top of grace, to step one foot in front of the other and walk as He walked; keeping God’s Sabbaths, feasts, the Ten and New Covenant commandments. The crux of the cross is the offense of the flesh. The fingers that grip tightly to the holidays, traditions, habits and lifestyle choices we bring in with us that are in conflict with His prescribed way of living. When He said, “...Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14), I think He meant, “It's a hard thing to crucify the flesh and walk as I walk, and there are many who would rather not than suffer its sacrifices." Oh God, let it never be said of me that I was stiffnecked like Israel. Lord, give me a heart of flesh, with eyes that see and ears that hear and a heart that obeys and trembles at Your Word.
Jesus followed the ways and commandments of His Father YHWH perfectly, and through His perfection we receive grace to walk in His footsteps. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
The Feast of Dedication is the perfect opportunity for Christ’s unified bride to come together - as one body - to remember this harrowing plight of Israel against an antichrist figure, and their miraculous salvation by the hand of the Lord. There are so many lessons in the story of Hanukkah. It’s such an empowering & inspiring story, I encourage you to study it for yourself. By not neglecting Israel, we fulfill Christ’s vision of oneness. We are one flock with one shepherd.
God's Word is calling me to itself and I can’t help but answer back.
He is looking for a people who will be constrained & compelled, informed & infused with His Word once again. It is life, it is light, it is the way to abundance. Jesus said, “Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you shall be filled.”
I ask Adonai to fill your hearts & homes these long, winter days with the hope of Messiah. That during this time of deep darkness (and busyness), He might be given more of your thoughts and more time of fellowship in His Word and in prayer than ever before. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says that the eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the earth, searching for hearts who are wholehearted toward Him, that He might show Himself strong on their behalf. God is looking for those who are looking for Him...for Truth.
I encourage you as I am encouraging myself today - follow Christ’s light in the darkness...these footsteps left from our good shepherd that lead us with light & love into oneness with His people Israel - the remnant from all over the world. Listen to His voice and cherish it. Obey Him. It’s the way Jesus asked us to show our love for Him in John 14 & 15. Walk as He walked and learn what pleases Him. Most of the history we know has been modified to hide the truth. Jesus said, “The truth will set you free,” and Proverbs says, “Search for wisdom as for gold…”
I bless, bless, BLESS your homes this Hanukkah season, and ask the light of Holy Spirit to cleanse your temples, make ready your hearts, and empower your spirits with the zeal of heaven - to run your race well. Remember the parable of the 10 virgins...
PEACE, LOVE & HUGS,
Natalie
コメント