(P)On...
Illustration
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On July 28, 1981, a gigantic fireworks display lighted the skies over London, England, as a prelude to the wedding the next day of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Bonfires and beacons were lighted all over the British Isles as a testimony to the entire nation's participation in the celebration. It was styled "the wedding of the century," which uplifted the hearts and spirits of the British people and which brought the thrill of romance and royal pageantry to the entire world.
That wedding was beautiful and memorable, but Isaiah describes an event that is much greater. No human display can match the brightness and splendor of God's glory. It has the power to dispel the darkness of sin and death itself. And, wonder of wonders, it shines upon us: "For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV).
In the Old Testament, and still in Jesus' time, Jerusalem was the location of the Temple and the worship of God. In picture language it represents the holy Christian church of all ages. It dispenses the Good News about Jesus Christ through which God the Holy Spirit draws people from all lands into the marvelous light of God's presence. As Matthew Henry has written, "When we have the knowledge of God in us, and the favor of God toward us, our light is come."
-- Clausen
On July 28, 1981, a gigantic fireworks display lighted the skies over London, England, as a prelude to the wedding the next day of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Bonfires and beacons were lighted all over the British Isles as a testimony to the entire nation's participation in the celebration. It was styled "the wedding of the century," which uplifted the hearts and spirits of the British people and which brought the thrill of romance and royal pageantry to the entire world.
That wedding was beautiful and memorable, but Isaiah describes an event that is much greater. No human display can match the brightness and splendor of God's glory. It has the power to dispel the darkness of sin and death itself. And, wonder of wonders, it shines upon us: "For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV).
In the Old Testament, and still in Jesus' time, Jerusalem was the location of the Temple and the worship of God. In picture language it represents the holy Christian church of all ages. It dispenses the Good News about Jesus Christ through which God the Holy Spirit draws people from all lands into the marvelous light of God's presence. As Matthew Henry has written, "When we have the knowledge of God in us, and the favor of God toward us, our light is come."
-- Clausen
