I recently began to wonder if incense and the smoke of it could be symbolic of the Holy Spirit in some way. And I found out after doing some Google research that, although in the West the smoke of incense is seen as symbolizing the prayers of the saints that rise up to Heaven (Rev. 5:8; 8:3-4), it is common mainly in the Eastern Orthodox Churches (and Eastern Catholic, too?) to see censing the altar or censing the people as being symbolic of the grace of the Holy Spirit. So it's interesting that this symbolic connection between incense and the Holy Spirit came to my mind before I knew that this belief exists in the East.
The way I began to think about this is when I started to wonder who the kings from the East are that are mentioned in Rev 16:12. The three kings of the Epiphany of the Lord came to mind, and then I began to wonder if there was a connection. The idea that came to me is that the gospel of Matthew narrative of the three kings at the First Coming could perhaps prefigure these kings from the East which are described in the book of Revelation as being seen arriving at the Second Coming.
It would make sense that the kings from the East in the book of Revelation could be the Holy Trinity at Jesus's Second Coming since the drying up of the Euphrates is one of the signs of what is supposed to take place before the Second Coming. Also, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always together. And from the beginning of Christianity and for many centuries after cathedrals, both in the East and in the West, were built so that Christians would worship and pray facing the East because of the traditional belief that Jesus returns from the East at the Second Coming.
With the story of the three kings at the First Coming the gold, frankincense, and myrrh symbolize the three different major roles of Jesus in relation to us. The gold represents his Kingship, the frankincense his role as the High Priest, and the myrrh his mission of dying on the cross to atone for our sins. But I think these can also symbolize the persons of the Holy Trinity in relation to each other. The gold can symbolize the Father, the frankincense can symbolize the Holy Spirit, and the myrrh can symbolize Jesus.
I would be interested in hearing the point of view of the Eastern Orthodox on this.
The way I began to think about this is when I started to wonder who the kings from the East are that are mentioned in Rev 16:12. The three kings of the Epiphany of the Lord came to mind, and then I began to wonder if there was a connection. The idea that came to me is that the gospel of Matthew narrative of the three kings at the First Coming could perhaps prefigure these kings from the East which are described in the book of Revelation as being seen arriving at the Second Coming.
It would make sense that the kings from the East in the book of Revelation could be the Holy Trinity at Jesus's Second Coming since the drying up of the Euphrates is one of the signs of what is supposed to take place before the Second Coming. Also, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always together. And from the beginning of Christianity and for many centuries after cathedrals, both in the East and in the West, were built so that Christians would worship and pray facing the East because of the traditional belief that Jesus returns from the East at the Second Coming.
With the story of the three kings at the First Coming the gold, frankincense, and myrrh symbolize the three different major roles of Jesus in relation to us. The gold represents his Kingship, the frankincense his role as the High Priest, and the myrrh his mission of dying on the cross to atone for our sins. But I think these can also symbolize the persons of the Holy Trinity in relation to each other. The gold can symbolize the Father, the frankincense can symbolize the Holy Spirit, and the myrrh can symbolize Jesus.
I would be interested in hearing the point of view of the Eastern Orthodox on this.
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