There is Always Light Amid Darkness

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

There is Always Light Amid Darkness

Today's Text: And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. Matthew 28:2

The Message:      If, after His crucifixion and burial, in the place of giving way to their sorrow the disciples had carefully reviewed what Christ had told them to prepare them for this time, they would have seen light amid the darkness. They need not have been in such apparently hopeless discouragement.      Before anyone had reached the sepulcher, there was a great earthquake. The mightiest angel from heaven, he who held the position from which Satan fell, received his commission from the Father, and, clothed with the panoply of heaven, he parted the darkness from his track. His face was like lightning, and his garments white as snow. As soon as his feet touched the ground it quaked beneath his tread. The Roman guards were keeping their weary watch when this wonderful scene took place, and they were enabled to endure the sight, for they had a message to bear as witnesses of the resurrection of Christ.      The angel approached the grave, rolled away the stone as though it had been a pebble, and sat upon it. The light of heaven encircled the tomb, and the whole heaven was lighted by the glory of the angels. Then his voice was heard, "Thy Father calls thee, come forth." And Jesus came forth from the grave with the step of a mighty Conqueror. There was a burst of triumph, for the heavenly family was waiting to receive Him, and the mighty angel, followed by the army of heaven, bowed in adoration before Him as He, the Monarch of heaven, proclaimed over the rent tomb of Joseph, "I am the resurrection and the life."      When Christ upon the cross cried out, "It is finished," there was a mighty earthquake that rent open the graves of many who had been faithful and loyal, bearing their testimony against every evil work, and magnifying the Lord God of hosts. Now as the Life-giver came forth from the sepulcher, proclaiming, "I am the resurrection and the life," He summoned these saints from the grave. When alive, they had, at the cost of their lives, borne their testimony unflinchingly for the truth. Now they were to be witnesses of Him who had raised them from the dead. These, said Christ, are no longer the captives of Satan. I have redeemed them; I have brought them from the grave as the firstfruits of My power, to be with me where I am, nevermore to see death or experience sorrow.-Manuscript 115, 1897.

Commentary: My friend, the resurrection of Jesus from the grave manifested the great victory that was won in behalf of all humanity.  The Father called forth His Son from the grave, wiping away the apparent victory of Satan.  By the resurrection of Christ He declared that the sacrifice that was made for man was perfect.  The symbol of Jesus upon the cross is the symbol of Satan's victory over the Son of God, and he did all that was in his power to keep him there, but he had no power to keep the perfect Lamb of God in the grave. Today, though defeated at the cross by the resurrection of Jesus, Satan endeavors to keep Jesus in the grave in the minds of the Christian world.  By the symbol of the Son of God on the cross, he subtly focuses the minds of the people upon the death of Jesus rather than upon a risen Savior. In like manner the trinity focuses the mind of the world upon an altogether different God then what is revealed in the Scriptures.  The trinity teaches that God is a triune being, made up of three co-equal, co-eternal beings, who are each individually God, and collectively God.  While the Scriptures declare that there is only one true God; the Father.  The Son of God is divine in that He was brought forth from the very substance of the Father, hence He is the only begotten Son of God.  Proverbs 8:22-25 says "The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.  When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.  Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:". The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that one of the marks of Christ's divinity is that He raised himself from the grave, using the John 10:17, 18 which says "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."  The Son of God had power to lay His life down because His divine life was from the Father.  Jesus declared "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;" (John 5:26).  When He said that He had power to take it up again He did not say that He would raise Himself up, but simply said that He had the ability to receive again the divine life that was first given to Him from the Father. All throughout the New Testament is found references that it was the Father that raised the Son of God from the dead.  The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians said "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)" (Galatians 1:1).  If Christ was able to raise Himself from the grave, then it means that He was not really dead, for there is no consciousness in death, and this would destroy the gospel that God sent His Son to die for our sins. It is true that divinity cannot die, but the prophet of God said that Christ's divinity was woven so completely with His humanity, that they were inseparable.  While His humanity lay in the grave, His divinity lay dormant with Him.  If He had sinned in any way, His humanity would not have risen from the grave, and His divinity would have lay dormant for all eternity. My friend, in order for the trinity to be true, it must change the gospel to fit its teachings.  The prophet Isaiah, inspired of God, said "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20).  The trinity speaks against the light of the Word of God, and as such is not of God. God bless,

Video of the Week Is The Godhead Truth A Salvational Issue? How important is it to know who God is? Is it really a matter of semantics or a side issue? The difference could mean life or death.