Light

VIEW:32 DATA:01-04-2020
LIGHT.—To the ancient mind light was a holy thing, and the Scriptures associate it with God. He dwells in light (Exo_24:10, 1Ti_6:16); He is clothed with light (Psa_104:2); He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1Jn_1:5); His glory is the effulgence of His light (Rev_21:23). Cf. the ancient Greek Evening Hymn rendered by Keble: ‘Hail, gladdening Light, of His pure glory poured,’ etc. Hence Jesus, God Incarnate, is called ‘the Light of the world’ (Joh_1:4-5; Joh_1:9; Joh_18:12), ‘an effulgence of the glory of God’ (Heb_1:3); and salvation is defined as walking in His light and being enlightened by it (Joh_8:12; Joh_12:36; Joh_12:38, 1Jn_1:7, 2Co_4:6, Eph_5:8; Eph_5:14, 1Th_5:5, 1Pe_2:3). And Christians as His representatives and witnesses are the light of the world (Mat_5:14; Mat_5:16, Php_2:15). On the contrary, a godless life is darkness (Joh_3:10; Joh_8:12; Joh_12:46, 1Jn_2:11).
David Smith.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909


φως, is used in a physical sense, Mat_17:2; Act_9:3; Act_12:7; 2Co_4:6; for a fire giving light, Mar_14:54; Luk_22:56; for a torch, candle, or lamp, Act_16:29; and for the material light of heaven, as the sun, moon, or stars, Psa_136:7; Jam_1:17. Figuratively taken, it signifies a manifest or open state of things, Mat_10:27; Luk_12:3; also prosperity, truth, and joy.
God is said to dwell in light inaccessible, 1Ti_6:16. This seems to contain a reference to the glory and splendour which shone in the holy of holies, where Jehovah appeared in the luminous cloud above the mercy seat, and which none but the high priest, and he only once a year, was permitted to approach unto, Lev_16:2; Eze_1:22; Eze_1:26; Eze_1:28; but this was typical of the glory of the celestial world. It signifies, also, instruction, both by doctrine and example, Mat_5:16; Joh_5:35; or persons considered as giving such light, Mat_5:14; Rom_2:19. It is applied figuratively to Christ, the true Light, the Sun of Righteousness, who is that in the spiritual, which the material light is in the natural, world; who is the great Author, not only of illumination and knowledge, but of spiritual life, health, and joy to the souls of men.
The images of light and darkness, says Bishop Lowth, are commonly made use of in all languages to imply or denote prosperity and adversity, agreeably to the common sense and perception which all men have of the objects themselves. But the Hebrews employ those metaphors more frequently and with less variation than other people: indeed, they seldom refrain from them whenever the subject requires or will even admit of their introduction. These expressions, therefore, may be accounted among those forms of speech, which in the parabolic style are established and defined; since they exhibit the most noted and familiar images, and the application of them on this occasion is justified by an acknowledged analogy, and approved by constant and unvarying custom. In the use of images, so conspicuous and so familiar among the Hebrews, a degree of boldness is excusable. The Latins introduce them more sparingly, and therefore are more cautious in the application of them. But the Hebrews, upon a subject more sublime indeed, in itself, and illustrating it by an idea which was more habitual to them, more daringly exalt their strains, and give a loose rein to the spirit of poetry. They display, for instance, not the image of the spring, of Aurora, of the dreary night, but the sun and stars as rising with increased splendour in a new creation, or again involved in chaos and primeval darkness. Does the sacred bard promise to his people a renewal of the divine favour, and a recommencement of universal prosperity? In what magnificent colours does he depict it! Such, indeed, as no translation can illustrate, but such as none can obscure:—
“The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun shall be sevenfold.”
Isa_30:26.
But even this is not sufficient:—
“No longer shalt thou have the sun for thy light by day; Nor by night shall the brightness of the moon enlighten thee:
For Jehovah shall be to thee an everlasting light, And thy God shall be thy glory.
Thy sun shall no more decline; Neither shall thy moon wane;
For Jehovah shall be thine everlasting light; And the days of thy mourning shall cease.”
Isa_60:19-20.
In another place he has admirably diversified the same sentiment:—
“And the moon shall be confounded, And the sun shall be ashamed;
For Jehovah, God of Hosts, shall reign
On Mount Sion, and in Jerusalem:
And before his ancients shall he be glorified.”
Isaiah 24:25.
On the other hand, denouncing ruin against the proud king of Egypt:—
“And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heavens.
And the stars thereof will I make dark: I will involve the sun in a cloud,
Nor shall the moon give out her light.
All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, And I will set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah.”
Eze_27:7-8.
These expressions are bold and daring; but the imagery is well known, the use of it is common, the signification definite: they are therefore perspicuous, clear, and truly magnificent.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.


By common usage, in Bible times as well as today, light is figuratively associated with things that are good. In like manner darkness is usually associated with things that are bad (Job_30:26; Psa_112:4; Joh_3:19-20; see DARKNESS).
In particular, light is associated with God. He is clothed in light, he dwells in light, he is light. Because God is separate from all creation, and especially from all things sinful, light is symbolic of God’s holiness (Psa_104:2; Dan_2:22; 1Ti_6:16; 1Jn_1:5). It is also symbolic of the holiness that should characterize God’s people. As light can have no partnership with darkness, so God’s people should have no partnership with sin (Pro_4:18-19; Isa_2:5; Rom_13:12-13; 2Co_6:14; Eph_5:8-11; 1Jn_1:6-7; 1Jn_2:9-10; see HOLINESS).
Just as the uniqueness of God is symbolized by light, so is the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, who is God in human form (Mat_17:2; Act_9:3-5; Rev_1:16). Jesus likened his coming into the world to the coming of light into darkness. He is the light of the world, who brings the life and salvation of God into a world that is dark and dead because of sin (Mat_4:16; Joh_1:4-5; Joh_3:19; Joh_8:12; Joh_12:35-36; Joh_12:46; 2Co_4:6; cf. Psa_27:1).
Those who turn to Christ for salvation are, by God’s grace, transferred from a kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light (Col_1:12-13; 1Pe_2:9). They become lights in the world, as they take the good news of Jesus Christ to those who are still in darkness (Mat_5:14-16; Act_13:47; Php_2:15; Rev_11:4; see WITNESS). God’s Word is also a light, as it guides them along the path of life (Psa_119:105; Pro_6:23; see LAMP).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.


lı̄t (אור, 'ōr, מאור, mā'ōr; φῶς, phṓs; many other words):
1. Origin of Light
2. A Comprehensive Term
(1) Natural Light
(2) Artificial Light
(3) Miraculous Light
(4) Mental, Moral, Spiritual Light
3. An Attribute of Holiness
(1) God
(2) Christ
(3) Christians
(4) The Church
4. Symbolism
5. Expressive Terms

1. Origin of Light:
The creation of light was the initial step in the creation of life. ?Let there be light? (Gen_1:3) was the first word of God spoken after His creative Spirit ?moved? upon the primary material out of which He created the heavens and the earth, and which lay, until the utterance of that word, in the chaos of darkness and desolation. Something akin, possibly, to the all-pervasive electro-magnetic activity of the aurora borealis penetrated the chaotic night of the world. The ultimate focusing of light (on the 4th day of creation, Gen_1:14) in suns, stars, and solar systems brought the initial creative process to completion, as the essential condition of all organic life. The origin of light thus finds its explanation in the purpose and very nature of God whom John defines as not only the Author of light but, in an all-inclusive sense, as light itself: ?God is light? (1Jo_1:5).

2. A Comprehensive Term:
The word ?light? is Divinely rich in its comprehensiveness and meaning. Its material splendor is used throughout the Scriptures as the symbol and synonym of all that is luminous and radiant in the mental, moral and spiritual life of men and angels; while the eternal God, because of His holiness and moral perfection, is pictured as ?dwelling in light unapproachable? (1Ti_6:16). Every phase of the word, from the original light in the natural world to the spiritual glory of the celestial, is found in Holy Writ.

(1) Natural Light.
The light of day (Gen_1:5); of sun, moon and stars; ?lights in the firmament? (Gen_1:14-18; Psa_74:16; Psa_136:7; Psa_148:3; Ecc_12:2; Rev_22:5). Its characteristics are beauty, radiance, utility. It ?rejoiceth the heart? (Pro_15:30); ?Truly the light is sweet? (Ecc_11:7); without it men stumble and are helpless (Joh_11:9, Joh_11:10); it is something for which they wait with inexpressible longing (Job_30:26; compare Psa_130:6). Life, joy, activity and all blessings are dependent upon light.
Light and life are almost synonymous to the inhabitants of Palestine, and in the same way darkness and death. Theirs is the land of sunshine. When they go to other lands of clouded skies their only thought is to return to the brightness and sunshine of their native land. In Palestine there is hardly a day in the whole year when the sun does not shine for some part of it, while for five months of the year there is scarcely an interruption of the sunshine. Time is reckoned from sunset to sunset. The day's labor closes with the coming of darkness. ?Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening? (Psa_104:23).
The suddenness of the change from darkness to light with the rising sun and the disappearance of the sun in the evening is more striking than in more northern countries, and it is not strange that in the ancient days there should have arisen a worship of the sun as the giver of light and happiness, and that Job should mention the enticement of sun-worship when he ?beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness? (Job_31:26). The severest plague in Egypt next to the slaying of the firstborn was the plague of darkness which fell upon the Egyptians (Exo_10:23). This love of light finds expression in both Old Testament and New Testament in a very extensive use of the word to express those things which are most to be desired and most helpful to man, and in this connection we find some of the most beautiful figures in the Bible.

(2) Artificial Light.
When natural light fails, man by discovery or invention provides himself with some temporary substitute, however dim and inadequate. The ancient Hebrews had ?oil for the light? (Exo_25:6; Exo_35:8; Lev_24:2) and lamps (Exo_35:14; Mat_5:15). ?There were many lights. (λαμπάς, lampás) in the upper chamber? at Troas, where Paul preached until midnight (Act_20:8); so Jer_25:10 the Revised Version (British and American), ?light of the lamp;? the King James Version, ?candle.?

(3) Miraculous Light.
When the appalling plague of ?thick darkness,? for three days, enveloped the Egyptians, terrified and rendered them helpless, ?all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings? (Exo_10:23). Whether the darkness was due to a Divinely-ordered natural cause or the light was the natural light of day, the process that preserved the interspersed Israelites from the encompassing darkness was supernatural. Miraculous, also, even though through natural agency, was the ?pillar of fire? that gave light to the Israelites escaping from Pharaoh (Exo_13:21; Exo_14:20; Psa_78:14), ?He led them ... all the night with a light of fire.? Supernatural was the effulgence at Christ's transfiguration that made ?his garments ... white as the light? (Mat_17:2). Under the same category Paul classifies 'the great light' that 'suddenly shone round about him from heaven' on the way to Damascus (Act_22:6; compare Act_9:3). In these rare instances the supernatural light was not only symbolic of an inner spiritual light, but instrumental, in part at least, in revealing or preparing the way for it.

(4) Mental, Moral, Spiritual Light.
The phenomena of natural light have their counterpart in the inner life of man. Few words lend themselves with such beauty and appropriateness to the experiences, conditions, and radiance of the spiritual life. For this reason the Scriptures use ?light? largely in the figurative sense. Borrowed from the natural world, it is, nevertheless, inherently suited to portray spiritual realities. In secular life a distinct line of demarcation is drawn between intellectual and spiritual knowledge and illumination. Education that enlightens the mind may leave the moral man untouched. This distinction rarely obtains in the Bible, which deals with man as a spiritual being and looks upon his faculties as interdependent in their action.
(a) A few passages, however, refer to the light that comes chiefly to the intellect or mind through Divine instruction, e.g. Psa_119:130, ?The opening of thy words giveth light?; so Pro_6:23, ?The law is light.? Even here the instruction includes moral as well as mental enlightenment.
(b) Moral: Job_24:13, Job_24:16 has to do exclusively with man's moral attitude to truth: ?rebel against the light?; ?know not the light.? Isa_5:20 describes a moral confusion and blindness, which cannot distinguish light from darkness.
(c) For the most part, however, light and life go together. It is the product of salvation: ?Yahweh is my light and my salvation? (Psa_27:1). ?Light,? figuratively used, has to do preeminently with spiritual life, including also the illumination that floods all the faculties of the soul: intellect, conscience, reason, will. In the moral realm the enlightenment of these faculties is dependent wholly on the renewal of the spirit. ?In thy light ... we see light? (Psa_36:9); ?The life was the light of men? (Joh_1:4).

3. An Attribute of Holiness:
Light is an attribute of holiness, and thus a personal quality. It is the outshining of Deity.

(1) God.
?God is light, and in him is no darkness at all? (1Jo_1:5). Darkness is the universal symbol and condition of sin and death; light the symbol and expression of holiness. ?The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame? (Isa_10:17). God, by His presence and grace, is to us a ?marvellous light? (1Pe_2:9). The glory of His holiness and presence is the ?everlasting light? of the redeemed in heaven (Isa_60:19, Isa_60:20; Rev_21:23, Rev_21:24; Rev_22:5).

(2) Christ.
Christ, the eternal Word (λόγος, lógos, Joh_1:1), who said ?Let there be light? (Gen_1:3), is Himself the ?effulgence of (God's) glory? (Heb_1:3), ?the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world? (Joh_1:9) (compare the statements concerning Wisdom in The Wisdom of Solomon 7:25 f and concerning Christ in Heb_1:3; and see CREEDS; LOGOS; JOHANNINE THEOLOGY; WISDOM). As the predicted Messiah, He was to be ?for alight of the Gentiles? (Isa_42:6; Isa_49:6). His birth was the fulfillment of this prophecy (Luk_2:32). Jesus called Himself ?the light of the world? (Joh_8:12; Joh_9:5; Joh_12:46); As light He was ?God ... manifest in the flesh (1Ti_3:16 the King James Version). ?The Word was God? (Joh_1:1). Jesus as λόγος is the eternal expression of God as a word is the expression of a thought. In the threefold essence of His being God is Life (ζωή, zōḗ) (Joh_5:26; Joh_6:57); God is Love (ἀγάπη, agápē) (1Jo_4:8); God is Light (φῶς, phṓs) (1Jo_1:5). Thus Christ, the lógos, manifesting the three aspects of the Divine Nature, is Life, Love and Light, and these three are inseparable and constitute the glory. which the disciples beheld in Him, ?glory as of the only begotten from the Father? (Joh_1:14). In revealing and giving life, Christ becomes ?the light of men? (Joh_1:4). God gives ?the light of the knowledge of (his) glory in the face of Jesus Christ? (2Co_4:6), and this salvation is called ?the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ? (2Co_4:4). Christ is thus the Teacher, Enlightener (?Christ shall give thee light,? Eph_5:14 the King James Version), Guide, Saviour of men.

(3) Christians.
All who catch and reflect the light of God and of Christ are called ?light,? ?lights.? (a) John the Baptist: ?a burning and a shining light? (Joh_5:35 the King James Version). It is significant that this pre-Christian prophet was termed λύχνος, lúchnos, while the disciples of the new dispensation are called φῶς, phṓs (Mat_5:14): ?Ye are the light of the world.? (b) Henceforth Christians and saints were called ?children of light? (Luk_16:8; Joh_12:36; Eph_5:8), and were expected to be ?seen as lights in the world? (Phi_2:15). (c) The Jew who possessed the law mistakenly supposed he was ?a light of them that are in darkness? (Rom_2:19).

(4) The Church.
Zion was to ?shine? because her 'light had come' (Isa_60:1). The Gentiles were to come to her light (Isa_60:3). Her mission as the enlightener of the world was symbolized in the ornamentations of her priesthood. The Urim of the high priest's breastplate signified light, and the name itself is but the plural form of the Hebrew 'ōr. It stood for revelation, and Thummim for truth. The church of the Christian dispensation was to be even more radiant with the light of God and of Christ. The seven churches of Asia were revealed to John, by the Spirit, as seven golden candlesticks, and her ministers as seven stars, both luminous with the light of the Gospel revelation. In Ephesians, Christ, who is the Light of the world, is the Head of the church, the latter being His body through which His glory is to be manifested to the world, ?to make all men see,? etc. (Eph_3:9, Eph_3:10). ?Unto him be the glory in the church? (Eph_3:21), the church bringing glory to God, by revealing His glory to men through its reproduction of the life and light of Christ.

4. Symbolism:
Light symbolizes: (1) the eye, ?The light of the body is the eye? (Mat_6:22, the King James Version; Luk_11:34); (2) watchfulhess, ?Let your lights (the Revised Version (British and American) ?lamps?) be burning,? the figure being taken from the parable of the Virgins; (3) protection, ?armor (Rom_13:12), the garment of a holy and Christ-like life; (4) the sphere of the Christian's daily walk, ?inheritance of the saints in light? (Col_1:12); (5) heaven, for the inheritance just referred to includes the world above in which ?the Lamb is the light thereof?; (6) prosperity, relief (Est_8:16; Job_30:26), in contrast with the calamities of the wicked whose ?light ... shall be put out? (Job_18:5); (7) joy and gladness (Job_3:20; Psa_97:11; Psa_112:4); (8) God's favor, the light of thy countenance? (Psa_4:6; Psa_44:3; Psa_89:15), and a king's favor (Pro_16:15); (9) life (Psa_13:3; Psa_49:19; Joh_1:4).

5. Expressive Terms:
Expressive terms are: (1) ?fruit of the light? (Eph_5:9), i.e. goodness, righteousness, truth; (2) ?light in the Lord? (Eph_5:8), indicating the source of light (compare Isa_2:5); (3) ?inheritance of the saints in light? (Col_1:12), a present experience issuing in heaven; (4) ?Father of lights? (Jam_1:17), signifying the Creator of the heavenly bodies; (5) ?marvellous light? (1Pe_2:9), the light of God's presence and fellowship; (6) ?Walk in the light? (1Jo_1:7), in the light of God's teaching and companionship; (7) ?abideth in the light? (1Jo_2:10), in love, Divine and fraternal; (8) ?Light of the glorious gospel of Christ ?; ?light of the knowledge of the glory of God? (2Co_4:4, 2Co_4:6 the King James Version).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Light is represented in the Scriptures as the immediate result and offspring of a divine command (Gen_1:3). The earth was void and dark, when God said, 'Let light be, and light was.' This is represented as having preceded the placing of lights in the firmament of heaven, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also' (Gen_1:14, sq.). Whatever opinion may be entertained as to the facility with which these two separate acts may be reconciled, it cannot be questioned that the origin of light, as of every other part of the universe, is thus referred to the exertion of the divine will: as little can it be denied that the narrative in the original is so simple, yet at the same time so majestic and impressive, both in thought and diction, as to fill the heart with a lofty and pleasurable sentiment of awe and wonder.
The divine origin of light made the subject one of special interest to the Biblical nations?the rather because light in the East has a clearness, a brilliancy, is accompanied by an intensity of heat, and is followed in its influence by a largeness of good, of which the inhabitants of less genial climes can have no conception. Light easily and naturally became, in consequence, with Orientals, a representative of the highest human good. All the more joyous emotions of the mind, all the pleasing sensations of the frame, all the happy hours of domestic intercourse, were described under imagery derived from light (1Ki_11:36; Isa_60:1-2; Est_8:16; Psa_97:11). The transition was natural from earthly to heavenly, from corporeal to spiritual things; and so light came to typify true religion and the felicity which it imparts. But as light not only came from God, but also makes man's way clear before him, so it was employed to signify moral truth, and pre-eminently that divine system of truth which is set forth in the Bible, from its earliest gleaming onward to the perfect day of the Great Sun of Righteousness. The application of the term to religious topics had the greater propriety because the light in the world, being accompanied by heat, purifies, quickens, enriches; which efforts it is the peculiar province of true religion to produce in the human soul (Isa_8:20; Mat_4:16; Psa_119:105; 2Pe_1:19; Eph_5:8; 2Ti_1:10; 1Pe_2:9).
It is doubtless owing to the special providence under which the divine lessons of the Bible were delivered, that the views which the Hebrews took on this subject, while they were high and worthy, did not pass into superstition, and so cease to be truly religious. Other Eastern nations beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness, and their hearts were secretly enticed, and their mouth kissed their hand in token of adoration (Job_31:26-27). This 'iniquity' the Hebrews not only avoided, but when they considered the heavens they recognized the work of God's fingers, and learned a lesson of humility as well as of reverence (Psa_8:3, sq.).
Among the personifications on this point which Scripture presents we may specify,
God. The Apostle James (Jam_1:17) declares that 'every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning;' obviously referring to the faithfulness of God, and the constancy of his goodness, which shine on undimmed and unshadowed. So Paul (1Ti_6:16); 'God who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.' Here the idea intended by the imagery is the incomprehensibleness of the self-existent and eternal God.
Light is also applied to Christ: 'The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light' (Mat_4:16; Luk_2:32; Joh_1:4, sq.). 'He was the true light;' 'I am the light of the world' (Joh_8:12; Joh_12:35-36).
It is further used of angels, as in 2Co_11:14 : 'Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.'
Light is moreover employed of men: John the Baptist 'was a burning and a shining light' (Joh_5:35); 'Ye are the light of the world' (Mat_5:14; see also Act_13:47; Eph_5:8).




The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.


This word is used in many ways in the Scripture. Sometimes it refers to man's intellect as in Isa_50:11. Sometimes it refers to the Word of GOD, as in Psa_119:105. Sometimes it refers to false doctrines as in Mat_6:23. It is also a type of the Christian who walks with GOD, as in Eph_5:8. It refers also to the testimony of the Christian, as in Mat_5:16. It is a figure of the state of the believer after he leaves Satan's kingdom of darkness, and is brought into GOD's Kingdom. (Act_26:18). It refers to the walk of the believer in which he serves the Lord in a godly way, and directs his life according to the Word of GOD, as in 1Jo_1:7. It refers to the defense of the believer who lives above reproach and has a godly testimony before his neighbors, as in Rom_13:12. CHRIST JESUS Himself is the light of the world, as He affirms in Joh_8:12 (a) In some strange way the entrance of CHRIST into the life and heart enables the mind to become intelligent and intellectual. Only where CHRIST JESUS is loved and His Word is preached do we find minds active for the blessing of others, and alert in inventing that which will be a blessing to mankind. The blessings which we enjoy in civilization, such as electronics, transportation, communication, refrigeration, manufacturing, agriculture, chemistry, physics and institutions of learning are all products of protestant countries where CHRIST JESUS is permitted to rule and reign in the heart of people, and the Word of GOD is read, preached and taught publicly, and without hindrance. (See Joh_1:4).
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.


Light
(properly אוֹר, or φῶς, from its shining) is represented in the Scriptures as the immediate result and offspring of a divine command (Gen_1:3), where doubtless we are to understand a reappearance of the celestial luminaries, still partially obscured by the haze that settled as a pall over the grave of nature at some tremendous cataclysm which well-nigh reduced the globe to its pristine chaos, rather than their actual formation, although they are subsequently introduced (Gen_1:14 sq.). In consequence of the intense brilliancy and beneficial influence of light in an Eastern climate, it easily and naturally became, with Orientals, a representative of the highest human good. From this idea the transition was an easy one, in corrupt and superstitious minds, to deift the great sources of light. SEE SUN; SEE MOON. When "Eastern nations beheld the sun shining in his strength, or the moon walking in her brightness, their hearts were secretly enticed, and their mouth kissed their hand in token of adoration (Job_31:26-27). SEE ADORATION. This 'iniquity' the Hebrews not only avoided, but when they considered the heavens they recognized the work of God's fingers, and learned a lesson of humility as well as of reverence (Psa_8:3 sq.). On the contrary, the entire residue of the East, with scarcely any exception, worshipped the sun and the light, primarily, perhaps, as symbols of divine power and goodness, but, in a more degenerate state. as themselves divine; whence, in conjunction with darkness, the negation of light, arose the doctrine of dualism, two principles, the one of light, the good power, the other of darkness, the evil power, a corruption which rose and spread the more easily because the whole of human life, being a checkered scene, seems divided as between two conflicting agencies, the bright and the dark, the joyous and the sorrowful, what is called prosperous and what is called adverse." But in the Scriptures the purer symbolism is everywhere maintained (see Wemyss, Symbol. Dict. s.v.). "All the more joyous emotions of the mind, all the pleasing sensations of the frame, all the happy hours of domestic intercourse, were habitually described among the Hebrews under imagery derived from light (1Ki_11:36; Isa_58:8, Est_8:16; Psa_97:11). The transition was natural from earthly to heavenly, from corporeal to spiritual things, and so light came to typify true religion and the felicity which it imparts. But as light not only came from God, but also makes man's way clear before him, so it was employed to signify moral truth, and preeminently that divine system of truth which is set forth in the Bible, from its earliest gleamings onward to the perfect day of the great sun of righteousness. The application of the term to religious topics had the greater propriety because the light in the world, being accompanied by heat, purifies, quickens, enriches, which efforts it is the peculiar province of true religion to produce in the human soul (Isa_8:20, Mat_4:16; Psa_119:105; 2Pe_1:19; Eph_5:8; 2Ti_1:10; 1Pe_2:9)."
Besides its physical sense (Mat_17:2; Act_9:3; Act_12:7; 2Co_4:6), the term light is used by metonymy for a fire giving light (Mar_14:54; Luk_22:56), for a torch, candle, or lamp (Act_16:29); for the material light of heaven, as the sun, moon, or stars (Psa_136:7; Jam_1:17). In figurative language it signifies a manifest or open state of things (Mat_10:27; Luk_12:3), and in a higher sense the eternal source of truth, purity, and joy (1Jn_1:5). God is said to dwell in light inaccessible (1Ti_6:16), which seems to contain a reference to the glory and splendor that shone in the holy of holies, where Jehovah appeared in the luminous cloud above the mercy seat, and which none but the high-priest, and he only once a year, was permitted to approach (Lev_16:2; Eze_1:22; Eze_1:26; Eze_1:28). This light was typical of the glory of the celestial world. SEE SHEKINAH.
Light itself is employed to signify the edicts, laws, rules, or directions that proceed from ruling powers for the good of their subjects. Thus of the great king of all the earth the Psalmist says, "Thy word is a light unto my path" (Psa_119:105), and "Thy judgments are as the light" (Hos_6:5). Agreeably to the notion of lights being the symbols of good government, light also signifies protection, deliverance, and joy. Light also frequently signifies instruction both by doctrine and example (Mat_5:16; Joh_5:35), or persons considered as giving such light (Mat_5:14; Rom_2:19). It is applied in the highest sense to Christ, the true light, the sun of righteousness, who is that in the spiritual which the material light is in the natural world, the great author not only of illumination and knowledge, but of spiritual life, health, and joy to the souls of men (Isa_60:1). "Among the personifications on this point which Scripture presents we may specify,
(1.) God. The apostle James (1:17) declares that 'every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,' obviously referring to the faithfulness of God and the constancy of his goodness, which shine on undimmed and unshadowed. So Paul (1Ti_6:16), 'God who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.' Here the idea intended by the imagery is the incomprehensibleness of the self-existent and eternal God.
(2.) Light is also applied to Christ: 'The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light' (Mat_4:16; Luk_2:32; Joh_1:4 sq.). 'He was the true light;' 'I am the light of the world' (Joh_8:12; Joh_12:35-36).
(3.) It is further used of angels, as in 2Co_11:14 : 'Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.'
(4.) Light is moreover employed of men: John the Baptist 'was a burning and a shining light' (Joh_5:35); 'Ye are the light of the world' (Mat_5:14; see also Act_13:47; Eph_5:8)." SEE LIGHTS.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.





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