I am spending the time to give you these scriptures from the Bible and Extra Biblical Books so that you may have even more knowledge and understanding of our amazing Lord and author of Light and Love.
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 66:9)
“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”(Mark 1 6:19)
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14:16-20)
It is clear from the above scriptures that Our Father is in heaven and that Jesus is seated at the right hand of Our Father. It is also clear that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. But, have you ever felt the Gift of His Presence? If you have, you know what I am talking about. There are no words that can explain that feeling. The world, your life and everyone around you can be falling apart but you are full of joy and at peace. You may even become euphoric. How can that be? It is the Gift of His Presence.
I think You May Have Felt Him
Perhaps it was at your Salvation. You may have wept and could not hold it back. It may have been at your baptism of the Holy Spirit when you first began speaking in tongues. Or, maybe sometime when you were praying and entered into an uncontrollable urge to groan and weep. Or maybe your personal life just fell apart but it didn’t affect you and you felt peaceful. That feeling was the Gift of His Presence.
The Scriptures Speak of it
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)
“…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Knowing God’s presence is one thing but actually feeling it is another.
Consider what the Scriptures refer to when it speaks of, “The Light of the World”. Is it not speaking of His presence?
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” (John 1: 9-10)
Note: The world still knows little of Him.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)
In the Beginning
Definition
Canon – A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called “books”) which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word canon comes from the Greek κανών kanōn, meaning “rule” or “measuring stick”. (Wikipedia) The Canon is used as a measuring stick verifying Biblical Books.
I am a big fan and reader of “extra Biblical Books”. Yes, I am well aware that they are not Canon. However, I am also very aware that if you know the Word well, there are many nuggets of gold and truths in these books. Especially historical facts. Many are still regarded highly by Messianic scholars. Check out this is one book,The First Book of Adam and Eve. (Click here to see a copy)
While some scholars date this book’s authorship to several centuries BC. Due to its contents and nature I believe, as do others, that it was passed down via oral tradition from Adam to others until finally someone wrote it down. The earliest scribe could have been Enoch, but it could have been another as well. According to the books of Enoch, Enoch was the first person that was taught writing, and was a scribe. This fact of his being a writer was confirmed by the angel of the LORD in the Book of the Law and the Testimony also know as The Book of Jubilees (click here to see a copy )which indicated that Enoch’s writings were to stand as a testimony unto the Day of Judgment.
Re: Light (From Chapter 12 of The First Book of Adam and Eve)
We have little knowledge of the devastation that occurred at the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden. Man’s relationship with the Earth, each other, Nature itself and especially God, totally fell apart. It is not known how long Adam and Eve spent in the presence of God before the fall. It could have been hundreds or thousands of years. We need to remember that God’s presence was always there and that He was always felt. Darkness did not exist. Even “flesh” as we know it did not exist with mankind.
“Then Adam stood up in the cave and said, “O God, why has light departed from us, and darkness covered us? Why did you leave us in this long darkness? Why do you plague us like this? And this darkness, O Lord, where was it before it covered us? It is because of this that we cannot see each other. For so long as we were in the garden, we neither saw nor even knew what darkness is. I was not hidden from Eve, neither was she hidden from me, until now that she cannot see me; and now darkness came over us to separate us from each other. But she and I were both in one bright light (His Presence). I saw her and she saw me. Yet now since we came into this cave (called The Cave of Treasures), darkness has covered us, and separated us from each other, so that I do not see her, and she does not see me. O Lord, will You then plague us with this darkness?”
It is also mentioned in the same writing that both Adam and Eve wanted to kill themselves several times but God did not let them.
Read this about the darkness at night and the light (of the sun) in daytime.
Chapter 16 – The first sunrise. Adam and Eve think it is a fire coming to burn them. After this, Adam and Eve continued to stand in the cave, praying and crying, until the morning dawned on them. And when they saw the light returned to them, they refrained from fear, and strengthened their hearts. Then Adam began to come out of the cave. And when he came to the mouth of it, and stood and turned his face towards the east, and saw the sunrise in glowing rays, and felt the heat thereof on his body, he was afraid of it, and thought in his heart that this flame came forth to plague him. He then cried and beat his chest, then he fell on the ground on his face and made his request, saying:— “O Lord, plague me not, neither consume me, nor yet take away my life from the earth.” For he thought the sun was God. Because while he was in the garden and heard the voice of God and the sound He made in the garden, and feared Him, Adam never saw the brilliant light of the sun, neither did its flaming heat touch his body. Therefore he was afraid of the sun when flaming rays of it reached him. He thought God meant to plague him therewith all the days He had decreed for him. For Adam also said in his thoughts, as God did not plague us with darkness, behold, He has caused this sun to rise and to plague us with burning heat. But while he was thinking like this in his heart, the Word of God came to him and said:— “O Adam, get up on your feet. This sun is not God; but it has been created to give light by day, of which I spoke to you in the cave saying, ‘that the dawn would come, and there would be light by day.’
Much of the world worships the Sun as a god. Babylonian mystery religion is the worship of Lucifer in the guise of a Madonna and child. That was started by Semiramis by the widow of Nimrod after he was killed. She claimed that Nimrod became the sun, and then came down and impregnated her and from which union, But I am God who comforted you in the night.” And God ceased to commune with Adam.
God’s presence was no longer to abide with mankind continuously until He sent His only Son, Jesus, and Jesus intern gave us a gift, The Holy Spirit, to abide within us. Even so, we still do not fully appreciate this Gift, all the time. We have to work for it and then it may be given.
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 5-7)
This Holy Spirit brings us power, peace and strength to fight darkness:
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:18-21)
And embrace His presence (Light) which brings:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5: 22, 23)
Side Note
Many people, Christians, embrace the Light thinking that it is Love and Truth and only brings joy and peace. This is not necessarily true. I fully embrace John 3:16 which clearly states:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
But I also embrace the Cross, which brought pain, to Jesus certainly but also to the Father and we Christians. Knowing that Jesus had to endure the Cross for our sake’s. This also imbibes The Gift of His Presence.
There is more to this paper than I have given here. In a future Blog look for Children of the Fall, coming soon.
Enough said,
“Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
