Doctrine of Night / Darkness in relation to Evil

U.R.D. - John 13:30 - Fall 2008

1) John 13:30, "it kept on being night", symbolically signifies the darkness of Judas’ heart, his soul was black as night. This then was the hour for the power of darkness to perform, Luke 22:53.

Luke 22:53, “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

Eph 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Judas knew the significance of the morsel, yet he chose to continue in his rejection of the Messiah and instead desired 30 pieces of silver. Therefore, he rushed down the road of sin. He was drawn away by his lusts and ambition. Once his lust had conceived it brought forth sin. When the sin was complete or full (PLEROO), it brought forth his death, James 1:14-15 cf. Mat 27:5; Acts 1:18.

James 1:14, "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

2) As Judas, the unbeliever, became like the night in darkness in his betrayal, our Lord is the Light come into the world, Psa 104:20; cf. John 8:12; 9:5.

Psa 104:20, "You appoint darkness and it becomes night, in which all the beasts of the forest prowl about."

John 8:12, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life'."

John 9:5, "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

3) The contrast between light and darkness is first noted in the restoration of planet earth, Gen 1:2-5.

Gen 1:2-5, "The earth was [TOHU WAW BOHU] formless and void (waste and emptiness), and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving (hovering) over the surface of the waters. ³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

a) The restoration of light to creation typifies the incarnation of the Son of God who is the Light of the world, John 12:35-36, 46.

John 12:35, "So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. ³⁶While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”"

John 12:46, "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness."

4) The believer in Christ is also the light of the world, Mat 5:14-16.

a) The believer is reflecting the Light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ when he is in fellowship with God by obeying the Father’s will as it is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God, Phil 2:15.

Philippians 2:15, "So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world."

5) Light and darkness are used as an analogy of separation, Gen 1:14-19, (there we also see the analogy of the believer as reflecting the light of Christ).

a) Likewise, the believer is to be separated from evil, Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 6:14; Eph 5:8-17; Col 1:13; 1 Thes 5:4-10; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5-6; 2:9-11.

Rom 13:12, "The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."

6) Evil loves the darkness and hates the light; Job 24:13; John 1:5; 3:16-21; 8:12:12:35, 46.

Job 24:13, "Others have been with those who rebel against the light; they do not want to know its ways nor abide in its paths. ¹⁴The murderer arises at dawn; he kills the poor and the needy, and at night he is as a thief."

John 1:5, "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

7) Darkness exists in the thought pattern of the soul. Evil and degeneracy start with a thought, Mat 6:23; 15:18-19.

Mat 6:23, "But if your eye is evil, the entire body is full of darkness (cosmic involvement)."

Mat 15:18-19, "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart (right lobe of the soul), and those defile the man. For out of the heart comes evil thoughts."

8) Fear is related to Darkness, Gen 15:12, Ex 10:21-22.

Gen 15:12, "Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him."

9) Judgement is related to darkness, Deut 28:29; 1 Sam 2:9; Prov 20:20; Isa 5:20; Mat 8:12; 22:13; 25:30, (the outer darkness); 2 Peter 2:4, 17; Jude 1:6, 13.

Isa 5:20, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"

10) Light is given to overcome evil (darkness) and protect the believer, Prov 2:10-15; Acts 26:18; John 11:9.

Acts 26:18, "To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’"

John 11:9, "Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”"

Prov 2:10-15, "For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; ¹¹discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, ¹²to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things; ¹³from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; ¹⁴Who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil; ¹⁵whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways."

Eccl 2:13-14, "And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. ¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness."

11) Bible Doctrine resident in the Soul protects the believer from the evils of darkness. 2 Sam 22:29; Psa 18:28; Prov 2:10-15; 2 Cor 4:6

2 Sam 22:29 and Psa 18:28, "For You are my lamp, O LORD; and the LORD illumines my darkness."

a) The Balance of Residency of the soul (Bible doctrine plus filling of the Holy Spirit; i.e., residence, function, momentum inside GPS) avoids thinking evil. It takes lots of Bible doctrine to reject evil, Prov 23:7-9.

2 Cor 4:6, "For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

12) There will be no night or darkness in the eternal kingdom, Rev 21:22-27; 22:5.