why we, when we look at these
things, they're not only, well, they're interesting. What we're
looking at is very interesting, very amazing. But it's got to be more than
that. It's got to be, it's kind of the reason I don't like to
just call this a Bible study. It needs to be more than that,
more than just an intellectual pursuit for it to be a blessing. Everything we do here should
somehow build us up on this most holy faith, which is Christ. These lessons here must somehow
point us to Christ, must convince us of who He is and to look to
Him. Christ said, if I be lifted up.
We do preach Christ in everything we do. We preach Christ. We study Christ. Christ said,
if I be lifted up. Exalted, set forth, declared,
I'll draw all men to me. Looking to Christ is peace, joy,
hope, comfort, rest, salvation. Not only eternal salvation, but
day-to-day salvation. See and cry. So while these lessons
are very interesting and amazing, like the old types, there's a
danger in seeing these things and just being amazed by the
type. Like something new you've discovered.
Wow, never seen that before. Got to be more than that. Got
to touch the heart somehow. Got to cause us to Not be amazed
by the type, but amazed by Christ Himself. Look to Christ Himself. Sun, the moon, and the stars.
This is what our Lord created on the fourth day. Look at verses
14 through 19. Read these with me. God said,
Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day
from the night Let them be for signs and for seasons, for days
and years. Let them be for lights in the
firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth. And it
was so. God made two great lights, the
greater light, that's the sun, to rule the day and the lesser
light to rule the night. He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament
of the heaven to give lights upon the earth and to rule. over the day, that's the sun,
and over the night, the moon, and to divide the light from
the darkness. God saw that it was good, the
evening and the morning were the fourth day. Now, we're looking
at God's marvelous creation, and the heavens declare His glory. Affirmament showeth his handiwork. Romans 1 says the things that
his Godhead and his power are clearly seeing by the things
that are made. The sun, the moon, the stars,
the heavens, the earth, all things clearly reveal somebody created
us. Somebody created all things.
But man's a fool. Man's born a fool. The fool has
said no God. And man, Peter said, is willingly
ignorant. Just rejects a Creator. Animals don't, but man does. And so God had blinded their
minds, as Scripture said. Romans 1, you've read it, you
know, says because they reject their Creator, God blinds their
minds, professing themselves to be wise. They become foolish. And hath not God made foolish
the wisdom of this world? It is universally accepted as
fact, the theory of evolution, that man And all of this just
came out of soup. You have to laugh when you think
about it. They're still looking at black holes in the sky for
answers. But God hath revealed these things
unto us and our children. Who? Not the wise, not the mighty,
not the noble. You see, you're calling, brethren.
God hath revealed these things unto us and our little children. Heavens declares glory. Nothing
declares God's glory, creative glory, more than the sun, the
moon, and the stars, the heavens declare His glory. Nothing declares
God's creative glory than if you just look up. It's astonishing,
isn't it? And the chief glory is that big
ball of fire that's there. It's been there. It doesn't move. It's constant. It's stable, though
it is all-consuming, wonderful, amazing, dangerous. Life or death
is in that. Now, we could do an in-depth
study of the physical sun, the physical moon. I will say a few
things about them. The stars would amaze us and
clearly show us God's creative wisdom and glory. But you know
what that big ball of fire really speaks of, don't you? A greater
glory. That's why we're here, to see
a greater glory than creation. There's something much greater
than creation. It's salvation. And John said this, we beheld
His glory. The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. This is who we're
here to speak of this morning, the Son. The Son says in verse
16, He made two great lights, the greater light to rule the
day, the light, the greater light, the true light. You know what
Scripture says of Christ? It says He was the true light
that cometh into the world. God is going to destroy everything,
including that sun in the sky. And there's not going to be any
sun. And the Revelation clearly says that. No sun. None needed. Why? Because the S-O-N reigns
and rules. He's the light. He's the light. The sun, the physical sun, is
light, isn't it? There is no light except from
the sun. Is there? There is no life except
from the Son. If there were no Son, there would
be no life. All life and lights is in the
S-U-N, right? Well, it says of the Lord Jesus Christ
in John 1 and 1 John, in Him was life and the life was the
light of man. There is no light, no real understanding
in man except in understanding Jesus Christ. He's God. He's man. He's Creator. He's wisdom. He's everything.
He's all and in all. He is life. He that hath the
Son hath life. He that hath not the Son Christ
is called, Psalm 19, Christ is called the Son of Righteousness. The very last chapter of Malachi. God says, unto you that look
for him shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. The Lord Jesus Christ. And then
400 years later, speaks of the birth, the sun rising on this
earth. The Lord Jesus Christ. No light,
no life, but in him. Look at Psalm 19. There are two
books spoken of here in Psalm 19. First, the book of creation. We can learn from it, and in
it is written the book of creation. We see Christ. The second book
is the written word, verse 7 and on. But verse 1, the heavens
declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech. Night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard, that is, day and night. Their
line is gone out through all the earth, their words to the
end of the world, declaring something, preaching something. In them,
day and night, hath he set a tabernacle, a dwelling place for the Son,
around whom everything revolves. Verse 6, his going forth is from
the end of the heaven. I mean, verse 5, I'm sorry, which
is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. Bridegroom? A bridegroom? Yes, the Lord Jesus
Christ, John said, is the bridegroom coming out of his chamber and
rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is
from the end of the heaven. His circuit under the ends thereof,
there's nothing hid from the heat thereof." That's speaking
of more than the S-U-N, isn't it? Speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And, you know, blind men can't
see the sun. A blind man can't see any light. Can't see the sun. It's very
clear that a blind man can't see. And men are blind to the
Son of God, who He is. Having eyes, they see not. Ears,
they hear not. But God, in mercy, He said, I
am come that they might have sight. The blind, the eyes of
the blind shall be open to see my glory. We quote that 2 Corinthians
4, 6 a lot, don't we? He quoted it this morning. God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Peter said that. You do well
to take heed of the Word of God until the day dawns. till the day dawns, till it dawns
on you, till the Lord opens your eyes. There was a day when I
could not see the Son of God, did not see any beauty in Him,
did not see any glory in Him, did not see my need of Him, just
saw it as a history story, just saw it as an old religious story. I did not see that my life depended
upon Him, just like that son. that my life was in His hands
to do with as He pleased until it dawned on me. The fullness
of time, God sent forth His Son and opened my blind eyes. The
day God shined in my heart. So much we could say about the
Son that speaks of Christ the Son, like light and life, health,
I quoted to you Malachi 4, it says, he arises with healing
in his wings. David wrote this in Psalm 130,
he said, My soul waiteth for thee, that is Christ, more than
they that watch for the morning. Everything is worse at night,
all our pains and sorrows and sickness and troubles and Worries
and fears are worse in the dark at night, but when the sun comes
up, things just seem to be better, don't they? There's hope. There's
hope. There's some consolation. Health. Health. It's got to be in the
sun. Got to be in the sun. Walk. We
need the sun to walk by, don't we? Light to walk by. Joy. Joy. Peace and so forth. Constant. The sun is constant. So is our
Lord. And on and on we could go. Look
at verse 14. It says these lights in the firmament
of the sun are for signs. See it? Let them be for signs,
seasons, days, and years. Signs. Behold, our Lord said,
I'll give you a sign. Behold, I'll show you a sign.
a virgin shall be saved, and bear a son." That's the sound. For seasons, spring, summer,
fall, winter, they all revolve around the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the source of life, the continuance of it. Days and years,
days and years, time is even measured around the Lord Jesus
Christ. Men and women cannot get around that. They're forced
to acknowledge. that someone lived here called
the Christ. And even time is measured around
Him. Look at this next thing, this
next light, the moon. Verse 16, God made two great
lights, the greater light to rule the day. Christ is called
the Son of Righteousness and His people are called children
of the day, aren't they? The lesser light to rule the
night. What's that? That's the sun, I mean the moon.
The moon. And then we're going to talk
about the stars a little bit. Now, the moon doesn't really
shine, does it? There's no light in the moon,
is there? Where does the light come from?
Were you out, was it Friday night, to see that moon? It's a full
moon, wasn't it? It was so bright, so vivid, wasn't
it? Amazing how bright the moon was. Well, the moon wasn't even
shining. It doesn't shine. The stars don't
shine. They're reflecting light. What is this moon? Revelation
12. Go over there with me. Revelation 12. I've been wanting
for a long time to deal with this again. We looked at it years
ago, and I studied it myself again recently. Revelation 12, the moon is a
picture of the church. The moon is the church, God's
people, all of whom Scripture says shine as lights. Right? Isn't that what our Lord
said? You shine. as lights in this dark world. The moon, collectively, God's
people, are a light in a dark world, aren't they? Like the
moon. But we don't shine. It's not our light, is it? John the Baptist said this, the
Scripture says of him, he came to bear witness of the light.
He was not that light. He was not that light. But he
came to bear witness. You remember when Moses walked
up on Mount Sinai to receive the law, and he stood before
the burning bush. And when he came back down, it
says his countenance was so bright that the people couldn't look
on him. He had to put a veil over his face, didn't he? Was
Moses shining? No. He'd been in the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was reflected. It was
reflected light. And so, the moon, it represents
the church that is clothed with the sun. Verse 1 of chapter 12. There appeared a great wonder
in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun. Now, false religion,
Catholicism, It says this is Mary. That's
how blind they are. Because this whole story is a
picture of the persecution of the church. All of Revelation
12 is the persecution of the church. That's who the woman
is. Clothed with the sun. What's that? What is that? Christ. In Him we dwell, move and have
our being. Clothed with His righteousness.
And the moon? under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve
stars." There you have the sun, the moon, and the stars, all
in reference to the church. The church, like the moon, gets
all her light from the sun. She's a lesser light. She's a
light. She's a light in a dark world. She's a light. Turn to Psalm
8. Psalm 8 is another Another picture
of this, Psalm 8. But the church is a light in a dark world as
it speaks of Christ, the light. We are not that light, but we
bear witness of Christ, the light. Look at Psalm 8, verse 3. When
I consider thy heavens the work of thy fingers, the sun The moon
and the stars that thou hast ordained, what is man that thou
art mindful of him? Son of man, that thou visitest
him? For thou madest him..." Now, this is speaking, number
one, primarily, first and foremost, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because
that is quoted in the New Testament concerning Christ. This speaks
of Him. But as He is, so are we in this world. Adam and the
second Adam. You made him a little lower than
the angel, crowned him with glory and honor, made him to have dominion
over the works of thy hand, and put all things under his feet. When God made man, he said, subdue
the earth and have dominion over it. Adam. But then the second Adam
came. True life. True life. The image,
the very express image of God, the glory of God in His actual
person. He came and His glory is shown
upon this earth, and God put all things under His feet. When
our Lord said of His church, though, I'm going to bruise Satan
under your feet someday. So the church is, as it were,
this moon, a lesser light. But they bear witness of His
light. Verse 18. Look at it. Verse 18. It says,
"...one to rule over the day, and the other over the night,
and to divide the light from the darkness." The sun, the moon,
to divide the light from the darkness. Now, Christ and His people, spiritually
speaking, are divisive. divisive, like Israel of old. When Israel of old, when God
called them out of Egypt and sent them through the world,
oh my, they cut us path through this world, didn't they? Who's
on the Lord's side? You're going to be with those
people or against them, right? Their God is God. There is no
God otherwise. There's a clear dividing line.
As it were, God sent them through the wilderness like a lion drawn
in the sand. Right? That's the true God. These
people, their God is God. These are God's people. And people
all over the world, oh, that's not so. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. To divide the light
from the darkness. God set a difference between
the Israelites and the Egyptians. Isn't that what it said? And
everywhere they went. Everywhere they went. Who's on the Lord's side? To
divide the light from the darkness. You know, there's a very clear
difference. A glaring division and difference between God's
true people and the people of this world. We drove by. a place this morning that worships
Mary. They think that Revelation 12
is Mary. And they worship her, and they
got up early today, a bunch of them, the parking lot was full,
to say Mass, to worship Mary, to go through all the motions.
There's a glaring difference between that and what we're doing
here this morning, aren't we? We don't worship the creature.
We worship the Creator. No one. We don't worship the
woman. We worship the God-man. We don't say Mass. Christ, our
Passover, was killed for us once. There's a clear difference. It
says to divide the light from the darkness. To any seeker,
any true seeker, Anyone who really wants to know the truth will
see a glaring difference in God's true people because there are things like
fear, fear of the Lord that goes on there. Fear of the Lord from
everything they say and sing, the songs they sing, the way
they conduct themselves in reverence Fear and wisdom, vast difference
between that and all the religious foolishness going on today. You
know it's true worshipers. Worship. That's what they do. It's not a game. It's not a show. It's not a bunch of fleshly entertainment. It's worship. Worship God in
the Spirit and rejoice in Jesus Christ. God's true people. But God's true preachers and
people are always setting forth the Lord Jesus Christ, worshiping
Him. We're sun worshipers, all right, but not that ball in the
sky. Stars. Verse 16 says He made
the stars also. What are these stars? It said
that woman had a crown of twelve stars on her head. Twelve. Just God pull a number. Out of the hat, 12 stars. In
Revelation 1, it speaks of Christ holding seven stars in His hand. He said these stars are the angels
of the churches. Pastors. Pastors. Preachers. That's the star. Twelve. Apostles. He gave some gifts unto men,
didn't He? He gave some. some apostles, some evangelists,
some pastors and teachers who were like these stars that the Lord sends to do what? What are stars for? Well, I'll
remind you of one that we talked about a couple of weeks ago that
the wise men saw. Do you remember that? God sent
this one star to these wise men. What was the star for? Nobody
else saw it. But three men, some poor shepherds
sitting on the hill, and a bunch of Gentiles afar off. A star
to do what? To point them to the Lord Jesus
Christ. To guide them to where He was,
to see His glory. The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father. What's a star for? What are preachers
for? What were the prophets for? To
Him give all the prophets witness. What were the apostles for? Christ
said, I send you forth to declare Me. The Messengers of Christ. The crown of the church. Twelve
apostles. Stars. And they point people
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the moon, they don't shine.
Stars don't shine. They don't. You've seen these
pictures in outer space, haven't you? You've seen spaceships floating
around. You see all those rocks. You see all those rocks floating
around? Stars. Down here they look like they
shine. No, just rocks. That's significant. Christ said,
if you don't praise me, I can raise up these stones. Children
of Abraham. No, they're just men. Those prophets
were just men. Elisha died. He got sick and
he died. Just men. Sinful men. Apostles. Sinful men. You know Simon. You
know his story. Evangelists, pastors, teachers. Just men. But God hath made them
shining lights. Thank God. Thank God. And it
says they're set in the firmament, verse 17. He set these in the
firmament, the sun, the moon, and the stars in the firmament
to give light upon the earth. They're in the firmament. They're
above the earth. Did not our Lord say of his apostles,
they're not of the world? Even as I'm not of the world.
Isn't Christ, he said, you're from beneath. I'm from above. Didn't he? He's not of this world. Yeah, but we're flesh. It does
not yet appear what we shall be. Rather than behold now, we're
the sons of God. Our Lord said they're not of
this world. They're of another world. Though
they don't see it now, though they don't know it now, they
are. They are. That's a mystery, isn't it? This
new man, this new creature. Verse 18 says, to rule over the
day, to rule over the night, to divide the light from the
darkness. God has made us kings and priests, rulers. He said
we shall rule with Him someday, like Adam of old who ruled the
first earth. His people shall dwell on the
new earth as kings and priests. What do priests do? It's all
about the Lord Jesus Christ, bearing witness of Him. So verse
19 says, the evening and the morning were the fourth day. God saw that it was good. So
good. Everything about it. I hope you
saw something good in death.