Darkness Precedes the Dawn

Through the long centuries, from the day our first parents lost their Eden home to the time the Son of God appeared as the Savior, the hope of the fallen race centered in the coming of a Deliverer to free men and women from the slavery of sin and the grave.RR 241.1

Adam and Eve first received hope in Eden when the Lord declared to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15. As the guilty pair listened, hope filled their hearts, for they saw in this a promise of deliverance from ruin. They did not have to yield to despair. With His own blood the Son of God would atone for their transgression. Through faith in the power of Christ to save, they could become the children of God once more.RR 241.2

By turning our first parents from obedience, Satan became “the god of this world.” 2 Corinthians 4:4, NRSV. But the Son of God proposed not only to redeem the human race but to recover the dominion they had lost. “O Tower of the flock, ... to You shall it come, even the former dominion.” Micah 4:8.RR 241.3

This hope of redemption has never become extinct. From the beginning there have been some whose faith has reached out beyond the present to the future—Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through these the Lord has preserved His revealed will. To the chosen people through whom the promised Messiah would come, God gave a knowledge of salvation to be provided through the atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son.RR 241.4

At the call of Abraham God promised, and later repeated, “In you all families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3. The Sun of Righteousness illuminated Abraham’s heart, scattering his darkness. When the Savior Himself walked the earth, He spoke of the patriarch’s hope: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” John 8:56.RR 241.5

The blessing that Jacob pronounced on Judah foreshadowed the same “blessed hope”:RR 241.6

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” Genesis 49:10RR 241.7

Again, Balaam foretold the coming of the world’s Redeemer:RR 242.1

“A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:17RR 242.2

Through Moses also, God kept Israel aware of His purpose to send His Son as the Redeemer. Moses declared, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.” Deuteronomy 18:15.RR 242.3