“Light and Darkness” by Romans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTqqFB50qhk
I want to share with you an e-mail that I sent in October of 2013, to igotsunshine, a former member and moderator here at the 4G Chatroom. I have had the subject of this e-mail on a “back burner” since then. After reading a Commentary several weeks ago that touched on that same subject matter, I decided it was time to at long last, turn up the heat, cook this meal, and serve it to you all. Tonight, I will begin a Series on “Light and Darkness.”
Here is text of my e-mail from October, 2013: “I have been doing a lot of thinking about the Genesis Account of Creation, and I have been trying to make sense of it as a Revelation from God. Obviously, I am very far from any kind of key or understanding of it all, but I have happened upon something that I have not seen anyone else comment on.
You pointed at in Chat a while back that light is is created on Day One, while the sun does not appear until Day Four. How can that be? Well, at first it occurred to me that Day Four does not really describe the Creation of the sun... it describes the assignment of the lights that were created: Genesis 1:14: "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years..."
And that is true. But it is deeper than that. I have always been intrigued from the first time I became aware of it, that the last chapters of the Bible in the Book of Revelation, are connected to the first chapters found in the Book of Genesis. But, more than merely connection, it is if, when the Plan of Salvation has been completed, that God simply erases all of the sin and lawlessness found in the Books and chapters and verses in between those first and last chapters of His Word.
We see Peace in the last two chapters of the Bible. There is healing. Sin is gone. The curse of sin is gone. There is only Holiness and Righteousness: Revelation 22:3: "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him." Then, amazingly, where it had not been mentioned since the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life is back AND is available to all!
Revelation 22:1: "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
In this last chapter of His Word, it's as if God is saying, "Now... as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by the prince of darkness deceiving and destroying My Creation, and the Fall of Man, and sin in the world... NOW I can be about finishing what I started." But in that new pure environment, there is another link back to Genesis 1, this time a physical
as opposed to spiritual link. The first time light is mentioned in Scripture, it occurs twice in the same verse: Genesis 1:3: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." This light is said to divide day from night, but without a specific reference YET to the sun as the source of it.
The last time light is mentioned in Scripture, it is also mentioned twice, and, again, in the same verse! But this time, light exists, and there is a deliberate focus on the sun NOT being there, or even being necessary! Notice: Revelation 22:5: "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." Here, the Lord is the Source of Light. In John's Gospel, in reference to John the Baptist, we read in John 1:8: "He {John the Baptist} was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Jesus is both Lord and that Light that lighteth every man. {Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12.)} We read of Jesus also be described as the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). It makes me wonder: After we are told that "God created the heaven and the earth," in Genesis 1:1, can we understand the statement, "Let there be light" in verse 3, to be the Divine Commission of the Lamb to be slain in anticipation of the sin of the world? There is, I think, far more here than meets the eye... and a need for more Bible Study.” That was my e-mail in October 2013. This subject has been on my mind ever since.
In this Series, we are going to look at what the Bible tells us regarding Light and Darkness. We will be examining the verses in which Light and Darkness occurs separately and especially jointly. In my brief preparatory overview, I have really been fascinated to see the power of these verses listed one after the other, and in rapid fire succession. There is a powerful physical / spiritual interlacing of Light and Darkness that adds tremendous symbolic depth to the opening verses in Genesis.
One would merely think that the establishment of Day and Night is all that is being described when we read, “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:4-5). But can we dismiss such statements when we also read Jesus' words in John 3:19: “And this is the condemnation, that Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil”? Light and Darkness has a Spiritual component.
But, one might object saying to me, “Genesis is only speaking about the separation of literal days and nights, isn't it? Aren't you forcing a spiritual component into that account?” Until recently, I would have agreed with that objection, but also consider Jesus' words in John 9:4 where He said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
Of this, The Sermon Bible tells us, “We must work, and that diligently; but not Satan’s work or our own, but the works of God. The soil must bear much, but its strength must not be wasted on weeds, however luxuriant; it must bear that which will be kept for ever; we must work while it is day, for the night is coming. Even while working busily, and working the works of God, we must not forget our own infirmity, we must remember and repeat Christ’s words in the text—for in them He speaks as one of us, and not as our God.
"The night cometh, when no man can work," the day which is so happy to us, and we would fain hope not unprofitably wasted, is yet hastening to its close. It is of no less importance that we should remember that the time is soon coming when we cannot work, than that we should avail ourselves of the time present, to work in it to the utmost.”
In the very next verse, John 9:5, Jesus says, “As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” And now that He has returned to Heaven, is there no longer light on the earth? There IS light: He told His disciples {and us}: “Ye are the light of the world...” (Matthew 5:14).
Of this John Gill writes, “What the luminaries, the sun and moon, are in the heavens, with respect to corporeal {or, physical} light, that the apostles were in the world with regard to spiritual light; carrying and spreading the light of the Gospel not only in Judea, but all over the world, which was in great darkness of ignorance and error; and through a divine blessing attending their ministry, many were turned from the darkness of Judaism and Gentilism, of sin and infidelity, to the marvellous light of divine grace.”
To this spiritual component, the Apostle Paul adds, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-9).
As I said, in Scripture, there is a truly fascinating physical / spiritual interlacing of the idea of Light and Darkness that I am about about to explore in this Series. So there is no confusion as to exactly what I am saying, here, I do not mean that Light and Darkness are interlaced or are in any way blended together, I am saying that there is a physical and a spiritual presentation in Scripture of these two very opposite and contrasted ideas of Light and Darkness.
Tonight, I am going to open with a source I have never used previously in these Discussions: It is a book called, “Heritage of Great Evangelical Teaching.” In its Chapter 14, it presents a perfect introduction to this subject. While it focuses on the aspect of Light, it also touches on significant facets of Darkness that we also need to consider. Because this is a publication that is currently available, I do not want to risk committing any Copyright Infringement by posting all of Chapter 14 which I read in its entirety out loud when I originally presented this Discussion live. So, instead, I will limit what I post, tonight, to only the Topic Headings of the book I read live.
Having said that, I have no choice but invite the dozens of you who apparently read my Notes after they are posted, but do not attend the live Discussions, to try to join us so that you will not be limited to reading an edited transcript of what I shared live.
Heritage of Great Evangelical Teaching: “Chapter Fourteen:
The Word As Light: That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9).
The Characteristics of the Light:
Light is pure.
Light is gentle.
Light is all-pervasive.
Light reveals.
The Ministry of the Light: The Word was the Light of unfallen man in Paradise.
The Word was Light in the world amid the long dark ages which preceded the Incarnation.
He shone also in those great movements towards righteousness, which seem to have swept from time to time over the heathen world.
The Word was the Light of the chosen people.
Finally, the Light became incarnate. And it is not possible to do more than take one brief glance at that bright world which awaits us, when, in the ages of eternity, our blessed Lord will be still the Everlasting Light.
The Reception of the Light: (1) Before his Incarnation.—“He was in the world, and the world was made by Him. And the world knew Him not.”
(2) At his Incarnation.—“He came unto his own, and his own received Him not.”
(3) Since the Incarnation.—There has been no longer a dealing with nations, but with individuals. Many have received Him, rising above the general indifference around. Mary in the highlands of Nazareth; Elisabeth in the hill-country of Judea: Simeon in the temple; Hannah the prophetess; and Zachariah the priest, are representatives of untold multitudes beside. And to as many as have thus received Him He has given the right to become the sons of God.”
This concludes this evening's Discussion, “Light and Darkness, Part 1.”
This Discussion was originally presented “live” on August 21st, 2019
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