The Dawn Has Begun
The Song of the Universe: Discovering Christ in the poetry of creation
The Star Beyond Bethlehem
In the previous article, we explored the Star of Bethlehem and how this celestial event served as a literal sign announcing the birth of Christ. Whatever form this sign took, whether a comet recorded by ancient Chinese astronomers, or a rare planetary conjunction, its significance was found not in the heavens themselves but in the One to whom it pointed.
This is the pattern we’ve found in Scripture. The created order is depicted as a witness of something greater than itself. Stars, planets, seasons, mountains, rivers, and living creatures all possess a sacramental quality. They are signs, not in the sense of secret codes to be deciphered, but in the sense that they reveal something of the wisdom and purposes of their Creator. (And how beautiful that God infuses each work of art with divine messaging.)
The Star of Bethlehem may be the clearest example of this principle. For a brief moment, the heavens fulfilled their purpose in an unusually direct way. The lights that had been appointed “for signs” in Genesis 1 announced the arrival of the One through whom all things were made.
Yet the New Testament eventually takes us beyond the sign itself and directs our attention to something even more remarkable.
The star that appeared over Bethlehem was pointing to an even greater “Star.” This we learn at the very end of Scripture, when Jesus declares:
“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” —Revelation 22:16
The Message Behind Venus
This title Jesus speaks over Himself is striking for several reasons, not least because it draws our attention back to the heavens. Of all the images Jesus could have chosen to describe Himself, He identifies with the celestial body that announces the dawn.
The morning star is an ancient reference to the planet Venus. Though not a star in the modern astronomical sense, it’s been known throughout history as one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Just before sunrise, when darkness still covers the landscape and the world waits for the first light of day, Venus appears often in the eastern sky with remarkable brilliance.
For countless generations, travelers, shepherds, sailors, and farmers understood the significance of this “star.” The Morning Star was an announcement of the dawn. Even though the sun remained below the horizon, and night had not yet dissipated, the bright appearance of Venus was evidence that a new day was already on its way. The sun was about to break through the horizon line and wash away the darkness.
As you can see, the connection to Jesus and his mission is astounding.
The Dawn Has Begun
Jesus entered the world in the middle of history . . . not the end of it. The old creation was still groaning beneath the weight of sin, violence, and death. Rome still ruled. Slavery, murder, and war still scourged the planet. Yet through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, something entirely new entered the story.
The age to come appeared within this current dark age and the future broke into the present.
Because of this, our faith is not some wishful thinking about what may happen someday. Faith is learning to live in the light of what has already begun. The bright Morning Star announces a glorious certainty that does not depend upon present appearances. The dawn is coming because the dawn has already begun—period.
Like Venus in the night sky, Jesus is the stark pinprick of light that signals the end of humanity’s long battle with darkness. As we’ve been explaining, this is bigger than just a message of forgiveness or some allusive hope of life after death (as incredible as those things are).
The Child born in Bethlehem, who grew up to overcome death itself, was the first light of humanity’s true destiny: to be eternal temples of the living God, participants in divine life of the Father.
The Star of Bethlehem first announced this Mystery, but the Morning Star now helps to unveil its full meaning . . .
The Morning Star Within
In his final communication to the young and growing church, the apostle Peter told believers that we are partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Amazingly, his goes on to reference the “morning star” in this same chapter. And this reference is not about a Star far out in the heavens, but something much closer.
Let’s peer into this wondrous gem of Scripture:
So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. —2 Peter 1:19
Right before he says this, Peter reminds his readers of another pivotal moment in the life of Christ, a moment that he himself was an “eyewitness” of—the transfiguration. This is where Jesus’s true identity was unveiled with dazzling light as God the Father declared the following:
“This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased!”
What’s incredible here is that Peter just got done saying that we are partakers of Christ. In other words, what belongs to Him, we receive for ourselves. God’s declaration of Christ as a Beloved Son is also a declaration over us!
Are you catching this? This is what we are to “pay attention” to—as to a lamp shining in a dark place. Though darkness still appears to linger all around us, this word is true today. Peter then assures us that this truth will be fully visible one day—because the morning star will arise in our hearts.
These are unfathomable words. If Jesus is the Morning Star, then this is a direct proclamation of his glory rising within us. We are beloved sons and daughters right now—Christ being the first-fruit—and one day our true identity will be fully unveiled before the entire universe!
Awakened Humanity as a Starry Host
A divine side-note: When I flipped my Bible open to look for a Morning Star reference, I opened right away Philippians 2 where I came upon a wildly relevant passage. Before I show it to you, I want you to see the verses right before it. These include the famous phrase “work out your salvation with fear and trembling…”
Check it out:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Without going into a deep teaching on this, I believe the “fear and trembling” part has to do with refusing to place our confidence in our own efforts. Our salvation is already within us. “Working it out” is about letting it flow through faith. How can I say this? Because Paul affirms it when he says right in the same sentence: “for it is God who works in you…”
Our “work” is to let Him work through us—which has to do with trusting in our union with Christ.
But here’s the kicker. Paul goes on to describe what happens when we let the life of God flow from within us:
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life… —Philippians 2:12-16 NIV
We shine like stars!
This brings us full circle. The Star of Bethlehem was announcing something greater than a singular Star, and it was about something more than a singular Person. Yes, Jesus is “the Light of the World,” but he told his disciples the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount—you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
So, as we wrap up this reflection, let’s pause at the last line in this passage. Paul tells us to “hold firmly to the word of life…”
What is the word of life? It’s the word of Christ in you. It’s the same thing Peter tells his readers to “pay attention” to.
Jesus is the first and guaranteed fruit (morning star) of our identity. Holding firmly to this promise is like clinging to a lamp shining in the lingering darkness.
One day, the light will fully dawn . . . but for now we get to glow in the dark!
💎 🌾 💎
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