04-27-2020 The People Have Seen a Great Light

Isaiah 9:1–2 NLT

1 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. 2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

The Darkness of Judgment

Isaiah 8:22 ESV

22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

2 Kings 15:29 ESV

29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria.

Formerly the governor of Kalhu (Biblical Calah/Nimrud)[3]

mjs - Calu/Nimrud is mentioned as being built by Cush in region of Babylon in Genesis 10:11-12

and a general, the usurper Pulu assumed his Assyrian throne-name (Tiglath-Pileser [III]) from two more-legitimate predecessors.

He described himself as a son of Adad-nirari III in his inscriptions, but the accuracy of this claim remains uncertain.

He seized the throne in the midst of civil war on 13 Ayaru, 745 BCE.[1][7]

As a result of Pulu seizing the throne in a bloody coup d'état, the old royal family was slaughtered,[3] and the new monarch set Assyria on the path to expand the empire in order to ensure the survival of the kingdom.[3

The Promise of Restoration and Light

Matthew 4:12–17 ESV

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent - metanoeo From: meta - with or after From: noeo - to perceive, understand think upon, heed

So literally to reconsider, to change one's thinking afterward, change of mind

This is why the declaration of the Good News is so important. It is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that changes how a person thinks about sin, righteousness and judgment.

Jesus has come into the Darkness of Judgment, The Darkness of Unbelief and Become the Eternal Promise of Isaiah 9:2