The Brightness Of His Coming

The English word "bright" originated from an old Anglo-Saxon word, beorht, which meant a clear shining, something that had pure light. "Brightness" is used to translate a number of different Hebrew words. The foremost of them in the Holy Scriptures is pronounced no-gawh; it means brilliant, full of light, shining intensely. Another, pronounced yif-fawh, means splendor, a quality that outshines the rest. Both of those apply to God, the Ultimate of Eternal Brightness, from Whom came all physical light at the time of Creation, when time itself began (see Christ The Creator, How Old Is God? and Creation: The Matter Of Energy).

"^1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ^1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." (Genesis 1:3-4 KJV)

"God is light" (verse 5 below) and God "cannot lie" (Titus 1:2 KJV). Light and Truth, in God, are one.

"^1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ^1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: ^1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin [see Why Blood?].

^1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ^1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:5-10 KJV)

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee"

The angel named Lucifer, which means Light Bringer, became foul and contaminated when he "corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness" (Ezekiel 28:17 KJV). He thereafter became known as Satan, a Hebrew word which means accuser. Although Satan remains bright in appearance (see What Does Satan Look Like?), his mind has become filled with darkness - the opposite of, and the opposition to, the Truth in the Light.

"^28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. ^28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. ^28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. ^28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. ^28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee." Ezekiel 28:13-17 KJV)

Humans have been influenced by Satan's evil brightness right from the Garden of Eden. Under Satan's enticement, humans became sinners by turning from God's Genuine Truth to their own false concocted "truth" - all sorts of "shiny" things and people (the most popular human idol being the self) that have been made into idols. Like Satan himself, that sort of glitter gives off darkness, not true light. It will be extinguished upon Christ's return, for "then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."

"^31:26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; ^31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: ^31:28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above." (Job 31:26-28 KJV)

"^2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ^2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: ^2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ^2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:7-10 KJV)

Repentance is about turning from all of the things of the carnal world, that only seem bright, to the Way of God that truly is bright. "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" becomes a way of life that eventually all the world will see (see Christian Living).

"^60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. ^60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. ^60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." (Isaiah 60:1-3 KJV)

"^62:1 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace [see Zionism], and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. ^62:2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name." (Isaiah 62:1-2 KJV)

"^60:18 Violence [which means all kinds of violation of God's Law - see Violence] shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. ^60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. ^60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. ^60:21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified." (Isaiah 60:18-21 KJV)

God is Light. The first created in God's own image was the Son of God, "being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person."

"^1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, ^1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; ^1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV)

The first harvest of the children of God will occur on the day of Christ's return (see When Will You Be Judged?). They too will from that day "shine as the brightness of the firmament."

"^12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. ^12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ^12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:1-3 KJV)

Fact Finder: How do Christ's true people "shine" now?
See Parables Of Jesus Christ: Let Your Light Shine

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This Day In History, July 20

1402: Tamerlane, leading a massive force of Tartars, defeated and captured the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Angora (now Ankara).

1654: Portugal was placed under English control after the signing of the Anglo-Portuguese treaty.

1667: The Peace of Breda ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1664-1667). The city of New Amsterdam was conceded by the Dutch to the English - who renamed it "New York."

1773: Scottish settlers arrived at what is today Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia means New Scotland).

1810: Colombia declared independence from Spain.

1866: Austrians partially destroyed the Italian fleet at Lissa Island during the Seven Weeks' War.

1917: The Pact of Corfu was agreed under which Serbs, Croats and Slovenes agreed to form a union called Yugoslavia.

1944: Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler by planting a bomb under his table in the "Wolf's Lair" headquarters.

1951: King Abdullah, 69, the first ruler of independent Jordan, was assassinated by dissident Arabs on the steps of the el-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. He was the only Arab ruler to accept the United Nations partitioning of "Palestine" into Jewish and Arab states. In the 1948 war with Israel, his armies occupied the West Bank and Old Jerusalem. He was succeeded by his 16 year old grandson, Hussein.

1960: 2 dogs aboard a Russian spacecraft became the first living creatures to be launched into space and survive re-entry.

1969: Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command module.