The Bright Morning Star

The final chapter of the book of Revelation gives several descriptions of the Savior in opposite pairs.  He is “Alpha and Omega”, He is “the beginning and the end”, and He is “the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13).  All of these denote that He was from the start and will be through the end; He was our Savior from the beginning and will be through the end of man.  He also declared, “I am the root and offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16).  To be the root of David means He came before David, but to be his offspring means He came after Him. Jesus highlighted this seeming contradiction to the Pharisees: “Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” (Matt.22:41-45).  He is the literal offspring of David because Mary His mother descended from David, and therefore He is called the son of David.  But before David ever was, He was Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, and so He was Lord to David and a “root” who came before the Israelite king.  All of these descriptions emphasize the eternal nature of the Savior—His divinity and works transcend time as we know it on earth. 

Lastly. Jesus also described Himself as “the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16).  At first I thought again that He was juxtaposing two opposite things: a “morning star” and a “bright star”, but it appears that most translations render this without the “and” suggesting that He is a single “bright morning star.”  According to one commentary, “The ancients referred to the planet Venus as ‘the morning star’, ‘the evening star,’ and ‘the day star’” and it was “the harbinger of the new day” since it would appear in the east before sunrise.  This may suggest that Christ “brings in the new day or era, both millennial and celestial.”  In the letter to the Saints at Thyatira they were told that to those over overcome the Lord will “give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:28).  Since Christ is the “morning star” this may suggest that these faithful were promised the presence of the Savior to be with them.  The same commentary suggests, “To be given the morning star, therefore, could refer to receiving the Second Comforter” which is, according to Joseph Smith, to “have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time.”  This interpretation is supported by this statement of Peter: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).  Here Peter connected the “more sure word of prophecy” with the “day star,” a reference to Jesus Christ and which appears to be another name for “morning star.”  We know that “the more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy” which is the same as Second Comforter, one’s calling and election made sure (Doctrine and Covenants 131:5).  So the great blessing promised to the Saints who remain true is to have this morning star arise in their hearts, to have the presence of the Savior to be with them.

             The promise of Jesus as the bright morning star, signaling a coming dawn, is a fitting reminder on this day that kicks off a new year and new decade.  Christ is indeed the “harbinger of a new day”, “an high priest of good things to come”, the “hope of Israel” that promises a (Hebrews 9:11, Acts 28:20).  With faith in Christ we can always have hope in the future, knowing that in this life and in eternity great blessings await the faithful.  As the scriptures declare: “For since the beginning of the world have not men heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath any eye seen, O God, besides thee, how great things thou hast prepared for him that waiteth for thee” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:45).