What is light?

[MrsSealedEternal]

Is it impossible to catch up with light? Or to travel at the speed of light would one have to be eternal? Do these questions make any sense...?

[Amhis]

God says, "Let there be light,' and then does time suddenly start being measured dimensionally from out of eternity?...right from...In the beginning...?

He says of this event there was evening and morning, one day.

It is extremely difficult for me to try to explain my beliefs of spiritual light. I feel the Lord has given me the ability to understand it well, but it is difficult to put down into words. I am going to at least give it a try.

I think the word light falls into two basic catagories, physical light and spiritual light. In the bible the use of the word "light" as in "I AM the light of the world" is used metaphorically. Through God the light is turned on so we can see and understand. It could also translate "to be spiritually enlightened" in many cases. When we come from the darkness and into the light, only then have we gained an ability given by God alone to understand spiritual matters and His word. For it is impossible for all of mankind to understand any spiritual matters unless God first opens our eyes to see the light and opens our ears to hear. God enlightens us with spiritual understanding to be able to decern spiritual things (he turns on the light). Spiritual light in and of itself is also life, because with the light (or understanding) you are able see spiritual matters by which you are saved. God uses the word light as a metaphor for several different truths written in the bible. Without light (or understanding), we can't physically see, and without light we can't spiritually see either, they have two separate meanings.

The kind of light like the sunlight and moonlight were created by God as seen in Genesis. Meaning there was no light on the earth untill He created it. This is a different kind of light, a physical light. So ultimately since He created it, this light comes from God as well, just in a different meaning. The light in the sun that God created is different than the light unto salvation. I think I could go on and on with different ways and meanings of the word "light" has in the bible. In fact I am certain many books could be written just on this one little word and all the different metaphoric meanings it has in Gods written word.

[SwordFish]

It is what overpowers the darkness of this world. The light of the world is Jesus Christ.

SwordFish

True.

So, if Jesus is the light of the world, and He said Let there be light, He is also the source of all light.

Then one could conclude that the Sun is not the primary source of the light of the world...and we have electricity and fire, which produces and /or gives off light...???

Others, please, let's expound...

[/quote

It is the Word from the beginning that God the Father spoke everything into existence and that Word was with God from the very start. That Word that God spoke everything into existence with that we see visible or invisible is Jesus Christ. As the old song goes "Was Blind But Now I See" they that are blind cannot see afar off. But Christ is the light of men and has been from the beginning of time. when God spoke it was. We need the light of the sun in the natural but we need the light of Christ in our hearts so we can see spiritually by faith. And the sun that comes up every morning and goes down every evening does not nor can give light to our spirits within us. it is only the light of the world which is Jesus Christ that can give light to fallen man. As the whole world before Christ was in darkness in need of a Saviour since the fall in the garden. But God sent His only begotten Son into the world that the world through him might be saved

[MrsSealedEternal]

I understand that there is a spiritual and physical sense to light.

When God, a spirit, speaks in Genesis, "Let there be light," do you think it is both intrisically spiritual and physical or just one or the other???

Some will ascertain that Genesis only makes sense spiritually and prophetically, that as a physical account it makes absolutely no sense.

I think it lends itself to both.

Afterall, God did create the physical & the spiritual realms and operates in and through both.

[MrsSealedEternal]

Rev 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Rev 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

Rev 21:25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;

What do you think...?

The same light as Genesis...possibly, probably, spiritual, physical, or both?

[Amhis]

Rev 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Rev 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

Rev 21:25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;

What do you think...?

The same light as Genesis...possibly, probably, spiritual, physical, or both?

Those are wonderful scripture examples you posted above and very relevent to this discussion.

You said - "I understand that there is a spiritual and physical sense to light".

Answer - I'm glad you said that because I wasn't quite sure if you had that established in your mind or not.

You said - "When God, a spirit, speaks in Genesis, "Let there be light," do you think it is both intrisically spiritual and physical or just one or the other???"

Answer - I think God created a separate light source in the sun and the moon independent of Him. Of course ALL things seen or unseen come from Him, and have been created by Him. God set up the earth to perfectly sustain itself in perfect harmony, and I feel He did the same with the sun and the moon.

You said - "Some will ascertain that Genesis only makes sense spiritually and prophetically, that as a physical account it makes absolutely no sense."

Answer - I would disagree with that statement. It makes perfect sense to me, and His entire creation is perfect except for the fall of mankind along with the fallen angels.

You said - "The same light as Genesis...possibly, probably, spiritual, physical, or both?".

Answer - I feel the Glory of God that gives off light is much different than the light He created in creating the sun and moon.

Scripture says - "Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb".

Answer - Right here in this scripture by in large, I think might be the answer to your main question, that the light of the sun and moon or not the same light that is in God and Jesus. Light from the sun and moon are completely separate light from the light of the Glory of God and our Lord and savior Jesus.

When you add the light from the Glory of God to the mix, it gives yet another source of light that we really know very little about. These light sources are, light that God created like the sun, light as in spiritual enlightenment, and light that is from the Glory of God. After all "God IS light", and that statement alone could mean several different things. Not to mention other types of light, like a flashlight or light emitting from fire etc etc.

I am still not quite certain if I understand what you are in search of, and if I am even close to being on the right track in attempting to answer your questions. Are you trying to understand if the light from the sun for example is the same light as the Glory of God? That is my understanding, but I could sure be way off track to what exactly you are searching for.

In any event I think this is an awesome topic, and one that is very deep in many regards.

[Akiko]

"...The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." "

This is taken from a one-page essay I recieved about a year ago, and it speaks truth. In layman's terms, sin is 'darkness' and rightiousness is 'light' (if you'll excuse the spelling). So things associated with sin, such as Satan and demons, are 'darkness' and God is 'light.'

Interesting topic.

[Akiko]

Quote:

"When God, a spirit, speaks in Genesis, "Let there be light," do you think it is both intrisically spiritual and physical or just one or the other???"

I believe that it is the strictly physical kind of light, but also possibly God manifesting himself in a physical form. (in Revalation, it talks about how there is no sun, because the glory of God lights Heaven). Sin did not enter the world until Eve ate the apple, so there would be no sin/darkness before that time. God would not have needed to create spiritual light to combat sin, because it wasn't there yet.

Other opinions?

[MrsSealedEternal]

"...The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." "

This is taken from a one-page essay I recieved about a year ago, and it speaks truth. In layman's terms, sin is 'darkness' and rightiousness is 'light' (if you'll excuse the spelling). So things associated with sin, such as Satan and demons, are 'darkness' and God is 'light.'

Interesting topic.

Think of this in light of scripture...Ahem...

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Gen 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

Gen 1:4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

Gen 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Rev 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Rev 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

Rev 21:25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;

If God is light and therefore the source of all light, what happened in Genesis 1:3? Do you think this light has any physical properties or presence, even before the creation of the luminaries?

[MrsSealedEternal]

You said - "Some will ascertain that Genesis only makes sense spiritually and prophetically, that as a physical account it makes absolutely no sense."

Answer - I would disagree with that statement. It makes perfect sense to me, and His entire creation is perfect except for the fall of mankind along with the fallen angels.

My point is God is the author of both the spiritual and physical realm, so are not both accounted for in the creation account of Genesis? I think so.

What troubles me is when it is maintained as an account that can only make sense in a spiritual and prophetic sense, and can not be applied accurately as a physical account.

You said - "The same light as Genesis...possibly, probably, spiritual, physical, or both?".

Answer - I feel the Glory of God that gives off light is much different than the light He created in creating the sun and moon.

Hmm...Do you think that our physical realm is a representation of the spiritual realm? God said we are made in His likeness or image. The invisible becomes visible...