Divine Light and the Clouds of Mystery

They sent up smoke, which is consumed by the coming wrath, making coals. Coals were kindled from it. These coals signify, on the one hand, punishments, and on the other hand, the piercing, hot words of God that purify the thoughts of the soul.

Punishments are signified in: 'If your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink; for so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head' (Rom 12:20). And in: 'Coals of fire shall fall upon them, and you shall cast them down; they shall not help you' (Isa 51:6). The piercing word is shown in Isaiah: 'And he was sent among the seraphim.' Thus, prepared for the virtue of the soul, it warms and fires the thoughts to show them bright and splendid, but it will consume the deeds of sinners while purifying them; those not receiving this fire will be consumed by the eternal fire.

The phrase 'He inclined the heavens and came down' (Ps 18:10) follows the word concerning the economy and the descent. Since the Savior is said to dwell in the heavens, having become man, he changes his dwelling; for he became lowly and walked among men on earth. He dwells in the heavens not locally, nor does he descend transitively (for these are things pertaining to bodies), but according to the saying 'he dwells in the heavens.' For existing in the form of God, having taken the form of a servant, he descended, without any local change occurring to him.

And 'He rode upon the cherubim and flew' (Ps 18:10). The cherubim are understood as a voice for a multitude of knowledge; there is much knowledge there, but more ungraspable. One ascending from there flies through an elevated and ethereal intellect. It should not be thought that the name signifies the fullness of knowledge possessed by immortal animals. And God, having ascended upon these rational animals, flies through sharp intellect.

'He spread himself upon the wings of the winds' (Ps 134:1). If the saying is taken regarding the sensible winds, it means God, according to His providential word, mounting the wings of the winds, that is, by their lifting up as He Himself wills; for 'He draws out the winds from His treasuries' (Job 37:9). But if one were to take the winds as those blowing like judgments, lifting up wise men being moved by the spirit,

God rides upon the wings of these, which are higher and more lofty thoughts. There are winds of teaching, as the Apostle Paul says regarding heretics, speaking of every wind of teaching in the cunning of men, in craftiness toward the method of error. But not as false teachers are the winds upon whose wings the wandering spirits of the people ride; rather, God, riding upon the wings of every wind of true teaching, blows where He wills. And this is to be spread upon the wings of winds.

Previously and truly, the God who dwells is unapproachable light, the Son who is true light, and the Holy Spirit who is the possession of knowledge and wisdom, just as of this light it is said, 'And the light is with Him' (John 1:14). Secondly, by reason of the incomprehensibility concerning His essence, it is said that His hiddenness is called darkness. For that which is indistinct and incomprehensible because of the depth of the matter is called darkness. In this way, it is said that He perceives a parable and a dark speech; and God, uncovering the deeps out of darkness, makes manifest and clear those things hidden under indistinctness and difficulty of comprehension.

His tabernacle is around Him. Just as he who is contained under a tabernacle cannot be seen unless he has entered into it, so also the God surrounded by indistinctness and difficulty of comprehension cannot be seen unless one has entered into the interior of the covering of that difficulty. Immediately, regarding Moses, it is said how he entered into the cloud where God was (Exodus 19:9). For having understood the thought, the creation, and the providence concerning God, he knew that God is contained by these; thus, having slightly passed through this tabernacle concerning Him, he might behold from the image (which is not the image) the one according to the image, and from the creation and providence, the Creator and Provider.

In many places of the Scripture, we find clouds being carried allegorically. For he who said 'the vineyard of Israel,' speaking of clouds receiving commands not to rain upon it, we find no others but the prophets. It is not only with them that 'Thus says the Lord' and 'The word of the Lord came to me' are found; until these clouds, the truth shines. For these clouds are souls.