Advertorial | The heavens declare the glory of God

The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1). Immediately, we are drawn to God's greatness in creating the heavens.

But could there be more? Could the heavens give us a glimpse of God Himself? God often uses object lessons and illustrations to teach many things. Could there be an object lesson in the heavens that tell us a little about God's person? Consider what God said about the lights in the heavens:

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14).

The lights in the heavens were given to divide the day from the night and for signs and seasons and for measurement of time – days and years. We understand that the sun, moon, and stars help us to measure days and years but before mention was made of time measurement, it was said that they were for signs. A sign or symbol is used to teach something – like an object lesson. Have we ever seen where the sun, moon and stars are used as symbols to represent anything in scripture? The answer is yes! In a dream that God gave to Joseph, the sun, moon, and stars were used to represent the family – The sun represented Joseph's father, Jacob; the moon represented his mother, and the eleven stars represented his brothers:

“And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” (Gen. 37:9, 10).

Family in heaven and earth

But it is not only on earth that the family exists. The Bible also speaks of a family in heaven and tells us who is the head of that family – “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14, 15). God is the Father of Christ, and the whole family in heaven and earth is named after the Father.

Interestingly, even persons who are redeemed from the earth will have the name of Christ's Father written in their foreheads. Christ is shown as the Lamb of God and He was seen with persons redeemed from the earth, who were described as follows: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. . . And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” (Rev. 14:1).

In heaven, one person is seated on the throne, who is described as the One who created all things. Christ, the Lamb, came and took a book out of His hand. The beings in heaven worshipped Him that sat on the throne and Christ, the Lamb (Rev. 4:2, 3, 10, 11; 5:6, 7, 13). The point is that there is a family in heaven that is headed by the Father of Christ. Daniel the

prophet saw a similar picture with God seated on the throne – one person, whom he calls the “Ancient of Days”, and another person, like the Son of Man, was brought before Him to receive a kingdom with all the faithful subjects from this earth (Dan. 7:9, 10, 13, 14).

Further support

The following statements from the pen of Ellen G. White, regarding the situation in heaven, paints a similar picture as that which is described by the Apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, and by Daniel the prophet.

“I have often seen the lovely Jesus, that he is a person. I asked him if his Father was a person, and had a form like himself. Said Jesus, “I am in the express image of my Father's Person.” I have often seen that the spiritual view took away the glory of heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David, and the lovely person of Jesus had been burned up in the fire of spiritualism.” – Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2, pg. 74

“I saw the lovely Jesus, and beheld an expression of sympathy and sorrow upon his countenance. Soon I saw him approach the exceeding bright light which enshrouded the Father. Said my accompanying angel, He is in close converse with his Father. The anxiety of the angels seemed to be intense while Jesus was communing with his Father. Three times he was shut in by the glorious light about the Father, and the third time he came from the Father, his person could be seen.” – Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, pg. 23.

We know, as the inspired writer, Ellen G. White saw, that Jesus was visible to angels, and even to her in vision, both before and after Jesus' sojourn on earth. Jesus Christ is the express image of God, His Father. But the Father is not generally seen because of the glory or radiance that surrounds Him.

Sun, Moon, and Stars as object lessons

Could it be that the sun, moon, and stars are object lessons or illustrations of God, Christ, and angels? We know that angels are likened to stars (Rev. 1:20). We know also that Christ reflects the glory of the Father, in virtually a parallel to the moon reflecting the radiance of the sun. Could God have put these objects in the firmament of heaven to illustrate His very person, that of Christ and that of the angels?

Of course, no illustration should be mistaken for God Himself or be made to replace God. So, we should not worship the sun, moon, or stars; but could we see the sun as a representation of God's glory? We cannot look up at the sun with our naked eyes, but we can see the moon, which reflects the glory and radiance of the sun, just as we see Jesus, reflecting the glory of the Father. Likewise, the most glorious star is no comparison to the sun or the moon, as seen by the naked eyes. Accordingly, we worship the one true God from whom all blessings and glory flow, and we worship His only begotten Son who reflects His glory, but we do not worship anyone else. Food for thought.

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).

For further information, please visit Patience of the Saints at http://thecommandmentsofgodandthefaithofjesus.com/

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