Category Archives: Bible Study

Light and Dark #2 – Darkness

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The opposite of light, misery, shadow, a covering, all of these and more thoughts use darkness as a descriptor. DARKNESS, in most sermons, is a bad thing and is usually anti-God.  The problem with this thought is God created darkness and uses it for His purposes.  It is, however, associated with the devil and evil, negative things, so carefully read the verse and the context. 

By my count, there are fifteen words in the Old and New Testament for the word darkness. There are other words for dark and night.  Job has the most references to darkness and is where darkness becomes/is a negative thing. Most references in Genesis to Deuteronomy on darkness are not negative or evil but refer to what surrounds God.

Exodus 20:21 (NIV) – The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.  This idea is used several times to tell us that God hid from the people/us in darkness.  In the Strong’s that word is #6205 and is translated for us as thick darkness.  # 2822 is frequently the word used for darkness because of how it is used in verses; it can carry negative connotations. My thought on why God would hide in darkness is because of the unapproachable light He lives in. (See the other post that is listed in Light and Dark)

Genesis 1:2 uses #2822 for darkness.  (This post is not for a commentary on Creationism.)  The BIG point I want to make is God started with darkness!  He then called for LIGHT and separated them.  (I will use this idea in the following post.)  This verse can take a different direction if you put in the other thoughts associated with darkness.  

In Genesis 1: 4, 6, 7, 14 the NIV uses the word separate, KJV can use the word divide.  In the Strong’s it is number #914.  This word, to me, is a serious word. It is used about Aaron and his family and how they were to be different than the other Israelites.  To divide light and dark, day and night is a very clear separation.

FURTHER STUDY: Use a concordance to compare the three different words for “darkness” that is used in Job 10.

The Bible and Science – Light and Dark

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Job 38: 19 – 20 (NIV)

19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

Light and darkness! Two themes that are used frequently in the Bible.  I have written eight posts in this series on light (I will link them below.) but none on the two of them.  As I write this the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will start in just a few days.  Our community has a “Festival of Lights” that they will begin soon.  Many religions have a time when they celebrate LIGHT. As Christians, we know that the light is Jesus.  The Apostle John starts his Gospel and 1 John with that thought – Jesus is the Light. John also warns about walking/fellowshipping with darkness.

In the passage, God is questioning Job and verses 19 and 20 contain questions 12 – 15 (Yes, I numbered God’s questions, by my count, there are 68 of them in the NIV.). The imagery is awesome!  God has a place/room where He keeps true light and true dark.  Now, we could conclude that the question is about day and night, but what if there is a room where “real” light and dark are stored.  Our day and night are just part of the “Shadowland” version of light and dark. (Shadowland is a C. S. Lewis concept.)  Okay back to my thought.

I will not presume to answer God’s question but our night is earth’s shadow.  Earth is the cause of our night.

  • Father, thank you for the times we have to rest.  May we not live in the shadow of earthly things but always walk in the LIGHT.

Other post about light:

Lighthttps://ificouldteachthebible.com/2013/02/02/the-bible-and-science-light/

Light #2 https://ificouldteachthebible.com/2013/02/13/the-bible-and-science-light-2/

Light #3https://ificouldteachthebible.com/2013/02/27/the-bible-and-science-light-3/

Infraredhttps://ificouldteachthebible.com/2013/03/02/the-bible-and-science-infrared-light/

Lightninghttps://ificouldteachthebible.com/2013/12/29/lightning-consider-gods-wonders/

Lightning #2 https://ificouldteachthebible.com/2013/12/31/lightning-2-the-bible-and-science/

Lightning Then Thunderhttps://ificouldteachthebible.com/2014/01/22/lightning-then-thunder-the-bible-and-science/

Following the Lighthttps://ificouldteachthebible.com/2018/03/10/following-the-light/

A Comparison of Thoughts on the Order of the New Testament

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This comparison started out as a search about Titus.  I was curious about his physical locations and how they corresponded to Paul’s life and his writings.

Every resource that I list will tell you these are approximations, as we are not sure of their order or dates when they were written. Few sites offer why they put them in that order but they seem close. 

The graphs are pictures so the links do not work.  A Google search on the order of the New Testament will give you these and many others.  

I do like the bible-history site even though they seem to have left out Luke and Jude.  They place the Books in context with history. 

The Number Nineteen in the Bible

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The symbolism and occurrences of the number nineteen and the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet carry great importance in the Bible.  The NIV uses the number nineteen six times (number of man).  The nineteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is KOPH, which corresponds to the letter Q.  Joshua 19 and 1 Chronicles 24, 25 are parts of list for towns, priest and singers. 2 Samuel 2:30 states the number of David’s men that are killed in the cycle of battles with Abner’s forces after the death of King Saul. 2 Kings 25:8 and Jeremiah 52: 12 tell the same story – that of Jerusalem being burned in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

KOPH, the letter, and the occurrences of number nineteen are intertwined.  KOPH is associated with cycles, especially the cycles of the Feast.  In Joshua 19:38 the towns that are listed make up the territory of Naphtali, which is Galilee.  2 Samuel is the first of several years’ worth of fighting in Israel.

The story of Jerusalem being sacked/burned is part of a cycle in the history of that city.  David starts it when he captures it for his capital. Egyptians plundering it, the Northern Tribes breaking down its walls are also part of the cycle.  It continued with the Romans when they tore the city apart. 

For more study on the number see the website below.  

https://www.christianforums.com/threads/the-hebrew-letter-qoph-koph-the-back-of-the-head.61826/

 

Things Paul Wrote About – One

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One 

Poetically we know one as the “loneliest number”.  It is a concept we learn very early in life when we discover “me”. One can be a number or type of pronoun. Calculating with “one” is a major part of math that is done in science class.  In the New Testament “one” stands in contrast to “many” the example here is “one Lord”.  In Greek, it is used with other words to be “everyone” or “one another”.  Greek has three different words that are used for one – heis, mia, and hen; these are male, female, and neutral forms of the word.

When Many are One

Ephesians 5:31 uses marriage to stress the point that “many can be one”.  This verse on marriage was first stated in Genesis 2:24. Paul, however, expands this idea to cover the Body of Christ in numerous places: Romans 9:25, 1 Corinthians 10:17; 12:12,13,14-27; Galatians 3:28; Philippians 1:27; Colossians 3:15; Ephesians 2:14.  To show the importance of one Paul uses the concept of marriage again but he does this with a negative – why not to visit a prostitute – 1 Corinthians 6: 15 – 17.

This whole line of thought may seem to contradict my earlier statement about one not being many!  It is just the opposite, it shows us how we are to act within the Body of Christ. Jesus is coming for “A” bride.  One bride! 

Now, we are made of many parts but that does not mean we should not be one.  Jesus being (your) Lord is more important than slight variations in personal or church doctrine.  

Things That are One

Yes, Paul does talk of many things that are “one” but if you really look at what he says it will beat up many of the things Christians chose to fight about. In Acts and his letters Paul spends time addressing divisions in the Body.  He condemns false teachings and teachers and corrects Peter and Barnabas about separating themselves from other believers.  (Using Bible Gateway can make a hunt for these very easy.)  Here are some of the things that Paul declares and teaches are one (not many): God, Father, Spirit, Lord, gospel, faith, baptism. Many of those “ones” are in Ephesians 4. In Ephesians 6:16 Paul reduces warfare and who we are to be fighting very nicely to the “evil one”.

One Another

This phrase is complicated!  My Strong’s concordance puts the words “one” and “another” into the dreaded appendix section, while the Goodrick and Kohlenberger concordance (Zondervan NIV Concordance) does list them individually for better referencing.  It also has a reference tool so you can find the words meaning in the Strong’s.  This helped, but that shows there are three main words for “another”:  Allelon which comes from allos and heteros.  Allos and allelon should/could be understood as “another of the same sort” while heterosis “another of a different sort”.

I will use 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11 (NIV) as an example.  I am adding the bold and alternate words.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

8 To one (hos) there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom,

to another (same sort) a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,

 9 to another (different sort) faith by the same Spirit, 

to another (same sort) gifts of healing by that one (heis) Spirit, 

10 to another (same sort) miraculous powers, 

to another (same sort) prophecy, 

to another (same sort) distinguishing between spirits, 

to another (different sort) speaking in different kinds of tongues,

and to still another (same sort) the interpretation of tongues.

11 All these are the work of one (heis) and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Hos is a “female” word for who, etc.  The “one” in vs.7 and the second “one” in vs. 11 are added for better reading in the NIV. 

Reflection: Doing this is challenging some thoughts on the Gifts of the Spirit.