What does the Bible say about how darkness appeared in the beginning? Did it coexist with God? or, was it created just like anything else?
Genesis 1:1 - 31
ESV - 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
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Asked December 09 2016
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Tito Dulay Lim
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Singapore Moses
God stood on darkness. He made darkness His secret place (Ps. 18:11). He made dark waters and thick clouds His pavilion (cp. Nah. 1:3). Brightness paved the way before Him through the darkness (Ps. 18:12). Where is the way where light dwelleth? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof, That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?. This refers to the rising and setting of the sun, or to day and night being fixed as if they dwelled in certain places and came forth regularly from their dwelling (Job 38:19-20; Ps. 19). In the N.T. perspective, As the source of wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and truth, God cannot have the least degree of ignorance, imperfection, sinfulness, and darkness. God is to man what the sun is to our world, hence the importance of the message that God is light and no darkness at all. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. This is the chief message Christ came to deliver, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Neither Moses nor the prophets ever gave the fullness of this message (Jn. 1:16-17). Christ Himself is the chief manifestation of God's light to men (Jn. 1:1-9; 3:16-20; 8:12; 12:35-36). It is not God but men who need to be urged to keep the covenant. They are the ones who fill the dark places of the earth with habitations of cruelty (Ps. 74:20). Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (Jn. 3:16-20). Satan is the ruler of the darkness of this world (2Cor. 4:4 Eph. 6:10-18). People under the captivity of sins loved darkness rather than light. They are called lovers of sin (Job 15:16; 20:12; Pr. 2:14; Jn. 3:19; 12:43; 2Pet. 2:22).
Tim Maas
In Psalm 139:12, David, speaking of God, said, "Even the darkness is not dark to Thee. The night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light with Thee." This would suggest to me that the distinction between light and darkness is only from a human perspective, and that these two states were created by God for the benefit of humanity from that perspective. (Genesis 1:2 says that, even though darkness was upon the face of the deep before God created light, the Spirit of God was already moving over the face of the waters. I read this as implying that God was already active even in the presence of the darkness, and that He created both what we perceive as darkness and light with the benefit of His creation in mind.) The only "eternal" is God Himself, who is beyond all conceptions of time, space, and states of matter or nature.
Grant Abbott
In 1John 1:5 we read "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all". Since darkness is not part of God's nature then it must be part of his creation. I believe God created darkness to remind us what life is like without him. Because of sin all of us at one time lived in the dark. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that shines light on our desperate spiritual condition. That light shows us who Jesus is so we can receive his salvation and begin living in his kingdom of light. In Acts 26:18 the apostle Paul is sharing his testimony of meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. Jesus said " I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Paul was even physically blinded by the presence of Jesus light so he could experience life in the dark. Later Jesus healed him and restored his sight and Paul had a clear understanding of how Jesus had saved him and his mission to build Jesus's kingdom. There are many sad passages in the bible that describe what it looks like to live in the dark. But the good news is that there are also many passages that show us how marvellous and wonderful it is to live in the light. Personally, I am captivated by the light of Jesus presence in my life.
Carly Welker
Let's start at the beginning in genesis 1:2 where it says darkness was over the face of the deep and the spirit of God hovers over the waters. It shows us first that "the deep" and "the waters" are considered to be comparable in a way that insinuates they are the same thing. Just as the word water and ocean are comparable. While the ocean is made of water, not all water is necessarily the ocean. That's why they are spoken of in two separate words that mean the same thing, for the time it was written. Although at this point of creation, in this verse, it was all formless. Nothing had been separated and all water was considered the deep. Water was all there was in the face of the surface before he separated the waters from the waters and dry land appeared. So as darkness covers this area you see the difference in where the invisible spirit of God is compared to the darkness. It doesn't say he covers it, like the darkness, but says he hovers over it. If the deep is covered by darkness and God is hovering over the water then he is hovering over the water inside of that which covers it. Otherwise it would say he hovers over the darkness which covers the face of the deep, but no it says that God hovers and darkness covers it. From God's perspective the darkness isn't dark to him but the same as light, stated in psalms 139:12 "... the darkness and the light are both alike to you". So let's move on, did he or didn't he create darkness? To answer this you have to take into consideration the concept of opposites here. You can not know one without the other. You cannot experience darkness, as it is, without knowing its counter part, which is light. Otherwise you wouldn't even think of it as anything. If you never knew of anything bad and everything was good then that would just be the way it was. No need in defining it because there's no comparison or contrast in it with the capability of defining it as anything other than just being. On the first day when God spoke the light into existence, he created the contrast between light and darkness. That's not to say he created light, because God is light and God was never created. That was when the invisible God gave himself an image to know himself, by knowing something other than. It was the contrast between the two which was created, by separating them on day one. Before that moment they were the same (or alike) to God, again, as stated in psalms 139:12. A verse that gives a reference of God creating this contrast is in Isaiah, “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things. ’” Isaiah 45:7. When he formed the light, that in turn being the opposite, created darkness. When he made peace, that in turn being the opposite, created calamity. Without one you are unable to know the other. Without contrast you are unable to distinguish. I do believe that there is no darkness in God, as is stated in 1 john 1:5. That's not saying that God can not be in the darkness but that the darkness cannot be in God. Just how when you turn on a light, there's not a dark place inside of that bulb itself, but the room in which the bulb exists is capable of having darkness wherever that light is not shining, for example under the bed or in the dresser drawer. Until, of course, you allow that light into those places. So while God does not have darkness in him, he is capable of being in a place with the capacity of darkness. A few verses to confirm this are as listed. “Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” Psalms 97:2 “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Psalms 139:8 “Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.” 1 Kings 8:12 “He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.” Psalms 18:11 So as you see in these verses God is capable of being in, surrounded by, and covered with darkness. Although none of that exists inside of him. And while darkness is mentioned in the beginning, it was actually also created by God, but not distinguishable until he formed the contrasting opposite of it and that is what gave the cause for its creation. So no matter how much darkness surrounds you, envelopes you, or changes you, God can still meet you where you are. You are still capable of being filled with and surrounded by his light. You will then be able to rest in him because you won't be bringing the darkness of any sin with you, since we know there is no darkness there. Through the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are given this knowledge and opportunity to be set free! Darkness was created as a tool used for a place of reference, it was not intended for us to use as a place of dwelling!
Myron Robertson
God is very explicit about this one. Isaiah 45:7, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." Light was not the first thing that was created, therefore the most popular interpretations of Genesis 1:1 must be flawed. There were creative acts done by God before Genesis 1 and the creation story as told here is apparently specific to the earth and the heavens near the earth, not the entire universe, not the entire creation.
Nils Jansma
When we talk about God “creating” darkness, and literally applying it to the earth, I believe we are missing the point. You “create” darkness by shutting out or eliminating any relevant sources of light. Darkness, in this context, is nothing more than the absence of light. Since the scene is apparently, the earth’s surface after creation, the text is telling us that it was dark, plain and simple. This was probably caused by the Earth’s initial early atmosphere which is believed to have been opaque by nature. Since there was no light, it was dark according to both Scripture and geology.
James Kraft
Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness is natural, light has a source. Without light there is darkness. In Him there is no darkness at all. He is the light of the world. In Him we have light, without Him is darkness. The word of God is a light unto our path. God is the source of all light.
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