UNDERSTANDING DARKNESS

HEBREW: OLD TESTAMENT

Darkness = 652 = opel = darkness, the absence of light, often with the meaning of gloom, despair, shadows, obscurity =          Job 10.22    

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.

                = 653 = pela = the dark, darkness, mental gloom and despair, gloominess =

Isaiah 58.10:…and if thou pour 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:

                = 2816 = hasok = Aramaic: darkness =

Daniel 2.22: He reveals that which is deep and hidden; he knows what is in darkness, and the light dwells with him.

                = 2822 = hosek = darkness, dark, blackness, gloom; often gloom, despair, terror, ignorance, or hard to understand =

Genesis 1.1-18: read first to understand darkness.

And ye came near and stood under the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of the heavens, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. Deut 4.11

And it came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness and saw the mountain that burned with fire that ye came near unto me, even all the princes of your tribes and your elders; Deut 5.23

He placed darkness like tabernacles round about him, dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 2 Sam 22.12

He uncovers the depths of the darkness and brings out to light the shadow of death. Job 12.22

He shall not escape from the darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth he shall perish. Job 15.30

He shall be driven from the light into the darkness and chased out of the world. Job 18.18

All darkness is kept for his secrets; a fire not blown shall consume him; his successor shall be broken in his tent. Job 20.26

…when his lamp shone upon my head, and by its light I walked in the darkness; Job 29.3

He made darkness his hiding place; in his tabernacle round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the heavens. Ps 18.11

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bonds asunder. Ps 107.14

Whosoever curses his father or his mother, his fire shall be put out in obscure darkness. Proverbs 20.20

And I have seen that wisdom excels folly as far as light excels darkness. Eccl 2.13

For he (man) came in vain and departs unto darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Eccl 6.4

Woe unto those 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 5.20

 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and the well-guarded secrets that thou may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who gives thee thy name. Is 45.3

I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil: I am the LORD that does all this. Is 45.7

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Is 60.2

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD shall be darkness, and not light…Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it? Amos 5.18, 20

Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy; for if I have fallen, I shall arise; if I sit in darkness, the LORD is my light. Micah 7.8

But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of his place, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. Nahum 1.8

                = 3990 = maapel = darkness = Joshua 24.7:                                                                                                       And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them….

                = 2825 = haseka = darkness = Ps 139.12:                                                                                                                                   the darkness does not hide from thee; but the night shines as the day; the darkness is as the light.

                = 5890 = epa = darkness = Amos 4.13:                                                                                                             …behold, he that forms the mountains and creates the wind and declares unto man what is his thought, that makes the darkness into morning and treads above the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of the hosts, is his name.

                = 6205 = rapel = dark or thick clouds, deep gloom, thick darkness, gross darkness =

Then the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. Ex 20.21

Then Solomon said, Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. 1 Ki 8.12

He lowered the heavens and came down; Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. Ps 18.9

GREEK: NEW TESTAMENT

Darkness = 2217 = zophos =blackness, darkness, gloom = 2 Peter 2.4; Jude 1.6

For if God did not forgive the angels that sinned, but cast them down into the deepest abyss (Tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2 Peter 2.4

And the angels who did not keep their first estate but left their own habitation, he has reserved in eternal chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Jude 1.6

Darkness = 4653 = darkness, the dark = Matt 10.27; John 1.5; 12.35; 12.46; 1 John 1.5; 2.8;

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light, and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye from the housetops. Matt 10.27

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not. John 1.5

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 walks in darkness does not know where he goes. John 12.35

I am come as a light into the world that whosoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. John 12.46

This then is the promise which we have heard of him and declare unto you, That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1.5

Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which is the truth in him and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines. 1 John 2.8

Darkness = 4655 = skotos = darkness, the dark, darkness = Luke 1.79; 22.53; John 3.19; 1 Cor 4.5; 2 Cor 4.6; Eph 6.12; Col 1.13; Jude 1.13

 to give light to those that dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1.79

When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me; but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. Luke 22.53

And this is the condemnation: that the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness more than the light because their deeds were evil. John 3.19

Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who both God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness and then shall each one have praise of God. 1 Cor 4.5

For the God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to bring forth the light of the knowledge of the clarity of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor4.6

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the lords of this age, rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in the heavens. Ephesians 6.12

…who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son…Co.1.13

…raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own abominations; erratic stars, to whom is reserved gross darkness eternally. Jude 1.13

Darkness = 4656 = skotoo = to be or become darkened, full of darkness = Revelation 16.10:

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast; and its kingdom was filled with darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain….

CHARACTERISTICS OF DARKNESS

The absence of light. Gloom, despair, shadows, obscurity. Darkness, mental gloom and despair, gloominess.

Blackness, gloom; often gloom, despair, terror, ignorance, or hard to understand. Thick clouds.

The shadow of death and no order, where light is as darkness. All darkness is kept for his secrets. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and the well-guarded secrets that thou may know that I am the LORD

He (God) made darkness his hiding place. Light excels darkness.

I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil: I am the LORD that does all this. Is 45.7

The day of the LORD shall be darkness, and not light… darkness shall pursue his enemies.

the darkness does not hide from thee; but the night shines as the day; the darkness is as the light.

(God) that makes the darkness into morning (evening and morning were day one.)

Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not. This is your hour, and the power of darkness.

That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. And men loved darkness more than the light because their deeds were evil.

God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Against the lords of this age, rulers of this darkness.

We see in Genesis:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without order, and empty; 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.  And God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

It appears that darkness is the created energy that surrounds God. When God spoke, light came out of the darkness, and God divided the light from the darkness. He calls the light Day and the darkness Night. Then God begins each day at evening (dark) and progresses towards morning (day). God’s day begins at evening, in darkness, and enters into light (day). This is God’s time. His calendar and feasts revolve around this truth.

The entire written Bible takes place according to this way of keeping time. The new day begins at sunset. Once we understand God’s method of time keeping we can discover many hidden secrets contained in the Bible.