“… darkness shall cover the earth …” (Isa. 60:2, NKJV)
In the previous teaching we offered a summary of the long, interesting roads we took concerning the theme of the true communion, the bread of the life, and that it points to the wonderful mystery of the rhema-word, and Jesus’ statement that one cannot live from bread alone, but rather from each rhema-word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). The only sign the world will be given after Jesus is the glorified resurrection body of the sons of God.
In this light Jesus’ remarkable words in John 6:32b-33 are particularly important: “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” When He descends to earth through his rhema-words, and grants life to the world, it means that the world is dead. We do however need to spend a bit more time examining this topic we touched upon in the discussion on Jonah (also Jesus’ and Saul’s experience of the “realm of the dead”), especially because all three explicitly experienced the “realm of the dead”, and presented it in metaphoric terms, yet were never actually there. What exactly would the term then really mean? Read the following Scriptures that describe it in various ways:
- “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people …” (Isa. 60:2)
- “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18)
- “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18)
- “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His ow special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Pet. 2:9).
Also, the term “outer darkness” is used three times by Jesus, but each time in reference to people who were at least saved or even born again – this doesn’t really make sense:
- “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 8:12)
- “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matt. 22:13)
- “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 25:30)
What could this mean?
- Selah: Try to provide an explanation of what the Scripture could suggest in its use of the term “darkness”.
- Read: 19-22 [If you’ve been prudent, you would have read through the entire Bible three times, since the teaching of Day 1!].
- Memorise: 22:2.
