I’ve tried to imagine the brightness of heaven, but somewhere along the way my imagination simply runs out of road.
John writes, “The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Revelation 21:23).
I’ve read those words many times, but recently one little phrase quietly captured my attention:
“No need of the sun.”
That almost seems beyond comprehension.
The sun is nearly ninety-three million miles away, yet every morning it pushes back the darkness across an entire world. It warms the earth, sustains every living thing, paints mountains with gold, and fills the skies with colors that leave us speechless. Every harvest, every forest, every flower, every sunrise owes its existence to the light God placed in the heavens on the fourth day of Creation.
Yet John says there is coming a day when the city of God will have no need of it.
Then I remembered that John was not the first to see this.
More than seven hundred years before Revelation was written, Isaiah looked far beyond his own day and recorded these remarkable words: “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory” (Isaiah 60:19).
John wasn’t introducing a new promise. He was witnessing its fulfillment.
I find that profoundly moving.
The same God who once said, “Let there be light,” now fills the New Jerusalem with His own glory. His presence becomes its everlasting illumination. The glory that once appeared in the pillar of fire, filled the tabernacle, rested upon the mercy seat, and shone from the face of Christ now permeates the entire city.
The Bible uses light as one of its richest pictures of God’s character. Light reveals. Light guides. Light gives life. It speaks of truth, holiness, purity, wisdom, and the very presence of God. When John says the glory of God lights the city, he is describing far more than extraordinary brightness. He is describing a place where God’s character fills every corner of existence.
Imagine living where truth is never questioned because every heart delights in it. Imagine a world where holiness is as natural as breathing, where every relationship reflects perfect love, where every thought is pure, and every word is trustworthy. John is giving us a glimpse of a creation where nothing obscures the beauty of God’s character because His presence is its constant light.
I think that’s why Isaiah continued by saying, “The LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended” (Isaiah 60:20).
Those two promises belong together.
Where God’s presence fills everything, sorrow has nowhere to remain. The same glory that illuminates the city also dries every tear. John would later record those words as well: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4).
Perhaps that is why heaven captures the heart so deeply. We long for beauty, peace, and joy because they all find their source in the same place—the presence of Christ.
One day, by God’s grace, we will walk those streets ourselves. I doubt our first thought will be about the absence of the sun. Every eye will be drawn to the Lamb, and every heart will know, without anyone needing to explain it, that every sunrise we ever admired was quietly preparing us for this moment.
It was teaching us that beyond every dawn we have ever seen stands the One from whom all light has always come.
The Light no sun can match.
If this Fireside Chat warmed your spirit and sparked fresh resolve to live what you believe, fan that flame with Scripture—“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). Pull a little closer to the Light, and carry it into the week ahead.
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Star for the Journey 
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