Heavenly Bodies, Part 2 (2 Peter 1:12-21)
Gary McManus, 09/10/2017Part of the God's World series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
September 10, 2017 2 Peter 1:12-21
Last week: The Great American Eclipse of August 20th.
This week: hard verses about “stars”.
Last week we learned
Why consult the stars when you can ask God Himself?
Do not consult the skies, consult the one who made the skies—consult the one who created heaven and earth.
Other cultures saw their gods in the sky. . .in the stars.
Signs in the sky point to the Creator of all things.
We see in the sky signs and wonders.
The phrase “signs and wonders” referring to GOD’s activity
in the world occurs in the Bible 29 times.
[ See especially Romans 15:19. But SEVEN times in Acts
which REPORTS the mission to the idol worshipping Greeks and Romans! ]
God uses the sky to teach (Abraham, the Magi).
The prophets are often heard in the Bible condemning
Israelites who join their neighbors in worshipping a Baal
God or setting up symbols of Baal worship.
Since the Bible is full of such condemnations, we can
guess that the practice was probably widespread.
(Canaanite Gods and Goddesses and their worship are
mentioned over 100 times in the Bible and always condemned.)
The Canaanites had a god named “Morning Star” and the consort,
“Evening Star.” But the bodies in the sky were not two but the same
source of light—the planet Venus.
Even Paul had to deal with idol worshipping Gentiles prepared to
worship even Paul! (Acts 14; and Paul is quoting Exodus 20:11,
Psalm 146:6]
Jesus made it clear to Satan; worship only God
(Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13).
We are not to worship any CREATED thing.
We worship the Lord who created all things.
But our Lord Jesus in the Bible is referred to TWICE
as the morning star or the day star. Why?
( Numbers 24:17, 2 Samuel 23:4 , Luke 1:78, Revelation 22:16)
(See also 2 Corinthians 4:6 also Numbers 24:17, 2 Samuel 23:4, Luke 1:78)
The day star usherd in the new day.
So theBible writers are comparing this first light
of the morning sky TO Jesus.
The light of Christ was the first fruits in resurrection.
(See Matthew 28:2-4) There was light present there.
Jesus is the first fruits of the NEW LIFE that Jesus promised.
New life comes to the believer’s heart FIRST.
The Apostle Paul wrote, the light of all, Jesus Christ,
has arisen in our hearts and bears witness to the light.
Remember, our Lord Jesus said,
John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Amen
Special Note: “Lucifer”
Lucifer is a LATIN word. It literally means “bring light” and is therefore a description of “first light” or dawn and/or early morning lights in the sky—the planet Venus. This Latin word does not appear in Hebrew or Greek writing or the Bible but only in translations of the Bible into Latin. It is translated variously as "morning star","the light of the morning","the dawn".
It was used by Latin speaking people as a name. The name was only associated with Satan
BECAUSE of Isaiah 14:12 in Latin translation. In Greek speaking people, Satan was never known as the name “Lucifer” nor any translation of “Lucifer” back to Greek. In fact some early Christian saints—bishops of the church, were NAMED LUCIFER: Saint Lucifer of Cagliari, and Lucifer of Siena. Early Latin Christian hymns use the term “lucifer” to refer to Jesus as the bringer of true light into the world. As strange as it may sound to us, they referred to Jesus as the “lucifer” and meant it as a beautiful poetic description. Lucifer was NEVER suggested as a name for Satan until 400 years after the Bible was written down.
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