Written 10.2024 | ALL ABOUT CHRIST

The One Who Tramples On Darkness

Prayer: Lord, there is so much uncertainty in the world, but I know that You have not called us into a life of confusion but of truth and love. Illuminate every area of our lives that is void of Your light and remind us of who You are. -In Jesus name, Amen.

This current presidential tenure has me pondering the concept/theory of evil and darkness. The policies and propaganda thrown at our faces make me question whether ethical principles really exist, and if they do, would it be ideal or morally accurate to consider these policies or/and their makers evil? What exactly is evil? Would it be possible to explore the concept of wickedness without mentioning God? Are evil and darkness the same thing? Why do they exist? And most importantly, how can we spot evil and wickedness in mundane things?

You see, we’ve been taught by the church and other religious gatherings that the antithesis of God is Satan. If God is the very definition of good and holy, then Satan is the very definition of bad and whatever is the opposite of holy, unholy? We have been made to believe that one of God Almighty’s creations is the direct opposite of Him through the way we interrogate and dissect the scriptures. This needs to be modified because it could be highly problematic and distracting. Yes, it is true that Satan is against anything that represents the nature of God. Still, it is, sorry to say, idiotic to place an all-powerful, all-knowing, transcendent, and eternal God in the same category as someone who was created by the all-powerful, all-knowing, transcendent, and eternal God. I won’t spend any more time on Satan, but I will end the conversation on his attributes by saying this: Satan is an agent of Darkness. Once he went against God’s plans and instructions and assumed his authority as equal to God, he was indirectly saying yes to darkness. Those who propagate darkness, principalities, and powers in the physical and spiritual realm are agents of darkness, which are called evil. They are not in the same metaphorical plane as God. God sits alone. An exaltation of such beliefs stems from a deep lack of understanding of who God is and the genesis of darkness. This, in turn, has shaped how we perceive our relevance and authority in spiritual affairs (Isaiah 5:13).

God exists alone (Isaiah 45:5). There is none besides Him. No one knows His beginning, and neither will we know His end. Our brains won't even be able to comprehend it. Seeing God’s face leads to our end (Exodus 34:19 - 20). What would happen if we knew His beginning and end? What we know so far are the characteristics of God in relation to humans. We know His goodness because He has expressed His goodness to us; the same goes for His love, which is the pinnacle of our salvation; His mercy, His grace, etc However, what we don’t and can’t know is His face. His face testifies to His beginning, just like ours. Why can't we know His beginning? Ask Him yourself. Don’t put me in trouble. The depth of our revelation of God's nature is also based on our spiritual growth (our relationship with God) and the mission/destiny He has for us. But let's not be confused. Ultimately, our knowledge depends on God. He will have compassion on whom He wants to have compassion on, and He will reveal Himself to whoever He wants to reveal Himself to. If He reveals Himself to you, it is because He wants to do that. It's not because of your works or what we have done; it's because He chooses to. Our yearning for God is only an indication that we want to receive from God, but the decision on what we receive about Him is solely dependent on the giver: God. God is not a magic box where you shake, and you get a number. He knows who you are and searches the deepest parts of the hearts of men. He is alive, and by His mercy, He reveals Himself to us. I mean, Jesus' relationship with His disciples is an earthly example of what I am trying to say. Jesus had a lot of disciples, but amongst those people who knew Him and were saved by Him, He only appointed 12 apostles, giving them power over sickness (physical suffering) and unclean spirits (spiritual suffering) (Mark 3:14-15). Also in Luke 17, when the Philistians asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come, He gave them an answer, but He turned to His disciples and gave them revelations (Luke 17:21-37). Proximity matters, and by His mercy (not our works), He reveals Himself to us.

I must say that there are only two other “beings” that are on the same plane as God the Father. They are God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God. All three are encapsulated as the Holy Trinity, which is the very definition of Light (Holiness) (1 John 5:7). However, what is darkness? Where did it come from? To know the genesis of darkness, we will, in turn, aim to uncover the foundation of light. There's no point trying to understand night when there is no day and vice versa. The same concept applies to light and darkness since it is impossible to understand this concept outside the context of the creation of our physical reality, the world. How will we know the concepts of life and death, darkness and light, without using the earth’s creation as a reference point? Please follow me here…We can not pinpoint and understand the genesis of God because our consciousness is not greater than the principles that govern this world. We are bound to certain principles and limits, the same principles and limits that we can see in your physical reality. When we want to reference anything, it is in relation to the Earth, our physical reality. Earth is and will always be our point zero. For example, if you want to figure out how bright a light is, your brain references consciously or subconsciously the brightest light it has seen. You cannot use something beyond your scope of knowledge as a reference to understand something else; it is futile. Another example would be if you’re trying to determine the distance of an object, let's say Mars. You have to determine a reference point. It could be Earth or the sun, but it cannot be greater than what we already know or do not know. If we do not know that Planet X exists to begin with, why would we use that as a reference to determine the distance of Mars? Since we are created beings bound to the principles that govern creation (the earth, you, and I), trying to uncover the beginning of the creator, God, is ultimately futile, because God in himself is far greater than our reference point. He created the understanding that we are trying to use to uncover his beginning. Therefore, the trajectory points and the analysis itself of the beginning of God do not exist because there is no point 0. Where and how do you find a point 0 that is greater than God, and when you find it, how do you know that it is the point 0? It's not possible because He said that He is the ultimate point 0. He IS the beginning and the end. So what mathematical principles do you have that can uncover His beginning that hasn’t been cosigned by Him? If everything originates from Him, He is the point 0, the ultimate reference point, and there is no back door (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). How do you determine His beginning without Him approving the modus operandi? Through darkness? Darkness doesn’t even know how light came to be. Don’t forget, after light came darkness, and the “light shine in darkness and the darkness comprehended not” (John 1:5). You might ask, but why is this important? This is because we are being sold a lie day after day that a little bit of this and that, self-care, and manifestation with a dash of ChatGPT can create “the God”. No, just a god but “the God” (Isaiah 44). Imagine a stainless steel pot trying to understand/uncover the creation of iron ore. Doesn’t that sound foolish? We haven’t even understood the basis of our creation based simply on the principles that surround us, let alone uncover the genesis of a God. It's giving… misplaced priorities. I’ll save this point for another time.

Yes, you can use our reference point (our reality/existence) as a means of understanding Him (the God who parted the sea whose waves roared), but never to uncover His beginning. Let's take a look at Job, for example, after God answered Job out of a whirlwind and commanded Job to gather himself like a man and answer His questions, not the other way around, the first question He asked was, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” I believe that God is trying to say, indirectly, there is no point in asking questions that are greater than the foundations of the earth/the foundation of your physical reality, when you wouldn’t even understand what He is saying. Therefore, it defeats the purpose of His speaking/questions. You wouldn’t ask a donkey the importance of neurotransmitters in the nervous system, would you? There are so many examples like that in the bible. It is important to know that God speaks to us in the language of our understanding, but unfortunately, some people have used that as an excuse to limit the sovereign God. He splits the sea so we think He is the God of only the elemental forces. He heals the sick, so we think He is the God of only the sickness of the mind and body. He is greater than our reference point, our reality. “He stretches out the heavens and [ordained] their starry hosts” (Isaiah 45:12 NIV). His heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool" (Isaiah 66:1). Who is like the Lord? Who can you liken Him to? (Isaiah 40:12-31)

Genesis 1:1 and 2 tells us something. It says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void; and darkness was in the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Let's break this down. There are three things here to digest. One is that the darkness mentioned in these verses might not only be referring to the physical phenomenon that we experience due to our biological programming, AKA literal light. Since there was a mention of the Spirit of God, who is the bearer of light, it is safe to assume that darkness could mean something else. Some might argue that Darkness is Satan, but this creation happened before Satan fell, so it can’t be him. We also know that the darkness preceded the creation of the world because there was no mention of its genesis during the creation of the world. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that darkness was formed before the creation of the world. Unfortunately, it is hard to uncover this mystery since our knowledge of this does not precede the creation of the world. Let's leave the big bang theorists alone. I have to take a sec here to emphasize certain points:

I am not saying that we can never have ideas on how the world was created, the existence of the universe, and how all that came to be. Theorists have existed since the dawn of time. All we have now are fancy gadgets that let us form better theories. However, at the root of it all, all these are speculations. We have come to a time where we now treat things as absolute truths. The only absolute truth is God. Absolute truths are truths that exist whether you agree or not. Whether you believe or not, your beliefs have no power over reality. Whether you comprehend or not. Whether you are alive or dead. He will never change, and it will not change in the far future when technology is better. It is a zero without a decimal (Exodus 3:14, Isaiah 43:10-11, Isaiah 48:12, Isaiah 45:6,14, 18 - To Cyrus, Isaiah 44:6- To Jacob, Job 41:10-11.) How do I know this?

Subsequent verses of Genesis 1 also mention that God created light and separated it from darkness, naming it day and night. You might ask, there was no mention of God creating darkness. This is true because the creation of light forms darkness (Isaiah 45:7). Isaiah 45 is another excellent example where the same term is used once or twice in a chapter but means two different things (verse 3). Using the same logic, it is safe to say that the darkness only exists because God does. Simply, Darkness was formed because God exists. How will you know that there is good if there is no bad to begin with? Both have to exist. It would not exist if both good and evil had never existed simultaneously. But fear not, we serve a God that precedes the evil that was before the creation of the world and its propagators. The God who tramples on darkness.

So no, the fall of man did not LEAD to the creation of evil, it just introduced darkness into the midst of the created. No, darkness is not on the same plane as God. He literally tramples on darkness. That is Blasphemy. No, darkness is not the devil. Satan is only an agent of darkness, as are the other fallen angels. They are the pestilence that walks in darkness, and their goal is to propagate darkness, so they are evil. Those who withhold aid from the poor and needy are wicked; they use the devices of darkness. Those who demonize helpless people for seeking refuge in a place that God has blessed with an abundance of resources are wicked, and they use the devices of darkness (Proverbs 21:10). Those who purposefully spread hate and deceit are wicked, and they use the devices of darkness (Proverbs 11:18). Those who abuse children, the old, and the weak are wicked, and they use the devices of darkness.

So my friends, let us walk in a manner that we are aware of our rights and authority through Christ Jesus. The authority against darkness. The authority that proclaims that death has no power over us. There is a core understanding that there is no one greater, more powerful sovereign than God. Even our wildest imagination cannot top the supremacy of our omnipotent creator. However, what is most soothing and refreshing to me is that we have been given access to the creator because of His son, Jesus Christ. The fall of man has caused us all to eternal damnation. The core of our being has been tainted with the veils of darkness, condemned to an everlasting search for God in darkness. An otiose attempt. Our search for God has caused us to come up with multiple theories and questions. The more theories and questions, the farther we are away from the absolute truth. God knew that it would be impossible for us to come to Him on our own accord, so He gave us a way—the truth against all deceit and illusions of the world, and life. He gave us life again, and till the end of creation it will serve as a reminder that He is a merciful creator. He doesn’t have to be this merciful. He doesn’t owe us His mercy or love or anything. Our existence is a gift, not an entitlement. The fact that we have been given an opportunity to commune with the transcendent and endless God is a gift, not a burden. Your life is worth more than silver and gold. You are important. With a snap of a finger, He could make all these go away, restart it, or raise stones. Yet, with patience and longsuffering, He with the agents of darkness wrestles for our hearts. He is ever faithful, even in our time of shortcomings. Our thoughts do not define who He is. He is not “I think therefore He is”. He just is. He just is.

Prayer: Lord, we have heard that you are the only way to the Father. Help us to understand this. Help us to see you, our merciful creator, and understand that you have truly called us to love, to love like You. -In Jesus name, Amen.