(I have been contemplating this question for quite some time and I recently came across this answer by
Dave Philp at http://bibleq.info/answer/2251/comment-page-1/#comment-570 )
"There are (at least) two ways to think about this question. The first is to look for a simple, scientific explanation: does science tell us about any lights that were created before the sun? The second is to look for a different interpretation of the passage: is it definitely the case that we should be looking for a scientific interpretation of Genesis 1, or does it have a different meaning? We should look for answers to both questions.
Is there a simple scientific answer? Physicists distinguish light itself from objects that create light (like the sun). Verse 3 may refer to the creation of the laws that govern light itself, to the light that filled the universe after the big bang, and to the countless millions of stars that fill the galaxies throughout the universe. In contrast, verse 14 describes the sun, which sheds light on the earth and is a clear sign for all people."______________
My thoughts: It is interesting to note that although I believe the earth and our galaxy as we know it may be approximately 6,000 years old, the fact that we are able to observe today distant stars that are billions of light years away implies that the image received on earth today was projected into space ions ago http://www.cosmotography.com/. The fact that the universe is still expanding means that whatever God spoke when He said "let there be light" and whatever force He established then at the dawn of creation is still active today. He has never retracted His word.
A problem we often experience is that many of us are at times stuck in a "either or" mindset and not necessarily in a possible dual perspective of our physical and/or spiritual realities. If my understanding of the word of God is correct, it is very possible that while God created the heavens and the earth (the universe) as we know it, the verses in Genesis might also refer to other layers of realities that are not relegated strictly to our physical universe. The word “stars” in the bible sometimes refers to angelic being and sometimes to the luminaries in our universe. The “light of the world” can obviously be interpreted in two distinct ways. What holds matter together? A force found only at the sub-protonic level but nowhere else in the universe and completely opposite of that of electro-magnetism while spiritually Christ is what holds us together (Acts 17:28 - For in Him we live, we move and we have our being.) And so on!
As we observe our temporal physical world in light of eternal spiritual truths and realities we can then begin to observe how these two realities appear to intersect each other at various levels with a signature that is consistently one of the same author. When you contemplate scientific laws in light of spiritual laws the analogies are simply incredible. My pastor refers to this duality as us “being spiritual beings having an earthly experience.”
Back to the original question, where did light originate from? Was it actually created by God, released by God, is it the resultant of his creation or is it a physical expression of a spiritual reality?
More on the subject later!
