"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light." (Genesis 1:1-3) "The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple." (Psalm 119:130) "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." (Proverbs 6:23) "This is the message which we have heard from Him, and announce unto you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5) "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) "Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause your face to shine; and we shall be saved." (Psalm 70:19) "If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hides not from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You." (Psalm 139:11-12) "Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness." (Psalm 112:4) "Rejoice not against me, O my enemy; when l fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." (Micah 7:6) "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1) "I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)
Nothing in the world is clearer or more easy to be seen than light; and the Word of God is light, the proof of this being that when He spoke, immediately there was light. Therefore if we take the texts of this lesson as the pure Word of the God who is light, and who is "the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning," (James 1:17,RV) we shall find them very plain and easy to understand, and wonderfully enlightening to our eyes.
The Spirit of God brooded over the face of the deep, in the beginning, and brought order out of chaos, and caused the light to shine forth. God's Word is Spirit and life, and the Word is light. So it came to pass that when the Word went into the darkness, the light shone forth.
Take notice that it is no figure of speech when it is said that the Word of God is light. It is real light, such as "is sweet" (Ecclesiastes 11:7; Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun) to behold. The light which we have by day, and by night too, is the light that comes from the Word of God. There is no light in the world except that which comes from God's Word. "God is light." (1 John 1:5)
Christ is the Light of the world. "I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12) He is "the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world." (John 1:9)
The light by which every man in this world sees, is the shining of the Lord's countenance. "If we walk in the light as He is in the light," (1 John 1:7) that is, if we recognize the Presence of God in the light that shines upon us every day, then we shall walk in the light of His countenance, and in His name shall we rejoice all the day, and in His righteousness shall we be exalted: "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. "In your name shall they rejoice all the day: and in your righteousness shall they be exalted." (Psalm 89:15-16)
Thus we shall have fellowship with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ... 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. ... 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 cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:3,5,7)
He who knows "the joyful sound" of God's Word, knows that it gives light, and while he listens to it he cannot possibly walk in darkness; for the Lord God will enlighten his darkness. "For You will light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." (Psalm 18:28)
Men have discovered this much of truth, that light is motion.
Waves of light, though they can pass through air, are not waves of the air, as sound waves are. Waves of light can cross the most perfect vacuum; they travel thousands of miles in the vacuous space between the stars. They are waves of another medium which, so far as we know, exists all through space, and which we call, using Sir Isaac Newton's term, the ether. If you ask me what the ether is made of, let me frankly say, I do not know.
But if light consists of waves, and if those waves can travel across the millions of miles that separate the stars from the earth, then it is clear that they must be waves of something; they are not air-waves, nor water-waves, because interstellar space is devoid both of air and water. They are waves of a medium which, though millions of times less dense than water or air, has yet a property that resists being torn or sheared asunder; exceeding the resistance to shear even of hard-tempered steel.--Light Visible and Invisible, by Dr. Sylvanus P. Thomson, page 108.
Only the one who reads and with all simplicity of mind believes the Word of God, knows that this motion is due to the Spirit of God. Force energy, life, is motion, and so far at least as this world is concerned, the beginning of it all was when "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)
How richly God has endowed the world with the gift of His Holy Spirit! "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:8)
What more could God do than He has done to impress upon man the reality of His saving power? "the Word of Truth, the Gospel of our salvation," (Ephesians 1:13) is the Word which "commanded the light to shine out of darkness." (2 Corinthians 4:6)
If we believe, then we receive that Word into our hearts, and so the light shines in "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:6)
That Word which is proclaimed unto us, is the Word "which was from the beginning." (1 John 1:1)
It was light then; it is light still. So every ray of light that comes to this earth,--and this means actual light, that enables us to see, --is a Gospel sermon. In this connection read the 19th Psalm: "The heavens declare the glory of God," (Psalm 19:1) and preach the Gospel; for the Gospel message consists in this: "Fear God, and give glory to Him." (Revelation 14:7) "their words [have gone] to the end of the world," (Psalm 19:4) so that "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Revelation 14:6) have heard the Gospel. Compare Psalm 19:4 (Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.) with Romans 10:15-18. (And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world) In the Gospel, "the righteousness of God [is] revealed." (Romans 1:17)
And the law of God is His righteousness. "Hearken unto me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." (Isaiah 51:7)
Therefore the heavens in proclaiming the Gospel of light, make known that: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." (Psalm 19:7-8)
Thus it is a reality that:
"The Lord has made bare His Holy Arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth [have seen] the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10)
But the declaration of the heavens is not sufficient. When in addition to the preaching of the voiceless creation, the Gospel of the Kingdom, whose rule is "the perfect law of liberty," (James 1:25) is proclaimed in all the world by creatures to whom God has given tongues, then, and then only, will the end come. "You are the light of the world. ... Let your light shine." (Matthew 5:14,16).-- Present Truth, August 4, 1898.