LIGHT: How great is that darkness!

U.S. researchers [announced recently] they have made the darkest material on Earth, a substance so black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light. [Reuters]

I'm afraid the material they seek already exists; Jesus spoke of it 2 millennia ago:

"If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

Matthew 6:23b

The Lord's implication is that there is a state of absolute darkness that is attainable (even the scientists, by virtue of their research, believe a condition absolutely free of all light is potentially achievable). But is not attainable in this age.

The article explains the researchers' discovery in this way ...

Made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end, [the] material is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness.

And the material is close to the long-sought ideal black, which could absorb all colors of light and reflect none.

From Genesis 1:3 to Revelation 22:5 the word "light" is mentioned in 200 verses (in 31 by the Lord), from Genesis 1:2 to Jude 1:13 the word "darkness" is mentioned in 145 verses (in 13 by the Lord); notice the absence of the latter in John's Apocalypse.

We must acknowledge that up until the "taking away" of the saints of God, darkness has no chance of an absolute existence because ...

"[We] are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

Matthew 5:14, 15

Consider the sense of all of this? Absolute darkness will be the standard for all in Perdition; absolute light the standard for all in Heaven, for ...

"And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever."

Revelation 22:5

'Nough said!

Christianity, Illustrations, Religion

HELL - No, not the one on earth!

ANOTHER GULF WAR! [Luke 16:19-31; Bosom of Abraham, Boundaries, Sheol, Signs]

In March of 1995, two American businessmen crossed the border between Iraq and Kuwait. Though they claimed they didn’t know the border was there … or that they might be arrested … they were arrested.

The border (the one they did not know about) was clearly marked by a continuous, uninterrupted ditch, ten feet deep and ten feet wide with a 15 foot berm on one side. Signs were also posted at several intervals, in several languages.

While stewing in an Iraqi prison, they pleaded for help from the outside. They implored those on the other side of the border they crossed to come to their aid. Help finally came; they were released and sent home.

Similarly, ignoring the gulf between himself and God, the rich man went about his business, disregarding the signs which clearly warned of the danger.

When the time came to pay the Piper, he claimed he didn’t know he could be imprisoned for all eternity, that it was a mistake that he hadn’t understood. He pleaded for assistance from the other side. And so, too, many will come on that same day, saying, “Lord! Lord!”


DEATH AND DARKNESS! [Luke 16:19-31; Other topics - Damnation, Darkness, Death, Eternity, Hopelessness, Perdition]

Carol Fuller was a 72-year-old grandmother living alone in West Hollywood in 1995. During a home invasion robbery she was locked in a closet, her home was ransacked and her car was stolen. All of this took place without anyone knowing. But the worst part followed.

Days later, investigators found her dead in the closet, her fingers worn literally to the bone, trying to claw her way out.

Sadly, Carol Fuller left this world experiencing much the same horror many will experience for the rest of eternity. Try as they might, claw as they might, they will only have death and darkness as their companion.

ASSURANCE: Sweet, sweet comfort!

Going Once, Twice! [John 3:3; 14:6]

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 79-year-old widower is offering to give his $375,000 estate to any church whose pastor can give him some answers about eternity. The Associated Press reports Clayton Goward isn’t on good terms with his children; so he is inviting clergy from a number of different churches to a forum on the afterlife. He hopes someone can enlighten him and make him feel better about facing eternity.

Sadly, not a few will be unable to do so. Many members of the clergy take people to an office in a building when they ought to take them to Jesus … only Jesus can give assurance concerning eternity, only the Holy Spirit can enlighten our souls.

[Adapted from “Questions About Life After Death Worth Money,” © 1999 American Family Radio News Network]

One Hole You Can't Get Out Of! [John 14:6]

People in America have long had a love affair with their cars but none to compare with those who own an off-road vehicle; ORV clubs abound for really serious owners.

A member of one such club recently requested he be buried in his four-wheel drive truck because, as he put it, "I ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get me out of."

Well, that 4x4 ain't gonna get him outa hell, but Jesus can!

Assurance, Christianity,
Illustrations, Religion