Morning star Arises
Dec.28 2014
Intro: Winter solstice rituals are celebrated in many parts of
the world. The winter solstice is the 21st day of December
which is the shortest day (of daylight) in the year in the
Northern hemisphere. After the solstice or shortest day of the
year each day gets increasingly longer until June 21st.
Historically there are many pagan rituals attached to the
solstices and there is criticism of celebrating Christmas on or
about the same time of the pagan solstice celebrations. This
criticism is hard to duck in that the Church of the 3rd and 4th
centuries often synchronized Christian celebrations around
heathen ones in order to more easily assimilate the pagans. It
is what it is.
We know that Jesus was in fact born. Some speculate this time
or the other. I don’t know what month or day Jesus was born. I
do know that the world was suffering from a light shortage and
Jesus was sent to be the light of the world, the dayspring, the
daystar, and the
Synonyms for Christ as the dawning lightMorningstar
Day Star, Dayspring,
Lk 1:76-79 76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the
Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare
His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By
the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our
God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited* us; 79
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of
death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." NKJV
Nu 24:17 "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of
tumult.* NKJV
Isa 60:1-3 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory
of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall
cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord
will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The
Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of
your rising. NKJV
Mal 4:2-3 But to you who fear My name The Sun of
Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you
shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. 3 You shall
trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of
your feet On the day that I do this," Says the Lord of hosts.
NKJV
Mt 4:12-16 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in
prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He
came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the
regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 "The land
of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,By the way of the sea,
beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who
sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who
sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned."*
NKJV
2 Peter 1:16-21 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised
fables when we made known to you the power and coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when
such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this
voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the
holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word
confirmed,* which you do well to heed as a light that shines in
a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation,* 21 for prophecy
never came by the will of man, but holy men of God* spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit. NKJV
Rev 2:26-29 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until
the end, to him I will give power over the nations — 27 'He
shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to
pieces like the potter's vessels'* — as I also have received from
My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 "He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
NKJV
Rev 22:12-17 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last."* 14 Blessed are those who do His
commandments,* that they may have the right to the tree of
life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But*
outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and
murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things
in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the
Bright and Morning Star." 17 And the Spirit and the bride say,
"Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who
thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life
freely. NKJV
Day Star, Dayspring. kjv translations in Job 38:12 (dawn, rsv),
Luke 1:78 (day, rsv), and 2 Peter 1:19 (morning star, rsv)
referring to Venus, the star that heralds the dawn, or to first
light of dawn itself.
In Isaiah 14:12 Day Star is a designation for the haughty king
of Babylon (Lucifer, kjv) who, having aspired so high at the
cost of Israel, will surely be brought down in shame and
disappointment by God. Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988).
In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 589). Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House.
Morning Star.
Literally, the sun (Gn 1:14–18; Jb 38:7; Pss 19:4–6; 110:3);
symbolically, a figure of speech which Christ used to describe
himself (Rv 22:16). The phrase is closely related to the idea of
the “dayspring” (Jb 38:12; Lk 1:78) and the “daystar” (2 Pt
1:19), all of which denote the rising of the sun in the morning.
The symbolic application of the phrase to Christ is rooted in the
OT (Nm 24:17) where Balaam prophesied, “I see him, but not
now; I behold him, but not nigh; a star shall come forth out of
Jacob.” Having clearly identified “the star” as a person from
the family of Jacob, the later prophets develop this theme.
Isaiah tells the people of his day to “rise and shine” because
“the Lord will rise upon you” (Is 60:1, 2). Malachi writes, “For
you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with
healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2). Zechariah, the father of John
the Baptist, describes the ministry of his son as that of
preparing the way for “the day shall dawn upon us from on
high” (Lk 1:78); and we are told that he prepared the way for
Christ (Mt 3:3; Mk 1:2, 3; Jn 1:6–8, 23; cf. Mt 11:7–14; Lk 7:18–
28). The identity of the star is settled when Christ says, “I am
the morning star” (Rv 22:16). It is another way of saying, “I
am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12; 9:5; 12:46). The central
concept found in the symbol is that of Christ as light shining in
darkness (Lk 2:32; Jn 1:4, 7–9; 3:19; 12:35; 2 Cor 4:6; Eph
5:14; 1 Pt 2:9; 1 Jn 2:8; Rv 21:23). With the birth of the
Messiah the morning star arose—the gospel light dawned (Is
9:1, 2; Mt 4:15, 16).
Christ not only describes himself as the morning star but
declares that he gives the morning star (Rv 2:28). He bestows
his own light upon those who believe in him (Jgs 5:31; Is 60:3;
Dn 12:3; Mt 5:14, 16; Jn 1:9; Acts 13:47; Eph 5:8; Phil 2:5; 1
Thes 5:5; 1 Jn 1:7). In this sense Peter states that “the
morning star [kjv daystar] rises in your hearts” (2 Pt 1:19).
Because Christ has come and established his kingdom of light
on earth, that light can abide in the minds of humankind. The
phrase then points to Christ’s glory, as the source of light, and
to his grace in the sharing of light. Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J.
(1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 1489). Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.