Though I intend to talk about the day of sanctifying ourselves and the time for our feasting with Abraham in the kingdom of God. I find it necessary to warn you about the days of darkness.
What is this event that we are calling The Day of Sanctifying – The Time for Feasting? How is this event tied in with The Days of Darkness? How are The Days of Darkness connected with the promise given to Abraham and to his seed? What does the promise given to Abraham have to do with world events today? As you know a divided house will not stand!
Our Lord Christ Jesus mention about The Days of Darkness and the time of feasting at Matthew 8:11-12 where we will begin to analyze what Jesus was talking about.
Matthew 8:11-12… I tell you that many will come from the east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
First, we need to identify that The Day of Sanctifying – The Time for Feasting has to do with entering into the kingdom of heaven and being at the marriage feast with the patriarchs of the promise.
Next we need to ask who are these that come to recline at the table in the kingdom of God? Then we need to know who are the sons of the kingdom that are thrown out? Lastly where is this place where they will gnash their teeth and weep?
To understand what Christ Jesus was talking about we have to understand the context of which he was speaking in. He spoke to the crowds about those who would feast with Abraham in the kingdom of the heavens and the context had to do with one’s strong faith.
Christ Jesus reportedly spoke two times about the sons of the kingdom along with the gnashing of their teeth, the first is here at Matthew 8:12 and again at Matthew 13 in the illustration of the weeds and wheat. Let’s read about it:
Matthew 13:24-43… He presented another parable to them: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. The landowner’s slaves came to him and said, Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from? An enemy did this! he told them. So, do you want us to go and gather them up? the slaves asked him. No, he said. When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them but store the wheat in my barn. Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us… 37 He replied: “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness. They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears should listen!
After reading this passage of Scripture do you know who are the sons of the kingdom of Matthew 8:12? They are those who think that they belong in God’s kingdom but were judged to be unfit to be there and are thrown out.
Who are those who recline at the table in the kingdom of heaven? These are the ones who were judged to have strong faith and not filled with pride or self-importance.
We will discuss more about feasting in God’s Kingdom under the subheading Feasting in the Kingdom because I want to discuss more about the gnashing of the teeth now.
Gnashing Your Teeth
To gnash one’s teeth is an expression that indicates someone’s emotion and state of mind. It is a word picture, a description of someone grinding or biting one’s teeth forcibly together in frustration or in pain. This is a negative emotion and a reaction to intense suffering to information they received.
Jesus in his illustrations use this expression about gnashing of the teeth so what else can we learn by looking at his illustrations that use this expression?
Matthew 13:47-50… Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. So, it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So, we can extrapolate that there will be a separation between the righteous and the wicked at the end of the age that will cause some great grief knowing that they have been judged and placed out of the kingdom in their torment.
Moving to the next three parables:
Matthew 22:8-14… Then he told his slaves, the banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet. So, those slaves went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. But when the king came in to view the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. So, he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Again, in this illustration of the marriage feast someone is found to be unfit or unworthy because they were not prepared for the marriage so they were thrown into the darkness where they will gnash their teeth.
The next illustration Jesus told was about the unfaithful slave and the punishment they were to receive. Jesus said that their punishment would be as severe as those who were like the hypocrites. Matthew 24:45-51
With everything that we have learned so far about Jesus illustration it seems to be about the mindset, attitude, and actions of those who come into judgement and of those who receive a harsh judgment of being thrown into the darkness and experience the fire of destruction.
Next Jesus Christ sums up his illustrations about the coming judgment with this last two parables. One parable is of the 10 virgins, and the other is of the three slaves who were given coins to do business for God Kingdom. Matthew 25:1-30
After reading and reviewing these last three parables we should start to get the idea that Christ Jesus is not necessarily talking about people in these parables but that he is also speaking about those angels who work in God’s Kingdom. Because they too are being judged faithful or unfaithful, productive or unproductive with their actions and attitude as respects to God’s incoming kingdom.
What has led them to their lack of acting responsibly toward God, Christ and the incoming kingdom? It is almost like they don’t care, or maybe they don’t want the decree of God to come to fulfillment as respect this incoming kingdom. Do they have or hold on to animosity toward us? Why all this animosity and what is this decree of God?
The Start of Animosity Leads to Hostility
What is the meaning of animosity and hostility?
Animosity is a strong feeling of dislike or ill will, it often shows up as bitterness or resentment. It is a deeply held feeling that festers over time, potentially leading to conflict. Animosity can be passive like avoiding someone or active like making snide remarks.
Whereas hostility implies a more active and overt expression of aggression. It can involve verbal attacks and physical aggression. Hostility is often a visible manifestation of animosity, but not all animosity leads to hostility.
The start of all this animosity really can be pinpointed all the way back to what God said at the beginning about mankind with God’s decree.
Can you pick up on what may have started to all this animosity aimed at us the children of God?
Genesis 1:26-30… Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth. So, God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.” It was so.
All this animosity stems from the fact that God had given dominion and rulership of the earth over to mankind, this was God’s decree His purpose from the very beginning. This fact was the catalyst that upset some of God’s previous creations. Some of the sons in God’s kingdom became upset and jealous of Gods newest creation, mankind.
An attempt to subjugate mankind underneath the sons of God’s kingdom came relatively quickly in the garden of Eden when the wicked one was able to subjugate Adam and Eve under his authority and his control. Where we read the following:
Genesis 1:1-5… Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’? The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.” “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So, she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So, the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Then the man replied, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate. So, the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
God saw the animosity that the sons of the kingdom had for His new creation mankind, and God rightly called out the hostility that would occur and will continue to occur until God brings it all to an end.
God was not going to be outplayed by this act of rebellion for his purpose. So, God revealed to His faithful servant, a man, all about a covenant that would be a physical mark upon His people. So, that they may have an eternal possession to the land. God changed the name of this man to Abraham and told him that many nations and kings will come from him. Genesis 17:1-21
A Divided House
Abraham had a son born to him by Hagar the Egyptian slave but soon Sarah bore Isaac to Abraham. Immediately Sarah identified Ishmael Hagar’s son as having animosity toward her son Isaac and demanded that Abraham send away his slave wife and Ishmael His son. Saying that the inheritance would not be shared between the two children. Thus, a division had occurred in the house of Abraham, but God told Abraham to listen to his wife Sarah and so he did what was asked of him. Genesis 21:1-17
The angels word spoken to Hagar Egyptian slave has proved to be true and Ishmael became a nation. But that nation held on to a smoldering animosity toward the seed of Abraham by Sarah. Genesis 16:7-12, 21:17-18
After the death of Sarah Abraham took another wife and had 6 more sons. Before Abraham’s death he gave everything to Isaac and sent away his 6 sons of this concubine to the land of the East. The sons of Abraham became known as the nations to the East. Now Midian was one of these nations who had and held on to animosity toward the family of Isaac. Genesis 25:1-6
The next division came with Isaac and the sons that were born to him through Rebecca. God’s angel told her that these two sons would struggle and become separated as two nations and the older would serve the younger. Esau was the older and he sold his birthright to Jacob the younger son for some stew. Esau’s family who became Edom was not happy about Esau losing the birthright and the inheritance and they held an animosity toward Jacob’s family. Genesis 25:20-34, Malachi 1:15
As fate would have it, they finally came to blows in this conflict from the sons of the patriarch Abraham to the inheritors who became the 12 tribes of Israel. As God brought the nation of Israel to the promise land. Moab and Midian planned to cause a curse from God to fall upon the sons of Israel by the mouth of Balaam. Numbers 22:3-7
As you continue to read on about the story of Balaam you can see that there seems to be some type of conflict of interest as far as it goes with the angels of God (the sons of God’ kingdom). One angel tells Balaam not to go. Another angel tells Balaam he can go. As Balaam was on his way, God’s anger comes upon Balaam for going, to the point that an angel was sent to strike Balaam dead and if it was not for Balaam’s ass falling down and saving his life he would have died right there.
So, now we should start to see that there seems to be a struggle from the invisible realm between the angels of God or the sons of God’s kingdom and their animosity toward God’s people. They have used the national groups to display hostility toward God’s purpose.
Let’s look at our last example of the national groups being used by the gods of this system to lash out at the people and the children of God. We will identify one of the symbols used by these people to identify their god whom they follow.
The next event has to do with God’s choice of who would stand up and lead the nation of Israel. God chose a young man to judge his people; his name was Gideon. We pick up on the story of the threat to the nation of Israel and how God was going to deal with that threat using his new judge Gideon.
Judges 7:7-23… The Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, “With the help of the 300 men who lapped up the water I will save you. I will hand the Midianites over to you. Let all the other men go home.” So, Gideon sent those Israelites home. But he kept the 300 men. They took over the supplies and trumpets the others had left. The Midianites had set up their camp in the valley below where Gideon was. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up. Go down against the camp. I am going to hand it over to you. But what if you are afraid to attack? Then go down to the camp with your servant Purah. Listen to what they are saying. After that, you will not be afraid to attack the camp.” So, Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the camp. The Midianites had set up their camp in the valley. So, had the Amalekites and all the other tribes from the east. There were so many of them that they looked like huge numbers of locusts. Like the grains of sand on the seashore, their camels couldn’t be counted. Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend about his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came rolling into the camp of Midian. It hit a tent with great force. The tent turned over and fell down flat.” His friend replied, “That can only be the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash. Gideon is from Israel. God has handed the Midianites over to him. He has given him the whole camp.” Gideon heard the man explain what the dream meant. Then Gideon bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel. He called out, “Get up! The Lord has handed the Midianites over to you.” Gideon separated the 300 men into three fighting groups. He put a trumpet and an empty jar into the hands of each man. And he put a torch inside each jar. “Watch me,” he told them. “Do what I do. I’ll go to the edge of the enemy camp. Then do exactly as I do. I and everyone with me will blow our trumpets. Then blow your trumpets from your positions all around the camp. And shout the battle cry, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’ Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the enemy camp. It was about ten o’clock at night. It was just after the guard had been changed. Gideon and his men blew their trumpets. They broke the jars that were in their hands. The three fighting groups blew their trumpets. They smashed their jars. They held their torches in their left hands. They held in their right hands the trumpets they were going to blow. Then they shouted the battle cry, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” Each man stayed in his position around the camp. But all the Midianites ran away in fear. They were crying out as they ran. When the 300 trumpets were blown, the Lord caused all the men in the enemy camp to start fighting one another. They attacked one another with their swords…
Gideon and the 300 Israelite men followed very specific instructions because the Lord, the God of Israel was going to deliver them from the hand of Midian, Amalekites, and all the Easterners.
Who is this god of Midian, Amalekites, and of the Easterners and what symbol do they identify with?
Identifying the Mark of the Enemy
The enemy of God had used the people who held animosity toward their brothers and relatives, they were of the nation of Midian and of the Ishmaelites and of the Easterners. These nations identified themselves as worshiping a rival god and the symbol they wore was that of the moon shaped crescent made of gold. This symbol is of the crescent moon; it is a depiction of the last of the golden sun light as it shines on the moon. This identifies a very specific time, it is the last of the lunar month before there is three days of darkness that falls upon the night sky. We cover more about this under the subheading The Assembly of God and the Rebellion.
Judges 8:22-27… The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us. We want you, your son and your grandson to be our rulers. You have saved us from the power of Midian.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you. My son won’t rule over you either. The Lord will rule over you.” He continued, “I do ask one thing. I want each of you to give me an earring. I’m talking about the earrings you took from your enemies.” It was the practice of the people in the family line of Ishmael to wear gold earrings. The Israelites said, “We’ll be glad to give them to you.” So, they spread out a piece of clothing. Each of them threw a ring on it from what he had taken. The weight of the gold rings Gideon asked for was 43 pounds. That didn’t include the moon-shaped necklaces the kings of Midian had worn. It didn’t include their other necklaces or their purple clothes. And it didn’t include the gold chains that had been on the necks of their camels. Gideon made an object out of all the gold. It looked like the linen apron the high priest of Israel wore. Gideon placed it in Ophrah. That was his hometown. All the Israelites worshiped it there. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. So, the gold object became a trap to Gideon and his family.
Gideon was unaware of the power and the symbol behind the moon shape crescent necklaces made of gold. Even though these items were turned into something else the power that was tied to them remained. Gideon and his family unknowingly begin to worship it wrongly.
The seed of God and the seed of the wicked one can start to be seen by their attitude, towards the will of God, his purpose, and his people. Not all people from a national group will be haters of God for the seed of God is manifest from their heart. For God says to his people “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.” Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 27:29,
The Assembly of God and the Rebellion
As we revealed earlier these nations identified themselves as worshiping a rival god and the symbol they wore was that of the moon shaped crescent made of gold. This symbol is of the crescent moon, and it represents the last of the golden sun light shining on the moon. This identifies a very specific time as the last of the lunar month just before there are three days of darkness that falls upon the night sky. Along with this crescent moon is the symbol of the star in the background sometimes there are even three stars. Without going down the rabbit hole and risk revealing things about wicked and their darkness, their plans and of their worship. I will simply say that this symbol has been around for over 6000 years. The crescent moon with a star represented fertility. But these two symbols also stand by themselves as being representative of timing and worship. Ishtar is known as the Morning Star Venus and Queen of the Heavens. The waning crescent moon of the lunar month announced the coming three days of darkness. The time that the wicked ruled the night with their sexual immorality.
One of King David’s last songs found in the Scriptures at Psalms 72 speak about God’s righteous rule by his son and eludes to the enemies of God being destroyed.
Read the whole chapter of Psalms 72 and then we will focus on verse 7:
Psalms 72:7… In his days (Christ) the righteous will flourish with an abundance of peace until the moon (no longer shines) is no more (until the servants, of the moon are destroyed).
Now Psalms chapter 72 is all about the Messiah and his rulership over the earth and how all things will be in subjection to him, his kingdom and how he would bring about God’s righteousness.
Let’s now focus on verse seven where we see a very interesting passage saying that the moon is no more, what does that mean?
Most all the nations around Israel worshiped the same god’s, celebrated the same festivals. Though these god deities held different names in different languages they all had the same characteristics, same symbols, to declare who they were. So, when David mention that the moon would be no more, he was indicating that those who serve the moon deity would be no more.
This moon deity is a god of fertility so David was singing about how God’s Kingdom by his Son would end the worship of this deity for good.
The Moon is No More!
This picture represents the belief of Venus as the Morning Star and the Queen of the Heavens as it is dominating the night sky in the morning just before the Sun is up. She is seducing mankind with her immorality. It also represents the timing of the crescent moon just before it enters into the new moon phase. The worshipers of this moon deity celebrated this time of the month as they engage in fertility rites and other illicit things for three days that I wish not to speak about.
The worship of the Moon was prominent amongst the nations around Israel of that time; God’s word even calls out the Queen of the Heavens and her seduction. This worship is still in practice today by many in the cult, the same as it was back then. It is tied into the waning of the moon every month before the new moon reappears. It represents the days of darkness the Scriptures refer to. Depending on what season we find ourselves in that darkness can last anywhere from 3 to 6 days.
Remember that Judge Gideon fought against the people of the East and one of the prominent things that they wore is found at Judges 8:26 and it was the Crescent-Shaped Moon Ornaments.
This picture and the symbol, along with the Scripture should be enough information for you to understand that the days of darkness are linked to the worship of the Moon by the wicked. These gods are only in charge of the heavens until the Son of God’s righteousness comes and ends their rulership over the earth. Sexual immorality will be a thing of the past as God’s righteousness ushers in the New Kingdom. Yes, come Lord Jesus blessed are you because you come in God’s name, Amen.
Is there a good celebration of the moon?
Feasting in the Kingdom of God
We do have a good example of a righteous new moon celebration during the time of King Saul and David.
The king would assemble all his faithful ones in an assembly and have a meal with them, that way he could know what was in their heart by watching their actions and the conversations that his servants would engage in. All things on the earth are patterned after examples found in heaven.
Who are these that come in to feast in the kingdom of God? They are the one to overcome sexual immorality of this world and pursue God’s righteousness at all costs to themselves.
They love the message about God’s kingdom, about his ways, they accept his rulership and the rules, His ordinances, and commandments that come from him. They resist the wicked one’s ways and this wicked day. Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 12:9-13
Summary of What We Have Learned
What have we learned will be answered concisely and briefly below:
- What is this event that we are calling The Day of Sanctifying – The Time for Feasting? It is the marriage feast where those who are invited assemble and the kingdom of God to eat a meal with Abraham Isaac and Jacob.
- Who are these that come to recline at the table in the kingdom of God? These are the ones who have been invited and have come off victorious resisting the sexual immorality that fills this earth. They have resisted becoming prideful and haughty and have been found to have the love of Christ in their hearts.
- Who are the sons of the kingdom that are thrown out? These are the ones that believe that they belong in the kingdom of God, they have been challenged and found unfit to be in his kingdom.
- Where is this place where they will gnash their teeth and weep? This is place outside of God’s Kingdom it is a place of torment, a place of anguish as they realize what has happened to them.
- Why do some of God ‘s Angels have animosity toward us and this decree of God? From the very beginning God had decreed mankind should rule the earth and should have dominion over all things that move over the earth.
- What does the promise given to Abraham have to do with world events today? The promise that God gave Abraham is that his seed should be in a covenant relationship with him. Today’s events are a direct result of God fulfilling his covenant with the seed of Abraham. There is a power struggle as a kingdom of God makes itself known upon the earth.
Writingwithlogos.com – Refreshed 10/12/25