GPS – Walking in Darkness

by Rick Shrader

October is the month for Halloween, that sad old tradition on “Hallows’ Eve” when ghosts and goblins are thought to be traveling around. It is an unbiblical and unholy tradition that the church ought to discard. However, there is a lot of darkness in this world, some of it from Satan himself, some of it from man’s own heart, and some of it from God.

The Darkness of Satan

We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, the apostle wrote, “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age” (Eph 6:12). Satan is the god of this age who blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they will not see the light of the gospel (2 Cor 4:4). Lucifer became Satan when he desired to be higher than God and sit on the throne of God (Isa 14:12-15). We don’t have to look far to see his effect on the current world system. One transhumanist wrote, “We seek, therefore, to bless ourselves with perfect knowledge and perfect will, to become as gods, take the universe in hand, and transform it in our own image” (Mark Pesce, 2013, at the Global Future 2045 International Congress). Satan is still a liar and the father of those who reject God as their spiritual Father (John 8:44).

The Darkness of Sin

Jesus, the Light of God, came into this world of sin and darkness, but the darkness did not “comprehend” Him (John 1:5). In fact, sinners loved their spiritual darkness so much that they willingly refuse the light and accept condemnation instead (John 3:18-19). The apostle Paul wrote that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18). At the end of that chapter, after listing 23 human sins, Paul concludes, “who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (vs. 32).

The Darkness of God

It seems odd to talk of the darkness of God, but I am referring to the silence of God in this age of grace. The most common accusation against God these days is that He doesn’t put a stop to all the terrible things that happen in the world. “Either God does not care about the plight of human beings or He is not able to do anything about it.” Such blame reveals a depraved and unbiblical knowledge of God. God does not reveal Himself by miraculous intrusions into history in the age of grace as He has in times past. Today, it is His creation that declares the glory of God and His attributes (see Psa 19:1-6; Rom 1:18-21). When skeptics ask to see God step in, stop sin, and judge the world, they are asking for something they will regret.

The Darkness of Tribulation

God will step in one day! After He takes His church away, He will cast the world into a time of judgment and wrath for their sin. It will be a time both of “Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:7) as well as for “all tribes of the earth” (Rev 1:7). Those who would not “receive the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” will “believe the lie” (2 Thes 2:11-12) of Satan himself and be eternally lost. Now is no time to play around with trivial games of darkness and debauchery. Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time to believe in the light of the gospel (2 Cor 6:2).