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If there is one main point which I have repeatedly emphasized throughout my many articles over the years, it is surely the importance of maintaining God's Word as the central axis and the primary pivot around which our lives revolve. In knowing and being familiar with God's Word, we can know God Himself; because He manifests Himself -- both His Will and His Ways -- to us, through His Word; which we come to understand through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Through the Word, we learn how God operates to some degree. Thus, we come to recognize what is of Him, and what is not of Him. But that is not all. The Word of God is our spiritual food which strengthens our faith, cleanses our hearts, and refreshes and renews our spirits. Reading it helps us to maintain the Heavenly Vision as well. In fact, God's Word is so important to Him, that He even magnifies it above His very Name. Please consider the following group of verses which emphasize these important points:

". . . for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."


"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path . . . Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word . . . Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."


"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."


"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."


"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."


"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."


So if we neglect feasting upon God's wonderful Word, if we do not read it and absorb it on a regular basis, and if we foolishly fail to maintain it as the center of our lives, we will weaken and lose our spiritual stamina. We will lose our fire and the Heavenly Vision which we once embraced. We will faint in our minds. We will grow weary in well-doing, and we will give up the fight. Consider the following verses:

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."


"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."


"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not . . . For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."


"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."


"But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing."


Sadly, that is not all. If we choose to neglect the light of God's Word, sooner or later, we will fall back into our old lives of dangerous compromise and sin. We will once again become spiritually blind. We will become alienated from God. We will become lost and confused in our minds. We will become spiritual paupers and foreigners to God. We will in a sense become like planets which go spinning away from our "Central Sun", and become lost in space. We will become like stars which have lost their course, and thus they wander about in spiritual darkness. These points are clearly supported by Scriptures such as the following:

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:"


"And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"


"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;"


"These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; WANDERING STARS, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."


"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"


"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."


Please notice the constant reference to stars in that set of verses. As I also mention in "The Children of Light: Are You One of Us?", symbolically-speaking, we, the children of God, are indeed stars. So as I said, we can either be obedient stars who shine brightly for the Lord, or we can choose to be rebellious, wandering stars who are strangers and foreigners and alienated from God. Neglect God's Word, and you will end up lost in the darkness of Outer Space. The choice is yours. In addition to the previous verses, the Scriptures inform us that God Himself is the Father of Lights. He is the Star of stars so-to-speak; and Jesus is the bright and morning star. Consider these verses as well:

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."


"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."


What exactly is meant by the term "Father of lights"? In my view, it can only be referring to one thing. That is, to the Sun itself. Not only because God is indeed the Father of all creation -- that is, of the morning stars, or sons of God, who are mentioned by Job -- but also because the Sun is the brightest of all stars from our Earthly perspective. Notice also that the Apostle James specifically tells us that there is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning". In other words, unlike planets and moons which pass through different phases, God, and His Word, are constant and unchanging. They are immutable and eternal in the Heavens, as we see here:

"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."


"LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."


So because God is the "Father of Lights", who is symbolized by our very own Sun, it should come as no surprise to us then, that in the Old Testament, we find King David writing the following in one of his psalms:

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."


In the previous verse, the word "sun" is derived from the Hebrew word "shemesh". The Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew Aramaic English Lexicon defines this word as follows:

----- Begin Quote -----

1) sun
  1a) sun
  1b) sunrise, sun-rising, east, sun-setting, west (of direction)
  1c) sun (as object of illicit worship)
  1d) openly, publicly (in other phrases)
  1e) pinnacles, battlements, shields (as glittering or shining)

----- End of Quote -----

But what about Jesus being the "bright and morning star", as we are told in that previous verse that is found in the Book of Revelation? While certain Bible scholars have associated this phrase with the planet Venus, I tend to disagree with that opinion. If Jesus and His Father are indeed composed of the same spiritual essence or substance, and if they are one in both thought and purpose as the Lord Himself taught us, then, in my view, this phrase can only be referring to the Sun as well. Consider some of the things that Jesus said:

"I and my Father are one."


"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."


"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."


To prove that "bright and morning star" is referring to the Sun, and not to Venus, keeping in mind the definition for the Hebrew word for "sun" -- that is, "shemesh" -- consider the following two verses which are found in the New Testament. I believe that both of these verses are referring to Jesus:

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:"


"Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,"


Exactly what is meant by these two phrases "day star" and "dayspring"? If we consider the original Koine Greek words which are used in these two verses, and the definitions which are provided for us in Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, then it becomes obvious that they are referring to none other than the Sun which rises every morning when the day dawns; just as He -- Jesus, our Daystar -- rises and shines in our daily lives. Consider the following definitions:

----- Begin Quotes -----

Dayspring:

anatole {an-at-ol-ay'}

AV - east 9, dayspring 1; 10

1) a rising (of the sun and stars)
2) the east (the direction of the sun's rising)

Day star:

phosphoros {foce-for'-os}

AV - day star 1; 1

1) light bringing, giving light
2) the planet Venus, the morning star, day star
3) metaph. Christ

----- End of Quotes -----

Now please note that the Greek words "phos" and "phoros" have absolutely nothing to do with the planet Venus. They mean "light bringing", or "light bearing", and nothing more. If you look in a standard dictionary, you will find the very same thing. There is no mention of the planet Venus. In the above definition, the belief that the word "phosphoros" may refer to the planet Venus was added by Biblical scholars due to their personal interpretation and misunderstanding. While I cannot conclusively prove it, I suspect that the inclusion of Venus in the definition may have been influenced by the false, pagan belief that Venus was the goddess of love, just as the Apostle John tells us that God is love in the fourth chapter of his first Epistle, as we see here:

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."


It is important to remember that just as Bible translations are subject to a translator's personal beliefs, doctrines and prejudices, the very same thing occurs when it comes to the creation of foreign language lexicons, such as the Hebrew and Greek lexicons which I use. In other words, while lexicons are excellent tools for discovering the original words -- and their meanings -- from which a Bible verse is translated, we need to keep in mind that just like each Bible translation, lexicons are subject to human influence. Thus, the authors of certain lexicons will consciously or unconsciously attempt to influence the understanding of the reader. This is why it is so important that we are Spirit-led when we read the Bible. In short, use lexicons to enhance your understanding of a particular verse, but watch out for extraneous definitions.

Regardless of their reasons for interpreting this phrase as meaning Venus, based upon the other verses, and the Hebrew and Greek words which we have already examined, I can only conclude that they were wrong to do this. In my view, "bright and morning star" is referring to the Sun, and nothing else. To compare Jesus to Venus, when we are told that He is the bright, or better said, the brilliant, splendid, magnificent star -- which is derived from the Koine Greek word "lampros" -- seems to do Him an injustice. While Venus is indeed very beautiful to behold, it cannot compare to the magnificent Sun which greets us with the dawn of each new day. As King David was inspired to write:

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."


Technically-speaking, the day -- or twelve daylight hours -- commences when the brilliant Sun appears above the eastern horizon each and every morning. Jesus Himself confirmed this scientific fact when He stated the following in the Gospel of John:

". . . Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world."


To further validate this point, consider the fact that just as Peter writes "unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts", the Gospel of John likewise very clearly informs us that Jesus is the spiritual Light of the world; just as the Sun is the physical light of the Earth. In fact, Jesus Himself told the Disciples that following His return to the Father, night, and darkness, would once again overcome the world. In other words, the twelve daylight hours He mentioned in the previous verse, would be replaced by night, and men would once again stumble about in spiritual darkness, unless they accept the truth of His Words. Consider these verses:

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."


"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."


"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."


"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."


"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."


Just as the physical Sun sets each evening, thus bringing physical night upon the world, with Jesus' departure almost two thousand years ago, as I mentioned a moment ago, we know that spiritual darkness also returned to the world. That is, except for those individuals who receive the Light of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul wrote in part concerning the Lord's Return:

"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief."


If we keep our minds and hearts focused on God's Word, then we will not walk in spiritual darkness as do others. We will not become alienated from God. We will know what His Will is for our lives, and we will be stars who shine brightly for God's glory. Furthermore, we are told, that being as we are the Children of Light, we are to have no fellowship with the works, or with the workers, of darkness, as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."


"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."


"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."


Having established this point, let us move on to the next. As I also mention in the series "Is Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God?", and as we saw earlier in the Book of Job, it is interesting to note that the Bible speaks of many morning stars, or sons of God, being created. Not only that, but it also emphasizes the destiny of two "light bearers", or two "morning stars", in particular. We have already clearly seen that the first one is Jesus the Christ; Jesus the Anointed One; the bright and morning star; He who was endowed with the fullness of His Father's Spirit during the time of His Earthly ministry. He is the true Light of the world, and the true heir to His Father's Throne. Furthermore, we, by virtue of believing by faith in His Blood Atonement, are also heirs to the Kingdom of Light; just as we see in the following set of verses:

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."


"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."


"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"


"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."


"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."


"Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:"


"Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."


"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"


On the other hand, just as I mention a false bride in the article "Once Upon a Time: A True Story", there is also a false light bearer as well. Furthermore, this usurper has his followers too. This deceptive being is the false angel of light who is known to most people as Lucifer, Satan, or simply as the Devil. As I mention in a few other articles, such as "Satan: His Origin, Purpose and Future", the word "Lucifer" is derived from the Hebrew word "heylel", which means "light bearer". Consider the following definition from the Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew Aramaic English Lexicon:

----- Begin Quote -----

heylel {hay-lale'}

Lucifer = "light-bearer"

1) shining one, morning star, Lucifer
  1a) of the king of Babylon and Satan (fig.)
2) (TWOT) "Helel" describing the king of Babylon

----- End of Quote -----

The primary difference between Jesus, who is the true Light of the world, and Lucifer, who is the false light bearer, is that Jesus chose to remain submissive to His Father's Will. Jesus obeyed God the Father all the way when He chose to die on the Cross for our sins. Thus, He inherited the Kingdom; as do we through our faith in Him. Thus, the Apostle Paul writes concerning Jesus:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


I discuss this topic more in depth, in the series entitled "So You Really Think You Are So Humble?". But in contrast to Jesus' meek, humble, submissive spirit, Lucifer grew proud, impatient, selfish and haughty. He wanted it all, instead of being happy with his exalted position in the Heavenly Courts. Thus, through his own foolish rebellion, he became the fallen morning star. He lost his torch so-to-speak, as we see by the following set of verses:

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."


"And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."


"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."


Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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