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Light Becoming Darkness

Light Becoming Darkness

by

Tim Jennings, M.D.
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Jesus said,

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22, 23).

The eye (lamp) is not the light itself—not photons, not the truth—but it is the medium through which the light (truth) shines. In the metaphor, Jesus is telling us that if something is wrong with the faculties that are designed to recognize, understand, process, and receive the truth, then rather than being enlightened, one will not only remain in the dark, but also the previous understanding (light) they had will prevent them from seeing new light.

God is an infinite being who lives in unapproachable light—truth, love, power, and ability (1 Timothy 6:16). Created beings are finite; we never become God and cannot enter into infinity. This means that there is always more truth for created beings to learn, new insights to comprehend, and more epiphanies to experience. Throughout all eternity future, the righteous will live lives of never-ending new discoveries, new insights, new light, new truth, growing constantly because they love the truth and long to advance in it as soon as their finite abilities can assimilate the next portion of God’s infinite truth.

The wicked, the lost, have a different attitude toward truth. Paul said that the wicked “perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10 NIV84). The lost love their beliefs, their dogmas, their rituals, their religion, or their rejection of religion, but they do not love the truth. When new truth (light) presents, they resist it, are threatened by it, and often label it heresy. And by rejecting the new unfolding light (truth), the previous genuine heavenly light becomes darkness to them, which prevents them from growing in truth until they accept the new light they are actively rejecting.

So how exactly does heavenly light become darkness to people?

In 5 CE, when Jesus was just a toddler, it was heavenly truth (light) that the Messiah who was promised to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:15) and who would descend through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was soon to be revealed to the world and start His earthly ministry. But since 33 CE, after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, is it still heavenly light—truth—that the Messiah is going to be born in Israel, that the Messiah is yet to come, or has that truth become darkness to those who reject the advancing light that Jesus is our Messiah? If someone today rejects Jesus as Messiah and clings to the Old Testament prophecies about a Messiah who is yet to be born to us, are they in the light or are they in darkness?

Because the eyes (minds) of those who rejected Jesus were biased, prejudiced, selfish, and preferred the lies to the truth, the light was rejected and did not “enlighten” those who crucified Jesus Likewise today, all who reject advancing truth will find that previous truth has, in fact, become darkness (falsehood) to them. And until they accept the truth they are currently resisting they will remain in the falsehood of presenting a truth from the past which is not truth for today.

This has happened throughout human history when people discover a truth appropriate for their time in history but do not advance in the unfolding truth.

One example of this in the Adventist Church is how the message of the three angels of Revelation 14 was initially presented as the heavenly light shown down upon Adventist reformers, but as the truth was advancing, many in leadership rejected the advancing light at the 1888 General Conference in Minneapolis and, thus, the truth has become darkness to them.

In our magazine The Final Message of Mercy to the World: The Three Angels, we describe in detail what we understand to be the unfolding truth of these messages. The truth that was rejected by leadership in 1888 was the truth about God’s law being design law—the protocols upon which the Creator built reality to operate, and that the Ten Commandment law was not always in existence but was added by God as a gracious therapeutic tool specifically designed for human sinners.

But if one rejects the advancing light, if one understands God’s law to be imposed rules, the kind of laws that sinful humans make up, then one not only ends up worshiping a creature instead of the Creator, but they also interpret Scripture, including the three angels, via human legal systems—heavenly courtrooms, legal records, legal judgments, legal payments, inflicted punishments, etc.

However, when we return to worshiping the Creator and understand His laws are design laws, then one reads the three angels as they are supposed to be read—God’s final warning to the world of how reality works and what happens to those who reject Him and His design laws for life.

The high points of the messages are:

  • The central thread of the messages is about worship.
  • The first angel focuses on the eternal good news, which is the good news about God that is true in eternity past as well as eternity future—that God is not like Satan has alleged Him to be. He is the God who creates reality, whose laws are design laws, the protocols life exists and operates upon. We are called back to worship Him as Creator, and we are to stop worshiping a creature in the place of the Creator, and, thereby, give glory to God, for the hour in human history has come for people to make a right judgment about God—the hour of His judgment has come!
  • When we recognize the truth about God, we realize the system of imposed law with a punishing god is the fallen system of Babylon, the system of confusion that has resulted in the more than 41,000 different Christian groups arguing over whose doctrines are right, whose creeds are correct, whose fundamental beliefs are accurate. We are called to come out of that worldly way of thinking and functioning and return to worshiping our Creator by living in harmony with His designs for life (i.e., have His living law written upon our hearts and minds—Hebrews 8:10).
  • But if we don’t do that, if we instead reject the light and cling to the imposed-law lies, then, via the law of worship (by beholding we are changed; 2 Corinthians 3:18), we become like the false creature-god we worship and are marked in our characters (foreheads) and works (hands) to be like the beastly god we worship and …
  • Via the law of liberty, God sets us free to reap that which we have sown into our hearts, minds, and souls. After long, patient, gracious, merciful interventions by God, when people ultimately reject His truth and love, God gives them freedom and lets them go to reap the results of their own choices (Galatians 6:8). He stops using His power to protect them from what sin does, and this is known as God’s wrath (Romans 1:18, 24, 26, 28). When God no longer shields people from the devastation of breaking His design laws, then they reap the suffering that unremedied sin brings.
  • And via the law of love and truth, when the wicked stand in God’s life-giving glory, the eternal fires of infinite truth and love that flow out from Him like a river of flames (Daniel 7:10; Hebrews 12:29), the unsaved come into full awareness of their own selfishness, guilt, shame, and evil and they can no longer hide from the reality of who they have chosen to become.

This is the God of reality restoring all things back into harmony with how He constructed life to exist and operate, back into harmony with Himself and His design laws for life. It occurs when God stops using power to shield sinners from the unavoidable results of what sin does to them. It does not occur as a result of God using power to inflict pain, suffering, and death—that is how evil, sinful human governments work. God is waiting for His true friends to stand up and accept the advancing light and say of Him what is right so that people, at this time in human history, can have a real choice, see clearly the difference between the Creator God and the evil dictator, the punishing legalistic creature god, that has supplanted Him in the minds of billions—and then choose to reject the liar and return to worshiping our one and only true God and Savior Jesus Christ.

As we are about to embark on a new year, I encourage you to start it with a new resolve to grow in the truth. I invite you to be a lover of truth, study for yourself, and pray, asking God to give you a heart and mind that loves truth and is eager to grow and advance in the unfolding heavenly light as soon as you are capable of understanding it, to expose any beliefs you have that are currently obstacles to the truth, and to become yourself a source of heavenly light in this dark and sinful world.

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Tim Jennings, M.D.

Timothy R. Jennings, M.D., is a board-certified psychiatrist, master psychopharmacologist, Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Fellow of the Southern Psychiatric Association, and an international speaker. He served as president of the Southern and Tennessee Psychiatric Associations and is president and founder of Come and Reason Ministries. Dr. Jennings has authored many books, including The God-Shaped Brain, The God-Shaped Heart, and The Aging Brain.

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Testimony 37

Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

I can tell you that this new, “present truth” message is far grander and life-changing than when I shifted from being an agnostic and then a nominal Christian. It has radically altered my worldview, because it reveals a God that makes sense. It is a revolution. I believe that Dr. Jennings’ message is the final message that must go to the world. If any message could be called “righteousness by faith,” as abused as that term is by the right and the left, this is that message, because Jennings’ biblical message identifies a God who is different, whose character isn’t an impossible contradiction.

I walk this path now without fear. I see people differently, and the Holy Spirit burns in my heart. Many call Dr. Jennings’ message false and compromising, but it isn’t false, because I’ve seen the fruits within my mind and body. It is not compromising, because in this message is the only road to holiness that makes any sense. No longer do I behold a pagan god who is always angry and suspicious. Instead, I behold a God who is freeing and loving, always working for our good, and giving me every reason to love my enemy even to my own death, just as Jesus pleads with us. God is good.

Anthony L., CA, USA

 

Testimony 30

God lead me to your book “The God-Shaped Brain” while I was searching for another book about the brain and then to your interview about your book on HeartWise Ministries [where] I found out about [Come And Reason Ministries]. I’m now devouring the webcasts of your Bible studies. I have been so greatly blessed and I thank God so much for your courage to speak the Truth in love no matter what. Listening to you contrast the two opposing systems (laws) and digging deep to unearth the hidden treasures in the Bible makes me so incredibly happy and I feel very blessed to be part of your Bible Study Group although I live far away. I am just so excited that there is a group of people that is spreading the Truth about the character of God and it saddens me how few realize what our Father in Heaven is really like.

Kessy B., Australia

 

Testimony 61

I grew up in a prominent protestant church and had what I like to call religious anxiety. I’ve always had questions about God and Salvation that no one could seem to answer.  I didn’t know how to find resolution. During 2020, at the height of my anxiety, I fell to my knees and begged God to show me truth and light and to give me the hope that I’ve been longing for. Days later, I stumbled upon your online videos and it was like a veil was lifted and EVERYTHING made sense! For the first time in my almost 39 years of life, my religious/spiritual anxiety has lessened. I feel a sense of freedom and peace I’ve NEVER had before… and it’s all because my view of God has changed. Thank you!

Ashleighn C.

 

Testimony 62

I would like to express my thanks to the C&R team for creating a platform from which people can learn to trust in God and grow. My life is a witness to the effectiveness of this ministry. Without believing the truth about God as you have shown, I don’t know what my life would be like. I had given up on God helping me with certain sins – it was all useless. Given that the scripture is clear and God is so good, how could I have betrayed him so many times? I was a yo-yo christian; spinning up and down. My faith and enthusiasm was driven by discoveries/threats that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. But when I watched your “Healing the Mind” seminar, it was like a light finally went on. I could see God had no plan to hurt me, the danger came from sin, and that He is working to protect me and strengthen me. Thank you for allowing God to use you. The message God gave C&R saved my life!

Antony N. – Hobart, Australia

 

Testimony 58

I have been watching your videos in The Power of Love seminar and I must say these have liberated me and have improved my relationship with the Lord. I am no longer terrified of him as I was before following your teachings.

Thando N., South Africa

 

Testimony 46

Over the past couple of years God has been expanding my view of Himself and His character. Along my approximately 40-year journey, I have often had questions, but was hesitant to voice these and step outside the traditionally accepted thinking, for fear of admitting that I may in fact be eternally lost. In the recesses of my thinking has been the thought – if one blindly accepts (which is widely regarded as “real faith”) and does not question, is this really ‘truth?’ I often find it challenging to grapple with very theological ‘speak,’ but Dr. Jennings has a real gift of explaining spiritual concepts with clear practical examples. The weekly discussions are growing my Christian experience and slowly changing my view of how to live as a child of God in today’s complex world. Finally the whole Old Testament sanctuary teaching moved in my mind from fantasy to reality!

Beverly S., South Africa

 

Testimony 22

I have found your Bible study class lectures to be very inspiring and useful as I prepare to teach class every other week. I subscribe to the podcast and download your notes on the weeks I teach. The audio and notes are such a great help in preparing. My own understanding of God’s character has grown as I teach the class. Commendations on the thought-provoking and well-prepared material Come and Reason provides. Personally, I get excited by the tie you make between the spiritual and mental/physical domains.

A.A. Corrales, NM, USA

 

Testimony 73

I have been truly blessed by your blogs and other resources. They have helped me to see things in a much brighter light and to reason things out better. Thank you so much for your ministry. Whenever I have the opportunity I pass along your material to my friends.

R. Noseworthy, Newfoundland, Canada

Testimony 12

I have been really blessed reading your response to the various questions on your site.

K.C., OH, USA

 

Testimony 34

I was introduced to Come and Reason Ministries by accident, via a passing comment made in a bible study class we were visiting. I checked this website out and my life was changed. The understanding of the truth of God’s character, and how we apply it, is so right. The tricky part is consistently applying which “lens” to look through. As I began to understand, I started sharing the basics of this understanding with a discussion group I was leading and, suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense that never used to. At the same time, I enjoyed an amazing opportunity. I was able to conduct a full bible study at WORK! What an amazing experience! It is such a joy to share the truth about God and to share how it all fits in the war between God and Satan. So many people benefit when we have a correct understanding about how God works and who He really is! Thank you for this transformational understanding. Keep up the good work! God Bless you!

Tony P., CA, USA

 

Testimony 23

I would just like to add my voice to the many people who, I believe, must have contacted you to express their appreciation for the “Healing the Mind” DVDs. I’ve been listening to your Bible study class discussions for many years and I’ve been personally blessed by your research and teaching about the character of God.

L. G., Oakland, MI, USA

 

Testimony 19

I truly believe that to know who God really is the first step to understand ourselves in a balanced and kind way, so the healing can take place. Your approach really makes sense – Thank you for your ministry!

A.M., Pittsburg, PA, USA

Testimony 70

I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

Testimony 15

I have been sharing Come And Reason Ministries Bible study lessons with several folk. You have such a beautiful view of the plan of salvation. If we had this message preached when I was young, my generation would still all be in church.

H. R., New Zealand

Testimony 25

I just want to say thank you so much for your conversations via YouTube. I regularly tune in to your lectures, “Let’s Talk” sessions, and many others. Through these I’ve found greater depth and meaning to God’s word. Thanks for all that you do and please continue. I’m currently working in the middle of Silicon Valley at Stanford University. I feel like God really has me in the right place right now and I’m sensing that your teachings might be part of it.

B. F., Silicon Valley, CA, USA