Difference between revisions of "Darkness"

<p> "Darkness" in both the Old [[Testament]] (Heb. <i> hasak </i> [ Proverbs 2:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-7 ), judgment (Exodus 10:21; Matthew 25:30 ), and death (Psalm 88:12 ). [[Salvation]] brings light to those in darkness (Isaiah 9:2 ). Although darkness is opaque to man, it is transparent to [[God]] (Psalm 139:12 ). Indeed, God can veil himself in darkness at moments of great revelation (Deuteronomy 4:11; 5:23; [[Psalm]] 18:11 ). </p> <p> <i> God Rules the [[Darkness]] </i> . The biblical view of darkness and light offers a unique contrast. There is no thought that darkness is equal in power to God's light. The absolute, sovereign God rules over the darkness and the powers of evil. This is evident in several ways. First, God knows the darkness. He knows where it is (Job 34:22 ) and what it contains (Daniel 2:22 ). Second, God rules over the darkness because he created it (Isaiah 45:7; cf. Amos 4:13; 5:8 ). Third, God uses the darkness for his own purposes: to hide himself from the sight of men (Psalm 18:11; 1 Kings 8:12 ) and to bring his judgment on evildoers (Deuteronomy 28:28-29; Matthew 8:12; 22:13 ), evil nations (Ezekiel 30:18-19 ), and false prophets (Jeremiah 23:12; Micah 3:6; Revelation 16:10 ). Finally, God rules over the darkness eschatologically. The time of God's ultimate judgment, the day of the Lord, is portrayed in both the Old Testament and New Testament as a day of darkness (Joel 2:2; Amos 5:18,20; Zephaniah 1:15; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:12-17 ). </p> <p> <i> Darkness and [[Crucifixion]] </i> . It is against this background that the emphasis on darkness in the crucifixion scene may be understood. Luke records, "it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two" (23:44-45; cf. Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33 ). While darkness often accompanies the conception of death in [[Scripture]] (cf. Job 10:21-22 ), darkness at the crucifixion scene displays God's displeasure on humankind for crucifying his son. It also indicates God's judgment on evil. But the torn curtain exhibits the opening of salvation to all through the death of God's Son. </p> <p> <i> Final Darkness </i> . The Old Testament and New Testament describe the future of the ungodly in terms of eschatological darkness, symbolizing perdition (1 Samuel 2:9; Matthew 22:13; Jude 12-13 ). "Hell" and "pits of darkness" describe the fate of angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6 ). But for believers darkness will be dispelled by the presence of the light of the glory of God (Revelation 21:23-24; 22:5 ). It is only through the light of God in [[Jesus]] [[Christ]] that darkness can be dispelled. </p> <p> [[Michael]] J. Wilkins </p> <p> <i> See also </i> [[Hell]] </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . E. R. Achtmeier, <i> Int </i> 17 (1963): 439-49; G. L. Borchert, <i> Dictionary of [[Paul]] and His Letters, </i> sv. "Light and Darkness"; F. G. Carver, <i> Wesleyan Theological Journal </i> 23 (1986): 7-32; H. Conzelmann, <i> TDNT, </i> 7:423-45; D. Guthrie, <i> New Testament Theology: </i> H.-C. Hahn, <i> NIDNTT, </i> 1:420-25; G. E. Ladd, <i> A [[Theology]] of the New Testament </i> ; G. F. Shirbroun, <i> Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, </i> s.v. "Light"; G. Wenham, <i> [[Genesis]] 1-15 </i> . </p>

<p> In [[Scripture]] language the word darkness is variously used. In the natural sense of the word, it means the obscurity, such as is described at the original state of things, when JEHOVAH went forth in acts of creation. It is said, "darkness was on the face of the deep." (Genesis 1:2) In a spiritual sense, darkness is frequently made use of in Scripture to denote the blindness and ignorance of the mind, by reason of sin. Hence Paul, when speaking of the conversion of the church at Corinth, saith, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of [[God]] in the face of [[Jesus]] Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) The darkness of the grave, and the darkness of hell, are both also spoken of in Scripture. (Job 10:21-22; Matthew 22:13) The darkness which took place at the death of Christ, and which lasted from the sixth to the ninth hour, differed from all these, and was among the miracles which marked that momentous event. [[Profane]] writers, as well as the sacred Scriptures, have it upon record. [[Dionysius]] the Areopagite, in his epistle to Polycarp, makes mention of it with decided convictions on his mind, that the event was supernatural. And another writer, Suidas, relates, that the same Dionysius said concerning it, that God either suffered, or took part with one that did. But what are all the testimonies of profane writers to those which God the [[Holy]] [[Ghost]] gives of it? Some have thought, that this supernatural darkness was the Father's frown at the Jews' cruelty, in crucifying Christ. For my part, I believe it to have been the very reverse. For never was the Father more glorified than by those sufferings of the Lord Jesus. [[Never]] was [[Christ]] more glorified than by those sufferings. Then it was that Scripture was fulfilled, and Jesus set, as JEHOVAH'S King, "upon his holy hill of Zion." (Psalms 2:6) What was it, this darkness then, under these views, meant to imply? Surely, that Jesus the [[Son]] of God, when becoming the sinner's Surety, shall do all, and suffer all, the sinner deserved, and must have borne for ever, had not Christ interposed. Darkness, yea, darkness to be felt, shall be in the Surety's lot. Christ is now lifted up a spectacle between heaven and earth. The sinner's [[Surety]] is now appearing as one forsaken of both, and meriting the favour of neither. He is now suspended on the cross in the air, to represent his territories, who is the "Prince of the power of the air." (Ephesians 2:2) The cataracts of divine wrath were now opened. Christ is beheld in the very character he had taken at the call of God the Father; first, made sin, and then, a curse, (see these Scriptures,) 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13 then follows, darkness, soul-trial, and death. It was not necessary the sinner's Surety should go down into hell, to suffer there the torments of the damned: it is not the place that constitutes the suffering, but the manner: and here the judgment due to the sinner seized him. He saith himself, "The sorrows of death compassed me, the pains of hell gat hold upon me." (Psalms 116:3) Surely, if ever the face of hell was seen on earth, or the darkness of hell known, it was on that day. Hence, when the whole was passed, and this eclipse gone by; and day-light brake in again upon Jesus, he cried with a loud voice, "It is finished." (John 19:30) Reader! those cries of the Lord Jesus on the cross, during the dreadful darkness and desertion his soul endured, may serve to teach us somewhat of those eternal shrieks and cries of the damned, who are cast out of God's presence for ever! </p>

<p> D'ARKNESS, n. </p> 1. [[Absence]] of light. <p> And darkness was on the face of the deep. [[Genesis]] 1 </p> 2. [[Obscurity]] want of clearness or perspicuity that quality or state which renders any thing difficult to be understood as the darkness of counsels. 3. A state of being intellectually clouded ignorance. <p> Men loved darkness rather than light. John 3 </p> 4. A private place secrecy privacy. <p> What I tell in darkness, that speak ye in light. Matthew 10 </p> 5. Infernal gloom hell as utter darkness. Matthew 22 6. [[Great]] trouble and distress calamities perplexities. <p> A day of clouds and thick darkness. Joel 2 Is. viii. </p> 7. [[Empire]] of Satan. <p> Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness. Colossians 1 </p> 8. Opakeness. <p> Land of darkness, the grave. Job 10 </p>

<p> [[Used]] in various significations in scripture. </p> <p> 1. [[State]] of the earth before [[God]] said, [[Let]] there be light. [[Genesis]] 1:2 . </p> <p> 2. Temporary absence of light in the night. Genesis 1:5 . </p> <p> 3. Extraordinary darkness sent by God. Exodus 10:21; Exodus 14:20; Matthew 27:45 . </p> <p> 4. The darkness by which God shrouded His glory. Exodus 20:21; [[Psalm]] 18:9,11; Psalm 97:2; Hebrews 12:18 . </p> <p> 5. State of death as compared with natural life. Job 10:21,22 . </p> <p> 6. [[Moral]] darkness as the consequent state of man fallen. Psalm 82:5; Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16; John 1:5; John 3:19; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Peter 2:9 . </p> <p> 7. It characterises [[Satan]] and his agents. Luke 22:53; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 16:10 . </p> <p> 8. It is the abode of wicked spirits and will characterise the place of punishment of the wicked. Matthew 8:12; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6,13 . God is light, and [[Christ]] came into the world as the true light: everything shut out from God, or opposed to God and to the Lord Jesus, must partake of moral darkness. </p>

<p> (properly חשֶׁךְ, cho'shek; σκότος ), the absence of light; the state of chaos as represented by the sacred writer in [[Genesis]] 1:2. (See [[Creation]]). </p> <p> The plague of darkness in [[Egypt]] (Exodus 10:21) was one so thick and intense as to seem almost palpable. The "palpable obscure" of Milton appears to express the idea in a forcible manner. The Tamul translation gives "darkness which causeth to feel," or so dark that a man is obliged to feel his way, and until he shall have so felt he cannot proceed. Some expositors are disposed to contend for the literal palpableness of this darkness by supposing that the agency employed was a wind, densely filling the air with particles of dust and sand. Such winds are not unknown in the [[Eastern]] deserts, and they are always very appalling and destructive in their effects. Others think that a dense fog was spread over the land; but a darkness consisting of thick clammy fogs and exhalations, so condensed as to be perceived by the organs of touch, might have extinguished animal life in a few hours. [[Whether]] the darkness was exhibited in these or any other forms, the miracle must have struck the [[Egyptians]] with astonishment and horror, as the sun was one of their principal deities, and was supposed to be the source of life and the soul of the world, and with the moon to rule all things. (See [[Plagues Of Egypt]]). </p> <p> In the [[Gospels]] of Matthew (Matthew 27:45) and Luke (Luke 23:44) we read that, while Jesus, hung upon the cross, "from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." Most of the ancient commentators believed that this darkness extended to the whole world. But their arguments are now seldom regarded as satisfactory, and their proofs even less so. Of the latter the strongest is the mention of an eclipse of the sun, which is referred to this time by [[Phlegon]] Trallianus, and, after him, by Thallus (ap. Africanum). But even an eclipse of the sun could not be visible to the whole world, and neither of these writers names the place of the eclipse. Some think it was Rome; but it is impossible that an eclipse could have happened from the sixth to the ninth hour both at [[Rome]] and Jerusalem. It is, therefore, highly probable that the statement of Phlegon, which in the course of time has come to be quoted as independent authority, was taken from the relation of the [[Christians]] or from the Scriptures. That the darkness could not have proceeded from an eclipse of the sun is further placed beyond all doubt by the fact that, it being then the time of the Passover, the moon was at the full. This darkness may therefore be ascribed to an extraordinary and preternatural obscuration of the solar light, which might precede and accompany the earthquake that took place on the same occasion; for it has been noticed that often before an earthquake such a mist arises from sulphureous vapors as to occasion a darkness almost nocturnal (see the, authors cited in Kuinoil ad Matthew 24:29, and compare Joel 3:3; Revelation 6:12 sq.). (See [[Earthquake]]). Such a darkness might extend over Judaea, or that division of [[Palestine]] in which [[Jerusalem]] stood, to which the best authorities agree that here, as in some other places, it is necessary to limit the phrase πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, rendered "all the land." In the "Acts of Pilate" (q.v.), which have been' quoted by [[Justin]] [[Martyr]] and Tertullian, we find the following document, in which this preternatural darkness is referred to. (See [[Eclipse]]). </p> <p> "Pilate to Tiberius, etc. </p> <p> "I have at length been forced to consent to the crucifixion of [[Jesus]] Christ, to prevent a tumult among the Jews, though it was very much against my will. For the world never saw, and probably never will see, a man of such extraordinarypiety and uprightness. But the high-priests and [[Sanhedrim]] fulfilled in it the oracles of their prophets and of our sibyls. While he hung on the cross, a horrid darkness, which covered the earth, seemed to threaten its final end. His followers, who profess to have seen him rise from the dead and ascend into heaven, and acknowledge him for their God, do still subsist, and, by their excellent lives, show themselves the worthy disciples of so extraordinary a master. I did all I could to save him from the malice of the Jews, but the fear of a total insurrection made me sacrifice him to the peace and interest of your empire," etc. </p> <p> The "thick darkness" in which [[God]] is said to have been (Exodus 20:21), was doubtless the "thick cloud upon the mount" mentioned Exodus 19:16; and the "thick darkness" in which "the Lord said that he would dwell" (1 Kings 8:12), has reference to the cloud upon the mercy-seat, in which he promised to "appear" to Aaron, and which seems to have been rather a cloud of glory and light than of darkness. (See [[Cloud]]). When it is said (Psalms 97:2) "‘ clouds and darkness are round about him," the reference is apparently to the inscrutability of the divine nature and working. The darkness which is frequently (Isaiah 13:9-10; Joel 2:31; Joel 3:15; Matthew 24:29, etc.) connected with the coming of the Lord has reference to the judgments attendant on his advent. </p> <p> [[Darkness]] is often used symbolically in the [[Scriptures]] as opposed to light, which is the symbol of joy and safety, to express misery and adversity (Job 18:6; Psalms 107; Psalms 10; Psalms 143:3; Isaiah 8:22; Isaiah 9:1; Isaiah 59:9-10; Ezekiel 30:18; Ezekiel 32:7-8; Ezekiel 34:12); hence also captivity (Isaiah 47:5; Lamentations 3:6). ‘ He . . that maketh the morning darkness,' in Amos 4:13, is supposed to be an allusion to the dense black clouds and mists attending earthquakes. ‘ The day of darkness' in Joel 2:2, alludes to the obscurity occasioned by the flight of locusts in compact masses. (See [[Locust]]). In Ezekiel 8:12, darkness is described as the accompaniment of idolatrous rites. Darkness of the sun, moon, and stars is used figuratively to denote a general darkness or deficiency in the government or body politic (Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10-31). In Ephesians 5:11, the expression ‘ works of darkness' is applied to the heathen mysteries on account of the impure actions which the initiated performed in them. ‘ [[Outer]] darkness' in Matthew 8:12, and elsewhere, refers to the darkness outside, in the streets or open country, as contrasted with the blaze of cheerful light in the house, especially when a convivial party is held in the night time. And it may be observed that the streets in the East are utterly dark after nightfall, there being no shops with lighted windows, nor even public or private lamps to impart to them the light and cheerfulness to which we are accustomed. This gives the more force to the contrast of the ‘ outer darkness' with the inner light. Darkness is used to represent the state of the dead (Job 10:21; Job 17:13). It is also employed as the proper and significant emblem of ignorance (Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 60:2; Matthew 6:23; John 3:9; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6)." </p>