I AM the Bright Morning Star - Hope for the coming new day!

Bible Study Commentary on Jesus the Great I AM

I AM the Bright Morning Star - Hope for the coming new day!

by I Gordon

We have come now to the last I AM in the Bible and the last I AM in this series. Not surprisingly, this I AM is found in the last page in your Bible. Well, actually, that's probably a lovely colourful map or a concordance list of all the words starting with Z in the Bible so forget that! But it is found on the last page of the last book of the Bible - Revelation. Before I mention what it is (don't peak at the title!), let me ask you a question - What is the very last statement Jesus made in the Bible? It is this:

"Yes, I am coming quickly."

The last statement Jesus made is about His return. He is coming quickly. So if that is the last statement, what is the second to last? It is the last title that Jesus speaks of Himself and our last I AM. Here it is:

'I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.'

Now I could have focused on this statement 'I am the root and the descendant of David' but I decided not to as I have written about that before when we looked at the Messianic Psalms. You may remember that in the gospels it says:

Matthew 22:41-46 while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, (42) 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? "The son of David," they replied. (43) He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, (44) 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." '(45) If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" (46) No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Jesus trapped the Pharisees! Yes, the Messiah would be the son of David in that He would be born as a descendant of David. Yet He wasn't just the descendant for He was also David's Lord! That puzzle was too much for the Pharisees and from that day they didn't ask Jesus any more questions! So that is what we see here in Revelation - Jesus says He is both the root (ie source) and the descendant of David. He came both before and after King David!

But what I want to focus on for this last message is the second part of this statement - 'I AM... the bright morning star'. Here is what we will look at:

"Ok, enough intro... what is the morning star please?!'

Sure. Happy to oblige. In astronomy the term "morning star" is most commonly used as a reference to the planet Venus as it rises in the east. So before dawn, before the sun rises, first there is the rising of what we call 'the morning star'. It is a pointer to the new day that is about to unfold. Outside of the sun and the moon, Venus is the brightest object in the night sky. You probably have all seen the morning star rise (unless you enjoy your sleep so much that you have never got out of bed early enough!) But I came across this beautiful video shot in a time lapse down in Otago, New Zealand which captures it really well. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so what about a video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9aMR2Jj_vo

Now, if you were to ask for one word that sums up what the morning star speaks of it is this: HOPE. In the natural it is a pointer to the dawn of a new day. In the spiritual it also speaks of the sure and confident hope that we have of the dawn of a coming new day. Now before diving into what that means for Jesus and His return, let's just look at a few verses that give a wee Bible history on this particular phrase.

Bible star history - Let's go back... all the way back!

So we have seen that this phrase was used by Jesus, of Himself, in the last book of the Bible. But did you know that it is also used in arguably the oldest book in the Bible? That is, the book of Job. God, when speaking to Job, gives us a glimpse of one of the very first scenes after He created the earth. Speaking to Job He says:

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? "On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)

When it speaks of the morning stars and the sons of God in this passage it is speaking of the angelic realm. Angels are often symbolized by stars especially in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 1:20 Jesus says that the seven stars that John saw are seven angels. In Revelation 12 it speaks of Satan being cast out of heaven and taking a third of the stars with him (Rev 12:4). So in Job, it gives us a beautiful picture of these angels, called the morning stars, singing, rejoicing and shouting for joy over what God had made. Sometimes we hear singing that we describe as angelic. 'Oh what angelic voices!' 'What an angelic choir'. Well, these angels, these morning stars, literally did form an angelic choir right at the dawn of creation and they couldn't help themselves. The beauty of the dawn of the new day that was coming and they had to sing and rejoice!

And yet there was one angelic being that wasn't singing. There was one morning star that wasn't happy at all. In fact he hated what He saw.

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. (Isa 14:12-15)

You see here the one who didn't sing at creation. His name is Lucifer or, literally, light bearer, He had been God's anointed cherub, the highest order of angelic being. He WAS a beautiful morning star, a son of the dawn. Yet enamored with his own beauty (Ezek 28:12-14) and proud desire to be like the Most High (Isa 14:13)... he fell. And great was that fall. Now we know the rest of the story. He set about to deceive and destroy God's creation and all that was dear to God's heart. Primarily that meant deceiving and drawing away that which God had said was 'very good' - the pinnacle of Yahweh's creation - mankind. And you only have to take a look at the 6 o'clock news to see what a mess humanity was left in.

Yet hope rises for a new star is seen!

As we move forward with this Bible star history, we see that God had a plan! Hope was seen in a new star rising. Here is a quiz starter for you. Who said this 'I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near.' Oooh... could be a toughie I know¹. Here is part of the prophecy:

The oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. (Num 24:16-17)

Yes! It comes from the infamous prophet Balaam. Balaam heard the words of God and saw a vision of the coming King. He saw Him, but knew it wasn't for his time He beheld Him, but knew His coming wasn't near. And yet look at how He described Him: 'There is a star coming out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel.' He knew this was the King and a great light... a ray of vast hope was coming from out of Israel!

Following this star onwards you will no doubt remember that when the wise men came to Herod they said "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him?" (Mat 2:2) They had followed His star which led them to Jerusalem, and then it appeared again to lead them to the specific house in Bethlehem.²

Back to Revelation - Why is Jesus the Bright Morning Star?

"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (Rev 22:16-17)

So what do we see from this passage concerning the bright morning star? What is the context of this title? It is to do with His return. We have seen that the bright morning star rises while it is still dark, before the sun dawns, to give the hope of a coming new day. That is what this title means for us. Let's explore this:

Ok, so what should we do then?

What we do is what Peter, in the Bible, told us to do. Did you know that he spoke of the morning star as well? Here is the passage:

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2Pe 1:16-19)

Where it says 'we have the word of the prophets made more certain' it can also be translated (as in the NKJV) 'we have the prophetic word confirmed'. In other words, Peter is saying that you should pay attention to prophecy and especially when you see the prophetic word being confirmed. It is like a light shining in a dark place giving hope for what is about to occur. And our generation, this generation, has seen more prophecies fulfilled since the time of Jesus. For example:

• God said He would restore the Jews to the land of Israel from all the nations - This year is Israel's 70th anniversary! (Deut 30:3, Ezek 36:24)

• The desolate land of Israel would again blossom and be fruitful in the last days. (Zechariah 7:14, Isaiah 27:6)

• God Himself would defend Israel amongst many enemies and cause Israel to be mighty in battle (Zech 12:8)

• In the last days, Jerusalem would be a burden, a stumbling stone, to the entire world. (Zech 12:2-3)

• An increase in disasters, earthquakes, plagues and wars (Matt 24:3-7)

• A rise in false religious leaders, deception and those claiming to be Christ (leading to a falling away from the faith) (Matt 24:4-5)

• An explosion in knowledge and travel. (Dan 12:4)

• Increase in wickedness and a decrease in morals (days of Noah). (Matt 24:12,37)

• God's people will be persecuted, hated and killed. (Matt 24:9)

We also see prophetic themes in the pipeline emerging...

• The coming destruction of Damascus (Isa 17:1-2)

• The rise of Gog and the alliance of Russia, Turkey and Iran (along with others) to come against Israel in the last days (Ezek 38.39)

• A Middle-East 7 year covenant or peace treaty with 'the many' (Dan 9:27)

• The establishment of a third temple in Jerusalem (2 Thes 2:4, Rev 11:1-2)

• The emergence of a world government, world religion and eventual one world leader (Rev 13:3-8)

• A global financial system and the mark of the beast (Rev 13:16-17)

All of these things, and more, give light to what time it is on God's calendar. Paul said (as mentioned earlier) that we should 'know the time' (Rom 13:11) Peter says 'you do well to pay attention to it (the prophetic word in general and especially that which is fulfilled). It is not doom and gloom - it is light and hope. A new day is coming and all these things point to that. Yes it is dark. Yes it will get darker. The picture of Christ as the morning star gives the promise of great hope for the future.³

So how will the rising of morning star affect us?

You will note that Peter emphasizes something different in relation to the rising of the morning star. He says we would do well to pay attention to the words of the prophets confirmed until 'the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts'. Peter says that at the coming of Christ the morning star will arise in your hearts. So what does that mean? At the moment Peter says we are in a dark place. But we have a light which is the prophetic word. But one day the morning star, with all it's light will arise in our hearts. Remember - Jesus is the morning star! He gave a promise to the true church was that He would give them 'the morning star' (Rev 2:28) To me this speaks of full realisation (of hope), full illumination and full transformation.

Conclusion

At the dawn of the first creation the morning stars (the angelic realm) sang and rejoiced. It was a new day and there was joy over God's new creation. Yet it was marred by the one that had once been a light bearer, a morning star himself - Lucifer. Yet we've seen how God promised hope through Balaam's prophecy that "a star will arise from Jacob, a scepter out of Israel'.

And this star is the Lord Jesus. He said I am the bright morning star. And as that star He gives hope for the future, today. What is coming will not only cause the angels to sing once more but will cause all of creation to rejoice. Even the trees in the field will clap their hands! The groaning of creation will be replaced with rejoicing. And, as we have seen, this rising of the morning star will have a pretty profound effect on us as believers as well! It will mean full realisation of hope, full illumination and revelation, and full transformation!

It seems like a fitting place to end this I AM series!