"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son... And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by the word of His power."
Hebrews 1:1-3
"This was the true light, which, coming into the world enlightens every man."
John 1:9
"...whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."
2 Corinthians 3:16-18
Dictionary definitions of glory: Splendor, radiance, exalted honor, height of renown.
Glimpses on earth of His glory:
"And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger...
And in the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flocks by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people; for today in the city of David there has been born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord...' And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
'Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased.'"
Luke 2:7-11, 13, 14
The effect on the shepherds:
"And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying... 'Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing the Lord has made known to us.' And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger."
Luke 2:15, 16
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father (or as an only unique one), full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
The effect on John the Baptist:
"John bore witness of Him, and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is come before me.' For of His fullness we all received, grace for grace...
And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, "He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. (in, with, or by)" And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.'"
John 1:15, 16, 33, 34
Jesus' First Miracle
"...there was a wedding in Cana... and the wine gave out... His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it.'"
John 2:1, 5
The effect on His disciples:
"This beginning of His signs (or attesting miracles) Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him."
John 2:11
The Transfiguration
"...Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him... (Peter began speaking) and behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the clouds saying, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am will pleased; hear Him.'"
Matthew 17:1-5
The effect on Peter, James, and John:
"And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were much afraid. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, 'Arise, and do not be afraid.' And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone."
Matthew 17:6-8
Peter writes further of this experience in his Second Epistle:
"For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye witnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such as an utterance (Lit. voice) borne from heaven by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased' -- and we ourselves heard this utterance... when we were with Him on the holy mountain."
2 Peter 1:16-18
The further effect on them:
"And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which we do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
2 Peter 1:19-21
The Stoning of Stephen
"And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men... stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. And they put forward false witnesses... And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an Angel..."
Acts 6:8, 9, 12, 13, 15
"Now when they heard (the things he said), they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God; and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens open up and the Son of Man standing at right hand of God.'"
Acts 7:54-56
The effect on the crowd:
"But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears, and they rushed upon him with one impulse. And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him..."
Acts 7:57, 58
Old Testament Glimpses of God's Glory Moses:
"...Moses said, 'I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!' And (the Lord) said, 'I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you...' But He said, 'You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!' Then the Lord said, 'Behold, there is a place with Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.'"
Exodus 33:18-23
The effect on Moses:
"And it came about when Moses was coming down from Mt Sinai (and the two tablets of testimony were in Moses' hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of His face shown because of his speaking with Him."
Exodus 34:29
The effect on Aaron and the sons of Israel:
"So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him."
Exodus 34:30
Isaiah:
"...I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him... And one called out to another...
'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The fullness of the whole earth is His glory.'
And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple (Lit. house) was filling with smoke."
Isaiah 6:1-4
The effect on Isaiah was fourfold:
"Then I said,
'Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips...
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven (Lit. atoned for).'
Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send Me!' And He said, 'Go and tell this people...'"
Isaiah 6:5-9
"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen on you."
Isaiah 60:1