Are you afraid of the dark? Darkness can be terrifying. The smallest sound is magnified. Shadows created by encroaching darkness can take on frightening proportions. But the light of morning changes everything.
When John wrote the book of Revelation, his readers were living in dark days filled with intense persecution. They needed to know that morning and its accompanying light were coming. John assures them by speaking of Jesus—“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16).
The first century readers would have remembered the promise of Isaiah 11:1 that a shoot would grow from the stump of Jesse. Notice the subtle alteration. Jesus declares that He is both the root and the offspring. He is the source of the Davidic line. Only one who is eternal can be both root and offspring.
The term “bright morning star” recalls the prophecy of Balaam. In Numbers 22-24 we read the fascinating story of Balaam, a prophet hired to curse Israel. Balaam disappointed those who hired him but declared that a star would come from Jacob (24:17). The Jewish people understood this as a promise of the coming Messiah.
In our sky, the “morning star” is the planet Venus. In ancient times Venus was a symbol of victory and sovereignty over the nations. Roman generals sought the morning star as a good omen.
You need no good omen; you have the true Morning Star, the Messiah Jesus! No matter what you face today, you can be assured that morning has come.
Prayer: Lord, today you know my circumstances and my fears. I will trust in you as my morning star. Amen