I think of a horrible divorce rate in our country for every two couples getting married there is one couple getting divorced. I think of the increasing acceptance of adultery and premarital sex so much so that most newly weds are not virgins. I think of the violence and guns that make our cities dangerous places to live and work. I think of the push to make gay relationships and lifestyles acceptable. I think of churches and pastors that no longer preach the Gospel.
Darkness is everywhere.
The whole book of Isaiah is a mixture of gloom and glory. So Isaiah goes from the darkness of chapter 8 to the light of chapter 9. Isaiah's prophecy about light is dependent upon the birth of the Messiah. The Messiah's coming, says Isaiah, means light for a people walking in darkness. Seven centuries later what Isaiah wrote about became fact.