On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a Light has dawned. Matthew 4

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – ¹⁴ to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Matthew 4; Isaiah 9:1, 2

We saw in yesterday’s blog Acts 5:15 that sick people were left at the side of the street so that even Peter’s SHADOW might fall on them. Many sick people were coming from outside Jerusalem and being healed by the apostles. Acts 5:16

Some seven hundred years before Jesus came, Isaiah prophesied that the land by the Galilee would SEE A GREAT LIGHT, Hallelujah. But Isaiah also said that this beautiful area of the Galilee, by the Jordan river, was in the Shadow of death. Isaiah saw in the Spirit that something sinister overshadowed one of the loveliest places in the land.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8

Jesus appeared to destroy all that overshadowed the land and set free the people who lived under that Shadow.

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN HAS COME NEAR.’ Matthew 4

A new day (a new dispensation) was coming to the earth, the Spirit of God was coming to live in the hearts of men united by faith, not bloodline. Men would no longer be powerless in the face of sickness and death, they’d been defeated at Calvary.

The world in our time has also been under a shadow and much of the Church has been affected by it. Believers are now beginning to talk about the Age of the Church drawing to a close and the Kingdom of God coming on earth. The gap between heaven and earth narrowing again as the return of the Lord draws closer. We need to make sure that we stay close to the Lord and that nothing of this world is overshadowing us or darkening our paths in these turbulent days.

²⁷ ‘So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’ Numbers 6