“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)
The Creation story opens with God creating the heavens and the earth. He then describes what he had just created as a formless and empty earth, and a watery abyss called the “deep”. Over the next six days, God will transform these raw materials into the universe we now enjoy.
But there is one more thing he needs.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Genesis 1:3-5)
Our first task is to determine what this light is that God created. Science tells us that light always emanates from something, so we need to figure out what this something is.
At first blush, it would seem to be the sun. But that cannot be because the sun was not created until the fourth day of Creation. The next logical choice would be God. Light emanates from God, and he is described as light in 1 John 1:5. Jesus also called himself the light, but that would mean that there was a time when God was dark. That does not work either.
A third option was that this was light itself, the actual photons that light is composed of. But again, if God is light, photons had to have previously existed.
There is one other source of light that the Bible talks about: angels. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says:
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
Perhaps God is talking about the creation of angels. Let’s travel down this path and see where it leads us. The word angel of light in this verse, if taken literally, would mean that angels were composed of actual light. That’s a good start. Physical things are composed of matter: protons, neutrons, and electrons. This limits their ability to travel through other matter and also makes them visible. Light does not have these limitations. It has no mass, travels incredibly fast, can pass through objects, and is usually invisible. These are all qualities of the spiritual realm, so that fits.
The chronology works as well, as angels were in attendance on days two and three when God began forming the earth. God tells Job:
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38:3-8)
Now we are off and running. Let’s keep going with Colossians 1:16:
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
Yes! These invisible thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities were created. They are not eternal like God. The Creation story would be incomplete without accounting for them.
But now we come to the tricky part of the passage. God tells us he separated the light from the darkness. What was God separating the angels of light from?
Light and darkness are often used as metaphors for good and evil, life and death. 1 Thessalonians speaks of children of light and contrasts them with those who belong to the night.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8)
As we read previously, Satan is not an angel of light, but only masquerades as one. He belongs to the night and the darkness, as do men who reject God.
Jude 1:6 and other passages (Isaiah 14:12-16, Ezekiel 28:12-17, 2 Peter 2:4) tell us of a rebellion that took place in heaven, when the angels of light left their proper domain.
“And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day…”
Is it possible that God is speaking of this rebellion in the Genesis narrative? We do not have to guess; it is actually pretty clear by looking at the literal interpretation of the word night. As we saw previously, day always refers to a length of time. It has a beginning and an end. Not so with the Hebrew word for night, which is “layil”.
According to Strong’s Concordance, “layil” means:
1. (properly) a twist (away from the light), i.e., night
2. (figuratively) adversity
The literal meaning of the text would be that God separated the light from those who twisted away. As mentioned in a previous chapter, that is not how this word is currently understood. This twisting away is from an earlier time, likely its original meaning. Since this is the earliest Hebrew writing, I believe “layil” should be translated as “those who twisted away”.
Since there are no living things other than God at this point, our only option is the angels. God is separating the angels who twisted away from the light from those who did not. I do not believe there is any other way to look at this passage without violating the text. This twisting away must be accounted for.
The literal, plain, and simple meaning of the passage forces us to conclude that the first day is describing the Creation of the spiritual realm. Again, it could not be light emanating from God. It could not be the sun. Unless there is a fourth interpretation, we are left with no other option that does not contradict Scripture.