Christians throughout the centuries have...
Illustration
Christians throughout the centuries have been bold to depict Jesus in art as the "ruler of the cosmos," the "fair and balanced judge of all," the "judge of the living and the dead." To convey this visually, the artist positioned a sitting Christ upon a rainbow that stretched across the canvas over the earth. In other portraits, Jesus is sitting on the rainbow with a sword extending out of his left ear and a lily out of his right ear. The sword represented judgment and the lily, mercy. In a wood carving, Jesus sits upon the curve of the universe with a huge book resting on his left leg and a huge key held in his right hand, no doubt the "Book of Life" and the "Key of Death and Hades." For his footstool, there is a huge honeycomb. Saint Bernard summarizes the symbolism of the scene by writing: "Christ is my bee. He comes not to sting, but to bring me honey." What a gracious judge of the living and the dead!
