I AM the Bright Morning Star

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. – Revelation 22:16

Do you like to stargaze?

I do. Or planet gaze, in this case. Venus is our nearest neighbor, the second from the sun. As such, it will always be in the direction of the sun. It shines brightly due to its proximity to Earth and the reflectivity of its dense atmosphere.

That’s why, when Venus is visible, it’s right after sunset or right before dawn -the ancients called it the Morning Star. It meant hope, the herald of a new day.

On Day 4, God gave the sun, moon, stars, and planets for signs and seasons.

Morning Star evokes hope. Not a “hope against all odds” kind of hope. It’s the assurance that, at the end of it all, Jesus is there.

Jesus chooses to use this name in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, the Revelation–the Unveiling. Think about what John’s just witnessed. War, death famine. The sun becoming black and the moon becoming like blood. Kings crying out for rocks to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. A great star falling from heaven. Demon scorpions.

Jesus has just given John a revelation of the end of the age, the time of Jacob’s trouble. But he gives us the hope of his return. We will forever be with him. Our hope is in the bright Morning Star, the promise of a new day.