Night
“Night, from a root meaning to twist or wind, referring to the departure of light”
Summary
Night is the period of darkness from sunset to sunrise, used literally for the time of rest and figuratively throughout Scripture to represent spiritual darkness, ignorance, adversity, and death.
☩Literal Usage
Night was created by God as the period of darkness complementing the day. It was divided into watches: the Hebrews originally used three watches, while in New Testament times the Roman system of four watches prevailed. The evening twilight began with sunset, and the night ended at dawn. Night was the time for rest, though shepherds guarded their flocks, fishermen toiled, and travelers sometimes journeyed in darkness. Jesus often spent whole nights in prayer on the mountains.
☩Figurative Uses
Night is used symbolically throughout Scripture in several senses. It represents death, the time 'when no man can work.' It signifies the moral darkness of the world, in which men spiritually sleep and are drunken. It represents the period of Christ's rejection, which is 'far spent' while 'the day is at hand.' Adversity and distress are also pictured as night, and spiritual blindness is compared to walking in darkness.
☩Night in Christ's Life
Many significant events in Christ's ministry occurred at night. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night for their famous conversation about being born again. Before calling His disciples, Jesus continued all night in prayer. The miraculous walks on the sea and the stilling of storms occurred in the night watches. Most solemnly, 'the night in which Jesus was betrayed' saw the institution of the Lord's Supper, the agony in Gethsemane, Peter's denial, and the arrest of our Lord.
☩No Night in Heaven
The Scriptures promise that in the heavenly Jerusalem there shall be no night. The glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its light. This eternal day represents the complete absence of sin, sorrow, and spiritual darkness that characterizes the eternal state of the redeemed. The gates of the city shall not be shut by day, 'for there shall be no night there.'
Related Verses316 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Night," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Night," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 3.George Morrish, "Night," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).