Pillar of Fire (theophany)

A Pillar of Fire was one of the manifestations of the presence of the God of Israel in the Torah, the five books of Moses which appear at the beginning of the Old Testament Bible. According to Exodus, the pillar of fire provided light so that the Israelites could travel by night during the Exodus from Egypt (claimed to be the 18th Dynasty; see dating of the Exodus). The pillar of fire is traditionally paired with the manifestation of the divine presence by day as the Pillar of Cloud. This was so they "could travel by day or night". YHWH, the God of Bible, manifested himself in this pillar of fire or cloud in order to directly guide and comfort the Israelites while he rescued them from their Egyptian slavery. Throughout the Israelite's time in the desert, traveling from Egypt to Canaan (The Promised Land), YHWH continually used this pillar of fire and cloud to lead his people and remind them of his presence. When the pillar of God moved forward, the people of Israel would pack up their camp and follow behind it. Similarly, when the pillar of God's presence stopped, the Israelites would set up camp underneath it. The Tabernacle of the Lord would be set up directly underneath the cloud of the Lord. This way, God's presence was visibly in the center of the camp at all times. YHWH's holy and awesome manifestation in the cloud among the people would inspire a righteous fear as well as a blessed assurance of their safety and favor.

The visible light of God's presence with his people in the Old Testament prefigures his visible return and presence in the "new heaven and new earth" brought about at the end of time. The apostle John of the New Testament prophecies in the book of Revelation about a day when God will return to earth and "make all things new". A part of this new creative order, according to Revelation 21, is that there will be "no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light". The fear inspiring presence of the Israelite's God, YHWH, in the Old Testament through this pillar of cloud and fire was a limited foreshadowing of the intimate reunion between God's glory and his people that will come in the end of days. In Revelation 21:3, John hears YHWH speak as he brings his new creative order into reality saying, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."

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