View source for Darkness

[[image:dna2w.jpg| link=http://www.preparingyou.com/wiki/Audio2014#Social_Paths|150px|right|thumb|The division of light and dark remains a [[Mysteries]] to those who substitute [[Ideology|ideologies]] and the [[doctrines of men]] for the [[righteousness]] of God. ]]

== Darkness ==

There are many references to [[darkness]] in the Bible. One of the common [[Hebrew]] words for [[darkness]] is ''choshek''<Ref name="choshek">{{02822}}</Ref> appearing more than 70 times.

Where things are ''without form or void'' what remains is called [[darkness]].<Ref>[[Genesis 1]]:2  "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness <02822> [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."</Ref> 

Light is said to be good but where there is [[darkness]] there is no light for they are distinctively separated.<Ref>[[Genesis 1]]:4  "And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness <02822>." </Ref>

While light is called ''good'' and the division of light and dark are also ''good'', [[darkness]] is neither good nor evil for there is light and the absence of light which we call [[darkness]].

Where light goes darkness cannot exist.

* [[Genesis 3]]:24  "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,<Ref name="keruwb">{{03742}}</Ref> and a flaming<Ref name="lahat">{{03858}}</Ref> sword<Ref name="chereb">{{02719}}</Ref> which turned every<Ref name="haphak">{{02015}}</Ref> way, to keep the way of the [[tree of life]]."

When man fell from grace by eating of the [[tree of knowledge]] rather than the [[tree of life]] God seems to have driven him away from the ''protected'' [[garden]]<Ref name="ganan">{{01598}}</Ref> with something that blocked [[the way]] back to that [[tree of life]].

=== Turned away ===

That thing was said to be a ''whirling''<Ref name="haphak">{{02015}}</Ref> fiery<Ref name="lahat">{{03858}}</Ref> sword<Ref name="chereb">{{02719}}</Ref> of a ''Cherub''<Ref name="keruwb">{{03742}}</Ref>.<Ref>לַ֤הַט  הַחֶ֙רֶב֙  הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת  לִשְׁמֹ֕ר <Br>lahaṭ hahereb (flaming sword) hammiṯhappeḵeṯ (whirling) lišmōr (guard). HeyMemTavHeyPeiKafTav</Ref>
 
The words "which turned every way" are from a [[Hebrew]] base word Hey[[Pei]]Kuf הָפַךְ‎ haphak<Ref name="haphak">{{02015}}</Ref> but in the text we see hammiṯhappeḵeṯ (whirling) which only appears in this verse and is spelled HeyMemTavHeyPeiKafTav הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת.

* {{Hey}}
* {{Mem}}
* {{Tav}}
* {{Hey}}
* {{Pei}}
* {{Kaf}}
* {{Tav}}

Most commentaries agree that this verse was about blocking "the way that led to the tree of life". 

How did it block?

What might unblock that way so that men might obtain [[Eternal life|life everlasting]]?

=== Sit in darkness ===

The Bible often talks about those who  sit in darkness. And the way back to life  remains hidden to those who choose the dark over the light.

Why would the choose to remain in darkness?

What in the darkness binds them?

* [[Psalms 107]]:10    "Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, [being] bound in affliction and iron; 11  Because they rebelled against the [[word of God|words of God]],<Ref>[[Psalms 68]]:6  "God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry [land]."
: [[Psalms 106]]:43  "Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked [him] with their counsel, and were brought low for their [[iniquity]].
: [[Isaiah 63]]:10  But they rebelled, and vexed his [[Holy Spirit|holy Spirit]]: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] he fought against them.</Ref> and contemned<Ref name="naats">{{05006}}</Ref> the counsel of the most High:"

The darkness, the [[social bonds]] of fear and shame, and affliction is seen as a product of the individuals rebellion against the [[word of God]] which results from the people spurning<Ref name="naats">{{05006}}</Ref> the [[truth]] which the deny and they refuse to see.

[[Abraham]], [[Moses]], and [[Jesus]] called the people to [[righteousness]] from the beginning but if they seek [[unrighteousness]] they will not be [[Protection|protected]] by the ''hand'' of God. 

If they choose not [[the way]] of [[righteousness]] toward others but [[oppress]] the people with the [[leaven]], e bracing darkness rather than light, then they shall also be in the darkness and the resulting prison.

* [[Isaiah 42]]:6 "I the LORD have called thee in [[righteousness]], and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the [[Gentiles]]; 7  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."

If we do not deliver our neighbor out of prison, bondage, and oppression we shall go into [[captivity|prison]], [[bondage]] and be [[oppress|oppressed]]. If we will not [[forgive]] we will not be [[Forgiveness|forgiven]]. If we will not see our [[sin]], our [[iniquity]], then we will not be brought forth to see the light.

* [[Micah 7]]:8  "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto me.  9  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his [[righteousness]]."

== Bring light where there was darkness ==

Jesus came to bring light where there was darkness.

* [[Luke 1]]:79  "To give light to them that sit in [[darkness]] and [in] the shadow of death, to guide our feet into [[the way]] of [[peace]]."



* [[Matthew 4]]:16  "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up."

== Darkness and light ==

[[John 9]]:41  Jesus said unto them, <span style="color:#FF0000">'''If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.'''</span><Ref name="Blindlead'">{{Blindlead}}</Ref>

Darkness is the absence of light as a lie is the rejection of the whole truth.

<blockquote>
"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." [[1 John 1]]:5 </blockquote>
 

Darkness has no power against the light except what it can take through deception.

"Do we drive out darkness with more darkness or with the light?" See [[Stoning]]

[[Evil]] is what occurs in the absence of [[love]] of [[Christ]] who is [[the way]], the [[truth]] and the [[light]].

<blockquote>
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.
</blockquote>

You are not [[born again]] if you still deny the [[truth]] and [[the way]] of [[righteousness]] and [[love]] the [[wages of unrighteousness]].

<blockquote>
"In [[truth]], it has been the our abandonment of the [[righteousness]] of God's [[one form of government]] for the [[wages of unrighteousness]] and [[dainties]] of [[ruler]]s, [[fathers]] of the earth and [[benefactors]] who [[exercise authority]] in and of the [[world]] that has made us blind and vulnerable to the [[despotism|despotic]] spirits of [[darkness]], like the "[[Corban]] of the [[Pharisees]] that has made the word of God to none effect"."

You may have to be a friend to the unrighteous [[mammon]] but you should not [[cult]]ivate an [[appetite]] for the [[dainties]] of [[ruler]]s, nor pray to the men who call themselves [[benefactor]] for their "[[free bread]]".

"[[Polybius]] warned the [[Masses]] of having an [[appetite]] for [[benefits]] of rulers in 150 BC. But Proverbs warned about the same danger from the [[Knife|Dainties of rulers]] even earlier than that. David and Paul warned us of the [[tables]] of those men who [[exercise authority]] one over the other. In fact, [[John the Baptist]], [[Jesus]] the [[Christ]], and all the apostles gave us similar [[warnings]]. The only one who is not warning us is the [[Modern Church]] who should have provided the table of Christ through a [[daily ministration]] of [[Charity]] through the practice of [[Pure Religion]] and the [[perfect law of liberty]]." [[Termination of parental rights]]
</blockquote>

[[Covet]]ing those [[benefits]] and engaging in those practices which are not cast up<Ref "castup">{{castup}}</Ref> which [[snare]] men like [[merchandise]] and [[curse children]] with the [[captivity]] of the [[bondage of Egypt]].

<blockquote>
Supposedly, [[Manichaeism]] presented an elaborate description of the conflict between the spiritual world of light and the material [[world]] of [[darkness]]. Both the world of darkness and the world of light were given names. There are numerous sources for the details of the Manichaean belief. The flaw in creation which was not caused by God but which constituted rather the product of a battle by the devil against God.
</blockquote>

== The darkness of denial==

Many mental aberrations like PTSD thrives when the people already choose to live in [[darkness]]. Shutting our eyes to the the [[truth]] about immoral trends in [[culture|modern culture]] and [[covetous practices]] of society will [[divide]] the people.

Throughout history when people develop an [[appetite]] for [[social welfare]] through the [[Power of choice|power]] and [[Force|force]] of the civil  [[State]] the driving motivation for he development of a [[Free assemblies|free society]] will [[degenerate]] along with the [[conscience|moral conscience]] of the people. 

The searing of the human conscience by one immoral practice or the indulgence in a more self serving culture makes the people individual more vulnerable to other traumas that may occur in the course of life.

Self-righteousness is no substitute for the [[righteousness]] of God which according to [[Christ]] and all the [[prophets]] we should be [[seek]]ing along with the [[kingdom of God]].

==Light and dark by verses==

Genesis 1:4  And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:18  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [it was] good.

Exodus 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness [to them], but it gave light by night [to these]: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

2 Samuel 22:29  For thou [art] my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

Job 3:4  Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

Job 3:9  Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but [have] none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:

Job 10:22  A land of darkness, as darkness [itself; and] of the shadow of death, without any order, and [where] the light [is] as darkness.

Job 12:22  He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
Job 12:25  They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like [a] drunken [man].
Job 17:12  They change the night into day: the light [is] short because of darkness.

Job 18:6  The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.

Job 18:18  He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

Job 24:16  In the dark they dig through houses, [which] they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

Job 29:3  When his candle shined upon my head, [and when] by his light I walked [through] darkness;

Job 30:26  When I looked for good, then evil came [unto me]: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

Job 38:19  Where [is] the way [where] light dwelleth? and [as for] darkness, where [is] the place thereof,

Psalms 18:28  For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Psalms 112:4  Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: [he is] gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

Psalms 139:11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light [are] both alike [to thee].

Ecclesiastes 2:13  Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

Ecclesiastes 12:2  While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

Isaiah 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:30  And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if [one] look unto the land, behold darkness [and] sorrow, and the light is daened in the heavens thereof.

Isaiah 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 13:10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Isaiah 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Isaiah 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].

Isaiah 50:10  Who [is] among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh [in] darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

Isaiah 58:10  And [if] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noonday:

Isaiah 59:9  Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, [but] we walk in darkness.

Jeremiah 13:16  Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make [it] gross darkness.

Lamentations 3:2  He hath led me, and brought [me into] darkness, but not [into] light.

Ezekiel 32:7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

Ezekiel 32:8  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

Daniel 2:22  He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Amos 5:18  Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.

Amos 5:20  [Shall] not the day of the LORD [be] darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Micah 7:8  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto me.

Zechariah 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the light shall not be clear, [nor] dark:
Matthew 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Matthew 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!
Matthew 10:27  What I tell you in darkness, [that] speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, [that] preach ye upon the housetops.
Matthew 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mark 13:24  But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

Luke 1:79  To give light to them that sit in darkness and [in] the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

[[Luke 11]]:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when [thine eye] is evil, thy body also [is] full of [[darkness]]. 35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36  If thy whole body therefore [be] full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
: [[Matthew 6]]:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be [[darkness]], how great [is] that [[Darkness|darkness]]! 24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and [[mammon]].


Luke 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

Luke 11:36  If thy whole body therefore [be] full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

Luke 12:3  Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

John 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 12:35  Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.


John 12:46  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Acts 26:18  To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of [[Satan]] unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Romans 2:19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,

Romans 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

1 Corinthians 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

2 Corinthians 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:14  Be ye not unequally [[yoke]]d together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Ephesians 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1 Thessalonians 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

1 Peter 2:9  But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

2 Peter 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

1 John 1:5  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1 John 2:8  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

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