If Jesus made it known that unless we continue ‘walking while we have the light...so that darkness doesn’t overtake (seize/possess) us’...do you believe He was implying that we could very well be ‘overtaken by darkness’? (John 12:35)

By the way, who are the ones that actually find or experience ‘cleansing by the blood of Jesus for all their sins’, according to 1 John 1:7?

If a new convert asked you: “What does it mean to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light’?”, how would you answer that? Would that not be an important question to know the answer to if one hopes/desires to not be ‘overtaken by darkness’?

And how would you answer – ‘what does it mean to be overtaken by darkness’?

I think most of us have had experiences where we got caught up in a work project outside and lost track of time, or maybe went on a long hike or involved with some other outdoor activity and ended up in a bind because it grew dark and we didn’t have ample light to gather up our things before making our way home. It happens. But I don’t believe this is the ‘darkness’ that Jesus cautions us to be careful of so we’re not overtaken by it.

When Jesus commissioned Paul to go and preach the gospel to the Gentiles, He made it quite clear the reason for making this message known to them... so as “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:18)

Whose ‘power’ or influence are people under if/when they are walking in darkness?

Who did John say the ‘whole world’ was under the control or influence of...IF...they were not born of God? (1 John 5:19). Do we not read in Revelation 12:9 that this ‘wicked one’ (a.k.a. ‘Satan, the devil, the serpent of old)...’deceives the whole world’? Do deceived people know...they are deceived? And what did Jesus say about people who ‘walk in darkness’... something about ‘not knowing where they are going’? (John 12:35; Prov. 14:12)

What do we learn about those who are ‘perishing’, and the reason behind it, when reading 2 Cor. 4:3-4? Who is responsible for ‘blinding the minds’ of these people?

Take a look at Paul’s address to the believers at Colosse: “He (Jesus) has delivered, or rescued us from the power (dominion/authority) of darkness...” conveying that we have become a part of His kingdom and have redemption through His blood...(Col. 1:13). Again... let’s not forget who actually is cleansed by this blood – ‘those who walk in the light as He is in the light’ (1 John 1:7).

When Paul reminds us in Eph. 6:12 as to who our real enemy is that we contend with, pointing out that it is ‘not flesh and blood’...rather it is ‘principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness of this age’...is it safe to conclude that all this talk of ‘darkness’ may be referring to spiritual forces of darkness, i.e. –‘demons, unclean spirits, and/or fallen angels’?

Are we not told by Peter to remain on ‘high alert’ to this ‘enemy the devil’ who is roaming about seeking to devour’...and that we are to ‘resist him’? (1 Pet. 5:8-9)

And when Paul warns us to “give no place to the devil” in Eph. 4:27, do you think it is remotely possible that we can actually ‘give him place’? (How do you think we do that?)

Now let’s take a look at the words of Jesus in Matt. 24:42-43, where he speaks of not allowing a ‘thief’ to break in to one’s ‘house’. What do we know a ‘thief’ comes to do, based on what Jesus taught us in John 10:10?  Who do you think this 'thief' is...or represents?

And speaking of ‘houses’, what do we learn about that ‘unclean spirit’ in Matt. 12:43-45, who ‘went out of a man’....but then decided to ‘return to the house’ from which he left; what happened to that man in the end? Sounds to me like he was ‘overtaken by the darkness’.

Which then leads us to a question that many love to engage in and debate: “Can Christians have demons?” That often leads to all kinds of thoughts and opinions and such, which might/should bring up another question as to who/what actually is a ‘Christian’. (Matt. 7:21)

But for now, I’d encourage you to read all the verses I left with you here...again. Look them up, maybe write them out, which is what I do all the time. Then...consider this: ‘wherever there is darkness in a person's life, it provides a covering or place of habitation for spiritual forces to reside and operate. Have you ever pulled up an old carpet or tarp that was laying inside a dark garage? What usually begins to scatter when exposed to the light? Yep...all kinds of gross, unwanted ‘critters’.

Maybe that is why we are admonished to “cast off the works of darkness...(and expose them) like envy and strife and lust and lewdness...making no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:13-14). I mean...after all...we know what ‘serpents’ like to feed on, right? (Gen. 3:14,19)

The best way to get rid of unwanted ‘critters’ is to remove their food source and expose light to the area.

That’s what people who have come to Jesus have done (Gal. 5:24). They were ‘once in darkness...but now are light in the Lord...walking as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). They no longer walk according to the ‘prince of the power of the air, the spirit who works ‘IN’ the sons of disobedience...fulfilling the desires and lust of their minds and flesh” (Eph. 2:2-3).

We ‘walk in the light in order to become children of light’ (John 12:36). At least that’s what it says in my Bible.