Apocalypse Revealed #53
53. And His countenance as the sun shining in its power. This symbolizes the Divine love and wisdom which are the Lord and which emanate from Him.
The fact that the face of Jehovah or of the Lord means the Divine itself in its essence, which is Divine love and wisdom, thus Himself, will be seen in explanations below where the face of God is mentioned. "The sun shining in its power" has the same symbolic meaning.
In the sight of angels the Lord is seen as the sun in heaven, and it is His Divine love accompanied by Divine wisdom that so appears. This may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758), nos. 116-125 and in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom, 83-172.
[2] It remains here simply to confirm from the Word that when the subject is the Lord, the sun is His Divine love and at the same time His Divine wisdom. This can be seen from the following passages:
...in (that) day... the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days... (Isaiah 30:25-26)
That day is the Lord's advent, when the old church has been destroyed and a new one is about to be established. The light of the moon is faith arising from charity, and the light of the sun is intelligence and wisdom arising from love emanating then from the Lord.
Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon wane; for Jehovah will be your everlasting light... (Isaiah 60:20)
The sun that will not go down is love and wisdom from the Lord.
...the Rock of Israel spoke to me... like the light of the morning when the sun rises... (2 Samuel 23:3-4)
The Rock of Israel is the Lord.
...his throne (shall be) as the sun... (Psalms 89:36-37)
This is said in reference to David, but David there means the Lord.
They shall fear You as long as the sun endures... In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more... Before the sun He will have the name of Son, and all nations shall be blessed in Him... (Psalms 72:5, 7, 17)
These statements, too, are made in reference to the Lord.
[3] Because the Lord appears in heaven to angels as the sun, therefore when He was transfigured,
His face shone like the sun, and His garments became... as the light. (Matthew 17:1-2)
Moreover, in Revelation 10:1 it is said of the mighty angel coming down from heaven that he was "clothed with a cloud," and "his face was like the sun," and of the woman in Revelation 12:1 that she appeared "clothed with the sun." The sun there is love and wisdom emanating from the Lord. The woman there is the church called the New Jerusalem.
[4] Since the sun means the Lord with respect to love and wisdom, it is apparent what the sun symbolizes in the following places:
Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming, cruel... The sun will be darkened at its rising, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will visit upon the world its wickedness, and upon the impious their iniquity. (Isaiah 13:9-11)
...Jehovah will visit [punishment] in the high place upon the host of the high place, and on the earth upon the kings of the earth... Then the moon will blush and the sun be ashamed. (Isaiah 24:21, 23)
When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine... and I will... bring darkness upon your land. (Ezekiel 32:7-8)
...the day of Jehovah is coming..., a day of darkness... The sun and moon (will not cause their light to shine), and the stars have diminished their brightness. (Joel 2:1-2, 10)
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great... day of Jehovah. (Joel 2:31)
...the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon have grown dark... (Joel 3:14-15)
The fourth angel sounded: and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars..., and a third of the day did not shine... (Revelation 8:12)
...the sun became as black as sackcloth of goat's hair, and the moon became as blood... (Revelation 6:12)
...the sun was... darkened because of the smoke of the pit. (Revelation 9:2)
The sun in these places does not mean the world's sun, but the sun of the angelic heaven, which is the Lord's Divine love and wisdom. These are said to be obscured, darkened, covered, or become black when falsities and evils are present in a person.
[5] It is apparent, therefore, that something similar is meant by the Lord's words when speaking of the end of the age, which is the final period of the church:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven... (Matthew 24:29, cf. Mark 13:24-25)
So, too, in the following places:
The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them. (Micah 3:6)
...in that day... I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight. (Amos 8:9)
She... who has borne seven... will breath her last; her sun will go down while it is yet day. (Jeremiah 15:9)
The subject here is the Jewish Church, which will breathe its last or perish. The sun's going down means that there will no longer be any love or charity.
[6] It is said in Joshua that the sun stood still in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Aijalon (Joshua 10:12-13). This seems to be an historical statement, but in fact it is prophetic, for it comes from the book of Jasher, which was a prophetic book; for in verse 13 it says, "Is this not written in the Book of Jasher?" The same book is called a prophetic one by David in 2 Samuel 1:17, 18.
A similar statement is found in Habakkuk:
The mountains... were shaken... The sun and moon stood still in their habitation. (Habakkuk 3:10-11)
[In Isaiah:]
Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon wane. (Isaiah 60:20)
For to cause the sun and moon to stand still would be to destroy the universe.
[7] Since the sun means the Lord with respect to Divine love and wisdom, therefore in their holy worship ancient peoples turned their faces to the rising sun, and their temples also, a practice that continues to this day.
That the sun in these passages does not mean the world's sun is clear from the fact that it was profane and an abomination for people to worship the world's sun and moon (see Numbers 25:1-4, Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3, 5, Jeremiah 8:1-2; 43:10, 13; 44:17-19, 25). For the world's sun means self-love and a conceit in one's own intelligence, and self-love is diametrically opposed to Divine love, while a conceit in one's own intelligence is opposed to Divine wisdom. To worship the world's sun is also to accept nature as the creator of all things and one's own prudence as the effecter of all things, which entails a denial of God and a denial of Divine providence.
Psalms 89
1
I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2
I indeed declare, "Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them."
3
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,
4
'I will establish your seed forever, and build up your throne to all generations.'" Selah.
5
The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh; your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6
For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh,
7
a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him?
8
Yahweh, God of Armies, who is a mighty one, like you? Yah, your faithfulness is around you.
9
You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them.
10
You have broken Rahab in pieces, like one of the slain. You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours; the world and its fullness. You have founded them.
12
The north and the south, you have created them. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
13
You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face.
15
Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh.
16
In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted.
17
For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to Yahweh; our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, "I have bestowed strength on the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
20
I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil,
21
with whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him.
22
No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him.
23
I will beat down his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him.
24
But my faithfulness and my loving kindness will be with him. In my name, his horn will be exalted.
25
I will set his hand also on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers.
26
He will call to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation!'
27
I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28
I will keep my loving kindness for him forevermore. My covenant will stand firm with him.
29
I will also make his seed endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
30
If his children forsake my law, and don't walk in my ordinances;
31
if they break my statutes, and don't keep my commandments;
32
then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
33
But I will not completely take my loving kindness from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail.
34
I will not break my covenant, nor alter what my lips have uttered.
35
Once have I sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.
36
His seed will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me.
37
It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." Selah.
38
But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed.
39
You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust.
40
You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41
All who pass by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice.
43
Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven't supported him in battle.
44
You have ended his splendor, and thrown his throne down to the ground.
45
You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah.
46
How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?
47
Remember how short my time is! For what vanity have you created all the children of men!
48
What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
49
Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your faithfulness?
50
Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples,
51
With which your enemies have mocked, Yahweh, with which they have mocked the footsteps of your anointed one.
52
Blessed be Yahweh forevermore. Amen, and Amen. BOOK IV A Prayer by Moses, the man of God.
