Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we learn something at the end (after Jesus’ resurrection), which sheds light on the meaning of all the details of the story going way back to the beginning. Being solid Trinitarians, we believe that the Holy Spirit is God but is not the Father. The Son is God but is not the Holy Spirit. The Father is God but is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit. But all three are God. When Jesus appeared on earth, he made it clear that He was not the Father but was the Eternal Son of God, or God, the Son. What the Father did as God, Jesus also did as God. Looking at the beginning of Genesis and the creation account, we know that the first words recorded as coming from God were “Let there be light.” Immediately, there was light! (Genesis 1:3).
The light of creation was not the light of the sun, stars, or planets. It was the illumination that God sent directly into the world. The sun was not created until the fourth day. In Old Testament theology, we cannot miss that darkness represents confusion, uncertainty, evil, decay, and death. Jesus connected Himself with the Father as God repeatedly in the New Testament. Concerning the first words spoken by God, “Let there be Light,” Jesus purposefully identifies with that when he says (John 8:12), “Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’”
Church history records the life of Gregory the Illuminator (240 A.D – 332 A.D). He is credited with leading the Arminian King to Christ, who created the first National Church, even before Constantine’s conversion. He’s called the “Illuminator” because the light of Christ lit up the entire Kingdom. But Jesus is the great illuminator. Jesus is the radiant one! At the transfiguration, His light outshone the sun. Jesus, as God the Son, is the source of all illumination and enlightenment. All the confusion, uncertainty, evil, decay, and death are washed out in His brilliance when we encounter Him. That’s why we won’t need any sun in the eternal state. Jesus will be there, and He’s the source of all we need to see everything clearly. Andrew Maclaren sees “Christ as the great illuminator, ready to shine on all drowsy, dark souls as soon as they stir and rouse themselves from drugged and fatal sleep.”