Deborah Switzer: Which Phase of the Moon Are You?

Have you ever looked up at the moon in the middle of the day? A strange question, I know; but I find my children have a knack of finding a barely visible moon in broad daylight. They look up and say, “Mommy, look at the moon! I can hardly see it, but there it is!” It was with this memory in my mind, that I felt the Lord gave me a prophetic picture of the present-day church.

But first, let’s “reflect” a bit on the moon. The moonlight we see here on Earth is actually just a reflection of the light of the sun. Although the sun is not visible in the night sky, it still makes its presence known through the reflection of its rays on the moon’s surface. During the day, most of us barely even notice the moon, if it is even visible at all. It is the setting of the sun and the ebony of a night sky that allow the moon’s luminosity to stun our eyes and provide light in the darkness.

Last fall, my family took a trip to Nantucket. My husband and I went for a nighttime walk on the beach and were completely overwhelmed at the brightness of the moon. A shimmering full moon hung in the sky, and we were enthralled with how clearly we could see the waves, sand, and shoreline ahead of us. It was truly one of the brightest moons I had ever experienced, and it almost felt like daytime. Soon however, a cloud started to overshadow the moon, and we found ourselves a bit lost in the darkness. When the cloud coverage would pass, we would again stand amazed at its luster, as if the finger of God had flipped on a global light switch.

Now let’s look at 2 Corinthians 3:13-18:

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Just as the moon reflects the glory of the sun, so we are to reflect the glory of Christ. Upon pondering this truth, God showed me a picture of the moon barely visible in the bright light of the daytime. But as darkness increased, the moon became more visible – until eventually a thick darkness enveloped the sky. All eyes on earth eventually turned up toward this brilliant full moon which was the only reflection of light in the world.

In this day, as dark times approach us, I believe we are called to be a vivid and intense reflection of the light of God. The world has not noticed the glory in the church when things were “going well”; but God will allow the darkness to come so that His true purpose for His Church can be fulfilled. He designed us to be a reflection of His character and glory as we grow in our intimacy with Him. Now is truly the time to seize the moment, for never before has there been an opportunity for the church to shine so brightly.

Psalm 104:19 states, “The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.” Our Sovereign God knows when to allow darkness to come upon us, but He does not ever truly depart. We must never forget that the sun does not dissolve at its setting – it is still a blazing flame that cannot be quenched – whether we see it or not. So is it with our God: We may not see Him in the darkness, but still He is there – and He provides reflections of His light as hope in a time that our human tendencies might be prone to despair. Remember, darkness provides opportunity. We have seen this proven time and time again throughout history and even in our present day. It is during the darkest times of persecution, oppression, and trials that the glory of His Church shone the brightest – a Full Moon Church!

But just as the moon reflects the sunlight in phases, so we, as the Church, must determine what “phase” of the moon we will be in these present and ensuing dark times. God posed the question in my heart, “Will you be a full moon, a quarter moon, or a new moon in the days to come?” A soul-searching question? Yes, and one we all must honestly ask ourselves. Where do we stand in Christ, and how much of His light will we shine forth in the darkness?

Waxing or Waning
Before we discuss the spiritual picture of the moon’s phases, we must first learn two terms: waxing and waning. When a phase of the moon is waxing, it means it is growing larger, and eventually will shine forth to a Full Moon. Contrarily, a waning phase means it is diminishing and moving toward darkness (or a New Moon). We can see this in the scripture with Moses. The glory of the Lord would fade, and Moses would have to wear a veil to protect the people from seeing God’s glory diminish. This is the Old Covenant glory, and it was waning for the people of Ancient Israel. However, under the New Covenant, the glory that is reflected in us should never be waning, but rather waxing toward the fullness of our God. The scripture said that “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Cor. 3:16). We go from glory to glory in Christ. Therefore, as we evaluate the different phases of the moon and recognize different areas in our own lives, it is also important that we insure we are moving toward the fullness of God. Our desire should always to be whole-heartedly reflect His glory in all that we do, and never revert back to a waning Old Covenant glory.


New Moon:
The New Moon phase is when we cannot see any light on the moon from our position on the earth. As His Church, this is a dangerous phase to be in. If the world around us cannot see God’s light in us, then we truly aren’t His church – we are the world. “If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (1 John 1:6). It is simple: If we fellowship with Christ, then at least some area in our life will be a reflection of His light. But too often there are claims of Christianity without relationship. We must recognize that without a relationship with the Living God it is impossible for us to be a reflection of His glory. Works and duty will neither save us, nor provide light to a darkening world. All over the globe today, there are people who sit in churches believing they are Christians because of their works, efforts, and morality, but they do not have a relationship with Christ. What an incredible opportunity for those who do have intimacy with the Savior to reach out and guide these New Moon Christians into Full Moon Christianity!


Crescent Moon:
The Crescent Moon is a sliver of the moon’s surface seen in the sky. This is the church that is barely alive. Revelation 3:1-3 states:

“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember therefore, what you have received and heard, obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”

This scripture so accurately portrays those who have received the Gospel into their hearts, but have not chosen to walk it out. These are the saints who call Christ Savior, but have not yet made Him their Lord. They have tasted the mercy of His forgiveness and seen the glory of His grace, but have not yet chosen to fully surrender to His will. Jesus earnestly implores that they wake up and realize that their lives are reflecting just a sliver of His glory.


Quarter Moon:
Although only one quarter of the surface of the moon is lit in a Quarter Moon, it actually looks like a “half-moon” to us on the earth, because from our perspective it has a semi-circular shape. I parallel this moon phase to the Church at Laodicea, to whom it is written:

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth… Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:15-16; 19-20).

I take encouragement in this Scripture because often times I do feel lukewarm, even in the midst of my desire to be blazing hot. And although it is a frightening concept to be spit from the Lord’s mouth, I also know He disciplines me out of His love. He cares for me enough to warn me and to insure I get on the right path. In today’s society, we are trained to believe that we can have the best of “both worlds” – that we can be Christian and still love the world. But 1 John 2 states, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father, but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (vs. 15-17). We cannot allow ourselves to LOVE the things of this world. We must remember that this is just a temporary residing place, and the things that are eternal rest in the Kingdom of God. We must renew our minds so that we do not accept the attitudes, materialism, and culture of a fallen world into our own hearts. We must quickly repent when we find ourselves lured by the onslaught of a seductively independent and powerful culture that preaches and imparts the antithesis of our humble and loving God. We cannot serve both God and manna. We must choose this day whom we will serve – our culture or our God!


Gibbous Moon:
The Gibbous Moon is when we can see the majority of the moon, but yet we are still not in the position to see the Full Moon. This moon depicts the Church of Ephesus in Revelation:

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:1-5)

Isn’t it easy to settle for less than what is the best at times? This moon is “almost there” in terms of reflecting the fullness, but it is lacking! I do not want to let anything dampen my heart toward reflecting the fullness of God’s glory in my life. Yet, the busyness of this life, the distractions of ministry, and the lack of passion to pursue Christ with all of my heart can lead on a path where I merely settle for serving Him rather than experiencing Him. Christ recognizes the hard work of these incredible saints who sacrifice much and stand up for righteousness – but He never wants it to come at the cost of His relationship with them. He earnestly pleads for us to go back to that moment where we fell in love with Him and allowed Him to mercifully wipe away our sin and gently guide us on the course He set for us. Oh where do we get so distracted on that road that we veer away from the hand that guides us! Our loving Savior calls us to repent, for He knows that somehow the world will only see our service, and will not see our ardent passion for Him if we have lost our first love. Go back to the day of your salvation … remember where you’ve come from and the love that met you there. Let God restore unto you today the joy of your salvation!


Full Moon:
The Full Moon is when we can see the completeness of the moon from our position on the earth. This represents the glorious Bride of Christ, who He “might present … to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). This type of church is the one that cries out for Christ’s return not through its voice, but through the lives lived by its people. Saturated with adoration, righteousness, holiness, and an unconditional love for His people, this Bride of Christ will not be diminished by darkness, not will she hold any darkness in her. She will arise and shine in the darkest skies and allow the world to see Her Savior for who He truly is. She will take seriously the duty to reflect the love and heart of Christ, just as Christ reflected the love and the heart of the Father. She is the Lord’s joy and glory, and she displays the ardent blood-bought reconciliation of a Messiah with His Bride.

I know the Bible says at the end of the age, the moon will turn blood red. Instead of being afraid of this image, perhaps we should view it as the most beautiful moon of all – His spotless Bride reflecting to the world the glory of the precious Blood of the Lamb!