The Armour of Light: Ken Follett (The Kingsbridge Novels, 5)

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All that we do know is that we do not know the day or the hour, ‘No one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’. It is rather like the time of our own death. We know it will come, but we do not know when, and the sane thing to do, the realistic thing to do is to be prepared, but not obsessive; ready but not anxious. He will come in his own way and his own time, to each of us, to his church and to all creation. Sal Clitheroe and her son Kit live under the repressive regime of a Squire and find themselves fleeing after Sal's husband is involved in a terrible accident. Over the events that unfold, their futures are both bound up in the machine age that the Industrial Revolution brings to England during this time. Amos is another main character: a sincere but naive young man who inherits a cloth business at a young age, and also has to face the challenges that this age brings. What can Kingsbridge series fans expect from the latest Kingsbridge novel? When we lose light, Satan has effectively neutralized us. He has taken us out of the battle—or we have allowed ourselves to be taken out of the battle. The armies of the Lord cannot be defeated, but they can defeat themselves. For example, in the Old Testament there is a story about a man named Achan whose disobedience brought defeat to Israel’s army (see Joshua 7; 22:20). In the victorious battle against Jericho he had taken an object from the enemy that God identified as accursed. The next battle against the city of Ai was supposed to be easy, yet Israel met with a humiliating defeat. In response to Joshua’s plea to know why they had been defeated, the Lord revealed the disobedience of this Israelite soldier in taking from the spoils of Jericho a forbidden or accursed object. This disobedience robbed the Israelites of the power needed to stand against its enemies. This story has universal application, for just as Israel lost power and protection, we also lose power and protection when we entertain forbidden thoughts, harbor evil desires, or engage in activities prohibited by God. The point is that Advent calls us to look for redemption outside ourselves. Not to be obsessed by our feelings or our identity, not to agonise about our past or our wounds, not to run ourselves into the ground by trying to justify ourselves to ourselves. In this morning’s Sunday Times there is an opinion piece by Matthew Syed which notes the inward, subjective turn in today’s culture. It began with an emphasis on self-help, and then went on to the importance of self-worth and self-esteem, and of course we have ‘selfies’ and emphasise ‘sharing’ our stories, inwardly ‘curating our cosy truths’ as he puts it. Forgiveness was essential in marriage, Charles said; it was virtually impossible for two people to live together for any length of time without offending each other occasionally, and sores must not be allowed to fester."

The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light. Now, as international conflict nears, a story of a small group of Kingsbridge people – including spinner Sal Clitheroe, weaver David Shoveller and Kit, Sal’s inventive and headstrong son – will come to define the struggle of a generation as they seek enlightenment and fight for a future free from oppression . . .

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This same truth can also work in reverse. People lose light line upon line or sin upon sin—here a little and there a little. Although each ray of lost light can be almost imperceptible to a person at the time, the aggregate or cumulative loss that has taken place over time puts one in grave danger. The spiritual immune system becomes depleted, and when the going gets tough, the once tough cannot get going because there is little to reach down and draw upon for strength and power. Strong's 4655: Darkness, either physical or moral. From the base of skia; shadiness, i.e. Obscurity.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.[D&C 50:24] There was a new atmosphere since the stoning of the king’s carriage and the food riots: the British ruling elite were in an unforgiving mood. In Kingsbridge, shopkeepers gave no credit, landlords evicted late-paying tenants, and justices handed down harsh sentences." In his spiritual autobiography, the Confessions, Augustine tells us with remarkable honesty how he had always felt fragmented, torn by strong and conflicting appetites and desires. While he was fascinated by God and always felt driven towards him, he at the same time always found himself feeling far away from him.The new man is clothed with Christ. Therefore, the spiritual transformation of the old man into the new man should become visible in the natural realm in the life of the new man. The new man, who has been made in the image of the Creator, shall put on Jesus Christ; the Word and shall walk in the light; in the truth of God, in the armor of light. But the Word commands everyone, to put off the works of darkness and no longer walk after the lusts of the flesh, but to walk as children of light, putting on the armor of light and yielding their members as instruments of righteousness unto God.