Revelation 21:22-23 (ESV)
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Revelation 22:5 (ESV)
5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
God’s Glory is Light
When Jesus walked on the earth, He stated this:
John 8:12 (ESV)
12 Again 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.”
That statement is one of the seven “I Am” statements of Christ. He wanted us to grasp that He not only brought life to the earth, He was a reflection of God’s glory, the light that brightens heaven. Note what the author of Hebrews wrote to start his epistle:
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
John MacArthur, in his commentary on this verse site another author. Note:
(MacArthur NT) Commenting on the brilliant light emanating from the New Jerusalem, J. A. Seiss writes:
That shining is not from any material combustion,—not from any consumption of fuel that needs to be replaced as one supply burns out; for it is the uncreated light of Him who is light, dispensed by and through the Lamb as the everlasting Lamp, to the home, and hearts, and understandings of his glorified saints. When Paul and Silas lay wounded and bound in the inner dungeon of the prison of Philippi, they still had sacred light which enabled them to beguile the night-watches with happy songs. When Paul was on his way to Damascus, a light brighter than the sun at noon shone round about him, irradiating his whole being with new sights and understanding, and making his soul and body ever afterwards light in the Lord. When Moses came down from the mount of his communion with God, his face was so luminous that his brethren could not endure to look upon it. He was in such close fellowship with light that he became informed with light, and came to the camp as a very lamp of God, glowing with the glory of God. On the Mount of Transfiguration that same light streamed forth from all the body and raiment of the blessed Jesus. And with reference to the very time when this city comes into being and place, Isaiah says, “the moon shall be ashamed and the sun confounded,”—ashamed because of the out-beaming glory which then shall appear in the new Jerusalem, leaving no more need for them to shine in it, since the glory of God lights it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (The Apocalypse [reprint, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1987], 499)
We do not fully comprehend the glory of God. But, it is His glory that gives all of heaven light. That is our inheritance in Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment