Darkness to Light

If the study about ‘thieves and robbers’ were a ‘hand’, then this study would be considered the ‘foot’. They go hand and foot together in concept, but as with all scripture, those scriptures put together for this study simply give a slightly different perspective of any given concept or doctrine when combined together.

Christ tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him, and we know that the cross represents death. What we want to focus on today, though, is that it also represents Life in Christ. In this study, we will explore darkness being equated to death and Light representing Life. Of course, there is so much that can be said about what darkness and light mean and how God uses these two things in our lives to manifest Himself to all of humanity.

However, for this study I will simply just follow where the Lord leads me in regards to how we live each and every day with the knowledge, understanding and implementation of these concepts in our lives.

The inspiration for this study today came from Joh 12:35 which reads:

Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

To give us a little context to what is being said; I will read some verses surrounding Joh 12:35.

Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

And ‘will glorify it again’.

Joh 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
Joh 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
Joh 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

I know that was a lot of verses, and this is a story with which everyone is mostly familiar, but I wanted to read it in context so that we could see where it is Christ made this comment.

Christ mentions this ‘hour has come’ to also have the Father say ‘my name is glorified and will again be glorified’, to be summed up to, “now is the judgment of this world”.

The very next verse says that Christ will be LIFTED UP and draw all men unto Him. So, it is fairly easy to conclude that judgment of this world comes and is accomplished with the cross.

Knowing all of this as I have just explained, and after Christ was asked, “who is the son of man,” He answers, “a little while the light is with you, so walk in it”.

What does this all mean?

“I will make darkness light before them”

Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness LIGHT before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Isa 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
Isa 42:18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Isa 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

If you’ll recall from the ‘thieves and robbers’ study, there were two thieves hanging next to Christ on crosses.

In order for another to lead a blind person to a place that they do not know, they themselves must know the Way. Otherwise, the blind lead the blind. For a ‘new’ man to be born, an old man must first be present and exist.

In like manner, in order for one to be the Lord’s servant they must know what it is like to NOT be the Lord’s servant in order to know when they are serving the Lord.

The Lord’s servants have first been the unrepentant thief who wants salvation for themselves and sees Christ as being the same as them, because of the way they mock the Christ, ‘you are no better than me up here on this cross’. The Lord’s servant gets to the point of being the Lord’s servant because sight is given to them due to their blindness, and hearing comes because of deafness.

This will sound very familiar to those to whom this Way is familiar.

One of the miraculous things which happens is that before ‘men’s eyes’, the darkness that they see, will be made into Light ‘in the twinkling of an eye’. In other words, the darkness that once dwelled in a person will be used to bring forth Light as God calls darkness out of Light.

The only way a servant of God knows of what He speaks is to be Saul on the road to Damascus who is struck down with a great light; thus creating Paul eventually.

Act 22:4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Act 22:5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Act 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

For those who have gone through this experience this is a great mystery of Light because it is something they have lived through, but it is darkness for those who are in it, and it is not a fun place to be.

Blindness is likened unto death, and death is likened to darkness. It really is spiritually all the same thing described in different terms and spiritual words.

So, someone who is blind has NO IDEA what Light really is.

I often walk out of my darkened room in the morning into a flood of the morning sun in the living room. When I do this, my eyes need to adjust, and I usually close them for a bit because suddenly being presented with bright lights hurts.

When Christ comes to those who dwell in darkness, and do not know it for lack of comparison, it is hurtful and blinding at first. Yes, Light can be blinding!

‘The day of the Lord’ and ‘the hour at hand’, to which this experience can be equated, are really saying one and the same thing. This is the point when Christ is being presented to someone as Light, and the immediate reaction is to see for the first time, but we all need some spiritual adjusting of the eyes in order for us to start to see clearly.

As an example, look at the process which shows us what the giving of sight to a physically blind man entails.

Mar 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Mar 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Mar 8:26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

We are being witnessed to here with a great witness of how Christ works in mankind’s lives when He comes into their lives.

When the Light comes to darkness, it takes a process for Christ to fully reveal the situation to those to whom He is giving sight. Thus, He tells His servants to ‘keep it to yourself because you are just a babe’.

You might be saying, “But Christ didn’t say that. He said to not go into town or tell it to any in town.” But I ask you why did Christ tell the man to not tell any about this? The reason is that when we are brought from darkness and given the Truth about what men (mankind) is, then that work alone will be the witness that others will see.

That very work done to them/us by Christ will be what is used against the person as they judge themselves out of their own thoughts and mouth, just like the unrepentant thief challenges Christ to prove yet again that He is the Son of God.

It should be getting crystal clear that we are the first ones who don’t see who Christ really is and who “His Christ” are first BEFORE we are given to be the thief who realizes who he is and why he is hanging on a cross with and next to Christ.

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 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.

Hope of Salvation

The hope of salvation that has been given to those which walk in the day are given to those who are following Christ where He is, and this is of no doing or work of themselves.

It is Christ’s beckoning to pick up the cross and follow Him that gets the chain moving in this process.

So, the focus of this study is to present the Truth that as we are sent out into the world amongst our family and friends, peers and loved ones, we are to do so knowing from where it is we have been delivered. That deliverance is from the enemy of darkness/blindness/sleep in the night/DEATH, and this is a continual life-long process.

You can only bring LIFE and salvation to a DEAD person, but just where is DEATH as Christ presents Life to His servants in order to be used to present it to others?

2Sa 22:1 And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
2Sa 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2Sa 22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2Sa 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
2Sa 22:6 The sorrows of hell (sheol:grave) compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2Sa 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
2Sa 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
2Sa 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
2Sa 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Our hope of salvation is bringing the TRUTH of the LIGHT of the Gospel to those who Christ is dragging to His Father.

Again, when is it that Christ does this?

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

When we present this Truth out of the Word of God to someone, we are presenting the JUDGMENT of the Word of God on “all that is in the world” in that person.

Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Is it any wonder that they think we are being judgmental? They see the MESSENGER claiming to be the Son of God, of which we are, who then says, “here is what the Word of God says.”

Thus, the result is this, among other things:

2Co 11:12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

We will be accused, just as Christ was, of being self-righteous and full of evil spirits:

Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Mat 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Nevertheless, we needn’t be concerned with this because this is the calling to which we have been called.

There simply is never going to be a way around being persecuted for telling the Truth, because Light reveals what the darkness is hiding.

All around, it is simply death of the old man and his carnal ways which people experience as we spread Fire through the dry wood, hay and stubble of their minds and hearts.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

“The Light that is in thee”

The light that is in any of us, the Word of God that any of us have dwelling in our hearts and minds, now lives in a place that was once full of darkness.

This is NOT simply knowing a bunch of scriptures, memorizing a bunch of verses and speaking them as often and quickly as possible. Rather, what does show forth with this Light in us is the Fruit of what the Spirit is working in our lives, and it is a LIFE-long process of these things being grown up in us until we take our last breath. This process with be something that develops in us the following things, Lord willing:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

What we have been talking about today is the flesh being crucified on the cross. What encompasses the flesh is NOT simply our flesh, bones and blood but also the mindset the goes along with it. We know this as the carnal mind, and if we get anything out of this study, it is that we ALL have a continual war going on in our minds which pits the carnal mind against the mind of Christ, the old man against the new man, and natural against the spiritual.

If this is a war in our minds, how much more is this the same war which goes on in the hearts and minds of those who are in our lives whether they be friend, family, peers, loved ones and so on.

After all, it was just a short time ago that we lived in complete darkness to these things, yet we have a friend in Christ who is there to give us peace to handle whatever God’s will is for us in our lives, and as of yet, they do not if the Lord has not willed Himself into their lives yet.

This is what we see with this war:

Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The hour and the day of the Son of God comes when no one is watching. It comes as a thief in the night, so we must always be vigilant to realize that though we are “the Light of the world” in Christ, lightning is a frightful event to most.

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Luk 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

The darkness which is replaced with Light is a trying life to live, but it is one with GREAT reward.

The reward we are promised will not have a benefit for “all that is in the world”, but it will have a wonderful benefit in the spirit as it produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

We should take joy that God dwells in us and is using the light He has created us to be, to drag others to Himself to join us in this process.

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

With the dragging that the Lord does, we should all strive to bring forth to the forefront of our minds just how precious those whom the Lord is working in now are.

Luk 9:37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
Luk 9:38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
Luk 9:39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
Luk 9:40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
Luk 9:41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
Luk 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
Luk 9:43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
Luk 9:44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
Luk 9:45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
Luk 9:46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
Luk 9:47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
Luk 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

Christ is “all the day long” delivered into the hands of men by the Fire He puts in our mouths which is the Word of God.

Keep the Faith, and know that God works this work in you and will deliver many from darkness to light in this process He uses in you all.

D____ wrote:

My wife and I have started studying the scriptures and have come across a stumbling block.

In gen. 1:3 it speaks about “light” to separate night from day yet in verse 1:4 it speaks of “lights” again separating day and night, and this time it mentions the greater light to govern the day and lesser to govern the night.

What is the light mentioned in verse 3?

P. s. looked up Strong’s numbers and they are different and even reviewed various commentaries yet no conclusive answer.  It has left us with more questions than answers.

Thanks, D____

Good morning D____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask:

“In Gen. 1:3 it speaks about “light” to separate night from day, yet in verse 14 it speaks of “lights” again separating day and night and this time it mentions the greater light to govern the day, and lesser to govern the night. What is the light mentioned in verse 3?”

Here is that whole section of Genesis one dealing with when light first come to the earth:

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters .
Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Gen 1:6  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [ were] under the firmament from the waters which [ were] above the firmament: and it was so.
Gen 1:8  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [ land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [ land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [ it was] good.
Gen 1:11  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [ and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [ is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:12  And the earth brought forth grass, [ and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [ was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that [ it was] good.
Gen 1:13  And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Gen 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:
Gen 1:15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [ he made] the stars also.
Gen 1:17  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [ it was] good.
Gen 1:19  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

One cannot read the first two verses of Genesis without dealing with the unscriptural doctrine call ‘the gap theory.” The gap theory maintains that there were actually two creations many ages apart. The first creation was a world occupied only by dinosaurs and plants and perhaps creeping things and all the things in the sea, but there were no humans in that first creation. Gap theorists maintain that dinosaurs could not have co- existed with men, that it would have been impossible for God to have created Eve and had Adam to name all the animals all in one “evening and morning.”

To all such reasonings the scriptures ask, “do you also maintain that God cannot make seed to Abraham of stones?” But let’s just cut to the chase and ask the big question. If one insists on being able to scientifically grasp how God could have made all the beasts, including Adam and Eve, and have had Adam to name all the creatures on earth in one day, then why in the world do you believe that a virgin brought forth a child???

You say you believe that because the Bible says that is what happened? You say you believe that because God has given you faith to believe that which is scientifically unprovable? Then why do you not also believe that “in six days the Lord created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them?”

I cannot deal with the gap theory in this e- mail. I have written on that in several other letters which you can read on iswasandwillbe. com/ Just type the words ‘gap theory’ into the home page and you will find about nine different entries on that subject which you can read.

So I will proceed in dealing with the truth of Exo 20:11:

Exo 20:11  For [ in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [ is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

If you read those letters you will find that the word ‘was’ in verse two is a sufficient translation of the Hebrew word ‘hayah.’  God is simply being so kind as to give us the details of how He went about His creation of “the heavens and the earth.”

What He is so kind to reveal to us is that He first created darkness and then “called light out of darkness” on this earth.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness : I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

For all who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear the word ‘earth’ is actually a revelation of how God is working with mankind who is “out of the ground… dust.”

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

So the wording of Genesis does not deny that God Himself is light first. He actually tells us that he created light:

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

But we are also told that the light was not yet on “the face of the deep.” ‘The face of the deep’ is a parable of the spiritual sin and spiritual darkness into which we are born, both physically in our mother’s womb and spiritually outside the physical womb. Contrary to all that Babylon teaches, mankind was not shapen in righteousness then fell into sin. Rather Adam was deliberately “marred in the hand of the Potter.” It was all by God’s design, and it is revealed to us in Genesis. “God created the heaven and the earth, but darkness was [ first] on the face of the deep,” and later “light shines out of darkness” upon the ‘earth.’

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13  For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
Psa 139:14  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [ and] wonderfully made: marvellous [ are] thy works; and [ that] my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:15  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, [ and] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all [ my members] were written, [ which] in continuance were fashioned, when [ as yet there was] none of them.

“The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” So verses one and two are from God’s heavenly perspective while verse 1:4 is from mankind’s earthly perspective. It is no longer ‘the heavens’ but “the firmament of the heavens.” It is not just ‘light,’ it is now a “greater light and a lesser light.” In scriptural terms even the night has a certain amount of light that is reflected from the sun. It is just a “lesser light” which he calls night.

Gen 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:
Gen 1:15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [ he made] the stars also.
Gen 1:17  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [ it was] good.

There are now “two great lights”, and we begin to distinguish right from wrong. But the creation is not yet complete, and the son of God has not yet been completed. All of this is in preparation of the manifestation of the son of God:

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

But this first Adam is but a type and a shadow of a later Adam, and all this talk of creation is the same. It “all happened and it is all written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [“in the Potter’s hand”] subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected [ the same] in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

This statement is true for all of God’s Word. It is all for our adomonition, including the fact that the heavens and the earth were in place before God finished His work on this earth. It takes time for the light of heaven to penetrate the darkness that is on the face of the deep. When it finally does do so, there is still much work to be done as we become aware of a greater and a lesser light.

I hope this helps you to see more clearly what Christ meant when He told the Jews that His words were spirit. The spiritual application of God’s word is always primary. Whenever we allow the letter to precede the spiritual we are yet in darkness on that point:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

Dear ISWASANDWILLBE.com,

On the website it is stated many times that the entire Bible is SIGNified.  I notice that the description of ‘Day’ in the ‘Meaning of Words’ section is, “Understanding God’s Ways.”  When days are interpreted as symbolic in other parts of the Bible, why are the six days of creation (in combination with the 7th sabbath day) taken literally?  If the days were symbolic of spiritual imperfection (as the number six is stated as being), this would be a perfect description of the creation of the Earth (SIX days to create a physical realm, with the seventh being reserved as holy).

Wouldn’t a “symbolic” interpretation of each day (perhaps such as meaning an extended period of time) allow for a scriptural justification for what modern science believes are billions of years of varying ages of the Earth?  If not, why are the ‘days’ of creation taken literally and not as SIGNified?

This is an entirely serious question and is NOT intended to create debate.  I understand virtually every concept I have come across so far on the ISWASANDWILLBE website, but this is a stumbling block for me.
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask:

I notice that the description of ‘Day’ in the ‘Meaning of Words’ section is,”Understanding God’s Ways.”  When days are interpreted as symbolic in other parts of the Bible, why are the six days of creation (in combination with the 7th sabbath day) taken literally?

As concerns the meaning of the word ‘day’ in scripture, Christians are call “the children of light and of the day,” meaning they have Christ in them and they know God and Christ who is called “the light of the world.

Eph 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Joh 8:12  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.

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Knowing this gives the account of first day of creation much deeper meaning:

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The short answer is that there is a qualifier with each of these days of creation, which does not appear in other scriptures which are later used to refer to overall periods as days.

For example:

Gen 2:4  These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

This verse summarizes what took place in those six “evenings and mornings” so of course there is no “evening and morning” following this statement.

Another example is the oft used phrase “the day of the Lord,” which appears in scripture many times

Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is  proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

That is not the way he uses the word ‘day’ here at the time of creation. As Christ is creating the earth, He goes to great lengths to tell us after each step in the creation process:

Gen 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

That phrase “the evening and the morning” is repeated six times in the creation account. Were it not used, then we would be justified in assuming these to be longer periods of time. The fact that it is not used in conjunction with the seventh day, indicates that the ‘rest’ is itself the completion, and mankind is still “entering into his rest” as we are indeed informed:

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest .
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Some people apparently considered the ‘rest’ to be a symbol of entering the promised land, which Paul says was obviously not the case. Continuing Paul’s thought here in Hebrew’s four:

Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

It is generally agreed that the ‘Jesus’ in this case should have been translated Joshua, both names meaning ‘Savior or Deliverer’. But Joshua did not give them rest, so Paul continues:

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Here we have an apostle interpreting this ‘rest’ as “ceasing from our own works” and exhorting us all to be diligent to do so. There is no such discussion about any of the six days of physical creation, with which the phrase “the evening and the morning” are associated.

No one is saying that there was not a literal seventh day. What is being pointed out is that man’s works have not yet ceased, and the fact that the words ‘and the evening and the morning were the seventh day’ do not appear in scripture symbolizes the fact that man’s works will indeed come to an end or completion.

Besides all of this we have this verse of scripture with which to contend:

Isa 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Now here is Strong’s definition for the Hebrew word translated ‘suddenly’ here in Isa 48:3.

H6597
pith’o m  pith’o m
pith- ome’, pith- ome’
From H6621; instantly: – straightway, sudden (-ly).

Type this number into your e-sword, and look at how it is used. There is no way this word can be construed to mean long periods of years. It means ‘very soon’; it means ‘instantly’. Here, for example, is how this word is first used in scripture:

Num 6:8  All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
Num 6:9  And if any man die very suddenly^H6597 by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.

To try to turn evenings and mornings into eons of time in the light of all we are told about God’s ways, demonstrates a regard for “science falsely so-called” which supersedes the word of God, and demonstrates a lack of faith in God’s Words:

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

It really does take less faith to believe that a hen was created then sat on her eggs, than to contrive some way for that hen to evolve over long periods of time. All of creation in its symbiotic nature demands that creation was very soon and instantly; “in six days” of six literal “evenings and mornings.”

In closing I will also note that for any spiritual word to be understood, there must first be a literal and physical shadow given. To take the initial shadow and make it the spiritual robs us of our ability to rightly divide God’s Word:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

For example, Christ is called “the lamb of God.” If I now take that word ‘lamb’ and point out that this is a spiritual statement, does that mean that there never really was a literal physical lamb? Of course not. But that is exactly what is being done with this word ‘day’.  The physical ‘type’ that is first given is being denied ever being given as an original type. The claim is being made that it was spiritual in its first use, and this flies in the face of Gen 1, Exo 20:11, Isa 48:3, Rom 1:20, as well as logic and true science and all the rest of God’s Word.

I hope this has helped you to see why the evenings and mornings of Genesis one are never to be understood as speaking of long, extended periods or ages of time.

Be sure to read the letters on the gap theory, dealing with the theory of a gap of many ages between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2. There is no scriptural basis for such a theory, and the fact that Adam and Eve “were naked” proves it. Just type the words gap theory into the search box on iswasandwillbe and read that letter.

Mike