A Brief Meditation

Revelation 22:16

The Morning Star

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Revelation 22:16

The Morning Star

Richard Niell Donovan

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel
to testify these things to you for the assemblies (churches).
I am the root and the offspring of David;
the Bright and Morning Star”
(Revelation 22:16).

I had not understood this reference to Jesus as the bright and morning star until recently — in part because I am not an outdoorsman but an indoorsman, and had not really seen the bright and morning star.

A few years ago , we moved to a house located several miles outside of town —far enough that the sky is darker and clearer than when we lived in town. A bedroom window faces east, and the view in that direction is lovely enough and our location private enough that we leave that window undraped. When I awaken in the middle of the night, I see stars — tiny specks of light scattered across the sky. It takes a moment for my old, troubled, myopic eyes to focus, but then I see the stars — dim but visible.

But, if I awaken at the right time, about five o’clock these days, I see the bright and morning star arise in the east. They tell me that it isn’t really a star, but is the planet Venus. No matter the name, it dominates the eastern sky. While the stars are tiny specks of light, the morning star is like the landing light of a great airliner —a great, bright, megawatt lamp that shines as bright as all the other stars put together. It is a brilliant diamond on a black field, surrounded by specks of diamond dust.

I awakened at just the right moment this morning, and saw the morning star begin to emerge from behind the tall trees that are visible from our bedroom window. I closed my eyes for a moment, and reopened them to see that the star had moved in a few minutes well above the tree line. It continued to ascend, of course, and I was startled to see how far above the trees it rose in only half an hour. It was the only light in the sky —until I squinted a bit and saw the many specks of light around it.

Jesus says, “I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star”(Revelation 22:16). He is our great light.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible.

Copyright 2006, Richard Niell Donovan