Issued 3/17/24

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

John 9:4

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   It stands to reason what when Jesus uttered the above words, he was referring to a future time well beyond the scope of his earthly ministry. For one, the Gospel had to be preached throughout the world, and only then would the end come (Matthew 24:14). Jesus gave us the reason for this: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22; or as Paul later paraphrased, knowledge of Father‘s laws brought with it the awareness and imputation of sin (Romans 5:13, 7:7-9), thus justifying whatever punishments were meted out against transgressors.

   For another, Jesus did not delimit culpability to those who heard him speak personally, but to every other person in any subsequent age listening to his envoys (Acts 1:8, 9:15). Jesus even taught us to recognize who his faithful messengers would be: Those “anointed” with the Holy Spirit Who through them conveyed Father‘s instructions and kept them firmly rooted in the truth (John 15:26, 16:13↔1John 2:20,27, 3:24). Which is not to say that whosoever claims to speak from the Holy Spirit in fact does: By examining his/her loyalties (John 8:43-44; Galatians 1:10; James 4:4; 1John 2:15, 4:5-6), behaviors (Matthew 7:16-20↔James 3:11-12) and words (Matthew 5:22; Luke 6:45; James 3:6-9), there will stand either a true Christian, or a misguided zealot, or an opportunistic hypocrite so bereft of spirituality that his/her most egregious transgressions will seem like virtues to him/her [↔Proverbs 4:16, 6:12-14, 10:23).¹

   Which should not surprise us, since everything that glitters need not be gold. In a Gospel which posits the reality of Satan himself masquerading as an angel of light,² why should it be surprising “if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness” (2Corinthians 11:14-15)? And if amongst men in sync with Satan (John 8:44) the pursuit of absolute power is the most salient trait they share in common (Isaiah 14:13-14), should we not find his minions amongst secular and religious power wielders (Luke 4:5-6; Ephesians 2:2; 1John 5:19)? Evil is not so much an abstract notion than a mindset committed to lord it over others by trampling down every sense of justice and morality Father and Jesus stand for (Ezekiel 36:22-23; Romans 2:23-24).

   So when Jesus spoke about a “night” when preaching Father‘s Gospel would no longer be possible, he was summarizing lots of Scriptures describing a specific point in human history: End-times. Several criteria needed to be met for this to pass: a) Worldwide dissemination of the Gospel (Matthew 24:14); b) the final downfall of earthly Jerusalem (Luke 21:20);³ c) the apostasy predicted by Paul (2Thessalonians 2:3-4); and corrupting Father‘s Gospel with whatever dogmas furthered human agendas (John 16:2-4; 1Timothy 4:1-5; 2Timothy 4:3-4). Amongst the plethora of Scriptures denouncing men’s commitment to defy Father in all these matters (Isaiah 1:23, 30:9; Jeremiah 17:23; Zechariah 7:9-12, to cite a few), Jeremiah 5:23-21 summarizes the consensual complicity from the highest to the lowest social levels [↔Deuteronomy 31:29; Jeremiah 23:20].

The Symbolism of “Night”

   Jesus could have just as well been more straightforward and say something like, Listen, guys, when Father puts an end to the time of grace and evil rules triumphant, not only will you be unable to preach but it will no longer serve any purpose. But in John 9:4, Jesus was following Scriptural methodology: To keep Father‘s wisdom “hidden” from unbelievers (Deuteronomy 29:29; 1Corinthians 2:7-8, 10-15), he resorted to parables where symbols had specific meanings with a specific objective in mind (Mark 4:11-13↔Isaiah 28:13). As an example, “field” in Matthew 13:24 meant the world at large, which correlated with the field first Adam had to till (Genesis 3:17-18) and which Jesus, the last Adam, had to plow with his “oxen” [apostles↔1Corinthians 9:9-10] in order to plant the “seed” [Father‘s word↔Luke 8:11] in the hearts of men. Let us be imaginative enough to realize that “earth/soil” in Scripture is the substance from which man—but not woman—was formed (Genesis 2:19,22, 3:19↔Ecclesiastes 12:7; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2); the first indication that imitating Jesus in his role as preacher fell to males and not females [↔1Timothy 2:12].

   Now “Darkness/Night” had been separated from “Light/Day,” plus sun and moon placed in orbit around “earth” [i.e., mankind] in order to differentiate the domains of faithful and unfaithful (Genesis 1:4-5,14-18↔1Thessalonians 5:5). Specifically, “sun” symbolized Jesus, both as “the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16) and as the “Sun of Righteousness” (Malachi 4:2).⁴ It does not take rocket science to conclude, therefore, that “moon” symbolizes Satan; so that in relation to Jesus’ Church, he is placed under her feet where she bruises his head while he strikes her heel, thus depicting the perpetual enmity between them (Genesis 3:15↔Revelation 12:1,17, 20:2). Please note that Genesis 3:15 makes the distinction between the Church’s seed [Jesus’ spiritual offspring↔Galatians 3:16, 4:26] and Satan’s own, further exemplifying the opposition between those led by the Holy Spirit and those who are not (Galatians 4:21-31↔Revelation 12:4,13,17).

Jesus’ “Night”

   When Jesus was arrested, he again resorted to the symbolism of darkness: “When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). Who were channeling the power of darkness? State and church agents (John 18:3), the “dogs” Jesus (Matthew 7:6↔Psalms 22:16,20) and Paul (Philippians 3:20) warned against—not canines, but men behaving like them. Which answers the question of why dogs, wonderful and useful companions as they indubitably are, are Biblically considered “unclean”: Because they obey their masters no matter the immorality of the latter—be it men or Satan himself. Hence the warnings in Romans 6:16 and 2Peter 2:19.

   But Jesus’ comment in Luke 22:53 has another layer of meaning: If the priests wanted to arrest him, why not do it in the open light of day? The fact that night and the seclusion of Gethsemane were chosen for the deed left a record for future generations to recognize two tactics of evildoing: Avoiding public scrutiny (John 3:20) and being contemptuous of divine retribution (Isaiah 29:15; Ezekiel 8:12; Zephaniah 1:12). Unfortunately for Jesus, Father needed to establish Jesus’ moral gravitas if he was to ask others to follow his lead (Matthew 26:53-54; John 8:11; Hebrews 2:10, 5:7-9); and to prove Jesus worthy of earning his eternal positions as King (Isaiah 22:22↔Revelation 3:7, 19:16, 22:16)/High Priest (Ezekiel 27:24-25; Hebrews 7:21) over Father‘s nation (Revelation 5:5-10).

   Now the “power of darkness” that triumphed over Jesus was not the “night” he foresaw in the future. In point of fact every time evil has prevailed over good has been a form of “night.” Brushing over those that have been perpetrated by the state [trumped up charges against Naboth (1Kings 21:8-13) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1-6)], Scripture instead details those brought about by organized religion in cahoots with the state. Which brings us to events prior to the “night” Jesus—in terms of his earthly ministry—could no longer work.

   It was a conclave of religious leaders who profiled Jesus as a danger to the Jewish nation (John 11:49-52); not because Jesus was advocating social unrest, but because he exposed their hypocrisy (Matthew 23:1-36)—hence the agenda to kill him (Matthew 26:1-4). Judas was their Satan-send [literally↔Luke 22:3; John 13:2]: He would betray Jesus if the priests paid him off (Matthew 26:14-15)—a deed not without precedent in Scripture (Genesis 27:38; Zechariah 11:12-13). Then came spinning Jesus’ words to make him appear heretical, though according to Mark 14:53-59, his accusers contradicted each other. It was only when Jesus admitted to being the Messiah that zealots resorted to their default modus operandi: Self-righteous indignation followed by physical violence (Mark 14:61-65).

   No person at that priestly conclave could have understood Jesus’ answer; it is recorded for the benefit of Bible readers. The “I AM” which Jesus was in the habit of saying (Matthew 14:27; John 18:5-6) established both his identity in real time as well as linked him to the Angel God identifying himself to Moses (Exodus 3:14) as Yahweh [Hebrew, YHWH], the name he shared with Father (Exodus 23:21). And in case anybody believes there are not two Yahwehs in Scripture, review your Isaiah 44:6: “This is what Yahweh [Father↔Hosea 11:7], the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh [Son↔Hosea 7:13] of Armies, says: ‘I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God.’” To settle the matter, Jesus repeated that statement in Revelation 1:8 as Father‘s re-empowered Almighty Interim God (Matthew 28:18↔Daniel 5:21; Revelation 2:27, 12:5); hence the descriptor “who is to come [i.e., return]“ (Revelation 1:8).⁵

   Once the priests had agreed on Jesus’ guilt, they took him to Pilate (John 18:28-30), who understood their real motivations (Mark 15:10).⁶ Not wishing to get involved in religious shenanigans, Pilate told the priests to settle the matter amongst themselves; whereupon the priests piously protested they were not allowed to kill anyone (John 18:31↔Exodus 20:13). [Mosaic Law also required not to do anything that endangered a neighbor’s life (Leviticus 19:16); but that was conveniently ignored]. Seeing that Pilate was balking (Matthew 27:15-17; John 19:6,12), the priests upped the ante by insinuating that Pilate, like Jesus (Luke 23:2),⁷ was undermining Caesar’s sovereignty (John 19:12). Fearing for himself, Pilate relented (Matthew 27:24; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:22-25). With that, Jesus’ earthly ministry was officially over, though while on the cross, he continued preaching doctrine until he expired (Luke 23:34↔evil doers blinded to the truth; Luke 23:43↔death and resurrection dynamics; John 19:26↔debunking Mary’s preferential status in future Roman Catholic dogma). In terms of no longer being able to work, death may mark the end of preaching (2Timothy 4:6; 2Peter 1:14) but not of the endeavor itself (Revelation 14:13).

Daniel’s “Night”

   If Jesus’ “night” came at the tail end of his 3-to-3 1/2-year ministry [based on the Passovers he observed], the Prophet Daniel had prophesied a “night” that would last for centuries (Daniel 12:11-12). “Days” in Daniel’s prophetic context become “years” when subjected to Ezekiel’s conversion factor (Ezekiel 4:6)—a device used in Numbers 14:34; so that when Jesus made reference to Daniel’s “abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15), he was again referring to future times. For a more detailed discussion, please refer to our series The Great Pretender, Part IV(b); suffice it to say here that in the context of human history, the synergy between [army-less] Vatican Rome and mighty European monarchs led to the blood-shed committed in name of Father and Jesus during the so-called Holy Roman Empire—the gist of Daniel 7:21↔Revelation 13:5-7; Daniel 8:24↔Revelation 17:12-14).

   And that Vatican Rome is implied is clear from Daniel 8:25, not only in terms of well-documented papal intrigues and agendas; but in the fact that she, Babylon the Great, would be destroyed “not by human power,” but by divine intervention: Father would allow Satan to put in men’s hearts to submit to the beast (Revelation 13:2↔Revelation 20:2) until His objectives were accomplished (Revelation 16:17); at which point they would turn on her and lay her to waste (Revelation 17:16-18, 18:1-24). Daniel 8:25 is just another example of Father claiming ultimate responsibility for His decisions (Isaiah 45:7; Daniel 4:35↔Matthew 10:29), not laying the blame on inveterate murderers like Satan and cronies (John 8:44).

   Yet even during this centuries-long “night” of persecutions, Inquisitions, cultural genocides, and religious intolerance, the faithful continued working, more often than not at great personal risk to themselves and families. In Hebrews 11:35-38, Paul listed some of their ordeals, ostensibly men and women from the past up to his time; though as remarked in Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, future generations of Judeo-Christians would undergo similar tribulations—the gist of Hebrews 11:39-40, 12:7-11. Jesus himself had bequeathed his crown of thorns to future followers, which had to be worn on pain of divine rejection even while facing the prospect of death (Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:38; John 15:18-20↔1John 4:4-6; 2Timothy 3:12). He even made us aware of those who, while violating the Commandment not to kill (Exodus 20:13), would shed blood on Father‘s behalf (John 16:2).

The “Night” When No One Can Work

   Post Holy Roman Empire, there have been innumerable “nights” when the powers of darkness have been exalted: Human history is chock full of them; still Jesus’ work continued despite daunting challenges. All of which lead up to the “night when no one can work”: The Great Tribulation taking place at end-times. How do we know this? Jesus told us: A time-frame unprecedented or ever to happen again in human history (Matthew 24:21); of evil so triumphant that if not cut short, no one would be saved (Matthew 24:11-12,22). That word, “unprecedented,” links us to another end-times event: There will be “a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth“ (Revelation 16:18) And what follows in Revelation 16:20, “And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled” [↔Psalms 18:15], tells us that the world as we know perceive it will change form in preparation of Armageddon [↔Jeremiah 7:32; Zechariah 14:3-7; Revelation 20:7-10] and its ensuing destruction by heavenly fire (Psalms 46:6, 68:2, 97:5; Amos 9:5; Micah 1:4; 2Peter 3:10-12).

   So in what sense will no one be able to do Jesus’ work during the Great Tribulation? First, prophecies will have all been fulfilled, so that Father‘s “hidden wisdom” will no longer serve any purpose (1Corinthians 3:18). Secondly, once the time of grace is up, transgressors cannot escape their comeuppance (Isaiah 48:8, 55:6-7; Jeremiah 13:16; Zephaniah 2:2); though Revelation 7:9,14 suggest that after undergoing personal ‘purification’, an innumerable multitude will be spared—obviously not by merits but by divine clemency [↔Ezekiel 20:37; Luke 14:23]. Let us always remember that despite the vindictive neo-Christian mindset, Father‘s and Jesus’ stated objectives are saving—not irremissibly damning—sinners (Ezekiel 18:32; John 3:17, 5:32; Ephesians 1:3-7). Thus clemency is possible even after the time of grace has expired; but unlike clemency predicated on obedience before expiration date, clemency during the Great Tribulation is entirely up to Father‘s discretion. Still rest assured it will involve a personal ordeal of some kind: He will exact punishment from every transgressor no matter who or what (Numbers 14:18; Jeremiah 30:11).

   Thirdly, in the midst of global convulsions (Luke 21:25-26), it will not be business as usual: Jesus intimated that much in Luke 17:26-30 while highlighting worldly concerns before his second coming. We have been told about universal catastrophes (Revelation 8, 9, 16); one of them hinted at in Job 38:22-23↔Revelation 16:21; and another, perhaps magnifying the effects of present-day climate change (Revelation 16:8-9), involving our Sun predicted to reach maximum sunspot activity by 2025. So-called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can disrupt communication systems, fry electric grids, damage satellites/GPS signals, and deprive people of their dependence on electronic gadgetry/social media—all leading to panic over uncertainty of what is to befall [↔Isaiah 47:11; Ezekiel 7:26]—Luke’s point in Luke 21:26.

   Ezekiel 7:26 makes an important observation: “Disaster upon disaster will come, followed by rumor after rumor. They’ll seek an oracle from the prophet, but the Law will be gone from the priests, and counsel from the elders.” It is a human truism that when leaders fail their subjects, the latter turn to Father in desperation, hoping He will sort out the mess the former got them in. Unfortunately, our God does not follow through like the proverbial genie in the bottle; but judging from Solomon’s lengthy plea in 1Kings 8:30-53, He will be amenable to mitigation despite repeated transgressions.⁸

   Finally, Ezekiel 7:26 hints at the religious suppression evident in Psalms 2:1-3, 74:7-8. How can knowledge of the Law disappear unless the Scriptures are banned? It has happened before, but never to the extent prophesied in Psalms, which clearly states a multi-national, concerted effort between state [“kings”] and church [“princes”↔Acts 23:5] aiming to be rid of divine sovereignty once and for all. Is this complicity what Revelation 17:12-14 is all about as pertains to end-times? And is suppression of printed/digitalized Scriptures what Amos 8:11-23 seems to predict?

   So much for prophetic underpinnings. The value of prophecy is that it gives us an inkling of things to come, but never detailing lead-ups to events themselves: Fulfillment is what gives us the whole picture. Nevertheless it is still possible to ascertain whether events are headed as prophesied; clear examples being the correlation between Jesus’ (Matthew 24:10-12), Paul’s (2Timothy 3:1-5), and Revelation’s (Revelation 9:20-21) analyses of the human condition at end times; or the resurgence of the beast’s worship (Revelation 13:3-4,8,14-15); or the widespread belief that disaster will be circumvented just before it becomes inescapable (Isaiah 28:15,18↔1Thessalonians 5:3).

   In Part II we will continue our discussion from the perspective of factual events now unfolding.

¹ Check your daily newscasts: You will find them there.

² To convey false gospels (Galatians 1:8-9).

³ Mistakenly delimited to 70 CE, while ignoring verse 22: “For these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.” But not all of Scripture was fulfilled back then: From Acts to Revelation prophecies kept unfolding until Revelation 16:17’s heavenly proclamation that everything “was done,” heralding the end of the time of grace (Isaiah 49:8, 55:6; Zephaniah 2:2-3) and the beginning of the Great Tribulation preceding the second coming of Jesus (Luke 21:25-27; Revelation 8, 9, 16).

Using 70 CE events to foreshadow Jerusalem’s fall at end-times is part of Scriptural methodology using past events to forecast future ones—which meets the criterion of Ecclesiastes 1:9-10.

⁴ While in Malachi, pay attention to verse 3:1: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he [John the Baptist↔Matthew 11:10-11; Mark 1:2-3↔Isaiah 40:3) shall prepare the way before me [Jesus]; and the Lord [Jesus], whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple [his body/Church wherein dwells Father‘s plenitude↔John 2:19; Colossians 2:9]...the angel of the covenant [↔Exodus 3:2-6, 19:17-25, 20:1-22], whom you delight in.”

If readers will check http://www.biblehub.com, you will note that all translations except one uses “messenger” instead of “angel.” While angels sometimes act as messengers [as Gabriel in Daniel 8:16 and Luke 1:26-38, or the unnamed ‘underling’ in Revelation 22:8-9], one wagers that identifying Yahweh Son proxy God as the “angel” mediating Father‘s everlasting covenant (Jeremiah 32:40↔Isaiah 63:9) is too threatening to those hooked on Trinitarian dogma. Scripture, however, is never evasive: The God speaking to Moses from the inside the burning bush was an Angel identifying himself as Jacob’s God (Exodus 3:2-6), the same Angel God Jacob acknowledged in Genesis 48:15-16 and fought with in Genesis 32:23-30↔Hosea 12:4. If no one has ever heard Father‘s voice or seen Him (John 5:37), then Exodus’ Angel God was Yahweh Son, who in time incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth; so that he has to have been the God seen and heard atop Sinai/Horeb by Moses and the Israelites (Exodus 19:17-19, 20:21-22, 24:9-11; Deuteronomy 4:11-12,33, 5:4,25-26). Even Paul, in his understanding that Jesus had always been/will be the same person throughout Scripture and eternity (Hebrews 13:8), identified the no longer ‘angelic’ Jesus as Father’s Angel whom he served and to whom he belonged (Acts 27:23).

So rather than compound others’ error, let us further stipulate that Malachi 3:1 is one of those instances where divine beings give witness about true followers and themselves as well. The first speaker validating John the Baptist’s ministry is doubtless Jesus; but the second speaker clarifying Son‘s nature and validating his Messianic credentials is the Holy Spirit revealing what Father instructed Him to say (John 16:13)—which corroborates John’s argument in 1John 5:7.

⁵ Contradiction? Hardly. Father is the One True God; Son is His appointed proxy until the time Son returns sovereignty to Father and submits to Him (1Corinthians 15:24-28↔John 14:28; Revelation 3:12). But note the verb “says,” as if only one Yahweh had been speaking. Because Son is Father‘s representative (John 1:18), His voice (John 5:37), His ‘doer’ [i.e., Verb↔Revelation 19:13], when Son speaks for Father, Son is quoting Father verbatim—as in Genesis 22:15-17↔Hebrews 6:13-17. But in Isaiah 44:6, Son is also establishing his rank vis-á-vis Father‘s: Son is not the One True God but the Commander-in-Chief of Father‘s host—both angelic (Hebrews 1:5-14) and human (Hebrews 2:5-10).

⁶ Not surprisingly, Pilate’s wife had a dream declaring Jesus’ innocence (Matthew 27:19); which could be interpreted as a divine attempt [↔Numbers 12:6] to corroborate Pilate’s own suspicions.

⁷ A spin on Luke 20:25. Jesus never suggested that material tributes should be withheld from Caesar [supposedly Tiberius], especially coins engraved with Caesar’s image; but that spiritual tributes belonging to Father should be offered Him [↔Matthew 7:6]. In other words, do not mix politics with religion.

⁸ Pay attention to detail: Solomon was here referencing Moses (Deuteronomy 30:2-10), who was shadow to Jesus (Deuteronomy 18:15↔Acts 3:20-23); and the Yahweh Solomon was addressing was Father in His Heavenly Temple (1Kings 8:30,32,34,36,39,43,45↔Hebrews 8:2-8), since He would not inhabit man-made temples (Acts 7:48, 17:24). So that the cloud-shrouded “glory of Yahweh” who filled Solomon’s Temple was not Father but Yahweh Son, whose presence in Scripture always involves clouds (Exodus 13:21-22, 14:19-20; Numbers 20:16; Psalms 77:20; Daniel 7:13; Luke 21:27; Revelation 1:7,10:1).