Walk in the light

1.Once again I'm exploring the biblical symbolism of light and darkness. That's a major metaphor in Scripture. The Bible has many references to light, including natural light, preternatural light, and figurative light, viz.

• Pillar of fire (Exod 13:21)

• Wall of fire (Exod 13:19)

• Shekinah (Exod 40:38; Num 9:15-16; Isa 4:5; Ezk 1:4)

• Fiery sea of glass (Rev 15:2)

• Lightning (Ps 77:18)

• Plague of Darkness (Exod 10:21-29)

• Transfiguration (Mt 17:2)

• Light of Christ (Jn 1:4-5; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36,46)

2. There are different positions someone can be in relation to light:

i) Daylight 

In that position, you're surrounded by light. There's no darkness apart from the shadow you cast.

ii) Pool of light

If you sit in front of a campfire or fireplace in the dark, you may be sitting in a pool of light, surrounded by darkness.

iii) Ring of firelight

Here you may be sitting or standing in darkness, but you're encircled by a protective ring of firelight. There's darkness both inside and outside the circle. Although you're sitting or standing in darkness, you're safe inside the ring of firelight. Dangers lurk in the darkness outside the circle. 

3. So there's more than one way to visualize how Christians might be in the light. 

i) It might be akin to daylight. 

ii) It might be akin to a pool of light. Suppose it's fatal for the kingdom of darkness to step into the pool of light. 

iii) It might be like a ring of fire. Suppose it's fatal for the kingdom of darkness to cross the fiery barrier. 

4. The Johannine references trade on the imagery of sunlight and daylight, evoking the creation account. And the Johannine references are metaphorical.

5. At the Plague of Darkness, Goshen was in a pool of light, surrounded by darkness on all sides. 

At the Transfiguration, especially if that happened at night, the disciples were literally in a pool of preternatural light generated by Christ. They were surrounded by darkness, but the Transfiguration brought the disciples into Christ's corona. 

6. In Exod 13:19, the Israelites were probably encircled by a wall of fire, which kept the Egyptians soldiers at bay. A literal, albeit preternatural ring of firelight.