Last shadow ∙∙

Last shadow ∙∙

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. – Colossians 1:13

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

All fans of Avatar recall the feared and legendary Toruk, the apex aerial predator of Pandora. Toruk had a central place in the lore and culture of the indigenous people of Pandora, the Na’vi. It was celebrated and dreaded for its nobility, power, beauty, and domination of the air.

Translated roughly as “last shadow,” Toruk soared high above the forest canopy, surpassing all other flying creatures. Its preferred method of attack was from above, and its victims would only catch a glimpse of its shadow before meeting their demise. Its shadow was the last thing its victims would see. The preferred item on its menu was fresh, raw mountain and forest banshees. Recall that the banshees were also bonded companions and the flying “horses” of the Na’vi.

Toruk had only one notable limitation; it could not see directly above. But most of the time, that was no problem. As the apex aerial predator of Pandora, and did not need to watch for attackers.

Jake Sully exploited this weakness. He flew his banshee high above and jumped down on the back of Toruk. Next thing you know, Jake had bonded with it. Toruk now followed Jake’s commands. Jake flew it back to the Omaticaya clan command center. He was acknowledged and acclaimed as Toruk Makto, “Rider of Last Shadow.”

According to Na’vi faith history, only during times of great sorrow will a Toruk Makto emerge to lead the Na’vi to victory over their enemies. A Toruk Makto had not appeared among the Na’vi in four generations. Only five have managed that feat in the long history of the Na’vi. Jake becomes the sixth person to bond with the creature. The Na’vi now had air superiority and control of the skies. The rest is history, well, imaginary history.

Darkness precedes light. Consider creation.

Genesis 1:1-2

 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.

But darkness is only temporary and does not last. The light conquers the darkness.

Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

The Father commands both the darkness and the light. The Father often uses momentary darkness to accomplish His purpose. It was very dark, perhaps the darkest of all nights when the Lord Jesus Christ was taken prisoner to face trial, condemnation, mocking, and death on the cross.

It was the enemy’s time. The evil one executed his wicked plan. The enemy thought he could destroy the Lord of Life and thwart the Father’s eternal redemptive plan. What a totally irrational, if not insane, idea! Can anyone kill the Lord of Life? He is life itself. All life in the universe is His creation. But evil minds, even very powerful ones, are twisted.

Yet, that was the enemy’s plan. “In that hour the evil powers of darkness, Satan and his henchmen (men and spirits alike) are being permitted by God to bring the Son of the Highest down into the grip of humiliation, suffering, and death” (Geldenhuys).

The Father has ordained in His infinite wisdom that darkness will have its hour now and then. But it is only an hour, and it will indeed pass. What the Father has decided will undoubtedly come to pass. His eternal plan cannot be thwarted by any created force. Resistance is futile.

John 12:27 Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose, I came to this hour.

John 14:30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

Luke 22:53 But this hour and the power of darkness are yours.

REFLECT & PRAY

Some of the Father’s creatures hunt to live. The outcome often does not turn out well for the prey.

Father encourage me to look up. Help me remember that dark times will come but never last.

INSIGHT

The death of the Lord Jesus Christ was necessary to bring salvation and resurrection life to all humanity. All of the anguish, sorrow, and grief of that horrible night dimmed with time. It might have been forgotten if it had not been recorded in the Scriptures.

Darkness was vanquished by light, and death was conquered by life.

John 16:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.

As reasonable people, we ask why. Why would the Father choose such a grotesque and violent means to bring about redemption? We may never know why. And in the end, it will not really matter. We can be sure of all the possible strategies and permutations to bring about eternal salvation to the fallen human race; this particular one was the choice of the Father and the Son.

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

The term translated as darkness is skotos in Greek. Simply speaking, darkness is the absence of light. But darkness is also a realm of existence dominated by evil, sinfulness, and ignorance of God and His ways. Darkness is the enemy’s territory. The Father has granted the devil and his demons limited authority over darkness.

Ah, but the enemy of our souls has the same weakness as Toruk. He does not look up. He is oblivious to what might be above him. He is totally unaware and unsuspecting of Who is coming from heaven to end his reign and dominion over the earth. One day our enemy will cease to be the apex predator of our spirits and souls.

Matthew 24:30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 9-28-1

© Dr. H 2023