The Light · stop 9 of 9
No need of the sun
The city has no sun and no moon, 'for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.' Day one is undone in the best way: light without a luminary again, only now the source has a face. The Lamb thread ends on this same verse.
23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Open Revelation 21:23 in the reader →Everything gathered on this verse →
A voice from the tradition
Witness
The direct light of God and the Lamb shall make the saints independent of God's creatures, the sun and moon, for light.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on Revelation 21:23 — public domainReformed
The approved voices
On Revelation 21:23
And in that he says that the sun is not necessary in the city, he shows, evidently, that the Creator as the immaculate light shines in the midst of it, whose brightness no mind has been able to conceive, nor tongue to tell.
Victorinus of Pettau· Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John, 304Patristic
The workbench
Words in this verse
- καὶkai — AndG2532
- ἡhē — theG3588
- πόλιςpolis — cityG4172
- οὐou — noG3756
- χρείανchreian — needG5532
- ἔχειechei — hasG2192
- τοῦtou — of theG3588
- ἡλίουhēliou — sunG2246
- οὐδὲoude — norG3761
- τῆςtēs — of theG3588
- σελήνηςselēnēs — moonG4582
- ἵναina — thatG2443
- φαίνωσινphainōsin — they may shineG5316
- αὐτῇ·autēa — in it;G846
- ἡhē — theG3588
- γὰρgar — forG1063
- δόξαdoxa — gloryG1391
- τοῦtou — <the>G3588
- θεοῦtheou — of GodG2316
- ἐφώτισενephōtisen — enlightenedG5461
- αὐτήν,autēn — it,G846
- καὶkai — andG2532
- ὁho — theG3588
- λύχνοςluchnos — lampG3088
- αὐτῆςautēs — of itG846
- τὸto — [is] theG3588
- ἀρνίον.arnion — Lamb.G721
The floor
Where the canon echoes this verse
- Isaiah 60:19–20
No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor. Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.
Commentary on Isaiah 60:19–202 voices
(Verse 19, 20.) The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the splendor of the moon shine on you; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will not decrease; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be fulfilled.
Jerome· Commentary on Isaiah, 420Patristic
The sun shall be no more thy light by day,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
Commentary on Revelation 22:52 voices
Neither the night of sin nor the darkness of unrighteousness will ever appear again. Nor in that bliss will they [the saints] live by the words of any teacher; nor established in such a fullness will they require the light of another's understanding. The Lord …
Apringius of Beja· TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 22:5, 600Patristic
And there shall be no night there,....
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- John 1:9
The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.
Commentary on John 1:92 voices
(Hom. 2, in div. loc.) Or thus: We must not understand the words, lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, of the growth from hidden seeds to organized bodies, but of the entrance into the invisible world, by the spiritual regeneration and grace, which is given in Baptism. Those then the true Light lighteneth, who come into the world of goodness, not those who rush into the world of sin.
Origen of Alexandria· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 253Patristic
That was the true light,....
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- Revelation 21:11
shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
Commentary on Revelation 21:111 voice
And the gate glittered to such a degree under the sunbeams, that I marvelled at the splendour of the gate; and round about the gate stood twelve virgins.
Shepherd of Hermas· Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9, 160Patristic
- Isaiah 24:23
The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
Commentary on Isaiah 24:232 voices
He [Isaiah] was pricked by the thorn of sin; you are decked with the flowers of virtue. "The moon shall be ashamed, and the sun confounded, when the Lord shall punish the host of heaven on high." This is explained by another passage. "Even the stars are unclean in his sight";21 and again, "He charges his angels with folly." The moon is ashamed, the sun is confounded, and the sky covered with sackcloth. Shall we fearlessly and joyously, as though we were free from all sin, face the majesty of the Judge?
Jerome· Against the Pelagians 2.24, 420Patristic
(Verse 21 onwards) And it will happen in that day, the Lord will visit upon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth who are on the earth. And they will be gathered together into one assembly, into a pit, and will be shut up there in prison, and after many days they will be visited. And the moon will be ashamed, and the sun will be confounded, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and shall show forth his glory before his ancients.
Jerome· Commentary on Isaiah, 420Patristic
- Luke 2:32
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”
Commentary on Luke 2:322 voices
The mystery of Christ had been prepared even before the very foundation of the world but was manifested in the last ages of time. It became a light for those who in darkness and error had fallen under the devil's hand. These were they "who serve the creature instead of the Creator," worshiping moreover the dragon, the author of evil, and the impure throng of devils, to whom they attach the honor due God.
Cyril of Alexandria· COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 4, 444Patristic
A light to lighten the Gentiles,.... Or for the revelation of the Gentiles; to reveal the love, grace, and mercy of God, an everlasting righteousness, and the way of life and salvation to them. Reference seems to be had to Isa 42:
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- Revelation 18:1
After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.
Commentary on Revelation 18:12 voices
After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, etc. This strong angel illuminating the earth can also be understood as the Lord incarnate and the doctors of the Church; who, endowed with heavenly light, proclaim the fall of the …
Bede· Commentary on Revelation, 735Patristic
And after these things,....
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- John 1:4
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Commentary on John 1:42 voices
Many read this inaccurately because they add without any punctuation, "that which has been made in him was life." The correct statement is "All things were made through him, and without him was made nothing that has been made," meaning that that which has been made without him has not been made. … Now, if all things were made through him, is the Father, on that account, excluded from creation, or Holy Spirit, and has the Son alone worked?
Jerome· HOMILY 87, ON JOHN 1.1-14, 420Patristic
In him was life,.... The Persic version reads in the plural number, "lives". There was life in the word with respect to himself; a divine life, the same with the life of the Father and of the Spirit; and is in him, not by gift, nor by derivation or communication; but originally, and independently, and from all eternity: indeed he lived before his incarnation as Mediator, and Redeemer.
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- Revelation 21:25
Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.
Commentary on Revelation 21:252 voices
And that the gates cannot be shut, it is evidently shown that the doctrine of the apostles can be separated from rectitude by no tempest of contradiction. Even though the floods of the nations and the vain superstitions of heretics should revolt against their true faith, they are overcome, and shall be dissolved as the foam, because Christ is the Rock by which, and on which, the Church is founded. And thus it is overcome by no traces of maddened men.
Victorinus of Pettau· Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John, 304Patristic
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day,....
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- Habakkuk 3:3
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth.
Commentary on Habakkuk 3:31 voice
And there are also some of them who say, "The Lord hath spoken in Zion, and uttered His voice from Jerusalem;" and, "In Judah is God known;" -these indicated His advent which took place in Judea. Those, again, who declare that "God comes from the south, and from a mountain thick with foliage," announced His advent at Bethlehem, as I have pointed out in the preceding book. From that place, also, He who rules, and who feeds the people of His Father, has come.
Irenaeus· AGAINST HERESIES 4:33.11, 202Patristic
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge; OpenBible.info (CC-BY).