Changing to be the light.

I’m going to mention here at the onslaught a few well known biblical figures. In the process I’m going to take some events that are discussed often, but brushed over. What is countenance? Countenance can be defined as a look or expression, but the definition I’m going to use here is going to be: actual or apparent resemblance. I’m going to work this chronologically starting from Moses going all the way to the Christ.

Firstly, Moses was the author of the pentateuch which is the first five books of the traditionally arranged old testament. According to the book of Exodus, Moses was born during era of which the Pharaoh was calling for death to the male children. Moses’ mother sent him on a basket into the nile reaching Queen Bithia, which was Egyptian. The child was adopted by her, and raised in the royal family. He killed an Egyptian that was tasking one of his people. (Exodus 2:11-15) These events lead us up to the moment that changed everything, the burning bush. (Exodus 3) This moment changed the entire course of Moses’ life, he went from wandering fugitive to a man on a missions from God. I’m going to skip over the plagues, the harder heart, and the death of the first born. We will skip all the way to Exodus chapter thirty-three. God shows Moses his glory in verses eighteen through twenty-three. This brings me to the main point, after these events scripture says the skin of Moses shone, so Moses would place a veil over his face until he went back to speak with God. (Exodus 34:35) This kicks off the topic of,” Countenance Change.”

Moving on to Hannah was one of Elkanah’s wives which is mentioned in the first book of Samuel. She was depicted as very distraught in 1 Samuel chapter one verse seven. She had been pushed year by year. She was depressed, she wouldn’t eat, and she was weeping. Following along with the chapter we figure out why she is so downtrodden. Verse eight shows her asking her husband,” Am I not better than ten sons?” Skipping to verse eleven she vowed a vow, and because she wasn’t speaking allowed she was mistaken for drunk. (1 Samuel 1:14) Directly after this prayer, and encounter immediately her countenance changed, verse eighteen quotes as,” her countenance was no more sad.” Sometimes as noted with Hannah countenance changes don’t always mean covering your face with a veil, but an encounter with God will change you, and make you leave differently.

Jonah the prophet we know him from a book based of his life, and this great event people like to picture,” Jonah, and the whale.” In the book of Jonah it depicts a Hebrew prophet being of the same name son of Amittai who is sent by God to prophecy the destruction of Ninevah. Jonah tried to escape the mission. The book is believed to have been based anywhere from 746-786 BC. His story is recalled in Judaism on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, they recall this to show God’s willingness to forgive. While it is conjecture, science tends to agree that if anyone were swallowed by a big fish then they would look drastically different after three days. In August 22, 2017 Yarmouth Mercury newspaper of Great Yarmouth in England wrote an article entitled,” Rescue of a Modern Jonah.” The man the article mentioned was James Bartley. James was swallowed whole by a sperm whale, and was found living days later in the stomach of the whale. The craziest thing was the man was alive, but the fish was dead. Even the New York times mentioned it in 1896 entitled,” A Modern Jonah Proves his Story.” While since the initial event and articles this story has been proven to be namely that, a story, or at at least that’s what some say. James was so convinced of his modern day Jonah experience that on his gravestone it wrote,” James Bartley- a modern day Jonah.” Everything the Bible depicts is true. If it says Jonah was swallowed by a “great fish” then that is exactly what occurred. If we start picking and choosing truths of the Bible then we may as well throw the whole thing out. Jonah was, as scripture said Jonah chapter one verse seventeen:

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

He went from being swallowed in the verse just mentioned, to being vomited out onto dry land. (Jonah 2:10) Jonah was at the destination God wanted him to be from the beginning of the call. Science tells us that if Jonah really had been swallowed, and really did spend three days and nights in the fish then he would’ve looked completely different. His skin, hair, and clothes would’ve been bleached. He would’ve looked to be a completely different man. A quick cool fact here is that it was no coincidence that God picked him up in the fish taxi and carried to Ninevah. You see, Ninevah mean they have "Place of Fish" or many it indicated a goddess associated with fish, her name being Istar. Their God was part fish I think it of no coincidence Jonah was vomited out of what they worshipped. This would’ve validated every prophesy he was bringing to this civilization or society if you will. Him being bleached would definelty be defined as a countenance change he was no longer the dark Hebrew completion, the dark hair, and with the dark clothes known of the time for homes of lesser incomes.

The last persons countenance I’m going to mention with Biblical countenance change is Jesus. He needs no introduction. He is the physical manifestation of God. There is one instance in particular known well called the,” Transfiguration of Jesus.” ( Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36, 2 Peter 1:16-18) In these accounts, Jesus and three of his apostles, Peter, James, and John, go to a mountain (the Mount of Transfiguration) to pray. On the mountain, Jesus begins to shine with bright rays of light. Then the prophets Moses and Elijah appear next to him and he speaks with them. This account should bring back Moses having to wear a veil after meeting with God.

Have you ever wondered why the disciples of Jesus didn’t recognize him? One of the instances where Jesus was not recognized was Mary Magdalene’s coming to the tomb early in the morning (John 20:15). Instead of recognizing Jesus, she first mistook Him for the gardener. A second instance in which Jesus was not immediately recognized was when the disciples did not recognize Him when they were out fishing (John 21:4). Both of these accounts have been argued that maybe the people were too far to recognize Jesus, but what about the third instance when the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) did not recognize Jesus until He broke bread. How could these two disciples have walked, talked, and eaten with Jesus without recognizing Him? Later in the book of John Jesus translates through a door, and all the disciples recognized him except Thomas. Yes it is conjecture, but there may have been a countenance change that had taken place through the death, burial, and resurrection.

I said all that hit this point. Lucifer means light bearer. Ezekiel chapter twenty-eight verses thirteen through nineteen says:

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Lucifer means light-bearer, or brightness. What is a light-bearer or just a bearer for that matter? Bearer means a person or thing that carries, upholds, or brings: a tree or plant that yields fruit or flowers. The holder of rank or office; incumbent(duty or responsibility). Lucifer or Satan is a very beautiful being made out of the most precious stone and before he was forced to leave heaven by God he was one of the highest cherubs, or as the bible placed here he was the covering cherub placed on the mountain of God for all to see because he was the light-bearer. When he was up there doing his thing worshiping God, God’s light would shine down and hit the precious stone, in which he was made, going every which way in heaven hitting every crack, and crevice. What happened when God made Satan leave heaven? Who then became the light- bearers here on earth? We did, scripture says in 2 Corinthians says in chapter six verse seventeen:

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

We were meant to be a light or a light bearer as I stated earlier, and just as Lucifer was a light-bearer in heaven we are meant to be a light- bearer on this earth. Scripture says in Matthew chapter twenty-eight verses sixteen through twenty:

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is a key point in scripture called The Great Commission, a commission is an instruction, command, or duty. One of the key parts to me in my life and my ministry is but some doubted showing that even then people doubted. They were hanging out with Jesus everyday and they were still questioning it. Does this justify that I doubt? No, but it makes me realize the disciples were human too. In the end of this passage we see Jesus delegating power to the people,” Go Therefore!” Also I want to point out,” I am with you always no matter what.” He is always with us. If we will go out, and show God’s love to the people in our schools he is with us. If we share the gospel at our work place he is with us. While we share God’s love with our family members he is with us. And with that we have to understand you are never alone, so never be afraid to share God’s love. This scripture shows that we are called to be the light. Let your light so shine as the scripture says in another place. (Matthew 5:16)

In closing, we are called to be the light of the world, but how? We must become a light bearer though a Godly countenance change. I pray that through this thought we have grown to know that every encounter with God will leave us different, or it will change our countenance. I wonder what would happen if we were to get so close to the glory of God that our face too would shine. I prescribe a countenance change. That when we close this post down, we’d leave looking a little different, talking different, so much so that when people see us they ask,” What is different about you?” Which then opens a door for their lives to be changed, and the Glory to shine further in this dark world.