Throughout the ensuing centuries lighthouses have been used to guide and protect ships at sea from foundering upon the rocks. One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture comes from Psalm 119:105 [RSV], which says, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” When Jesus was on the Earth during His ministry, He did not utter one single, solitary world by accident. He always had a purpose for all that He said and did. When He stated in John 14:6 [RSV], “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me,” He was fulfilling the prophetic message of this Psalm. When Jesus said He was “the way,” He was stating He was the one and only pathway to God. There are not many paths to God, as many falsely teach. There is only one way, and that is through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God Who came to the Earth to dwell among men, which is exactly what John tells us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in John 1:1 [RSV] and John 1:14 [RSV]: 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
When John tells us “we have beheld His glory” he was referencing the time he was one of the three privileged individuals, one of the three closest friends of our Lord, who were there to witness the transfiguration of Jesus Christ before their stunned eyes in Matthew 17:1-2. When Jesus was transfigured these men saw Him as a shadow of how He truly is in all of His majestic, resplendent glory He so richly deserves, “glory as of the only Son from the Father.” Listen to how Matthew describes this wondrous event: “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light” (Matthew 17:2 [RSV]). When Jesus came to this lowly plain of pain, sorrow and suffering to be the Living Word, the Apostle Paul tells us He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7 [RSV]). I believe this emptying of Himself of which Paul speaks is how God our Savior went from being of the invisible, pure eternal energy and Spirit to that of the visible world. And when Peter, James and John witnessed this wondrous transfiguration they caught a glimpse of how the Lord truly is. Yes, they had a glimpse that day of the “glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father,” but even John himself who was there that day knew that something even greater awaits those who remain “faithful unto death” (Revelation 2:10 [RSV]). It is they who will see Him in all of His glory. And years later John wrote, “Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2 [RSV]) And this will occur when Jesus returns to gather His saints to take them home to be with Him forever and the last enemy, Death, is destroyed forever, cast into the Lake of Fire: 16. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the Archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; 17. then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 [RSV]) 22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. 24. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26. The last enemy to be destroyed is Death. (1 Corinthians 15:22-25 [RSV]) 13. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. 14. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death, the Lake of Fire; 15. and if any one's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:13-15 [RSV]) 18. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18 [RSV])
When John tells us “we have beheld His glory” he was referencing the time he was one of the three privileged individuals, one of the three closest friends of our Lord, who were there to witness the transfiguration of Jesus Christ before their stunned eyes in Matthew 17:1-2. When Jesus was transfigured these men saw Him as a shadow of how He truly is in all of His majestic, resplendent glory He so richly deserves, “glory as of the only Son from the Father.” Listen to how Matthew describes this wondrous event: “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light” (Matthew 17:2 [RSV]). When Jesus came to this lowly plain of pain, sorrow and suffering to be the Living Word, the Apostle Paul tells us He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7 [RSV]). I believe this emptying of Himself of which Paul speaks is how God our Savior went from being of the invisible, pure eternal energy and Spirit to that of the visible world. And when Peter, James and John witnessed this wondrous transfiguration they caught a glimpse of how the Lord truly is. Yes, they had a glimpse that day of the “glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father,” but even John himself who was there that day knew that something even greater awaits those who remain “faithful unto death” (Revelation 2:10 [RSV]). It is they who will see Him in all of His glory. And years later John wrote, “Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2 [RSV]) And this will occur when Jesus returns to gather His saints to take them home to be with Him forever and the last enemy, Death, is destroyed forever, cast into the Lake of Fire: 16. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the Archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; 17. then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 [RSV]) 22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. 24. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26. The last enemy to be destroyed is Death. (1 Corinthians 15:22-25 [RSV]) 13. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. 14. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death, the Lake of Fire; 15. and if any one's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:13-15 [RSV]) 18. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18 [RSV])
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