Shekinah Glory

“And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”

~Matthew 17:1-7

This is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. I always imagine what it will be like to stand face-to-face with Jesus, and here, Peter, James and John not only have seen the person of Jesus Christ, they also got to see the Shekinah glory of God and hear God’s own voice. Not to mention seeing Moses and Elijah! What a gift that was. The Shekinah glory of God is something we will all see when we arrive in Heaven. It is the light of Heaven, brighter than the sun that comes only from Christ Himself.

“Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life’ (John 8:12).”

If you’ve ever been in a dark room, or in the woods at night, you know there is nothing as black as the absence of light; strike a match and the darkness flees. That little flame will light up the dark recesses of a room and allow us to see, so imagine what the light of the glory of Jesus Christ can do! We see the light of glory when we follow Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world, and in Him is no darkness (1 John 1:5). It is that light we see in other Christians and that others see in us once we accept Christ as our Savior.

We will all stand before Jesus Christ no matter what we believe or what we’ve done. When we die, we will close our eyes to this world and open them to Heaven. Even those who do not follow Jesus Christ will still see Heaven and the glory of the Light of the Lamb. I imagine that is the only thing that can make hell worse—knowing what Heaven looks like, getting that glimpse of His Shekinah glory and then be sent to everlasting separation to spend eternity in the darkness where there is nothing but sorrow and suffering. And as much as my heart aches for those who will spend the afterlife separated from God, it also soars for each of us who will spend eternity in His glorious light.

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Revelation 21:22-23).”

Read John 12-16

©2018 Marie McGaha