Has anyone ever really thought about the process of creation recorded in Genesis 1? Maybe, if you have given it very careful thought, the order in which things were created would seem a little strange… like why were the plants (that need the sun to survive) created on the third day, while the sun was only created on the fourth day? OR what is the light that was created on the first day if the sun, moon and stars (light) were created on the fourth day?
So what is this ‘light’ on Day 1 referring to? In order to understand it spiritually, we first have to know what the physical characteristics of light are.
Everything needs light to be able to survive. Life is not possible without light. John 1:1-4 is talking about the Word, and verse 4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” The word gives life, and that life was the light of men. So ‘light’ can be understood to be ‘the word of life.’
But in order for the word of life to be heard and understood, someone needs to speak it, proclaim it, and explain it. At the first coming Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn8:12) Jesus spoke about and explained all the prophecies hidden in the Old Testament. Even the Pharisees, who knew the Scriptures and spent time reading them every Sabbath, were not able to understand the Old Testament prophecies, otherwise they would have recognized their Messiah, instead they were the ones who killed him (Acts 13:27-28).
Now we see ‘light’ can also refer to a person who has the word of life. Jesus was the light at the first coming, but in Mt 5:14 Jesus is talking to his disciples and tells them, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Because Jesus was the light, and his disciples had heard and accepted his words, they too became the light.
The words Jesus spoke at the first coming were the revealed or opened words of the Old Testament. Ezekiel 1 – 3 records some of Ezekiel’s visions or prophecies concerning the revealed word that was given to Jesus. Ezekiel was a prophet, and therefore when he spoke he prophesied. He was not the fulfillment of his visions, in fact in his visions/prophecies he was called the “Son of Man,” but we know that Jesus was the actual “Son of Man.” From this we can understand that Jesus was the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecies at the time of the first coming. Jesus was the one who received and proclaimed the revealed word – the word of life. Jesus was the light at the first coming.
In Ez 3:3 we see that the “Son of Man” is given an opened scroll to eat, this is the word of life that Jesus proclaimed at the first coming. In Rev 10:8-11 we see a very similar event taking place in John’s vision. He is given an open scroll to eat, and then he must go and proclaim this revealed word (just like Ez 3:11, when the “Son of Man” is told to go speak, whether people listen or fail to listen).
You cannot see inside something that is sealed or closed. You cannot taste chocolate that is still inside the wrapper (check out “How do you like your chocolate…?”). Therefore the word that has been sealed can only be understood when it is revealed and given to someone to proclaim it. However, once it is being proclaimed, we have to make sure we have the right actions. At the time of the first coming the Jews needed to hear and accept Jesus’ teachings in order to receive life. At the time of the second coming we will have to hear and accept the revealed word proclaimed by the person with the word of life (the light), in order to receive life.
Once again I ask, are we sure about what we should be expecting at the time of the second coming?