{"id":14430,"date":"2014-01-19T23:00:09","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T03:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=14430"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T21:57:05","slug":"the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Night of Jesus’ Birth?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Warren Smith<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Jesus Calling<\/em>, “Jesus” states that he was born in a “filthy stable” “under the most appalling conditions.” He says that the night of his birth was a “dark night” for him.<\/p>\n

In what can only be described as the ultimate revisionist description of the night of Jesus\u2019 birth, Sarah Young\u2019s “Jesus” openly bemoans what he describes as that “dark night for Me.” He states in Jesus Calling<\/i>:<\/p>\n

\n

Try to imagine what I gave up when I came into your world as a baby. I set aside My Glory, so that I could identify with mankind. I accepted the limitations of infancy under the most appalling conditions\u2014a filthy stable. That was a dark night for Me<\/i>, even though angels lit up the sky proclaiming “Glory!” to awe-struck shepherds.1<\/sup><\/i> (emphasis added)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This doesn\u2019t sound like the voice of our Savior<\/i>\u2014it sounds instead like the voice of a stranger <\/i>(John 10:5). And when you really think about it, wouldn\u2019t it be more likely that Satan himself would be the one to describe the night of Jesus\u2019 birth as that “dark night for me”?<\/p>\n

As to the bemoaning of this “Jesus,” Scripture tells us to be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves:<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. (Philippians 4:11)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In whatever way this devotion in Jesus Calling<\/i> is looked at, it is a very unbiblical message. The conditions of His birth were not “appalling<\/i>” but, rather, God\u2019s “sign<\/i>” to the shepherds, and then they, after seeing “the babe lying in a manger,” glorified <\/i>and praised God<\/i> for “all<\/i>” they had “seen<\/i>“:<\/p>\n

\n

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. . . .\u00a0 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. . . . And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Luke 2:11-20) (emphasis added)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(From Part II, chapter 9 of “Another Jesus” Calling<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Warren Smith In Jesus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573,2764,191],"tags":[216,1066,1994,2014,2108],"class_list":["post-14430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-excerpts","category-jesus-calling","category-on-christian-faith","tag-warren-b-smith","tag-bethlehem","tag-jesus-calling","tag-another-jesus-calling","tag-birth-of-christ","wpcat-573-id","wpcat-2764-id","wpcat-191-id"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dark Night of Jesus' Birth? - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dark Night of Jesus' Birth?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Warren Smith In Jesus...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-20T03:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T21:57:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/deepintoscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/bethlehem-stable.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Warren B. Smith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Warren B. Smith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Warren B. Smith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba71eb11a65c6226ca9ae96e5d4bc54d\"},\"headline\":\"The Dark Night of Jesus’ Birth?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-20T03:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-09T21:57:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/deepintoscripture.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/bethlehem-stable.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Warren B. Smith\",\"bethlehem\",\"jesus calling\",\"\\\"another jesus\\\" calling\",\"birth of christ\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Book\\\/Booklet Excerpts\",\"Jesus Calling\",\"FAITH\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Dark Night of Jesus' Birth? - From the Lighthouse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/deepintoscripture.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/bethlehem-stable.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-20T03:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-09T21:57:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba71eb11a65c6226ca9ae96e5d4bc54d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/deepintoscripture.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/bethlehem-stable.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/deepintoscripture.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/bethlehem-stable.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Dark Night of Jesus’ Birth?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"From the Lighthouse\",\"description\":\""A Light Shining in the Darkness"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba71eb11a65c6226ca9ae96e5d4bc54d\",\"name\":\"Warren B. Smith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ec5a3e9b698df240da977f4845c3cbef5b209d686c52ff6b2da4426c56c63d5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ec5a3e9b698df240da977f4845c3cbef5b209d686c52ff6b2da4426c56c63d5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ec5a3e9b698df240da977f4845c3cbef5b209d686c52ff6b2da4426c56c63d5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Warren B. Smith\"},\"description\":\"Warren B. Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane University)\u2014A free lance writer and community social worker who was formerly involved in the New Age movement. He has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception and has spoken on radio, television, and at seminars and conferences.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrails.com\\\/39-warren-b-smith\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/warren-b-smith\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Dark Night of Jesus' Birth? - From the Lighthouse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Dark Night of Jesus' Birth?","og_description":"By Warren Smith In Jesus...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/","og_site_name":"From the Lighthouse","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch","article_published_time":"2014-01-20T03:00:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-09T21:57:05+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/deepintoscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/bethlehem-stable.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Warren B. Smith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LTrails","twitter_site":"@LTrails","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Warren B. Smith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/"},"author":{"name":"Warren B. Smith","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba71eb11a65c6226ca9ae96e5d4bc54d"},"headline":"The Dark Night of Jesus’ Birth?","datePublished":"2014-01-20T03:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-09T21:57:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/"},"wordCount":427,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/deepintoscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/bethlehem-stable.jpg","keywords":["Warren B. Smith","bethlehem","jesus calling","\"another jesus\" calling","birth of christ"],"articleSection":["Book\/Booklet Excerpts","Jesus Calling","FAITH"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/","name":"The Dark Night of Jesus' Birth? - From the Lighthouse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/deepintoscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/bethlehem-stable.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-20T03:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-09T21:57:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba71eb11a65c6226ca9ae96e5d4bc54d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/deepintoscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/bethlehem-stable.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/deepintoscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/bethlehem-stable.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-dark-night-of-jesus-birth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Dark Night of Jesus’ Birth?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/","name":"From the Lighthouse","description":""A Light Shining in the Darkness"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba71eb11a65c6226ca9ae96e5d4bc54d","name":"Warren B. Smith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ec5a3e9b698df240da977f4845c3cbef5b209d686c52ff6b2da4426c56c63d5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ec5a3e9b698df240da977f4845c3cbef5b209d686c52ff6b2da4426c56c63d5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ec5a3e9b698df240da977f4845c3cbef5b209d686c52ff6b2da4426c56c63d5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Warren B. Smith"},"description":"Warren B. Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane University)\u2014A free lance writer and community social worker who was formerly involved in the New Age movement. He has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception and has spoken on radio, television, and at seminars and conferences.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrails.com\/39-warren-b-smith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/author\/warren-b-smith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45817,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14430\/revisions\/45817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}