A weather forecaster is a prophet of sorts. The job they have is to tell people what the weather will be like in the future. While weather forecasters try to tell us the future, they are only human and therefore prone to make mistakes and be inaccurate in some unknowable, unforeseen detail. They simply do not know everything like God, who is omniscient, does.
Fortunately for them, these “prophets” are not held to as strict standards as the prophets of God in the Bible. If they were, it would make their job much less desirable. Old Testament prophets who we wrong, would be punishable by death, the reason being is that a true prophet is 100% right, 100 % of the time because their information comes direct from the source of truth, God.
Meteorologists, or weather forecasters, predict future weather based upon records of the past and satellite photos which they use to try to figure out what the patterns are, what the weather is doing, and what will most likely result as time passes. It’s important that they work hard to get the weather forecast right, because people rely on their words for many activities of the day.
If the forecaster gets the weather forecast wrong, they may get some angry letters because they made a lot of people wet on a Sunday picnic, or it could be that people would stay home for fear of rain instead of enjoying a sunny day at the beach. However, the best that a forecaster can give listeners an educated guess. I
God doesn’t have to guess. He knows all things and he also is a revealer of such things as he did with Daniel and with Joseph. God, controls everything, including weather.
After all it was God who told dear Noah about the coming rain. It was also God who put the glorious rainbow in the sky. It was God who rained fire and brimstone from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah and by the power of a wind parted the waters of the Red Sea. God has the power to direct or redirect the lightening (Job 37:3) rain, (Matthew 5:45) and wind, mildew and hail. (Haggai 2:17) Amazingly, Noah believed God when God spoke to him about the weather, when God warned him about the things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a ship to save his family in which he and all the animals in his care, weathered the flooding storm.
As we sail through this life, we have all sort of technological instruments and records to help us figure out what the weather will most likely be. We can pay close attention, caregully plan our vacations and activities, even listen to the weather forcasters, but we know there is a possibility they will be wrong.
This has me thinking...
If we listen to experts, the people who do what they do every day and do their job to the best of their abilities, how much more should we as Christians read our Bible and listen and respond to God’s prophets and the Savior, God’s true and only begotten Son?
What's the weather gonna be like tomorrow?
That is anybody's best guess. Sometimes the experts have a pretty good idea, other times they think they know, but in the end, they prove out to be wrong.
Got GPS?
GPS abbreviates the Global Positioning System, a satellite-based navigation system developed by the US military and funded by the United States Department of Defense. .
The GPS system operates from earth satellites placed into orbit that send signals to receivers. The receiver is remarkable little device. It gives accurate information about the position, velocity and time of objects that are moving anywhere on the planet. People find GPS navigation particularly helpful to use when they want to get from one place to another in unfamiliar territory, the user just types-in the destination information and the device automatically tells them how to get from where they are to where they want to be.
In other words, a person doesn't have to worry about getting lost. This is really great news since so many of us are directionally challenged. Thanks to satellites, the roaming made-made “eyes of the sky” you will always be there to find where you are. They will even show you the way you need to go, should you simply own one of these devices and care to ask. In fact, you can get verbal directions to the destination of your choice with the push of a button, should you be the type that is too busy doing something else to pay attention to a map and written instructions.
The cost of maintaining this ‘global” system is currently $400,000,000.00 US dollars yearly for the US government, aka taxpayers, who maintains the system, but it can be used free of charge by anyone who purchases a device, much they way the Internet is used. (The Internet is free to use.... for the cost of purchasing and maintaining a computer.) Because of it’s great usefulness in helping people find their way around the earth or keeping track of where they are, GPS is quickly becoming a household word. They are however, still and foremost technologies developed for the military, they have just so happen to have been made available for private use.
As mentioned, the GPS as a whole is operated by the US military and for them it has a special name, “NAVSTAR.” The general public can access the system, only because it has what is called “selective deniability functions.” This means that part of it';s function is limited when it comes to the use of the general public. NAVSTAR Command has the ability to specifically jam civilian GPS units and can do so in select areas, such as in a war zone. They also maintain a function that would allow the military to completely disable reception and allow military use only.
This feature of the system has other nations concerned and has motivated them to produce their own satellite projects. The European project is called the Galileo Positioning System. (Because it’s acronym is also GPS, it is called Galileo, and never abbreviated GPS.) The Russians plan one called GLONASS. Other countries like China, India Canada, Australia and Mexico may be implementing their own too, because as you can imagine, this kind of system could prove to be very useful to the governments, especially once everyone in the world gets on board.
The GPS system operates from earth satellites placed into orbit that send signals to receivers. The receiver is remarkable little device. It gives accurate information about the position, velocity and time of objects that are moving anywhere on the planet. People find GPS navigation particularly helpful to use when they want to get from one place to another in unfamiliar territory, the user just types-in the destination information and the device automatically tells them how to get from where they are to where they want to be.
In other words, a person doesn't have to worry about getting lost. This is really great news since so many of us are directionally challenged. Thanks to satellites, the roaming made-made “eyes of the sky” you will always be there to find where you are. They will even show you the way you need to go, should you simply own one of these devices and care to ask. In fact, you can get verbal directions to the destination of your choice with the push of a button, should you be the type that is too busy doing something else to pay attention to a map and written instructions.
The cost of maintaining this ‘global” system is currently $400,000,000.00 US dollars yearly for the US government, aka taxpayers, who maintains the system, but it can be used free of charge by anyone who purchases a device, much they way the Internet is used. (The Internet is free to use.... for the cost of purchasing and maintaining a computer.) Because of it’s great usefulness in helping people find their way around the earth or keeping track of where they are, GPS is quickly becoming a household word. They are however, still and foremost technologies developed for the military, they have just so happen to have been made available for private use.
As mentioned, the GPS as a whole is operated by the US military and for them it has a special name, “NAVSTAR.” The general public can access the system, only because it has what is called “selective deniability functions.” This means that part of it';s function is limited when it comes to the use of the general public. NAVSTAR Command has the ability to specifically jam civilian GPS units and can do so in select areas, such as in a war zone. They also maintain a function that would allow the military to completely disable reception and allow military use only.
This feature of the system has other nations concerned and has motivated them to produce their own satellite projects. The European project is called the Galileo Positioning System. (Because it’s acronym is also GPS, it is called Galileo, and never abbreviated GPS.) The Russians plan one called GLONASS. Other countries like China, India Canada, Australia and Mexico may be implementing their own too, because as you can imagine, this kind of system could prove to be very useful to the governments, especially once everyone in the world gets on board.
RED SKY
The “folk saying” attributed to sailor and to farmer alike, “'Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning sailors take warning,” has very old origins. It comes from a time in history when people used to watch nature more closely, especially in order to understand the weather. From these observations people created what was considered common knowledge or “folklore,” and over time and practice, the appearance of a red sky was a sign in the morning signified that something unusual or unexpected was up with the weather.
People of yesteryears didn’t have the advantages of the today’s technology. There were not newspapers and radios with news and information, no data from satellite systems 24/7 as we have today. They didn’t get the Weather Channel on their oxcart pulled wagon or from their control panel on their row boat a digital device attached to their little ol’ fishing pole. Oh no. They actually had to look out over the horizon, and think for themselves.
As such, they were more inclined to use their physical senses and become acquainted with the world around them and thus deductively reason certain, observable things. In fact they were quite good at it and had that a red sky in the evening was a good sign to go fishing; red sky in the morning, was a sign that there was about to be a change in the weather and a fisherman should be careful if he was out at sea. Jesus, (in Matthew’s gospel) is even recorded as having made reference to this popular saying of his day. He knew they knew and therefore practiced a lot of things because of their keen skills in observation, but apparently they failed to observe somethings of major importance.
In Matthew 16, the Pharisees and Sadducees came and asked Jesus to show them a
miraculous sign from heaven, they wanted to know exactly “when” the prophetic things he was talking about would come to pass. They wanted to know when they would actually occur. Jesus told them that they were in fact already very good with interpreting the signs of seasons and weather, and marveled at the request they made of him. He told them that it was an adulterous generation that would seek another sign from heaven (besides all the signs they already had been given) and he said, “none shall be given to it, except for the sign of the prophet Jonas.”
Basically, Jesus rebuked them saying, it was remarkable that they knew how to forecast the weather for fishing by simply judging the appearance of the sky, while in the meantime they looked for some miraculous sign as proof that the things Jesus spoke of would come to pass. The things of heaven and earth and God are not hidden away somewhere, they are laid open for those with eyes to see and ear to hear...
He did offer them one though, Jonas. Jonas is often translated, Jonah.
Remember Jonah? He is the guy swallowed by a big, God-prepared fish who was three days submerged beneath the sea. And not only that, he ended up on dry land when the creature of the deep spit him out
There is a sign for you to consider, oh you who look for signs and wonders to occur! I cannot help but think about Jonahs message to Nineveh too, something like, REPENT!
People of yesteryears didn’t have the advantages of the today’s technology. There were not newspapers and radios with news and information, no data from satellite systems 24/7 as we have today. They didn’t get the Weather Channel on their oxcart pulled wagon or from their control panel on their row boat a digital device attached to their little ol’ fishing pole. Oh no. They actually had to look out over the horizon, and think for themselves.
As such, they were more inclined to use their physical senses and become acquainted with the world around them and thus deductively reason certain, observable things. In fact they were quite good at it and had that a red sky in the evening was a good sign to go fishing; red sky in the morning, was a sign that there was about to be a change in the weather and a fisherman should be careful if he was out at sea. Jesus, (in Matthew’s gospel) is even recorded as having made reference to this popular saying of his day. He knew they knew and therefore practiced a lot of things because of their keen skills in observation, but apparently they failed to observe somethings of major importance.
In Matthew 16, the Pharisees and Sadducees came and asked Jesus to show them a
miraculous sign from heaven, they wanted to know exactly “when” the prophetic things he was talking about would come to pass. They wanted to know when they would actually occur. Jesus told them that they were in fact already very good with interpreting the signs of seasons and weather, and marveled at the request they made of him. He told them that it was an adulterous generation that would seek another sign from heaven (besides all the signs they already had been given) and he said, “none shall be given to it, except for the sign of the prophet Jonas.”
Basically, Jesus rebuked them saying, it was remarkable that they knew how to forecast the weather for fishing by simply judging the appearance of the sky, while in the meantime they looked for some miraculous sign as proof that the things Jesus spoke of would come to pass. The things of heaven and earth and God are not hidden away somewhere, they are laid open for those with eyes to see and ear to hear...
He did offer them one though, Jonas. Jonas is often translated, Jonah.
Remember Jonah? He is the guy swallowed by a big, God-prepared fish who was three days submerged beneath the sea. And not only that, he ended up on dry land when the creature of the deep spit him out
There is a sign for you to consider, oh you who look for signs and wonders to occur! I cannot help but think about Jonahs message to Nineveh too, something like, REPENT!
Venus
The planet Venus, at least in an up close and personal way, remained pretty much a mystery until 1990 when the US Magellan spacecraft launched from the Space Shuttle Atlantis was sent to explore it. Until that time the details of the planet surface remained unseen by humans and left to our imagination, since they were covered by its dense clouds. However, since the earliest days of man looking to the sky, this planet called Venus has been seen in the evening or morning. It is now described as the second planet from the sun, and besides the sun and the moon, it is one the brightest and most frequently seen “naked eye” objects in the sky. Venus is also the only planet with a female name, and it is specifically named after the ancient goddess Venus, who was celebrated in ancient Rome as the patroness of spring.
The goddess Venus represented both chastity and motherhood, she was always a symbol for sexuality and the fertility of life on earth. She is perceived as completely feminine, everything a desired woman was to be and is. Ancient peoples often attributed to her mysterious power, perhaps perceived from the way the the roaming star of heaven she is named after would appear at different times both evening and morning in the sky. Her features captures the persona of every human ideal for the feminine which had become known as feminine mystique. In her, the goddess known as Venus, chastity, beauty, fertility, sexuality and maternal love abounded, but still somewhat unpredictable as she was also fierce and feral, known as the goddess of military action as well.
People of in ancient times would fight their wars in honor of Venus, (also called Postvorta or Genetrix.) She reigned over them as the wife of Jupiter, chief god of Rome at the time. Her son Aeneas was the legendary founder of the city itself and it was to Venus, his doting mother, that the rites of spring with all its ritualistic pagan acts of devotion to the gods in Roman temples were dedicated. Her great and glorious temple, opened by the famed Julius Caesar himself in 46 BC was no doubt the pride of Rome, at least until it was damaged by fire in 80 AD.
But Venus, was not the only goddess, and goddess worship was not limited to Rome. There were gods and goddesses in every human culture of that time period. Humans used this figure of the goddess in every culture to represent their understanding of the Great Mother, the one who brought forth all life on earth. in their minds and hearts there had to be someone, somewhere, somehow greater than themselves, one who gave them birth and who somehow ruled the mysterious and seemingly magical elements of nature.
In ancient times, people were still people, and like people of today they could think and talk and reason and observe not only the natural world around them, but also understand basic things like the perils of the human condition. They had emotions and feelings to deal with as they looked out into the world around them and wondered about this thing called life, trying their best to reason and to make sense of it all. Like people of today they had relational issues too, and sought to secure the best life for themselves and their posterity.
I imagine that they too asked the important questions... things like, “What will happen to a person when he dies?’ and when they had a need and saw it miraculously met, they probably wondered, “Is there some greater being who listens to my inner thought life and causes life and circumstance to happen?” I imagine too, that much like people of our day, greatly distanced by sin, not knowing or perhaps rejecting, the true and holy God, they fell into the trap of worshipping and serving created things rather than the creator. They may believed this life was all there is and then you die, but others saw such mysteries therefore they believed in the possibilities that there were such things as goddesses and gods.
Artemis, Ishtar, Astarte, Cerridwen, Dione, Harmonia, Diana, Arianrhod, Brigid, Ashtoreth, Shing Moo, Indri , Melusine and Venus,are some of the goddess figures we know that were popular all around the world. She is found in a vast array of human cultures and by any name, is really an aberrant sort of replacement for the one true and only God. In the goddess figure is the belief that the mother, woman, is the one who gave the very first birth on earth to mankind, birth and life to everyone on earth. She is the mother of all living.
But talk about the goddess is not simply ancient we still see people talking about such things today. Not only that, but now, as then, even in America, where we have for centuries believed in "God", “the goddess” is worshiped in place of the true and living God . In bibical times it was that way to, for we see she was worshiped then as now, - “throughout all Asia and the world.” (Acts 19:27)
It's also interesting that in the book of Genesis, chapter 3 verse 20, it is the human woman Eve, who is the “mother of all living.” (Genesis 3:20) Eve, the first to give birth on earth to all men, was simply called woman. The scriptures tell us that she had an origin too, she was created out of the side of man by a special act of a loving God who made her as his helper and his special friend.
Eve was not "a goddess." And if she ever was, she is not now. Deceived by the serpent she and her husband sinned together and were changed from the state of life they were created to be in. Under the serpent's deceptive powers, they would rightly have to die. They were forced to exit Eden and wait for the redemption of Almighty God, and for his promise of redemption, Jesus who we are told then became the second Adam.
It appears however that "wise and "knowing" humans have decided that they had no such "fairytale" beginning, and that they they themselves are not guilty of such a thing as "sin." They now believe that what really happened is that they evolved from nothing all by themselves and now have reached new and great heights of wisdom and knowledge about everything in the universe, even of themselves. They have even invented something called technology, and through it, have been able to see the planet Venus, up close and personal... at least until Magellan crashed the planet’s surface in 1994 and turned to vapor.
It's true, a vast majority of people do not believe such a fantastical story of origins as genesis, or God’s promise of redemption, stories of how man and the vast universe he lives within came to because. They are smarter than all of that and since they can do things early man could only dream of they believe that they have evolved to a higher order of things,. They now know every boundary of land and sea, figured out every detail of how things work, and can even imagine for themselves their own little story of origins of how the universe banged into existence so long ago. They even have the psychology of the human mind all figured out. and know why people do what they do, unfortunately accountability to a creator God is often the furthest thing in their mind.
Yes, humanity is at an incredible point in time and has come to a glorious peak, a changing point in this some call affectionately, "evolution. " And it's awkward, but they believe it, even though it cannot be proved as true, and some even vacillate between believing they come from apes or microscopic bacteria, and are quick to dismiss the bible, the commandments, sin and even hell, and this silly Judeao-Christian notion of something we call GOD.
What is even more awkward is that with such great powers to observe not only nature, but the universe, with such organized and structured wisdom about the interworkings of the world, the same folks are quick to entertain the notion that they creatures of Earth at all. If not alien beings, extra terrestrials they believe they are goddesses and gods. Women are goddesses who get their personality from the planet Venus. Men are "lesser" gods, gods with warlike tenancies, possibly even descendants from a completely different planet, which suspiciously looks like Mars.
The goddess Venus represented both chastity and motherhood, she was always a symbol for sexuality and the fertility of life on earth. She is perceived as completely feminine, everything a desired woman was to be and is. Ancient peoples often attributed to her mysterious power, perhaps perceived from the way the the roaming star of heaven she is named after would appear at different times both evening and morning in the sky. Her features captures the persona of every human ideal for the feminine which had become known as feminine mystique. In her, the goddess known as Venus, chastity, beauty, fertility, sexuality and maternal love abounded, but still somewhat unpredictable as she was also fierce and feral, known as the goddess of military action as well.
People of in ancient times would fight their wars in honor of Venus, (also called Postvorta or Genetrix.) She reigned over them as the wife of Jupiter, chief god of Rome at the time. Her son Aeneas was the legendary founder of the city itself and it was to Venus, his doting mother, that the rites of spring with all its ritualistic pagan acts of devotion to the gods in Roman temples were dedicated. Her great and glorious temple, opened by the famed Julius Caesar himself in 46 BC was no doubt the pride of Rome, at least until it was damaged by fire in 80 AD.
But Venus, was not the only goddess, and goddess worship was not limited to Rome. There were gods and goddesses in every human culture of that time period. Humans used this figure of the goddess in every culture to represent their understanding of the Great Mother, the one who brought forth all life on earth. in their minds and hearts there had to be someone, somewhere, somehow greater than themselves, one who gave them birth and who somehow ruled the mysterious and seemingly magical elements of nature.
In ancient times, people were still people, and like people of today they could think and talk and reason and observe not only the natural world around them, but also understand basic things like the perils of the human condition. They had emotions and feelings to deal with as they looked out into the world around them and wondered about this thing called life, trying their best to reason and to make sense of it all. Like people of today they had relational issues too, and sought to secure the best life for themselves and their posterity.
I imagine that they too asked the important questions... things like, “What will happen to a person when he dies?’ and when they had a need and saw it miraculously met, they probably wondered, “Is there some greater being who listens to my inner thought life and causes life and circumstance to happen?” I imagine too, that much like people of our day, greatly distanced by sin, not knowing or perhaps rejecting, the true and holy God, they fell into the trap of worshipping and serving created things rather than the creator. They may believed this life was all there is and then you die, but others saw such mysteries therefore they believed in the possibilities that there were such things as goddesses and gods.
Artemis, Ishtar, Astarte, Cerridwen, Dione, Harmonia, Diana, Arianrhod, Brigid, Ashtoreth, Shing Moo, Indri , Melusine and Venus,are some of the goddess figures we know that were popular all around the world. She is found in a vast array of human cultures and by any name, is really an aberrant sort of replacement for the one true and only God. In the goddess figure is the belief that the mother, woman, is the one who gave the very first birth on earth to mankind, birth and life to everyone on earth. She is the mother of all living.
But talk about the goddess is not simply ancient we still see people talking about such things today. Not only that, but now, as then, even in America, where we have for centuries believed in "God", “the goddess” is worshiped in place of the true and living God . In bibical times it was that way to, for we see she was worshiped then as now, - “throughout all Asia and the world.” (Acts 19:27)
It's also interesting that in the book of Genesis, chapter 3 verse 20, it is the human woman Eve, who is the “mother of all living.” (Genesis 3:20) Eve, the first to give birth on earth to all men, was simply called woman. The scriptures tell us that she had an origin too, she was created out of the side of man by a special act of a loving God who made her as his helper and his special friend.
Eve was not "a goddess." And if she ever was, she is not now. Deceived by the serpent she and her husband sinned together and were changed from the state of life they were created to be in. Under the serpent's deceptive powers, they would rightly have to die. They were forced to exit Eden and wait for the redemption of Almighty God, and for his promise of redemption, Jesus who we are told then became the second Adam.
It appears however that "wise and "knowing" humans have decided that they had no such "fairytale" beginning, and that they they themselves are not guilty of such a thing as "sin." They now believe that what really happened is that they evolved from nothing all by themselves and now have reached new and great heights of wisdom and knowledge about everything in the universe, even of themselves. They have even invented something called technology, and through it, have been able to see the planet Venus, up close and personal... at least until Magellan crashed the planet’s surface in 1994 and turned to vapor.
It's true, a vast majority of people do not believe such a fantastical story of origins as genesis, or God’s promise of redemption, stories of how man and the vast universe he lives within came to because. They are smarter than all of that and since they can do things early man could only dream of they believe that they have evolved to a higher order of things,. They now know every boundary of land and sea, figured out every detail of how things work, and can even imagine for themselves their own little story of origins of how the universe banged into existence so long ago. They even have the psychology of the human mind all figured out. and know why people do what they do, unfortunately accountability to a creator God is often the furthest thing in their mind.
Yes, humanity is at an incredible point in time and has come to a glorious peak, a changing point in this some call affectionately, "evolution. " And it's awkward, but they believe it, even though it cannot be proved as true, and some even vacillate between believing they come from apes or microscopic bacteria, and are quick to dismiss the bible, the commandments, sin and even hell, and this silly Judeao-Christian notion of something we call GOD.
What is even more awkward is that with such great powers to observe not only nature, but the universe, with such organized and structured wisdom about the interworkings of the world, the same folks are quick to entertain the notion that they creatures of Earth at all. If not alien beings, extra terrestrials they believe they are goddesses and gods. Women are goddesses who get their personality from the planet Venus. Men are "lesser" gods, gods with warlike tenancies, possibly even descendants from a completely different planet, which suspiciously looks like Mars.
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone, a television series by Rod Serling, was produced by CBS from 1959 to 1965. It was a thriller type of TV show that gave the viewer a chance to indulge his or her imagination to consider strange and eerie, even provocative ideas and hopefully leave them on the edge of their seat in suspense.
It was a unique genre of imaginative, supernatural and mysterious science fiction stories, that the recently invented, personal, in-home, audio/visual commodity called a television, brought directly into the home. The writer, Rod Serling was able to use the fantasy worlds he created and the irony he presented to make people think about the things he thought were issues for the country, things like racism, the danger of technology, prejudice, war, and how we deal with fears of the unknown. Each episode featured Serling himself saying, "There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone."
The term “twilight” is a term frequently used to refer to the time periods called dawn and dusk. When it is "twilight" it is not completely light out, but then it is also not completely dark either. It is said to be a most dangerous time for flying in an airplane or driving in a car due to lack of proper visibility. There is also a depth in the ocean called the "twilight zone," so named because like the period on earth before dusk and dawn, the light that is there is saturated with an element of darkness.
The oceanic twilight zone is a place where the waters are deep and living things must not only be able to survive cold, winter-like temperatures, but an elevated water pressure too. Also, there are not plants. This is because plants make their own food by the absorption of light, called photosynthesis, and at these depths, there is no light to support their life. There are life forms that live here, but the creatures that live in these waters are carnivorous; that means, they feed on the flesh of others.
An interesting thing about the carnivores that take up residence in the oceanic twilight world is that they exhibit a characteristic called bioluminescence. This is a biologically produced light, like the light of a firefly for example. These marine creatures also use the light they produce within themselves as a lure. Sometimes it's to attack and eat the unsuspecting traveler, other times it's a means of attracting a mate for sexual reproduction. This bioluminescence intrigues, even baffles oceanographers and many hours of research are devoted to learning about these animals and the light they produce, There are a lot of interesting, or shall I say, grotesque, creatures lurking in the waters, slinking about unseen and undetected in the oceans twilight zone.
The flickers and flashes of light predators use to trick unsuspecting prey has been the demise of many a fish. much the way that false religion is the demise of many a soul. Just because something looks good, doesn' always mean that it is. Learning to tell the different can be a very good lesson. Just because some religious philosophy seems to be about God, or Jesus at a glance, doesn't mean that is is. Perhaps this is why Jesus warned about a “light that is dark.” (Luke 11:35) If that "light is in you" ... is the "light that is dark"... then exactly how great is that darkness?
The saying, “all that glitters is not gold” speaks with wisdom and we could learn a little from the fishes in the deep blue sea. The lesson, something like: "All that flashes is not food for fish." Such a mistake can cost a fish a fin, or worse, his life. Likewise if a person does not know the true light from God, they can be spiritually decieved and such a mistake, could cost them their soul.
It’s no wonder that Jesus told his disciples he would make them "fishers of men." The gospel preached, the true light from heaven, saves men from murky waters, and shines true light into the darkness where there is only the hope that today, if you are lucky, you will not be eaten. Jesus saves us from the depths of despair. It may be a spiritual "twilight zone", until the return of Jesus Christ our Lord, until the Christians are called to walk by faith and not by sight and this in a world where lots of flashes and flickers would love to have our attention.
We are not under the power of darkness. (Colosians 1:13) We are children of the day, (1 Thess 5:5) and are to walk in the light as he is in the light, (Ephesians 5:8; 1 John 1:7) to be vigilant, (1 Peter 5:8) watchful and aware. After all, we have a sure word of prophecy that is like a light that shines in a dark place. (2Pe 1:19) And we have this treasure, this light of truth, Jesus Christ our savior, in us... in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.( 2 Corinthians 4:7)
It was a unique genre of imaginative, supernatural and mysterious science fiction stories, that the recently invented, personal, in-home, audio/visual commodity called a television, brought directly into the home. The writer, Rod Serling was able to use the fantasy worlds he created and the irony he presented to make people think about the things he thought were issues for the country, things like racism, the danger of technology, prejudice, war, and how we deal with fears of the unknown. Each episode featured Serling himself saying, "There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone."
The term “twilight” is a term frequently used to refer to the time periods called dawn and dusk. When it is "twilight" it is not completely light out, but then it is also not completely dark either. It is said to be a most dangerous time for flying in an airplane or driving in a car due to lack of proper visibility. There is also a depth in the ocean called the "twilight zone," so named because like the period on earth before dusk and dawn, the light that is there is saturated with an element of darkness.
The oceanic twilight zone is a place where the waters are deep and living things must not only be able to survive cold, winter-like temperatures, but an elevated water pressure too. Also, there are not plants. This is because plants make their own food by the absorption of light, called photosynthesis, and at these depths, there is no light to support their life. There are life forms that live here, but the creatures that live in these waters are carnivorous; that means, they feed on the flesh of others.
An interesting thing about the carnivores that take up residence in the oceanic twilight world is that they exhibit a characteristic called bioluminescence. This is a biologically produced light, like the light of a firefly for example. These marine creatures also use the light they produce within themselves as a lure. Sometimes it's to attack and eat the unsuspecting traveler, other times it's a means of attracting a mate for sexual reproduction. This bioluminescence intrigues, even baffles oceanographers and many hours of research are devoted to learning about these animals and the light they produce, There are a lot of interesting, or shall I say, grotesque, creatures lurking in the waters, slinking about unseen and undetected in the oceans twilight zone.
The flickers and flashes of light predators use to trick unsuspecting prey has been the demise of many a fish. much the way that false religion is the demise of many a soul. Just because something looks good, doesn' always mean that it is. Learning to tell the different can be a very good lesson. Just because some religious philosophy seems to be about God, or Jesus at a glance, doesn't mean that is is. Perhaps this is why Jesus warned about a “light that is dark.” (Luke 11:35) If that "light is in you" ... is the "light that is dark"... then exactly how great is that darkness?
The saying, “all that glitters is not gold” speaks with wisdom and we could learn a little from the fishes in the deep blue sea. The lesson, something like: "All that flashes is not food for fish." Such a mistake can cost a fish a fin, or worse, his life. Likewise if a person does not know the true light from God, they can be spiritually decieved and such a mistake, could cost them their soul.
It’s no wonder that Jesus told his disciples he would make them "fishers of men." The gospel preached, the true light from heaven, saves men from murky waters, and shines true light into the darkness where there is only the hope that today, if you are lucky, you will not be eaten. Jesus saves us from the depths of despair. It may be a spiritual "twilight zone", until the return of Jesus Christ our Lord, until the Christians are called to walk by faith and not by sight and this in a world where lots of flashes and flickers would love to have our attention.
We are not under the power of darkness. (Colosians 1:13) We are children of the day, (1 Thess 5:5) and are to walk in the light as he is in the light, (Ephesians 5:8; 1 John 1:7) to be vigilant, (1 Peter 5:8) watchful and aware. After all, we have a sure word of prophecy that is like a light that shines in a dark place. (2Pe 1:19) And we have this treasure, this light of truth, Jesus Christ our savior, in us... in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.( 2 Corinthians 4:7)
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