Title: 13
Author: Joe G
Last saved by: Auth User
Company: GDC

Clanking Chains		06-03-07.CC02-579 /

Assault of the Paramours: Darkness: in Gen 1:2, Light & Darkness Cannot Coexist; in Death: David and the Death-Shadowed Valley, Psalm 23:4
				Darkness:	
1)	The Bible has several words for darkness, two of which convey the idea of the complete absence of light.
2)	The first we will note is Ev#j hoshech, the word used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the darkness caused by the fall of Lucifer.  Details on its meaning are provided by:
Botterweck, G. Johannes & Helmer Ringgren (eds.).  Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament.  Trans. David E. Green.  (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1986), 5:249:
	Ev#j hoshech.  “Darkness, gloom, blackness”
Darkness and Creation.  Any theological discussion of the concept of darkness must begin with Genesis 1, where verse 2 presumes darkness to be one of the constitutive elements of chaos.  It is more than the absence of light.  It possesses a quality of its own that unmitigated makes it inimical to life.  Therefore something must be done with it before the earth can be habitable.  According to Genesis 1:3 and following, God created light and “separated the light from the darkness.”
3)	The word “constitutive” means “essential.”  Chaos, from the Classical Greek c£oj, chaos, means “infinite darkness.”  Therefore the souls of the unbeliever and the reversionist function in spiritual darkness and they live in a state of chaos.
4)	Another Hebrew word for darkness is tw\m*l=x^^ salmaweth and is best translated “deep darkness” or “total darkness.”
5)	God is “total Light” for in Him is no darkness at all.
6)	God’s Word is referred to as Light.  The purity of God’s righteous thought means that the Bible is the revelation of absolute truth that pushes darkness out of the soul. 
7)	Just as God is Light, He is also Life eternal.  Just as Light and darkness cannot coexist neither can Life and death coexist.  You are either alive or you are dead.  You either have eternal life or you do not.
8)	David discussed the absolute nature of death in Psalm 23.  Here is the corrected translation of the chapter: 
Psalm 23:1 -	The Lord is the One Who keeps on shepherding me [ divine guidance ].  I cannot lack anything [ logistical grace support ].
v. 2 -		He causes me to lie down in pastures of the choice grass of doctrinal teachings [ God’s sheep are sustained by metabolizing the Word ].  He leads me to waters of refreshment [ inculcation leads to spiritual maturity ].
Psalm 23:3 -	He causes my soul to be restored [ following confession alone to God alone ].  He guides me in wheel-tracks [ behavior patterns ] made by the wagon wheels of righteousness for the vindication of His integrity.
v. 4 -		When I walk through my own death-shadowed [ tw\m*l=x^^ salmaweth: the approaching darkness of physical death ] valley [ the period of dying ] I do not fear the distress of dying [ hu*r* ra‛ah: “evil”: the physical  & mental pain or suffering involved with the dying process (Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, 3:1251; Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2192) ] because You are with me [ dying grace: the believer is never alone ].  The guidance of your doctrinal rod and staff keep me grace oriented.
v. 5 -		You have prepared a table in front of me facing my enemies [ the table contains the problem-solving devices which David must employ in the face of enemies, exigencies, & adversities ].  You have anointed my head with oil [ symbolic of being promoted in the Angelic Conflict after passing momentum testing ].
v. 6 -		Without question, good [ bof tov: the benefit, happiness, prosperity, and profit associated with harmonious rapport ] and grace [ ds#j# cheseth: unfailing love ] will pursue me all the days of my life.  I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever [ John 14:1-3 ].
9)	This composition by David expresses the mental attitude of a mature believer whose approach to life is grace oriented and occupied with Christ—in other words, living in the Light of God’s Word.
10)	The final payoff for one’s loyalty to doctrine is the ability to ride the “death-shadowed valley” with poise and grace while enjoying “harmonious rapport” sustained by God’s “unfailing love.”
11)	Light and darkness are mutually exclusive.  Wherever there is light then total darkness is banished.  Wherever there is an absence of light total darkness rules.
12)	No Christian man or woman can expect anything good to come from a union with darkness.  The one in darkness is under judgment and spiritually can do no worse.  The one in the light is the one inevitably compromised and comes under divine discipline.

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