And There Shall Be Night No More... For the Lord God Shall Give Them Light

As this passage testifies, in the kingdom of heaven there shall be no night, that is, no darkness. There will be no need for the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God Himself will give them light, and the Lamb will be its lamp. Earlier, in Revelation 21, it is also written:

Revelation 21:23-25 “23And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. 24And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. 25And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day, for there shall be no night there.”

Through these repeated testimonies, Scripture tells us that in the New Jerusalem, that is, in the kingdom of heaven, there will be no night, but only the glory of God will shine, and Jesus will be its lamp. In fact, not only these passages, but many other passages written in the Bible testify to us that God is the sun and the lamp, that is, the light.

Psalm 84:11 “For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield: Jehovah will give grace and glory; No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

Psalm 19:5-6 “5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course. 6His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”

Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”

Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path.”

Therefore Jesus, the true light (John 1:9), the Word who became flesh (John 1:14), spoke of Himself as the light of the world.

John 8:12 “Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

When Jesus began His public ministry, He first made known that the prophetic word written long ago in the book of the prophet Isaiah had been fulfilled in the world.

Matthew 4:13-17 “13and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: 14that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up. 17From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Thus, Jesus came as the light of the world, to shine the light of life upon the people who sat in darkness and upon those who sat in the land and shadow of death. And in the kingdom of heaven, only this light is eternal. Therefore, we today also must surely believe in this light and live as children of this light.

John 12:35-36 “35Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light. These things spake Jesus, and he departed and hid himself from them.”

John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may not abide in the darkness.”

As these passages say, when we believe in Jesus, who is the light, and become children of that light, we can avoid abiding in darkness. Those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going, and therefore, like the blind leading the blind, they will inevitably fall into a pit (Matt. 15:14). Also, we must pay attention to the word mentioned earlier, that there is no night in the kingdom of heaven. In other words, those who belong to the night cannot be in the kingdom of heaven. Only the children of light who belong to the day will be in the kingdom of heaven and live with Jesus forever and ever.

1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 “5for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness; 6so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. 7For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. 8But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.”

Matthew 25:7-13 “7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.”

As these passages say, because we have now become sons of light who belong to the day through Jesus (Eph. 5:8-9), it is important that we do not let our lamps go out, but always keep them burning (Lev. 24:1-3). Since only the light of Jesus exists in the eternal kingdom of heaven, we must continually hold forth the word of life in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation, so that, like the five wise virgins, we may enter the kingdom of heaven.

Philippians 2:15-16 “15that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world, 16holding forth the word of life; that I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither labor in vain.”

Therefore, even if the present time is a time of darkness, we must not be overtaken by darkness or abide in darkness (John 3:19-21). For Scripture rather tells us that “the night is far spent, and the day is at hand.” As those who belong to the day, we must wake up, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and strive in the name of Jesus not to walk according to lusts.

Romans 13:11-14 “11And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed. 12The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Amen.