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In this last lesson on the types of the Old Testament, we will cover how Christ, the overcomers as His followers, and the totality of God’s redeemed people are typified in the Bible by the heavenly luminaries, the three lights created by God—the sun, the moon, and the stars (Gen. 1:14-18).
The Bible uses the heavenly luminaries, the three lights, in God’s creation as signs to portray God’s redeemed, because even though man sees his trespasses, iniquities, defilement, and uncleanness, God sees His people as clean and bright. According to God’s eternal view, He sees them as His chosen and redeemed people.
The Old Testament uses the sun, the moon, and the stars to signify the whole house of Jacob, which was chosen and redeemed by God (37:9-10). Jacob and his whole house were chosen and redeemed by God, but God chose and redeemed them not according to what they were and did in their natural life but according to the will of God’s supreme sovereignty and His abundant mercy (Rom. 9:10-18). According to man’s view, they were evil and defiled, but according to God’s view, they were bright and heavenly. Therefore, in God’s eternal view, they were as bright as the heavenly luminaries, the three lights. Among them Jacob was like the sun, his wife Rachel was like the moon, and his twelve sons were like twelve stars.
The New Testament uses the sun, the moon, and the stars to signify the totality of the saints in the Old and New Testaments with the sign of the universal corporate woman (Rev. 12:1). Both the Old Testament saints and the New Testament believers are the saints chosen and redeemed by God. God looks at them according to His eternal view and the purpose of His economy, not according to what they are and do. In this view, they are clean and bright, like the God-created heavenly luminaries, the three lights, which serve as symbols of them.
The universal woman in Revelation 12:1 is clothed with the sun. The sun signifies God’s people in the New Testament age. Before Christ came to the world, the Old Testament age was like a dark night. When Christ, as the rising sun, came from on high (Luke 1:78), the age of the sun came. Since Christ has come, the New Testament believers are living in the day, and since they are a part of Christ, they are part of the sun. The church, which is composed of all the New Testament believers, shines corporately in the day to show forth the glory of God (Phil. 2:15-16). The woman, who is clothed with the sun, indicates also that the New Testament believers constitute the major part of God’s people.
Before Christ came, it was the age of the moon, which signifies God’s people in the Old Testament age. The moon is underneath the feet of the universal woman because the age of the moon is the age of the law, which, in God’s eyes, should not be exalted like the stars.
The stars signify the patriarchs, God’s people before the law was given, shining individually in the dark night with the divine, heavenly light. These individual stars are the crown on the universal woman’s head, indicating that the glory of God’s grace and economy should be exalted. The number twelve signifies completion in God’s eternal economy. The patriarchs were under the principle of grace, not under the law; hence, they were a crown exalted on the head of the woman.
All God’s people in these three ages, who together constitute the woman, are light-bearers. Hence, she is the bright woman shining throughout all generations.
In both the Old and New Testaments the sun is used mainly to signify the Christ of glory.
With the sun as a symbol of Christ, the Bible uses the rising, dawning sun to signify Christ (Luke 1:78). Before the first coming of Christ to the earth, the Old Testament was like a dark night; hence, the Old Testament patriarchs are signified by the stars, and the Old Testament saints are signified by the moon. At His first coming, Christ appeared as the rising sun to bring in the day.
With the sun as a symbol of Christ, the Bible portrays Him as the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2). At His second coming to the earth, to those who fear the Lord’s name, Christ will appear as the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings. This will be the beginning of the days of the restoration of all things in the kingdom age, and there will no longer be a dim, dark night but rather a clear, bright day. Christ’s shining is full of the restoring power to eliminate death and decay in God’s creation.
In the restoration in the coming kingdom, Christ will shine like the sun, and the overcomers as His followers will also shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their heavenly Father, which is the heavenly part of the kingdom (Matt. 13:43). Furthermore, those who love the Lord will be like the sun rising in its might, and their path will be like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day (Judg. 5:31b; Prov. 4:18).
In the Bible the stars not only signify Christ but also the overcomers among God’s redeemed people.
As a symbol in the Old and New Testaments, a star is first used to portray Christ shining over the earth permeated by darkness in the age of the dark night.
Concerning the star as a symbol of Christ, the Bible says that He would be like a Star out of Jacob (Num. 24:17). This word was fulfilled at His first coming. The magi saw His star at its rising (Matt. 2:2), and when they arrived in the land of Judah, the star appeared to them again and led them to worship Him (vv. 9-11).
The New Testament reveals that Christ, who is signified by the heavenly luminaries, the three lights, is the bright morning star (Rev. 22:16). Concerning the types of Christ, the entire Bible begins with Him as the light (Gen. 1:3) and ends with Him as the morning star, a luminary. The morning star appears in the darkest hour, after midnight and prior to the dawn. This indicates that Christ will appear as the bright morning star in the darkest time, prior to the close of this age. His appearing as the morning star and His appearing as the Sun of righteousness will not be at the same time. The former occurs before dawn, and the latter occurs after the dawning of the day. As the Sun of righteousness after the dawning of the day, He will appear publicly to all the people on the earth. As the bright morning star before the dawning of the day, He will appear privately to the overcomers who are watching, preparing, and waiting for Him. While people are sleeping soundly in the night, He will secretly give Himself as the morning star to those who love Him and who watch and wait for Him (Rev. 2:28), that they may have the priority to taste the freshness of His presence at His coming back after a long absence. This will encourage them to earnestly seek the Lord’s presence and be watchful so that they will be able to stand before Him in the secret part of His coming, when He will come as a thief (Luke 21:36; Matt. 24:43).
Second Peter 1:19 says, “We have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” The day dawning and the morning star rising in the believers’ hearts is a metaphor. When Peter wrote his second Epistle, the church was already in desolation and had entered into the gloom of the dark night of apostasy. Hence, Peter told the believers who were in the gloom of the dark night of apostasy that they have the prophetic word of the Scriptures, to which they should give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place. When we give heed to the word of the Scriptures as to a lamp shining in a dark place, the condition within us will be like the day dawning and the morning star rising in our hearts.
Figuratively, the day dawns refers to the coming age of the kingdom as a bright day dawning; the morning star refers to Christ, who, in the darkest hour of the night, prior to the dawning of the kingdom age, will secretly rise in the hearts of those who love His appearing. In this sense, if we keep giving heed to the shining word of the Scriptures, we will have the kingdom as the day dawning in us and Christ as the morning star rising and shining in our hearts. This means that we will have His appearing as the morning star rising in our hearts to shine in the darkness of apostasy where we are today, before His actual appearing as the bright morning star.
Since God’s redeemed people have received His perfect redemption, they belong to Christ and are of the same kind as Christ. In the eyes of God, Christ is the shining star and the redeemed of God are bright stars.
According to Daniel 12:3, God’s redeemed in the Old Testament, that is, those who turn many to righteousness, who lead people to God, and who do righteousness by God, will shine as stars forever and ever. If the redeemed people of God in the Old Testament can shine as stars, the believers who have received God’s grace in the New Testament should shine much more as the heavenly stars in today’s dark age. The apostle Paul solemnly charges in Philippians 2:15-16 that we should be children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom we shine as luminaries, reflecting the word of life, the embodiment of Christ. The Lord Jesus also said that we are the light of the world, and He charged us to let our light shine over people (Matt. 5:14-16).
The Bible reveals that the serving messengers in the seven local churches are seven stars (Rev. 1:16, 20; 2:1; 3:1). In the darkness of the church’s desolation, the responsible ones in every local church should be like stars in the night shining from heaven over the church in darkness. Without this, one is not qualified to serve and take the lead in a local church. The messengers who lead the churches should shine as heavenly stars, and all the saints under their leadership should imitate them to shine as stars according to the Lord.
The heavenly luminaries, the three lights—the sun, the moon, and the stars—signify Christ, the overcomers as His followers, and the totality of God’s redeemed people. The Old Testament uses the sun, the moon, and the stars to signify the whole house of Jacob, which was chosen and redeemed by God. Among the redeemed, Jacob was like the sun, his wife Rachel was like the moon, and his twelve sons were like twelve stars. The New Testament uses the sun, the moon, and the stars to signify the totality of the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament believers are typified as the sun, the Old Testament saints as the moon, and Old Testament patriarchs as twelve stars.
In both the Old and New Testaments the sun is used mainly to signify the Christ of glory. He appears as the rising sun to bring in the day, and He is also the Sun of righteousness. At His second coming to the earth, to those who fear the Lord’s name, Christ will appear as the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings, and His shining will be full of the restoring power to eliminate death and decay in God’s creation. Furthermore, the overcomers as the followers of Christ will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their heavenly Father, which is the heavenly part of the kingdom. Those who love the Lord will be like the sun rising in its might, and their path will be like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
In the Bible the stars not only signify Christ but also the overcomers among God’s redeemed people. The star portrays how Christ shines over the earth, which is permeated by darkness, in the age of the dark night. As the Star out of Jacob, He came to the land of Judah in His first coming. As the bright morning star, He will appear in the darkest hour, after midnight and prior to the dawn. This means that while people are sleeping soundly in the night, He will secretly give Himself as the morning star to the overcomers, those who love Him and who are watching, preparing, and waiting for Him, that they may have the priority to taste the freshness of His presence at His coming back after a long absence. Furthermore, He will rise as the morning star in the hearts of those who love His appearing to shine in the darkness of apostasy where they are today, before His actual appearing as the bright morning star. Since God’s redeemed people have received His perfect redemption, they belong to Christ and are of the same kind as Christ. Hence, they also become bright stars shining as luminaries in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation to reflect the word of life, the embodiment of Christ. Today in the darkness of the church’s desolation, the responsible ones in every local church should be like stars in the night shining from heaven over the church in darkness, and all the saints under their leadership should imitate them to shine as stars according to the Lord.
