March 16: THE LIGHT OF LIFE
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:5
The Heavenly Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is the city of light. The unveiled presence of the Lord God there is indescribably vivid and radiant. Human words are inadequate to fully convey the beauty and the brilliance of His glory. Although Revelation utilizes symbolic imagery, the city of God is a real place to be inhabited by real people. The description of no night there, while literal, is also symbolic of the light of Christ which the inhabitants of the city have chosen to receive. During His earthly ministry, Jesus stated: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
God’s word is replete with accounts of light and darkness, painting a spiritual picture of what it means to know the truth and to walk in it. John wrote: If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
In the context of the nonexistent night in the eternal Heavenly City, a far-reaching reality is being proclaimed. This reality is the ultimate victory of righteousness in the cosmic controversy between good and evil, light and darkness, Christ and Satan. The Holy City, as the throne room of God, is contrasted to the throne of the beast whose kingdom became full of darkness (Revelation 16:10). In the Old Testament, the nations that surrounded God’s rescued people Israel desired to engulf them in paganism. Deuteronomy 32 reiterates many of the miracles that God did for them as He encircled [Israel], He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye (v.10). The key to the seriousness of idolatry into which they fell repeatedly was this: They sacrificed to demons, not to God (v.17). Therefore, behind the false “gods” of the surrounding nations were demons. Paul quoted this and followed up by stating: I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).
The contrast between sin and holiness is presented as the darkness of night against the light of day. For God’s people to be sealed with His character (Revelation 7:3) means that they are eternally committed to abide . . . by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (John 15:4, Matthew 4:4). This eternal truth goes far beyond the physical phenomenon of light as a wave or a particle (mentioned on March 7). Full acceptance of the light, through trust, is what constitutes belief and acting in faith. The Light of Life invites us to reign forever and ever with Him!
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day star dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19
For further study: Genesis 1:3; Psalm 119:105; Isaiah 42:6-7; 49:6; Malachi 4:2; John 1:4-9; 3:19