We live in a world full of darkness and light
What is the true nature of darkness and light? Is darkness merely the absence of physical light or is it something more?
It is written,
“ And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.”
Exodus 10:22
We see from this verse there is also a darkness which can be felt. If you read further in that chapter this darkness even made it impossible to have any form of light for three days.
Again we read of the crucifixion of Jesus,
“And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Mark 15:33,34
When Christ was about to die darkness fell upon the land. Perhaps God could not bear to see His son die and so he turned away from the world and when He did light vanished too.
Then we read,
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;”
2 Peter 2:4
We now see that demons are cast in to darkness. Again, when God is far away, there is not light.
Finally,
“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain”
Revelation 16:1
What is the true nature of darkness?
As I was thinking about these scriptures I realized that darkness is not the mere absence of physical light but, in reality, the absence of God Himself. The types of natural darkness or natural light that we experience in this creation ares just shadows, or echos of the a greater darkness and light that exists in the spiritual realm when God is absent.
Even the natural light we see in our world is a manifestation of the presence of God. If this is so, every day that the sun shines, in a very real sense, is evidence that our Father has not deserted us.
What happened at Christ’s Crucifixion is that God withdrew from Himself in his son’s final hours on the cross. When our Heavenly Father withdrew so did His glory causing darkness to fall upon the face of the earth.
What is the true nature of light?
It is written,
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. “
Genesis 1-3
We live in the glory of and God the manifestation of that glory is light. God’s presence is synonymous with light and lack of His presence is synonymous with darkness. Total light is to be in the presence of God and total darkness, outer darkness, is to be without His presence.
We all must choose between darkness and light. People who reject God reject the light. People who refuse to embrace God must embrace the darkness. What you do in a spiritual sense by your decisions determines whether or not you are moving towards or away from the light. The ultimate consequence of those who reject God is to be cast into outer darkness. Complete absence of God causes physical pain and that is why, in outer darkness, there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We are children of the light
In conclusion, we are children of the light. It is the only place where we are truly alive. Natural light is but a reflection of God’s glory. That is why God says about new Jerusalem ,
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light (lamp) thereof.”
Revelation 21:23
Finally,
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 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