Salt and Light

Jesus used the concepts of salt and light several times to refer to the role of His followers in the world. One example is found in Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Believers in Christ are preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin (Psalm 14:3; Romans 8:8). 

Salt was used in the ancient world as a preservative--before ice was widely quarried. Then came refrigeration. Salt also adds flavor to the food we eat. Living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, inevitably influences the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons.

"Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil." (Luke 6:35).

In the analogy of light to the world, we who are Christ’s followers are to shine: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NASB).

The difference between the Christian and the world should be preserved. This known as living a separated life

"Therefore, 'Come out from among them And be separate,' says the Lord.
'Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters,'
Says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-17)

The creation of light is related to us in the third verse of Genesis 1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light” ('or); and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Physical light has been studied by scientists for many years. Light acts at times like a wave and at times like a particle. All the light, x-rays, radio waves and are like are created light. However in the New Testament we learn the God is light. "...Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

The opening verses of John's gospels re well known: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light (phos) of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:1-5)

"...keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who  is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:14-16)

Please see the separate article on light

I am the light of the world. 
He who follows me will not walk in darkness 
but will have the light of life." --Jesus

A Great Polarization

God changes His way of dealing with the nations. These discontinuities in history are known as "Dispensations." They are, in one sense, "Joints in Time." Surely we are about to enter a new dispensation! God acts in maximum mercy when He intervenes in history.

God never changes as a Person, but how He manages the universe is not always the same. The dispensation just ending has been in place for two millennia This grand move known as "the rapture of the church" takes the salt and light out of the world plunging everyone into the "end-time," so no wonder the transition to a new way of management is upsetting for many.

The current move of God separates true believers out of the 200 nations on earth, taking us all to safe heaven in the orbiting satellite city of New Jerusalem. Without salt to to arrest decay, and light to point the way, the vast majority will be consigned to the period the Bible calls "the Tribulation.

For the sake of completeness, God the Holy Spirit plays a special role in the history of the true church. He will depart with the true church at the time of the Rapture. Please see The Restrainer. As a member of the godhead, the Holy Spirit is, of course, also omnipresent.

The Sudden Removal of all true Christian from earth up the orbiting city New Jerusalem will reflect maximum maximum mercy God.

Chuck Missler often spoke of the departure of the true church to heaven (New Jerusalem), before the final seven years of earth history, before the second coming of Jesus to the planet to rule over all the nations. Chuck said we could watch the final seven years unfold--from the Mezzanine! 

No longer will we live in flesh and blood bodies in heaven but in entirely new, immortal bodies. There will be no more sickness, disease, death. We will be selectively able to turn on our cloaking device, but to be recognizable as our Lord was after His resurrection. Our new bodies will apparently have time travel and space travel capabilities. (Ray Stedman said that we could probably visit the past but not change it).

But there will be no marriage in heaven. Sexual reproduction will have been phased out. But everyone: men, women and children will know Jesus intimately. The differences between the two sexes will be preserved.

No more idolatry. Lots of angels. Animals of all kinds. Wildflowers and gardens. Oceans with waves and surf, rivers, waterfalls and lakes. Birds of course. Food and banquets. Music and much singing. Healing fruits and herbs. Tree of Life Access. Schools. Museums. Art Galleries, Concert Halls. Artist Colonies—-surely. A glorious wedding up there is scheduled to happen soon.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." (Revelation 22:1-5)

“In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:4-12)

The Greek word translated here, "dispensation," is οἰκονομία which literally means "the management, or the economy of a household." Ray Stedman's discussion of the "history this term as used by Bible scholars is very helpful. All signs point to a sudden intervention of history now by God as He orchestrates and directs the story of mankind and the history of the world. The "Dispensation of Grace" has been the norm for 2000 years. No wonder we get the uniformitarian notion that times never change!

In recent years Planet Earth has seen increases in lawlessness, violence, rioting, crime, and warring at many levels. The removal of the true church -- the removing of the salt and light --the end the church age -- is surely near. The seven years that follows is called "The Tribulation!." God continues to exercise maximum mercy, but the evil of fallen man is very deep. God must release the restraints holding back horrific violence and evil.-- and He will turn the lights on.

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.” (Luke 8:16-18)

My teacher and mentor, Ray C. Stedman wrote in July 1967

"All around us in the world today men are doing things, and it is right and proper that they should. Men are to work and to plan, they are to dream and to hope, and they are to try to accomplish things. It is right for the government to try to govern and for statesmen to try to accomplish their goals. All of us have something to do. 

But what our age has tragically forgotten is that the only activity which will change anyone ultimately is what God does, not what man does. That is where we need to focus our thoughts. And we need to see what it is that God is doing. One of these days, we all recognize and know, even though we hate to admit it, all the vaunted, proud, symbols of our civilization as we know it today are going to be brought low, to crumble into dust, to be lost in the debris of the ages. All the knowledge on which we pride ourselves today will be lost in some forgotten tomb. Man's glory shall fade. All the accomplishments of our present day which give us such self-satisfaction will become nothing but obscure references in some future history, if anything at all. And what will endure in that day is the work of God. 

These great facts, revealed in this letter (to the Ephesian Church), will still be as brilliant and untarnished in their reality as they are today. Rudyard Kipling once wrote about the British Empire, Far flung, our navies melt away, on dune and headland sinks the fire. Lo, all our pomp of yesterday is one with Nineveh and Tyre. 

America's greatness is going to fade, as is Russia's, and as is that of all the nations of the earth. But one day, when that day comes, the things which will be true are these great facts. Therefore, if we want to endure, if we want to lift our eyes above the plodding, puny circumstances of our own present experience to the greatness of what God is doing, we must give our attention to these great thoughts -- planned before the foundation of the world, begun even before there was an earth, designed to reveal the greatness of God's grace, his compassion, his tenderhearted love, his forgiving ability, his power restore, available through the one Person who in all the scope of history is able to accomplish what no other man could do, Jesus Christ himself, and resulting at last in the healing of all division and the breaking down of every barrier. That is what Ephesians is all about. It is a story of how God is breaking down division.

We are so aware of division, aren't we? We are divided within our homes, divided in our work, divided into cliques and camps and nations, all against one another, with all the consequent hurt and injury and malice and hate and prejudice. God is at work to remedy that. He is healing it. He has already begun. He is breaking down the barriers, removing the hate and enmity, restoring and bringing together.

Remember what Jesus said: "All those who are with me gather, and all those who are against me scatter," (Matthew 12:30, Luke 11:23). You can tell whose side you are on by the effect of your life. Are you gathering, or scattering? Are you healing, or hurting? Are you bringing together, or breaking up? Which is the direction of your life? Well, God's great movement in our lives, as individuals, and in history at large, is to heal and make whole, to bring together all things in Christ, to restore harmony once again in his universe.

The exciting thing about that, according to this letter to the Ephesians, is that it has begun already. It has begun in us. We are the first ones to set it forth. We, the church, have felt the force of this great movement of God. We have found it in our homes -- the barriers are beginning to break down there, the divisions are beginning to be healed. The harmony is beginning to emerge in our church life. And the more visibly it is evident, the more the world will see God at work. That is what this letter is all about -- how to allow this healing flow from the great God behind all things, through his Son Jesus Christ, to touch our individual lives and heal us of all our illness and injury. No wonder this great apostle cries out, 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies." God at Work

God announces His plans well in advance! About a third of Scripture is about future plans God announces ahead of time. When the early Christians gathered in Jerusalem for a summing up of events, James addressed this first church council:

God has been calling out a Bride for His Son, a church without spot or wrinkle, since AD 30. When the last chosen member has been added to this "gentile Bride" she will be removed in the event called the Rapture. The salt-and-light functions of the true church will be taken up with the church. God removes restraints against sin when He needs to get our attention. A time period of at least seven years will follow. The church and the Lord with watch events down on earth "from the Mezzanine." Jesus Himself will orchestrate everything which will then unfold on earth. Paramount will be Jesus sending directing of 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will bring millions into a personal relationship with Himself. The present population of earth, 8070 million persons, will drop at least ten fold as God's angels are dispatched to judge the earth.

Ray Stedman:The Church: The Most Powerful Force on Earth

      

September 18, 2022. November 24. 2023