In the Book of Exodus we read these words; “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.” (Exodus 10:21-23)
When the plague of darkness was over the entire land of Egypt it was an intense darkness that could be felt. However, the lights were on in the houses and in the hearts of God’s people. They knew that their deliverance was coming. There is a ‘darkness’ spreading across the world and invading every nation. The COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in almost every nation in the world. The ‘Egypt’ of this world has started to experience the beginning of the ‘labour pains’ that will ultimately result in the birth of the Messianic Kingdom on earth when the Messiah our Lord Jesus comes back.
While fear and anxiety grips the world and spiritual darkness dwells in the hearts of the unsaved and the spiritually backslidden, the Lamp of God’s Spirit and the light of His word are burning brightly in the hearts of those sheltering under the atoning blood of the Messiah by faith as they wait for their deliverance from the Egypt of this world and from the temptations and tendencies to sin.
Paul wrote two letters to the believers at Thessalonica and in both of these letters he writes quite a lot about the Day of the Lord and the end-times and what to expect. He had only been with them for about two weeks yet in that time had taught them a great deal about what would happen in the last days leading up to and including the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. Teaching the believers at Thessalonica about the end-times was a priority for Paul. (2 Thessalonians 2:5) Sadly today in many churches this is not the case! The Assembly at Thessalonica were being oppressed and persecuted and needed to be encouraged and so Paul encouraged them by speaking and writing about the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. This was to be their blessed hope!
He writes; (Vs.1) “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (Vs.2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. (Vs.3) For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (Vs.4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
(Vs.5) You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are neither of the night nor of darkness. (Vs.6) Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. (Vs.7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. (Vs.8) But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
(Vs.9) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Vs.10) who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. (Vs.11) Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)
Let’s briefly look at this portion of his first letter…
(Vs.1) He had spoken a lot about the end-times and in writing was seeking to confirm what he had already taught them when he was with them. (Vs.2) He mentions that the Lord Jesus will come when He is least expected to come and take the world by surprise. (Vs.3) He speaks about the ‘labour pains’ that would come upon a world that was eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage and conducting business as usual. Of course the COVID-19 has put a stop to this temporarily, However, a time will come when at the very moment people are breathing ‘a sigh of relief’ calamity will strike as suddenly as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman and the unsaved and the unwatchful will not escape. It will be the Day of the Lord!
(Vs.4) Those in spiritual darkness will be overtaken as by a thief plundering their houses when he was least expected. However, for the believer that day will not overtake them because they will have been waiting in anticipation for it as the Hebrews did while waiting through the plague of darkness. The lights were not on in the houses of the Egyptians but they were on in the houses of the Israelites who were dressed and ready to leave Egypt. As believers the Day of the Lord will not take us by surprise. When we see increasing wars, rumours of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, pestilence, widespread spiritual deception, apostasy and an infestation of false teachers and prophets, we will not be alarmed. We know that after these ‘birth pains’ have run their appointed course, the birth of the Messianic Kingdom on earth will happen.
(Vss.5-6) If we are sons and daughters of the light then we will be living in the light and by the light of God’s Word and will not be surprised when the Day of the Lord comes knowing that it is our day of deliverance from this present evil age. While the rest of the world is spiritually ‘sleeping’ we are to be those who are watching for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus and keeping ourselves ‘spiritually sober.’ Sadly today many within wider Christendom are not spiritually ‘sober’ but spiritually ‘drunk’ with the intoxicating wine being dished out by the myriads of false preachers and teachers and ‘profits’ (prophets) peddling their unbiblical doctrines and pseudo spiritual experiences. We are to be spiritually watchful, Biblically discerning and spiritually sober, and keep fighting against the world, the flesh and the devil!
(Vss.7-8) Those in spiritual darkness commit the sins of darkness and dwell continuously in that darkness but for the saints walking in the light of God’s word they are to be continuously walking in spiritual sobriety and daily putting on the breastplate of faith and love which protects the heart from the fiery accusing ‘arrows’ of the evil one and keeping on the helmet of salvation that protects the thought life and the imagination. As it is written “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God” and it is the word of God that builds our faith, renews and garrisons the thoughts and intents of the heart, and expels those evil thoughts and inclinations that can so easily beset us and hinder our walk with God.
(Vs.9) While we are appointed for much tribulation in this world and through it are made fit for the heavenly courts, we will never experience the wrath of God.
(Vss.10-11) Whether we fall asleep in the Lord Jesus and go to be with Him, “being absent from the body and present with the Lord,” or are still here on earth in our bodies when He comes back, we are already living in the resurrection and have passed from death to life. (John 11:25-26) As those who have hope and are not overwhelmed by the darkness we need to be encouraging each other to press on and not to give up, to “have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others, show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.” (Jude 1:22-23)
While we are to keep preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom we are not to be discouraged by the things that we see coming upon the world and COVID-19 is not the last of it! For multitudes of the unsaved there is an ever increasing spiritual darkness that they can now ‘feel’ intensely as they see their socio-economic world collapsing around their ears and their materialistic, hedonistic world being turned upside down and inside out! We are to keep working for the Kingdom of God, for the salvation of men, women, boys and girls and for the sanctification of the saints while we have the light, because ‘the night’ is coming when no one will be able to work. A time will come when we will need to strengthen what remains!
For many believers social distancing means that working while they have the light is much more difficult and so they must seek other means to be involved in sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom. Social media is one way of reaching the lost and the spiritually backslidden and to encourage each other to keep on keeping on and to never give up! Let’s make sure that in this time of increasing spiritual darkness that the light of God’s word is burning brightly within the lamp of our spirit fuelled by the oil of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s keep looking to God’s unmerited favour “which teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus The Anointed Messiah, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:12-14) When the present darkness of the Egypt of this world gets darker let’s make sure we have the light of God’s word burning in our hearts with ever increasing brightness! It will be light in the midst of darkness!
