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Are the uses of "darkness" in the first two chapters of First John all congruent in meaning? What does it mean to "walk in darkness?"

For example...

1 John 1:5-7 (NASB)

1 John 2:7-11 (NASB)

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Interesting Question! – Bagpipes Jul 13 '14 at 11:13

A: To help us answer this question we need to examine both the Greek words from which are translated the terms “darkness”, “in the darkness” and “walk in the darkness”, and also the context in which the Apostle John uses these terms. Confining our focus to the Greek text of John's writings will help us avoid imposing our own preconceptions on what these terms mean as well as avoiding unnecessarily complicating their meaning.

The Greek Text in Context

1) “Walk” comes from the Greek word “peripatōmen”, which literally means “walk around” and in an ethical sense means “conduct (one’s) life”. I believe John is using “peripatōmen” in the moral sense because: a) he says the prerequisite for having “fellowship with one another” is for us to “walk in the light” (1:7). “Fellowship” comes from the richly textured Greek word “koinōnian”, which denotes the relational behaviour of sharing in community. It therefore follows that this “walk” is about relational behaviour, not a walk in the middle of the night. b) being out of “fellowship with God” is to “walk in the darkness” and to lie habitually.(1:6) Here too we see that “walk” can only refer to behaviour. c) the Greek phrase in 2 John 1:4 and 3 John 1:3,4, “peripatountas en alētheia”, means “walking in truth”, where “walking” is clearly used in the moral sense; d) the Greek phrase in 2 John 1:6, “peripatōmen kata tas entolas autou”, means “we walk according to His commandments”. John says that’s how we demonstrate our love. Again, John’s “peripatōmen” means “conduct”.

In view of the fact that John uses “walk” in its moral sense, many recent translations render “peripatōmen” as “live” or “conduct (one’s) life”. Since John’s use of “peripatōmen” clearly refers to a person’s conduct, I prefer the word “conduct” or “behaviour”.

2) “Darkness” comes from the Greek word “skotia”. It means “physical darkness, ie. the absence of light” or “spiritual darkness”, ie. “moral blindness”. The phrase “in the darkness” found in 1:6 and 2:11 comes from the Greek “en tō skotia”, where the “en” speaks of location within, as “in the realm of”. In this sense, “en tō skotia” can be rendered as “in the realm of the darkness”. This sense of “skotia” is where a person lies habitually (1:6b), where he hates his fellow human (2:9), where he causes conflict (the opposite of 2:10) and where he has no moral illumination (2:11). A more complete (and sinister) picture of "skotia" emerges when we study what John means by "(walking in) the light" (1:7). We know that God is "Light" (1:5), He is "in the Light" (1:7), "there is no darkness in Him at all" (1:5). Therefore we conclude that there is no trace of God in "the darkness". As well, "if we walk in the Light, ... we have fellowship with each other..." and Jesus forgives our sins (1:7). This means that "the darkness", being the opposite, is a place where there is the absence of fellowship (ie. where there is the discord & hatred referred to in 1 Jn. 2:10) and the absence of forgiveness of sins (because the person in this realm is blind to his sins, as described in 1 Jn. 2:11). To continue, let's compare the "walk in the light" of 1 Jn. 1:7 with the "walking in truth" of 2 Jn. 1:4. Follow my thinking to see how this sheds "light" on "tō skotia", ie. "the darkness". Are these expressions two different ways of saying the same thing? Yes, they are, and here's why. John says to "walk in truth" is "to love each other" (2 Jn. 1:5), which means to "walk according to His (God's) commandments" (2 Jn. 1:6). We have just seen in 1 Jn. 1:7 that walking in the Light means we have fellowship with each other. Now add John's assertion in 1 Jn. 2:10 that "the one who loves his brother abides in the Light". So we see that when we "walk in truth" we are loving each other, and when we are "walking in the Light" we are loving each other. This means that John is using "light" and "truth" as synonyms to describe the realm and essence of God. The opposite of truth is falsehood, so we can deduce that John's "skotia" must also be filled with falsehood.


We have established in 1) that “peripatōmen” (ie. "walk") refers to “conduct”, and in 2) that “skotia” (ie. "darkness") must be interpreted in its moral sense. Therefore, a complete, nuanced rendering of “peripatōmen en tō skotia” (ie. "walk in the darkness") could be “embody the behavior which typifies the realm in which there is no trace of God, and from which falsehood, discord, hatred, and moral blindness emanate and propagate”.

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Amplified bible translation of 1 John 1:6 says that


So what i understand that in the three chapters he meant that we need to follow the gospel instruction to stay in the light and if we follow the false doctrine, we will be walking in the darkness. 1, 2 and 3 john epistles are all about fellowship with God and stay away from the false teachings.

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WHAT DOES DARKNESS REPRESENT IN SCRIPTURE? In Genesis 1:2 & 3, we are confronted with the word "darkness" and with the word "light". To properly understand darkness, we need to know what God implied when He said: "Let there be light".

In the previous season we understood this Light to be the sun, but through the Holy Spirit, who opened our understanding, we now know that the sun, moon and stars were only created on day four. So this light was something else! Here's the first testimony of the revelation: God said, and in so doing, released His Word by revealing Himself as Light. God Himself, comes out of obscurity, He steps out of timelessness (eternity) and reveals Himself in the earth (temporal). He was the Light, the revelation of the Word in a place of darkness or the absence of Light (absence of the Word of truth of who He is). We will later see that God actually revealed Himself as Father.

   With this knowledge we can now also better understand the second testimony, the testimony of Jesus Christ, when John writes: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Light shines in the darkness; and the darkness *apprehended it not". Then in verse 14: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory (of a Son) the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth".

So to summarize, "light" is the revelation of truth and darkness" is the absence of revelation or truth; hence the expression, when someone withholds a secret from us:- "don't keep me in the dark" and then afterwards, "now I see the light".

*Apprehension has three meanings. 1) The understanding of a principle. 2) The act of capturing a criminal and 3) Fear, doubt or missgiving.

Laurie Lombard (South Africa)

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The Idea in Brief

The images of the word (light) coming from darkness are from the Torah, with particular development in the Book of Deuteronomy. That is, the Word of God comes down from heaven (out of the darkness) and provides life and light to man, so that man may live (walk) in that light. When one rejects that revelation, the result is to walk in darkness, which is to live the lie, or live in the absence of divine revelation. In this regard, Satan can appear as an angel of light (and therefore exemplify positive ethical behavior), but he lives in "darkness" because he rejects special divine revelation. Thus the emphasis is qualitative (light versus darkness), which means that those who hate the light (to include hating those who live in that same light) are the ones who walk in "the darkness." So the emphasis is not so much on positive ethical behavior (which Satan and his emissaries can mimic) as is whether or not one embraces and loves "the light."

In other words, if one does not embrace and love special divine revelation as embodied and epitomized in the Person of the Christ (and therefore is someone who walks in "the darkness"), then that person will hate those who live in "the light." To put it another way, those who love the special divine revelation as embodied and epitomized in the Person of the Christ (and therefore are people who walk in "the light") will be hated by those who walk in "the darkness" notwithstanding that these latter may live exemplary ethical lives.


The Book of Deuteronomy was the re-iteration of the Law to the obedient generation. That is, the generation that entered the Promised Land were the children of the disobedient first generation, which had escaped Egypt with Moses. Because of their disobedience, they did not enter the Promised Land. Thus, Moses gave to this second generation the "second law-giving," which is the meaning of the title of the Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy.

There are three places in the Book of Deuteronomy that suggest light is divine revelation and darkness is the absence (or rejection) of that divine revelation. The principal emphasis is not ethical, but qualitative.

Deuteronomy 4:11 (NASB)

Deuteronomy 5:23 (NASB)

In other words, the Lord gave the Law (words of God) to Moses, and thus light appeared through the darkness. The image here of light therefore is special divine revelation from heaven (thus the qualitative emphasis).

Deuteronomy 28:27-29 (NASB)
27 The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; 29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you.

The point here is that the rejection of special divine revelation results in the absence of the "light" and therefore "darkness" is the result. The emphasis here is qualitative (divine revelation from heaven, which is particular and special). So the interpretation of the imagery of light and darkness in the writings of John comes from Deuteronomy, where the emphasis was qualitative. John even borrows the idea of the word, which descends from heaven, which provides "light" (special revelation) to man in order to save him. (Please click here for further development of this concept.) Thus, the imagery of "light" and "darkness" have the technical meaning of special divine revelation and the lack thereof. Again, the emphasis is qualitative.

For example, Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), and therefore appear ethical or perhaps even loving. In the qualitative sense however, he is a liar (Jn 8:44) and therefore he denies (refutes, resists) the words of God, and therefore he walks in "the darkness." So he does not walk in the darkness because he cannot appear ethical, but because he can appear ethical and reject divine revelation at the same time. The qualitative aspect of light and darkness are therefore in contrast with the secondary emphasis on ethical behavior.

So the term "light" and "darkness" carry not so much an ethical sense (although ethics always plays a role), but a qualitative sense, since the ideas stem from the Book of Deuteronomy. In his three epistles, John therefore alludes to those who love the light will be loved by others who live in that same light. Those who are in the darkness will hate those who live in the light, notwithstanding that these haters may appear as emissaries of light (2 Cor 11:14-15), but they will in fact hate the light, because the light has to do with loving and embracing special divine revelation as embodied in the Person of the Christ. If they hate Christ, they will also hate His disciples: that is, "the slave is not greater than his master" (John 15:20).


In conclusion, the term "the darkness" in John refers to the rejection of special revelation from heaven (in keeping with the imagery from the Book of Deuteronomy). The "word" that descended from heaven (in keeping with the imagery from the Book of Deuteronomy) was that light. He became flesh, and therefore was the incarnation of divine revelation to mankind (John 1:1-4 and John 1:14). Those who love the light will love, and be loved, by others in that same light. However, the rejection of special divine revelation (to include the Christ) is equivalent to the rejection of "light," and therefore the result is "darkness." Those that reject and hate the light will therefore hate and reject those that live in that light.

Finally, while ethical behavior is in view, what is the primary focus is whether or not one walks in the light. Thus while one may live an exemplary ethical life, if such a person yet hates his brother (someone who loves and embraces the truth of divine revelation as embodied in the Person of the Christ), then the hating person is a liar, which means that such a person walks in "the darkness" like the liar Satan. That person therefore (like Satan) denies "the light." The hating therefore does not come so much from hating someone obnoxious, but hating someone who lives in, and loves, the light of God's revelation. In summary, darkness hates light.

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Let us start at the beginning to understand. When God was on the mountain he gave to Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 NKJV).

The people where scared to hear these Commandments.


So God Promised to Raise a Prophet to Teach these Commandments.



God desired to fix the problem created from the fruit of the Knowledge of Function and Dysfunction.


He Explains the Way to Life, and the Way of Death




The Israelites Failed to Follow the Commandments by Worshiping Other Gods


Note: There is context to 2 Kings 17:7, yet there are many examples, I just pick this one to show that it occurred.

The question for Eternal Life was Directly asked to Jesus.


The answer to the question was to Keep the Commandments


What Commandment?

He said to Him, “Which ones?”


We can see from the list that he mentions the Ten Commandments
It should be noticed though, that not all ten was listed! He listed only Five of the Ten!

The Young Man Responds


Here comes the Summary of the Remaining Ten Commandments


The Error Made by the Rich Man
When he hears "sell what you have", he thought of things as his possessions, neither did he understand what it means to have "treasure in heaven" So he leaves sad. (Ref: Matthew 19:22 NKJV)

Let us Understand the Light
Let us take this summary and compare it to his other teachings to understand what he means. Because he taught to them in parables.




From that Passage we can clearly see that the requirement to being healed is to see, hear, and understand

Where is Heaven? It is Inside you.


So to have treasure in Heaven
The treasure needs to get inside you.

The Parable of the Sower
Jesus explains to us that their are four situations that our minds can be in. He labels them as "The Wayside", "The Stoney Ground", "The Thorny Ground", and "The Good Ground". To Hear how he explains it Read without the analogies read it here.

Now if you study the Hebrew Hieroglyphs you will learn the true meaning to the first commandment. For the Hieroglyphs work like a story. I will quickly try to explain it to you, I hope to add more references later if you want a deeper study on it. Of all your memories you can think of all of your knowledge as a sea. And you can think of each person also this way, as each person having their own sea of knowledge. Now when you decide to speak this water comes out metaphorically.

Again Jesus uses another analogy, this time he calls it the "Water of Life".


Now the breath of truth when it is working allows for no distraction. If you remain in the water you are in the light. If you break the water and place your attention on anything even like it. You break the commandment, and live in the darkness. Therefore selling everything you own, is in relations to your thoughts, and to give all of your attention to the one speaking to you.

Jesus explains this harvesting of the truth as a garden.

In the Parable of Weeds, both Good and Bad are sown into the Garden (you). And instead of picking what is wrong. Then entire speech was first listened to, then the bad was thrown away, and the Good was gathered into your memory.

Jesus again explains this sorting after all is gathered Like Fishing

which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. (Matthew 13:48 NKJV)

In conversation it is greater to be last.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Matthew 19:30 NKJV)

The One Who Listens Gains Everlasting Life

And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. (John 4:36 NKJV)

The Example of Mary Doing it Right


What was she doing? Listening to his Word

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. (Luke 10:39 NKJV)

Those that are in the Darkness do not understand how to listen. For they do not know how to have communion with the light. The eyes become distracted when the one talking is speaking, and the focus of the mind goes to something else. Leaving the words being spoken to them.

The Works of the Darkness



Being alienated from the life of God
If we do not listen to the one talking to us we are in darkness.

However once you begin to harvest from the one that is speaking


Nothing can be more important the the words that are coming at you!


How important is this teaching?


Another way to say 1 John 1:6


If I say that I am listening to you, yet am focused on something else altogether, I lie and do not practice the truth.

To Walk in Darkness Means: To focus on something else besides the words being spoken to you.

What are we to do about the darkness?


Quit ignoring the one speaking to you, expose yourself to the light. It is shameful to even speak about the secret thing you do when you do not pay attention. However you become visible when your exposed by the light. So awaken from your living in the dying darkness and let the Word give you Light!

One more way to explain just for good measure


The word for Good (ἁπλοῦς) means "Unfolded". So if your attention is Unfolded you are in the Light. If your attention is Folded you are in the Darkness.


The word for Bad (πονηρὸς) means "pain-ridden" from a root meaning "laborious". A folded mind is pain-ridden from labor. So a sign that you are in the darkness, is a head ache.

Now you can clearly understand this

Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:46 NKJV)

While Jesus was gone their conversation died away. So he suggests to them to continue asking questions to prevent entering into temptation.

Prayer and Fasting


To explain how he drove the demon out, he did it by asking questions, and fasting from the world. Nothing took his attention away from the light. Therefore the Light did the healing. And Jesus remained in God's Light.

For some bible study time, if you would like to research times when Jesus says "into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". The Teacher himself can explain the rest to you.

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