Candles and Lights in Worship

Archelaus, Disputation with Manes Supporting witness

...ipture which has been our instructor. For the apostle addresses these words to us: "That you may be lights in this world, holding the word of life for my glory against the day of Christ, seeing that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." We ought to understand the force and meaning of this saying. For the word may suit the leader, but the effectual work suits the king. And accordingly, just as one who looks for the arrival of his king strives to present all who are under his charge as obedient, and ready, and estimable, and lovely, and faithful, and no less also as blameless, and abounding in all that is good, so that he himself may get commendation from the king, and be deemed by him worthy of greater honors, as one who has rightly governed the province entrusted to his administration, so also does the blessed Paul give us to understand our position when he uses these words: "That you may be as lights in this world, holding the word of life for my glory against the day of Christ." For the meaning of this saying is that our Lord Jesus Christ, when He comes, will see that His doctrine has proved profitable in us. And finding that he, the apostle, has not run in vain,

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

If, again, the Æons came from Logos, Logos from Nous, and Nous from Bythus, just as lights are kindled from a light—like torches from a torch—then they may differ in generation and size from each other; but since they share the same substance as the source of their creation, they must either all remain forever without suffering, or their Father Himself must experience suffering. For the torch that has been kindled afterwards cannot have a different kind of light from that which came before it. Therefore, when their lights come together as one, they return to the original identity because that one light is formed which has existed from the beginning. But we cannot say, regarding light itself, that one part is newer in origin and another older (since the whole is just one light); nor can we say this even about those torches that have received the light (for these are all contemporary regarding their material substance, as the substance of torches is one and the same), but we can simply speak about the timing of being kindled, since one was lit a little while ago and another has just now been kindled.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

...re in this flaw of ignorance—that is, will be ignorant of Himself; or, on the other hand, all those lights within the Pleroma will forever remain impassible. Where, then, does the passion of the youngest Æon come from if the light of the Father is that from which all other lights have been formed and is by nature impassible? And how can one Æon be described as either younger or older among them, since there is only one light in the entire Pleroma? And if anyone calls them stars, they will all still appear to share the same nature. For if “one star differs from another star in glory,” but not in qualities, nor substance, nor in being passible or impassible; then all these, being alike derived from the light of the Father, must either be naturally impassible and unchanging, or they must all, together with the light of the Father, be passible and capable of undergoing the varying stages of corruption.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

For three branches rose on either side of the lamp, and lights on them;

Hippolytus, Connection to Matthew 5:15 Supporting witness

it is as it were a light not set under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, proclaiming its message upon the housetops,

Tatian, The Diatessaron Supporting witness

Matthew 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Matthew 25:2 Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Matthew 25:3 The foolish ones took their lamps, but they did not take any oil with them. Matthew 25:4 But the wise ones took oil in their vessels along with their lamps. Matthew 25:5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. Matthew 25:6 But at midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming! Go out therefore to meet him. Matthew 25:7 Then all those virgins got up and prepared their lamps. Matthew 25:8 The foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out. Matthew 25:9 But the wise answered, Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. Matthew 25:10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Matthew 25:11 Afterward the other virgins also came and said, Our Lord, our Lord, open to us. Matthew 25:12 He answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Matt

Tatian, The Diatessaron Supporting witness

for our lamps are gone out. Matthew 25:9 But those wise answered and said, Perhaps there will not be enough for us and you: but go ye to 18 the sellers, and buy for yourselves.

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

Illuminated by the true light of the Gospel, shone upon with the Lord's pure and white brightness, they are as praiseworthy in maintaining the peace of Christ, as they have been victorious in their combat with the devil.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Typology

...is brought into the knowledge of the Ineffable, rising above every name that is known by sound. The lamp also was placed to the south of the altar of incense. By it, the movements of the seven planets were shown, as they make their revolutions toward the south. For three branches rose on each side of the lamp, with lights on them. This was because the sun, like the lamp, was set in the middle of all the planets, and with a kind of divine music it gives light to those above and to those below.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Typology

What of the candlestick, too, which had seven branches and seven lamps?

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

So those who understand that God is light, and who have apprehended that the Son of God is the true light which lights every man that comes into the world, and who comprehend also how He says, I am the light of the world, would not rationally offer worship to that which is, as it were, a spark in sun, moon, and stars, in comparison with God, who is light of the true light.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...der that heavenly light which we call the sun, they would at once see that God has no need of their candles, since He Himself has given such a clear and bright light for man's use. And when, in so small a circle, which because of its distance seems no larger than a human head, there is still so much brightness that a mortal eye cannot look at it, and if you fix your eye on it for a short time, mist and darkness spread over your dimmed eyes, then what light, I ask, what brightness, must we think there is in God, with whom there is no night? For He has so tempered even this light that it would not harm living creatures by too much brightness or violent heat, and He has given it only as much of these qualities as mortal bodies could endure or as the ripening of crops required. Should that man, then, be thought to be in his right mind, who offers the light of candles and torches to Him who is the Author and Giver of light? The light He requires from us is of another kind, and it is not mixed with smoke, but, as the poet says, clear and bright. I mean the light of the mind, because of which we are called by the poets photes. No one can show this light unless he has known God. But the

Tertullian, On Idolatry Supporting witness

...hew 5:16. But now all our shops and gates shine. These days, you will find more pagan doors without lamps and laurel wreaths than Christian ones. What are we to think about this kind of ceremony also? If it is an honor to an idol, then without doubt, honoring an idol is idolatry. If it is for the sake of a man, let us again consider that all idolatry is for the sake of man. Let us again consider that all idolatry is worship offered to men, since even their worshippers generally agree that the gods of the nations were once men. So it makes no difference whether that superstitious honor is given to men from an earlier time or from our own time. Idolatry is condemned, not because of the persons set up for worship, but because of its practices, which belong to demons. The things that are Caesar's are to be given to Caesar. It is enough that He added, "and to God the things that are God's." What things, then, are Caesar's? Clearly, the things being discussed at that time, whether the poll tax should be paid to Caesar or not. So the Lord asked for the coin to be shown to Him, and asked whose image was on it. When He heard that it was Caesar's, He said, "Render to Caesar the things tha

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

Then he adds, "Worship this God not as the Greeks." He is clearly showing that the better Greeks worshiped the same God that we do, but they had not learned through full knowledge what was delivered by the Son. So he did not say, "Do not worship the God whom the Greeks worship." He said, "not as the Greeks," changing the way God is worshiped, not announcing another God. What, then, does the phrase "not as the Greeks" mean? Peter himself explains it when he adds: "Since they are carried away by ignorance and do not know God"—that is, not as we do, according to full knowledge—"but they shape the things He gave them power to use—wood and stones, bronze and iron, gold and silver, matter—and they set up the things that are slaves for use and possession, and worship them." And what God gave them for food—the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the creeping things of the earth, and the wild animals along with the four-footed cattle of the field, weasels and mice, cats and dogs and apes, and their own proper food—they offer as sacrifices to mortals. And by offering dead things to the dead, as if to gods, they are unthankful to God, denying His existence by these actions. And that it is

Lactantius, On the Anger of God Supporting witness

...emple, which is defiled not by smoke or dust, but by evil thoughts, and which is lit not by burning lamps, but by the brightness and light of wisdom. And if we believe that God is always present in this temple, and that the secrets of the heart are open to His divinity, we will live in such a way as always to have Him favorable to us, and never to fear His anger.

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

that for the purpose of celebrating the celestial sacraments, light should borrow her discipline from darkness, and Christians should do that which antichrists do.

Irenaeus, Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenæus Supporting witness

For, “from the rising of the sun even to the setting my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice;” as John also declares in the Apocalypse: “The incense is the prayers of the saints.” Then again, Paul exhorts us “to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” And again, “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips.” Now those oblations are not according to the law, the handwriting of which the Lord took away from the midst by cancelling it;

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Background

Instead of the divine service confined to one place, He has commanded and appointed that He should be glorified from sunrising to sunsetting in every place of His dominion.

Luke 11:33 Direct teaching

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness

He used Himself to tell them that a candle was not usually pushed away under a bushel, but placed on a candlestick, in order to give light to all who are in the house.

Tatian, The Diatessaron Supporting witness

... you have spoken truly." The woman said to him, "My lord, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know, but we worship what we know, because salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, and when he has come, he will teach us everything." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Background

On the fourth day, the heavenly lights were made. This was because God, who knows all things beforehand, knew the foolish ideas of the empty philosophers. They were going to say that the things growing on the earth come from the heavenly bodies, and so leave God out. Therefore, so that the truth would be clear, the plants and seeds were produced before the heavenly bodies. What comes later cannot produce what came earlier. These things also contain the pattern and type of a great mystery. The sun is a type of God, and the moon is a type of man. And just as the sun greatly surpasses the moon in power and glory, so God greatly surpasses man. And just as the sun always remains full and never becomes less, so God always remains perfect, being full of all power, understanding, wisdom, immortality, and every good thing. But the moon decreases each month, and in a way dies, being a type of man. Then it is born again and becomes a crescent, as a pattern of the future resurrection. In the same way, the three days before the heavenly lights are types of the Trinity: God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, so that there may be God, the Word, wisd

Tertullian, De Corona Background

as neither was the ark of the testament, nor the tabernacle of witness, nor the altar, nor the candlestick crowned though certainly, both on that first solemnity of the dedication, and in that second rejoicing for the restoration, crowning would have been most suitable if it were worthy of God.

Origen, Letter to Gregory Background

These probably were made from the finest of the gold of the Egyptians, and from a second quality, perhaps, the solid golden candlestick which stood near the inner veil, and the lamps on it, and the golden table on which stood the showbread, and between these two the golden altar of incense.

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Background

...nd entered the sanctuary. He took all the treasures in the house of the Lord, along with the golden lampstand, the table, and the altar, and he carried out a great slaughter in the land, just as it is written: "And the sanctuary shall be trodden under foot, to evening and morning, one thousand and three hundred days." For it happened that the sanctuary remained desolate during that time, for three and a half years, so that the one thousand and three hundred days might be fulfilled. Then Judas Maccabaeus arose after the death of his father Matthias, stood against him, destroyed the camp of Antiochus, delivered the city, recovered the sanctuary, and restored it in strict agreement with the law.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Background

..., "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." And God saw that the light was good, clearly made good for man. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters," and it was so. And God made the firmament, and separated the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament. And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, "Let the water under heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so. And the waters were gathered together into their places, and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas, and God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed after its kind and in its likeness, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, in its likeness," and it was so

2 Maccabees 10:3 Background

And having cleansed the temple they made another altar, and striking stones they took fire out of them, and offered a sacrifice after two years, and set forth incense, and lights, and showbread.

2 Kings 4:10 Background

Let us now make for him an upper chamber, a small place; and let us put there for him a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall come to pass that when he comes in to us, he shall turn in thither.

Luke 4:2 Background

And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and its bowl upon it, and seven lamps upon it, and seven oil funnels to the lamps upon it:

Leviticus 24:4 Background

He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.

Exodus 39:37 Background

The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,

Numbers 8:2 Background

Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

1 Maccabees 4:50 Background

And upon the altar they burned incense, and the lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give light in the temple.

Exodus 30:27 Background

and all its furniture, and the candlestick and all its furniture, and the altar of incense,

Exodus 38:17 Background

And on the candlestick seven golden lamps, and its snuffers gold, and its funnels gold.

Exodus 31:9 Background

and the pure candlestick and all its furniture, and the laver and its base,

Numbers 8:3 Background

And Aaron did so: on one side opposite the candlestick he lighted its lamps, as the Lord appointed Moses.

Exodus 39:16 Background

And they made the anointing oil, and the incense of composition, and the pure candlestick,