Celestial glory

“ When we are in the cosmic state the entire world is clothed with the sun; the waters of the deep reflect the radiant glory of celestial kingdoms, and the mountains proclaim the majesty and the power of the life that is lived on the heights. ”

“ In the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, He will be seen with all His angels. The mortal Saints yet on the earth will be instantly changed and caught up to meet Him. The holy cities will be lifted up. Then the elements will melt with fervent heat. The earth will die as all things must, and be resurrected in perfection and glory, to be a fit abode, eternally, for celestial beings. All things will become new; all things will become celestial, and the earth will take its place among the self-shining stars of heaven. ”

“ Some may attain to a celestial glory, of which the sun is typical; others be as telestial beings, the glory of which is compared with the stars, as they appear to our sight; and these two classes may differ as widely from each other as the stars differ from the sun in glory, as seen by man. ”

“ The same elements, constituting the earth, and the atmosphere will be brought together again, in such a manner and way, that the new earth will look like unto a sea of glass, and those who are worthy of the celestial glory will inhabit it forever. What will be the condition of the people who dwell upon that glorious celestial world? ”

“ I have quoted before a great sentence in which he explains his purpose, and makes excuse for his temerity. ‘The glory, doubtless, of the heavenly bodies fills us with more delight than the contemplation of these lowly things; for the sun and stars are born not, neither do they decay, but are eternal and divine. But the heavens are high and afar off, and of celestial things the knowledge that our senses give us is scanty and dim. ”

“ Simply from our total lack of knowledge of the glory of that heaven upon which we all hope to enter. 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the imagination of man to conceive' the glory of God, the splendor, the magnificence, the supernal beauty of the Celestial. We know indeed that we shall enter upon a world whose immensity, whose sublimity, whose awful beauty shall far surpass the experience of man ”

“ There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
⁠To me did seem
⁠Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
⁠Turn wheresoe'er I may,
⁠By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
⁠The Rainbow comes and goes,
⁠And lovely is the Rose,
⁠The Moon doth with delight
⁠Look round her when the heavens are bare;
⁠Waters on a starry night
⁠Are beautiful and fair;
⁠The sunshine is a glorious birth;
⁠But yet I know, where'er I go,
That there hath pass'd away a glory from the earth. ”

“ Surely the STAR has stood forth as a beacon on a hill, as a lonely lamp amid surrounding darkness, to light the weary pilgrim on his toilsome journey, and to kindle up the dawn of a day of glory when the effulgent beams of the sun of righteousness shall shine forth as the morning, and dispel the misty vapors which, like a gloomy cloud, have for ages hovered over the pathway of mortals. ”

“ The wonders of the heavens were among the primary subjects of human thought. The rising and setting of the sun, and his splendid way through the sky; the milder beauty of the moon; the marshalled hosts of the stars aroused the admiration, interest, even worship, of the earliest representatives of our race. Men concluded that the heavenly bodies were gods or men, who for great deeds had been taken to shine in deathless glory in the skies. With enlarging ideas they understood that the stars are worlds, but they had no means of determining how large or how distant they might be. ”

“ All shapes of evil and visions of terror vanished;—and as the morning broke, the Angel of the Light, alone and victorious, with snowy wings widespread, and fair face bright with God’s own eternal splendour, lifted the King’s Crown in both radiant hands towards Heaven, to meet the rays of the rising sun and the full golden glory of the Day! ”

“ The glowing star fell with the swiftness of a sunbeam when it flashes over the horizon in the morning and its first rays shoot across the world. The Splendor became clearer and grew larger; presently I beheld the cloud of glory in which the angels move—a shining vapor that emanates from their divine substance, and that glitters here and there like tongues of flame. A noble face, whose glory none may endure that have not won the mantle, the laurel, and the palm—the attribute of the Powers—rose above this cloud as white and pure as snow. ”

“ All that portion of the heavens seemed a mass of shining gold, rubies, and sapphires, with a wondrous light streaming over them, broadening, brightening, and deepening, then fading away, to flash forth again in greater beauty and glory, while, as if to enhance the magnificence of this illumination, many falling stars shot across it, leaving in their train sparkles of light, more brilliant even than the glory that blazed beyond. ”

“ By “heaven” is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as when the hour draweth nigh on which the Day-star of the heaven of justice shall be made manifest, and the Ark of divine guidance shall sail upon the sea of glory, a star will appear in the heaven, heralding unto its people the advent of that most great light. In like manner, in the invisible heaven a star shall be made manifest who, unto the peoples of the earth, shall act as a harbinger of the break of that true and exalted Morn. ”

“ It is there, in these bright orbs, with their vision and powers spiritualized, quickened and intensified, that all perfected spirits shall look out into space, with increasing wonder, upon the birth and decay of worlds, the evolution and devolution of planets and systems and constellations, and shall watch the continuation and working out of that grand and glorious plan, which alone finds its perfection and its ultimate fulfilment in the wisdom, and power, and glory of the Eternal Spirit of the Living God. ”

“ The beam of the dawn is risen, and there shall again be times and seasons, and the Being of the majesty of God is made manifest in form. From the dust of the earth is the earth made again, and of the beams of His glory shall He make new stars. ”

“ In the heavens, the Sun and Moon are, by interpreters of dreams, put for the persons of Kings and Queens; but in sacred Prophecy, which regards not single persons, the Sun is put for the whole species and race of Kings, in the kingdom or kingdoms of the world politic, shining with regal power and glory; the Moon for the body of the common people, considered as the King's wife; the Stars for subordinate Princes and great men, or for Bishops and Rulers of the people of God, when the Sun is Christ; light for the glory, truth, and knowledge, wherewith great and good men shine and illuminate others ”

“ I close my eyes for a moment; the scene has changed for another of seemingly greater beauty. In truth, if one were to catch the glowing heavens at each instant now passing, his varied views would number thousands in one hour. Who but God could conceive such infinite scenes of glory? Who but God execute them, painting the heavens in such gorgeous display?"
At another time the aurora presented a new phase, rays shooting athwart the south-western sky parallel with the horizon. ”

“ It is evident, that the Celestial Light of the Sun is of a fiery Quality and Essence, given unto it by a Celestial, fixt and permanent sulphurous Spirit, by the most High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, to preserve its substance, form, and body; which Creature, by its swift motion and course, is enflamed and kindled by the Air through that swiftness in a continued manifestation of it ”

“ We in our time as we gaze with unaided eye up at the mighty disk of the so called Milky Way, no longer regard the scintillating points glittering like diamonds in a jeweler's show-case, with feelings of awe, but the wonder is still upon us, wonder at the immensity of the works of Him who built the earth and sky, who, "throned in height sublime, sits amid the cherubim," King of the Universe, King of kings and Lord of lords. With a deep faith we look up and adore, then reverently exclaim,—"Lord, God! wonderful are the works of Thy Hands." ”

“ Then the deities, bowing down unto the bearer of the conch, discus and mace, as formerly, began to govern the celestial regions. And then the glad-rayed Sun began to course in his own path; and, O best of ascetics, the luminaries also gyrated in their own orbits. And then the reverend Fire, crowned with a fair splendour, began to burn brightly. And, all creatures felt a regard for righteousness. And, O foremost of anchorets, the triune world was furnished with grace; and that chief of the celestials—Sakra—again waxed graceful. ”

“ After the lapse of a day of the Lord-a {33} thousand of our years-the rest of the dead will come forth, some in the terrestrial glory, typified by the moon, and others in the telestial glory, typified by the stars in their different magnitudes, the rest in a kingdom not of any degree of glory. All will be judged according to their works. ”

“ For God long since set signs of their beauty in heaven, and of His glory in the sun. They say there is but one heaven, and that the planets move and rise of themselves when they approach the sun or are in conjunction with it. ”

“ Speak, ye who best can tell, ye Sons of Light, Angels—for ye behold Him, and with songs And chloral symphonies, day without night, Circle His throne rejoicing—ye in Heaven; On Earth join, all ye creatures, to extol Him first, Him last, Him midst, and without end. Fairest of Stars, last in the train of Night, If better than belong not to the Dawn, Sure pledge of Day, that crown'st the smiling morn With thy bright circlet, praise Him in thy sphere While day arises, that sweet hour of prime. Thou Sun, of this great World both eye and soul, Acknowledge Him thy greater ”

“ The joy of Jupiter, The exaltation of the Dragon's head, The sun's triplicity and glorious Day house on high, the moon's dim detriment, And all the starry inclusions of all signs, Shall rise, and rule, and pass, and no one know That there are spirit rulers of all worlds, Which fraternize with earth, and, though unknown, Hold in the shining voices of the stars Communion on high and everywhere. ”

“ As the sun is the greatest visible glory in the natural world, so it is selected by the pen of Divine inspiration as the brightest emblem of the Supreme Being—“The Lord God is a sun.” This great luminary has been considered by the Heathen as the representative of the Deity, and as such received religious adoration. ”

“ If our finite minds were more capable of comprehension, what a glorious view of the grandeur of the Deity would be displayed to us in the contemplation of the centre and source of light and heat to the solar system. ”

“ throned afar, Thy glory flames from sun and star, Centre and soul of every sphere, Yet to each loving heart how near! Sun of our life, thy quickening ray Sheds on our path the glow of day; Star of our hope, thy softened light Cheers the long watches of the night. ”

“ The world’s great Light, once resplendent upon all mankind, has set to shine everlastingly from the Abhá horizon, His Kingdom of fadeless glory, shedding splendor upon His loved ones from on high, and breathing into their hearts and souls the breath of eternal life. ”

“ The worship of the sun, moon, and stars, was the most ancient, most general, and most plausible idolatry. They made to themselves the star of their God, some particular star which they took to be their god, or the name of which they gave to their god. ”

“ Heaven opened wide Her ever-during gates, harmonious sound On golden hinges moving, to let forth The King of Glory, in his powerful Word And Spirit, coming to create new worlds. ”

“ The spirit of God moved over empty space, and we separated light from darkness; we appointed hours and times, days and nights, years and winters and everlasting summer. We built a star-lit throne for the King of heaven; yea, God did nothing except in my far-seeing presence. Together we weighed the lightness of the air and the gravity of the earth; we hung the ponderous sphere of earth in the thin air and strengthened the firmament of heaven with mighty forces. We commanded the blazing sun to adorn the brow of day with shining beams ”