When it is nighttime it is amazing what you think you see. Shadows, shiny spots, unexplained movement, and so on—what could it all be? Then, as the day dawns, you begin to understand what you were seeing. Shadows become the shaded areas between trees, shiny spots turn out to be moonlight that was reflecting off of an upturned metal can, and the unexplained movement turns out to be the motions of a cat or a squirrel. Yes, even on a night lit up by a full moon, the darkness can be deep and the harmless elements vaguely visible can be mistaken for other, more sinister things. Light is important. In fact, in the creation account told in Genesis 1, one of the first things God made after the world was light:
Genesis 1:1-5: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Of course, God would go on to create the sun, moon, and stars, but he created light itself first. So, before the sun and the moon shone, the world already had light for its daytime. Whether we can ever explain that or not, the fact is that the inspired Word of God, breathed by the Holy Spirit, says this, so it is true. But notice that there is something curious about the description of the first day. In fact, it is true of every day in the creation account: “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” To most of us that seems backwards. Unless you work at night, your day usually starts in the morning and ends with your going to bed at night. However, the Jews count a day as being from sunset to sunset. Therefore, their day starts at night and progresses into daytime. There is an interesting but very sensible concept here. Notice what the noted Messianic Jewish teacher and author Jonathan Cahn has to say in his book, The Book of Mysteries:
“ ‘…We go from day to night, from youth to aging, from strength to weakness, and ultimately from life to death. Day to night. It’s the way of the world, but it’s not the way of God. When God created the universe, it was not day and night. It is written, “There was evening, and then there was morning.” The day began with night. There was night and then there was day. It is the night that comes first.’
“ ‘So that’s why Jewish holidays always begin at sunset.’
“ ‘Yes, and not only Jewish holidays, but every biblical day. Each day begins at sunset. There is evening and then morning. The world moves from day to night. But in God, it is the opposite. It goes from night to day…from darkness to light. The children of this world live from day to night. But the children of God live from night to day. They are born again in the darkness and move to the day. And if you belong to God, then that is the order of your life. You are to go from darkness to light, from weakness to strength, from despair to hope, from guilt to innocence, from tears to joy, and from death to life. And every night in your life will lead to the dawn. So live according to God’s sacred order of time…that your entire life be always moving away from the darkness and to the light.’ ” [1]
That is a fantastic concept! Yet when you think about it, it’s true. We are born in sin, our spirits dead and darkened with the curse of Adam. When we are born again we are made alive in Christ and walk in the light of eternal life. In reading the Bible you see the metaphors of light and darkness used a great deal, as a matter of fact. Light and darkness are very familiar and basic concepts to people, therefore they easily illustrate spiritual illumination and spiritual blindness, what is good and what is evil, and so forth. We will now visit some of these examples in the Word of God.
John 1:1-9: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
These verses, of course, are talking about Jesus Christ. The “John” referred to here is John the Baptist, the man chosen by God to announce the promised Messiah and Savior. Jesus (the Word) is the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the whole world, both for Jews and for Gentiles, and it is the light He brings, He being the true Light, which points to salvation in Him alone. At the moment of salvation every believer is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and then of course there is the available baptism in the Holy Spirit which empowers Christians for service (Acts 1:4-8). Also notice this Scripture:
Matthew 4:12-16: Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
After various attempts to reach fallen man once sin entered into the human race in the Garden of Eden, God decided to begin calling out a people for Himself (Genesis 12:1-3). These would become the Jews. While the rest of the world—the Gentiles—had the characteristics of nature as their “light” to show them that there is a God (Romans 1:18-21), the Lord forged these Hebrews into the people of Israel, giving them a Law to live by and identifying Himself to them by His personal name (Exodus 3:13-15). About fourteen and a half centuries after Moses met God in the burning bush, Christ was born. By this time the Jewish religious leaders had become ultralegalistic, thinking that their good works made them right with God, many failing to recognize the very Messiah they had heard of, read about, and taught about all their lives. These men who were supposed to be teachers of the light were actually in the dark! The Gentiles were, too.
Those outside of Israel could learn of Judaism, but the poisonous legalism pervading the Hebrew religious community had them believing the Gentiles were no better than dogs. Although the demons knew who Jesus was (Mark 5:6-7), no one really knew what God’s master plan was in bringing Him here—not the religious or secular leaders (1 Corinthians 2:6-8), not the Gentiles, not even the kingdom of darkness. Over the course of time, Jesus has become known as Lord and Savior to many. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit not only enlighten the lost to their need of salvation, they also give light to the deeper truths of the Bible and guidance on how to live for the Lord, as we see here:
Proverbs 20:27: The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of his heart.
John 6:37, 44: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out…No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Romans 10:17: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-16: But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that we may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Finally, we as born-again people are to “light the way”, so to speak, for the lost that they might be saved. The Lord has given all of us this ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). The lost have no idea how to get to heaven. Some do not even care while others have a variety of wrong ideas or else follow false religions (Matthew 7:13-14). We are to share the Gospel, the good news of salvation in Christ alone (Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:6; Acts 4:8-12). Without us, filled with the Holy Spirit and guided by the Word of God, the lost would continue to be lost. But God does not want them to continue groping in spiritual darkness. He wants them to be brought into the light of the truth, and He uses us—His Church, His body—to do it:
Proverbs 16:25: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Matthew 5:13-16: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Light and darkness. The darkness hides things, but the light makes manifest. In nature there is no light more important than that of the sun, for without it the earth would be a frozen, lifeless ball of ice. In the spiritual realm there is no light more important than that given by Jesus Christ and His Word via His Holy Spirit and God the Father. The invitation to salvation is given by the Father. The Word is illuminated and empowered by its Author, the Holy Spirit, bringing conviction on the lost. The person who is born again is indwelt with the Spirit, and Spirit baptism empowers the believer for service in the kingdom of God. As the people of light we are to remain in the light of God’s righteousness, walking by the light of His Word and being the light to those who are in spiritual darkness—those who are lost.
[1] Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Copyright 2016, Frontline: Chapter 15, “The Night and Day Paradigm”.
