The Eternal Fire of God's Glory

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 8:12 (Spoke 21, Cycle 2)

The name of the twenty-first letter literally denotes a tooth. This is the origin of its form – – in the ancient script. Its name, pronounced with like "sheen," has two sounds; a dot above left – – indicates the "s" sound made by forcing air over the sharp edge of the teeth, and a dot above right – – indicates the "sh" sound made by forcing air through the teeth. God established the name of Shin in the second clause of AV Psalm 112:10 which I present here as a whole so we can watch the thematic flow (AV Ps 112:10):

• [Resh] The wicked (rasha) shall see it, and be grieved;
• [Shin] he shall gnash with his teeth (shen), and melt away:
• [Tav] the desire (ta'avah) of the wicked shall perish.

Teeth frequently appear in Scripture as a natural symbol of things that bite, crush, and devour, as in Daniel's vision of the "dreadful and terrible" beast with "great iron teeth" that "devoured and brake in pieces" (Dan 7:7). This then links to another Shin KeyWord:

• AV Psalm 10:15 Break (shavar) thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

The KeyWord shavar plays an important role in one of the most significant Alphabetic KeyLinks found in the entire Bible, as discussed in He Keepeth All His Bones.

The great themes of the Twenty-First Spoke are based on the symbolic power of Shin which shines most clearly when combined with Aleph to form esh (fire). In its ultimate sense, this is the Fire of God's Glory that consumes and devours the wicked even as it purifies and enlightens the faithful. Shin carries this meaning into the KeyWord shemesh (sun) – the essence of fire and symbol of daylight – that shall reveal everyone's works in the Day of Judgment when we all shall see the face of Jesus Christ shining "like the sun" (Rev 1:16).

God has revealed His Light in His Word (BW book pg 51). He instructed us to teach it "diligently" (Deut 6:7), using the KeyWord shanan which literally means to sharpen. This is the root of shen (tooth) since teeth are sharp. In its literal sense, shanan speaks of whetting the edge of a sword or tip of an arrow, and is used figuratively for the honing the intellect. God amplified these ideas in the second clause of AV Psalm 111:10 with the KeyWord sekel that denotes a sharp mind (AV Ps 111:10):

• [Resh] The fear of the LORD is the beginning (reshith) of wisdom:
• [Shin] A good understanding (sekel) have all they that do his commandments.
• [Tav] his praise (tehillah) endureth for ever.

The thematic flow of this threefold passage contrasts the destiny of the faithful with that of the wicked outlined in AV Psalm 112:10 above. It shows how differently God's Light impacts the saints as compared to unrepentant sinners. This is a primary theme of John's Gospel:

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 3:20f (Spoke 21, Cycle 2)

The KeyWord sekel describes Daniel and his friends after "God gave them knowledge and skill (sekel) in all learning and wisdom" (Dan 1:17). It also describes the "wise" who shall "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" in the Day of Judgment (Dan 12:3). It is one of the many Hebrew roots that are strikingly similar to English words of the same meaning, having the same consonants in the same order. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament contrasts its root verb sakal with the Bet KeyWord bin:

In many instances sakal is synonymous with bin, but there is a fine distinction. While bin indicates "distinguishing between" [Spoke 2, BW book pg 144], sakal relates to an intelligent knowledge of the reason. There is the process of thinking through a complex arrangement of thoughts resulting in a wise dealing and use of good practical common sense.

Bin relates to analysis; sakal to synthesis and comprehension. It is the light of understanding that dawns as all the puzzle-pieces fall into place and the image of the whole is seen, which should be happening now in the reader as we approach the Final Spoke.

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