In Revelation 19:8 we learn that the Bride of the Lamb (i.e., believers) will be “bright”. This is a significant theme for believers in the New Testament and I refer to this theme as “luminosity”. The glorification of believers is a major New Testament theme and this is one aspect of that theme. I suspect that when scripture mentions the glorification of believers, which it does often, luminosity is implied.
God wants his saints to literally shine, and to shine in a way that is almost blinding. I have found this mentioned two other times in the New Testament. Jesus states it plainly in Matthew 13:43: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (This is an allusion to Daniel 12:3: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above.”) The third mention is in Revelation 21:11 where John saw the new Jerusalem (the Bride) coming out of heaven “having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”
Moreover, it is interesting that in Matthew’s account of the transfiguration he uses the same vocabulary about Jesus as he did about believers in 13:43. In Matthew 17:2 Jesus’ face “shone like the sun”. When that observation is combined with the New Testament theme of Christformation it makes us wonder if Jesus’ transfiguration is a precursor of our luminosity. For example, I Corinthians 15:49 states that we shall “bear the image of the heavenly man”. Philippians 3:21 promises that Jesus “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Thus, it is reasonable to think that we will shine like Jesus did at his transfiguration.
Human luminosity is sometimes used in media to indicate someone who is in a spiritually elevated state. It seems that there is an attraction to the idea that humans may physically shine brightly. For me it feels like there is some dim understanding in my heart (as well as in all human hearts) that we were meant to shine – and the thought of it brings a deep satisfaction.
As always your comments and messages are greatly appreciated!
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