The First Day Restored: A Theological Treatise on the Primordial Personalities of Light and Darkness and the Reclamation of Sacred Time

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The First Day Restored: A Theological Treatise on the Primordial Personalities of Light and Darkness and the Reclamation of Sacred Time

Author: Da Effiong Daniel, African Holy Land]

Date:10th November 2025

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Abstract

This paper presents a theological re-examination of the Genesis creation narrative, positing that the First Day (Yom Rishon) describes a primordial, pre-cosmic event involving personal, spiritual beings rather than impersonal forces. It argues that the "light" of Genesis 1:3 is a created, personal agent of God's glory—ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ—while the "darkness" is a personal spirit of chaos and rebellion. This framework elevates the First and Seventh Days as the two supreme pillars of creation: one initiating a cosmic victory, the other promising its consummation in eternal rest. The paper further contends that a demonic strategy has historically obscured this truth through the reduction of the "Day of Light" to "Sun-day," a distortion rectified by Christ's resurrection.

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1. Introduction: Beyond a Chronological Sequence

Traditional exegesis of the Hexaëmeron (the six-day creation) often approaches Genesis 1 as a sequential account of physical origins. However, a deeper reading reveals it as a divine architectural blueprint, establishing not only material reality but also the spiritual and temporal order that governs it. Within this structure, the First Day stands apart, not as the first in a series of equivalent days, but as the foundational act of sovereignty that makes all subsequent acts possible. This paper will argue that the events of this day are fundamentally misunderstood if the "light" and "darkness" are seen as mere physical or abstract phenomena. They are, instead, the Bible's first revelation of a cosmic conflict between personal spiritual realities, a conflict whose resolution defines the entire biblical narrative.

2. The Personalities of the Primordial Realm

The declaration, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), occurs before the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. This light is of a different order. The Apostle John provides the essential hermeneutical key: "God is light and in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Therefore, the light summoned forth cannot be the uncreated essence of God Himself, but must be a created manifestation of His nature. Conversely, the "darkness over the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2) is not a passive absence but an active, chaotic presence.

2.1. The Light: A Personal Agent of Glory

This primordial light is best understood as a conscious,willing agency of divine order, truth, and revelation. It is not a "what" but a "Who." This personal understanding finds its ultimate and definitive fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, who declared, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). He is identified as the personal, divine Logos through whom all things were created (John 1:3) and the very "radiance of God's glory" (Hebrews 1:3). The light of the First Day is thus a proto-revelation of the Son, the primary agent of the Father's creative and redemptive will.

2.2. The Darkness: A Personal Spirit of Rebellion

The darkness,therefore, cannot be mere emptiness. It represents an active, rebellious, personal force of anti-creation. Scripture later reveals this personality as Satan or the devil—the "prince of this world" (John 12:31) and the "father of lies" (John 8:44), a created being who fell from a state of truth into a state of darkness (Jude 1:6). The First Day, then, is the inaugural act in a cosmic, spiritual war: the sovereign God, who is pure Light and Personality, establishing His order by separating and limiting the realm of the personal Darkness.

3. The Two Pillars of Creation: Victory and Rest

This personal-conflict model illuminates the creation week's true architecture, framed by two supreme pillars.

3.1. Pillar One: The First Day – The Genesis of Sovereign Victory

The First Day is the day of God's unmediated sovereignty.It is not merely the beginning of time, but the institution of the battlefield—the "day" and "night"—within which the conflict between light and darkness would play out. God's act of separation is the foundational victory, a declaration of His ultimate authority over all rival personalities and the establishment of a domain for His redemptive plan.

3.2. Pillar Two: The Seventh Day – The Crown of Covenant Rest

The Sabbath is the ultimate goal of creation:the state of perfect Shalom. It represents the eternal reality where the personal darkness has been utterly defeated and cast out, and all creation exists in uninterrupted, holy relationship with the personal God of Light. It is God's rest, and ours, from the conflict initiated on Day One.

4. The Great Theft and the Christological Reclamation

The profound truth of the First Day has been the target of a persistent demonic strategy: counterfeiting. By influencing systems of pagan sun worship, the enemy orchestrated a "theft" of the First Day, reducing the supreme "Day of Light" to "Sun-day," a day for worshipping a created celestial body (cf. Romans 1:25). This demoted the day from a commemoration of God's victory over personal darkness to a passive veneration of a physical ruler of the sky, obscuring the true cosmic narrative.

The reclamation of this day is therefore Christological. Jesus Christ, the personal Light of the World, by His death and resurrection on the first day of the week, decisively conquered the personal prince of darkness (Colossians 2:15). The resurrection was not a random timing but a cosmic event that reclaimed and re-sanctified Yom Rishon, revealing it as the "Day of the Lord," the dawn of the New Creation. He is the personal fulfillment of both pillars: the Victor who achieves the separation of light from darkness, and the Sabbath Rest in whom believers find peace.

5. A Restored Hierarchical Model

The following table summarizes the restored hierarchical understanding of the creation week:

Feature Day One: Personal Spiritual Victory Days 2-6: The Physical Realm Day Seven: Personal Covenant Rest

Primary Theme Sovereign Victory over Darkness Formation & Filling of the Material World Perfect Peace & Communion

Divine Action Separating Personal Light from Personal Darkness Creating Universe & Life Ceasing, Resting, Sanctifying

Spiritual State Inaugurated Victory in Cosmic Conflict The Arena of the Conflict Consummate Victory & Eternal Rest

In Christ The Resurrected Light, Conqueror of Death The Agent of Creation Our Sabbath Rest, our Peace (Matthew 11:28)

6. Conclusion: Living in the Light of the First Day

The Genesis narrative reveals that our universe was born from a conflict of personalities. The foundational truth is a definitive statement: The personal God of Light is sovereign over all rival personal powers of darkness. The resurrection of Jesus Christ on the First Day is the ultimate affirmation of this primordial victory.

For the believer, this is not abstract theology but a call to a specific reality: to abide in the personal Light, Jesus Christ, and to actively resist the personal darkness (Ephesians 6:12), knowing that the decisive victory was secured at the foundation of the world and sealed in an empty tomb on the first day of the week. The personal Light has overcome. In Him, we live as more than conquerors, positioned between the victory of the First Day and the perfect rest of the Seventh, awaiting the day when God will be all in all.

Bibliography

1. The Holy Bible, New International Version.

2. Athanasius of Alexandria. On the Incarnation.

3. Walton, John H. The Lost World of Genesis One.

4. Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm.