They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. At that time, darkness of every kind will cease to exist, and there will be no such thing as “night.” In a way we just cannot understand at this time, but the Bible foretells, the city will be illuminated directly by the light of God, apart from the light sources we are used to today such as the sun and moon. 21:2), and every saved person will be in it with God forever. There is a day coming in the future when the city of God will descend from heaven (Rev. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Isaiah said God would be people’s everlasting light. He shines brilliantly and has done so forever. In contrast to people and even the Messiah, who all reflect the light of God, God Himself is not “a” light, or even “the” light, God is “light” (1 John 1:5). We all have the privilege and responsibility to reflect God’s light. 5:14) shows us that he did not think of himself as the only light. The fact that Jesus said to the people, “you are the light of the world,” (Matt. He was not being exclusive and claiming to be the only light, he was claiming to be the major light, the promised Messiah. John 7:31 says “many in the crowd put their faith in him.” Then, John 7:41 says people declared, “He is the Christ.” Still later, on the last day of the feast, John 8:30 says, “Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.” Thus, in the context of revealing that he was the Messiah, it makes sense that he would say he was “the” light of the world. Jesus’ words and actions did indeed convince people, because day after day as the Feast progressed, more and more people believed in him. When we read the record in John chapters 7 and 8 we can see that Jesus was trying to reveal to people that he was the Messiah, but was doing so in a way that those with an open heart would understand, while those with cold hearts would not. The way it was celebrated at the Time of Christ, the Feast of Tabernacles was an eight day feast, and the Feast of Tabernacles that is recorded in John 7 and 8 was the last of the three major feasts that Jesus attended before he was killed at the Passover Feast the next year. ![]() The Feast of Passover occurred in the spring, the Feast of Pentecost occurred in the summer, and the Feast of Tabernacles occurred in the fall, usually our September. Jesus made this statement while speaking at the Feast of Tabernacles (also sometimes called “the Feast of Booths,” John 7:2), which is one of the three feasts that the Law of Moses said the Jews were to attend each year. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. There is one time in Scripture when Jesus referred to himself as “the” light, and when we read what he said in its context, we understand why he did that. He knew that other people who reflected the light of God into the world were also lights. In the two verses above Jesus referred to himself as “a” light. (YLT) I a light to the world have come, that every one who is believing in me–in the darkness may not remain (YLT) when I am in the world, I am a light of the world.’ ![]() We commonly hear that Jesus said “I am the light of the world,” but good translations of the New Testament show us that of the three times that Jesus referred to himself as light, only once did he say that he was “the” light, the other two times he referred to himself as “a” light. ![]() Jesus, too, recognized that he was “the light” or “a light” only by virtue of the fact that he reflected the light of God. We do not originate the light, we reflect the light. ![]() Believers are lights, but it helps us keep that in proper perspective when we realize that our light is derivative-we get it from God. However, like most of the things that are stated in the Bible, we understand them much better if we understand them in the context of the whole scope of Scripture. We believers are to be lights that shine in the world and dispel the darkness. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matt.
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