The Literal Lights of Christ

The Literal Lights of Christ.

“The thin place is where the veil between this world and the next is so sheer that it is easy to step through.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, Home By Another Way).

This term from an ancient Celtic tradition has stood the test of time. The idea of a thin place between heaven and earth has captured our imaginations, and yet is not just a metaphor.  Thin places are literal as well.

The traditional thin place as the Irish understood it has been described in many ways:  where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin as to be porous, permeable, practically transparent; where the space between the divine and the human has narrowed; where eternity and time intersect; where the boundary between heaven and earth has collapsed; where the wall between heaven and earth have become indistinguishable; where the doors between heaven and earth have cracked open enough to walk through, if only temporarily; the place where eternity and time seem to join together.

Those descriptions of thin places have recently been expanded to include… wherever God has chosen to reveal Himself and make Himself known with unusual intimacy; wherever the sacred interaction with God’s presence is more pronounced and accessible; wherever the Holy Spirit is released in a particularly powerful way; a physical space where one can more directly and intensely experience God’s presence. I like to think of a thin place as when the Spirit of God opens the skylight of the earth’s roof and helps us climb through it into the cellar of heaven.

There were a handful of thin places in Scripture where Jesus decided to literally reveal more of His heavenly light: (1.) With Daniel after a crucial time in Daniel’s life (Daniel 10); (2.) With Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mattew 17); (3.) With John on the Island of Patmos (Revelation 1); and (4.) With Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, 22 and 26). In each of these eye-opening scenes in Scripture, the light of Christ became visible, and the impact was profound.

(1.) With Daniel. “As I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, I looked up and saw a ‘man’ dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around His waist. His body glowed with inner light and had the golden luster of a precious gem. His face flashed radiance like the brightest lightning, and His eyes flamed out like fiery torches. His arms and feet shone like glowing, polished bronze, and His voice roared like a vast multitude of people. I was left there all alone to see this amazing and glorious vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. Then I heard the ’man” speak, and when I heard the sound of His voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.” (Daniel 10:4-9).

Appearance of the Heavenly Christ. Daniel had many visions that he didn’t understand and were simply beyond him, visions that only God could interpret. One time later in his life we find Daniel fasting for three weeks (chapter 10). He witnessed an extraordinary sight while standing on the bank of the Tigris River in Babylon. He saw a heavenly Christ standing before him… a sight for sore eyes, so to speak, full of glistening gold, flashes of lightning bolts, fiery torches, radiance pulsating from this heavenly person’s body, some glowing bronze, and a voice that sounded like thunder, or the pounding waves of the sea, or was it like a multitude of people all talking at the same time! Daniel was trying to describe the indescribable. This sight is virtually identical to John’s vision of Jesus in Revelation 1:13-15. This heavenly being in front of Daniel is certainly Jesus Christ. Daniel’s strength understandably failed him, and he fainted with fright.  Even after Jesus touched him and lifted him up, Daniel was still trembling from head to foot.

(2.) With Peter, James and John. “Jesus took Peter, James and John and hiked up a high mountain to be alone. Then Jesus’ appearance was dramatically altered. A radiant light as bright as the sun poured from His face. And His clothing became luminescent, dazzling like lightning, white as light. Jesus was transfigured before their very eyes. Then suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared, and they spoke with Jesus… While Peter was speaking, a radiant cloud composed of light spread over them, enveloping them all. And God’s voice suddenly spoke from the cloud, saying, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, the constant focus of My delight! You must constantly listen to Him!’ The disciples were dazed and terrified, and they fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them, saying ‘Get up! Don’t be afraid.’ And when they finally opened their eyes and looked up, they saw only Jesus.” (Matthew 17:6-8).

Glory. “You are clothed with honor and majesty; you cover yourself with light as with a garment.” (Psalm 104:2). There was a time when Jesus told His disciples that some of them would be eyewitnesses to the glory of Christ in His Kingdom. (Matt. 16:28). Six days later His prediction came true as Jesus led Peter, James and John to a lonely mountaintop, probably Mt. Tabor. The three disciples were intently watching as Jesus’ appearance was transformed into pure radiance. His face shone brightly like the sun, and His clothes became luminescent, whitened by divine uncreated light. For the three disciples, the curtain between the two kingdoms was parted, and they were privileged to sneak a glimpse of the glorified Christ, the Christ who is full of light, surrounded by light, pulsing with light. To make matters more astounding and  miraculous, they then witnessed Jesus having a conversation with Moses and Elijah, the two greatest prophets in Hebrew history, as if the three of them were long-lost friends. But then they witnessed the astounding theophany of God Himself speaking to them!

The Radiant Cloud. Another astonishing miracle then took place. A bright cloud filled with light, as if the cloud was self-lit by some interior force, came out of nowhere and overshadowed them on the mountaintop. Peter, James and John were totally enveloped in this dazzling cloud of other-worldly light, and they were mystified and terrified. This cloud seemed to swallow them up, and they found themselves inside the radiance! One thinks of the divine cloud over Mt. Sinai, the pillar cloud that protected and guided the Israelites through the wilderness, the glory cloud that filled both the Tabernacle and the Temple, the heavenly cloud that took Jesus up to heaven in the Ascension, and the cloud that will accompany Jesus returning to earth on that great Day of the Lord. All through Scripture, the divine cloud has remained a theophany, a tangible sign of the presence of God.

Just a Thought about the Light of Christ. What if Jesus didn’t change at all on Mt. Tabor? What if He always is wrapped in this other-worldly light, all the time? And so, then maybe it was the three disciples that were actually the ones to have changed on the mountaintop, not Jesus? Maybe the eyes of the disciples were opened for a time, to see what has always been true of Jesus and His heavenly light. Remember the servant of Elisha? When the Lord opened his eyes, the servant was allowed to see what had been there all along… heavenly horses and chariots of fire. Maybe the eyes of Peter, James and John were opened by God to see what is always there, the glory of Christ. Perhaps none of us can usually see that light because our eyes are not opened to heavenly realities like that. Could it be we just don’t have the eyes to see Jesus in all His glory?

(3.) With John on the Prison Island. “I was worshipping in union with the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice sounding like a trumpet. I turned to see whose was the voice speaking to me, and there was One like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe with a gold sash across His chest. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across His chest. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were flashing like flames of fire. His feet were glowing brightly like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in His right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came forth from His mouth. And His face was like the sun in all its brilliance, shining in full power at midday.”  (Revelation 1:10-16).

A Prison Visitation. Later in life, St. John found himself in solitary imprisonment, exiled on the lonely island of Patmos. This small, rocky island, roughly ten miles long and five miles wide, was a Roman penal colony during the persecution of Christians led by emperor Domitian. The island is mostly comprised of rocks, caves, and barren land, and is aptly named Patmos, which means “my crushing.” Patmos was fifty miles offshore from John’s home and center of ministry in Ephesus. John was privately “worshiping in the Spirit” on the Lord’s Day, and it seemed he was in some type of supernatural trance with a clear vision into God’s world. Other translations report that John was in the spiritual realm, or that he became in union with the Spirit. In any case, John was primed to receive a special vision of the heavenly Jesus and whatever would follow from that unique revelation. While worshiping, John heard a voice behind him, and when he turned to see whose voice it was, he saw the glory and splendor of the risen Christ. It seems true sometimes that we have to turn around, we have to turn our heads and redirect our attention to see Jesus and His message for us. Sometimes we move too fast and need to turn around to see what’s behind us. John’s vision was unforgettable and shocking, and later he wrote it down in detail. We tend to think that the book of Revelation is merely about the Apocalypse, about future events and prophetic messages. But first this book is a revealing of Jesus. Jesus revealed Himself before He revealed anything else. That should be what we want to see first, the Person of Christ, before anything else.

John turns and sees the risen Christ, the heavenly Jesus that is fearsome and practically unexplainable. John reacted to his other-worldly vision the same way that Daniel reacted to his in Daniel 10… he fainted dead away, flat on his face. Who wouldn’t?

Symbols of Jesus. John’s vision of Jesus brought to the surface many symbols of Christ’s attributes. John’s description in many ways represents eternal truths about the glorified person of Christ, who seems to reveal Himself best in metaphor and symbol and imagery. Christ’s white hair represents His eternal wisdom and purity, His status as the divine Elder who commands universal respect. His robe that reached to His feet points out His priesthood, as does His gold sash. Jesus appears, then, as the High Priest who boldly walks into God’s presence and obtains forgiveness for His people. Christ’s eyes of flame symbolize His eternal knowledge, able to judge rightly, able to probe and peer into the hearts and minds of each person. His blazing eyes know impurity when He sees it. In noting Christ’s voice, John was trying to describe the indescribable. At first, John reported that His voice sounded like a trumpet, a blast from the shofar to get John’s attention. But then His voice became so pervasive and continuous and unrelenting, it was like the sound of a waterfall, or maybe ocean waves, which signify in Scripture the sound of multitudes of voices speaking at the same time. The voice of Jesus was a sublime mystery… somehow His voice was understandable, yet it was in heavenly surround-sound. Christ’s feet were like polished and refined bronze, representing His ability to stand firm beautifully and permanently after enduring the furnace of affliction. The face of Christ has absorbed the uncreated Light of glory for all eternity, and so, like in His Transfiguration, Jesus’ brilliant countenance shot forth dazzling sunbeams, too bright to stare at, like the pulsing brightness of the noonday sun at its height. His right hand held seven stars, representing the seven pastors or shepherds of the churches in question, and they stand for the human messengers of each church as shining lights. Jesus is seen by John as standing, perhaps walking, in the midst of seven golden menorahs, seven lampstands. They represent the seven churches in Asia that will soon be addressed by Jesus. Each lampstand is kept lit by oil, by the Holy Spirit, in order to bring light to a dark world. And there is Jesus, then as now, in the midst of the churches, present wherever believers are gathered. The two-edged sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus represents the Word of God and the power of His message, a sword that can do heart surgery when skillfully wielded by the soul’s surgeon, Jesus Christ. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12).

After witnessing this mind-boggling appearance of the risen Christ, this is the moment when John fainted, and Jesus’ right hand helped John regain his consciousness. Naturally, the first words Jesus says to John are, “Don’t be afraid.”

(4.) With Saul on a Dusty Road. “I was full of duty towards God, and I even persecuted a this Way to the death and sent women as well as men to prison in chains, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify. I even received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, which I took with me when I set off to bring prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment. It happened that I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when in the middle of the day a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I answered, ‘Who are you, master?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ I said, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.’ Since the light had been so dazzling that I was blind, I got to Damascus only because my companions led me by the hand.” (Acts 22:4-11).

Invaded. Sometimes we are able to capture a thin-place moment, and sometimes the thin place captures us. There are those times when we seek out the thin place, and other times when the thin place seeks us out. A thin place can be the fruit of a diligent search, but sometimes the thin place comes out of the blue without the least effort.  Thin places can be intentional on our part, but it can also be totally unexpected.  In Saul’s case on the Damascus Road, a thin place with heaven was probably the last thing he was looking for. In many ways, Saul appeared to be pressed into service here, he was bushwhacked from heaven, even though we know that Saul’s free will had to be involved somehow. It’s interesting that ever since the risen Jesus captured him on the road, Saul/Paul considered himself to be a prisoner of Christ, a willing volunteer in service of God.

Light on the Road. Saul and his traveling companions were on the Damascus Road from Jerusalem when suddenly at noon a bright light flashed around them, flaring directly into Saul’s eyes. This was not a vision, this was literal reality, a painfully blazing light from heaven that was described by Paul later as being “brighter than the sun.” (Acts 26:13). This light was not an earthly phenomenon, a simple noonday sun. This was full-blown resurrection appearance of Jesus. Because of this thin place, Saul who became Paul can in all good conscience say that he met with Christ face-to-face.  The men with Saul saw the light, they heard the voice, but they didn’t see anyone and they didn’t understand a word of what was said. They were struck speechless at this extraordinary spectacle. Saul fell to the ground, blinded by the light and terrified. He heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Lying on the ground, Saul gathered the courage to respectfully ask in response, “Who are you, master?” He knew this was a divine encounter of some sort, but he wanted to know more about this mysterious voice from heaven. The voice then identified Himself, saying, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 22:8). This must have been a shocking idea to Saul… persecuting people of the Way was actually persecuting God? This man Jesus is actually alive? On the one hand, Saul was well aware of the prophet Zechariah announcing to His Chosen People that whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8). But Saul learned there on the roadside that the same is true in terms of the Son of God. Whatever is done to Christian believers, is done to Christ. Jesus so closely identifies with and is present to believers that He can say, “Whatever you do to the least of these my brethren, you do to me.” (Matt. 25:40). Saul then asks Jesus, “What do you want from me? What do you want me to do?” Christ’s answer was simple, “Go to Damascus and you will be told what to do.” In effect, Saul is being told he is no longer in control of his destiny.

Jesus Speaks in Aramaic. While offering his defense before King Agrippa, Paul recounted his Damascus Rod experience. Paul interestingly remembered how Paul spoke of Jesus speaking in Aramaic, and telling Paul a rather confusing statement… “It is hard for you, kicking against the goads.” (Acts 26:14). What is that supposed to mean? Many biblical scholars interpret this to mean that Saul is offering useless resistance to God’s will, that Saul is only going to experience futility when working against God’s invincible purposes in the world. A goad at that time was a very sharp piece of metal at the end of a workman’s staff used as a prod on the beast of burden. It was obviously a very foolish thing for the ox or donkey to kick against in rebellion. Kicking against the goad will only hurt the one who is doing the kicking, and it will be for nought. Jesus is telling Saul that his resistance to God’s will is futile and will only end up hurting Saul in the end. Saul, just quit banging your head against the wall and accept the reality of how God’s will is to be accomplished!

Mysteries of Light. So there were biblical occasions when the heavenly origin of Jesus was literally revealed on earth… in Babylon, on Mt. Tabor, on Patmos, and on a dusty road to Damascus. All these places were unexpected, out of the way locations. These thin places were wonderful mysteries, were they not?