The purpose of the Loge window at the back of our sanctuary is to portray God's plan of salvation, beginning with the call of Abraham and ending witht he Church Triumphant. The persons in the bottom row represent the Old Testament dispensation or period.
The story begins with (1) Abraham, whom God called to leave his home and become the
ancestor of His chosen people (Gen. 12:1-3). The symbol identifying him is a knife which
emphasized his faith, strong enough to be willing to sacrifice his son (Gen. 22:1-18). (2) Moses
represents the law which God gave him on Mt. Sinai. His symbol is the two "tables of stone"
The other four men are "major prophets": (3) Isaiah, whose symbol is a saw because according to
tradition he died by being "sawn asunder" (Heb. 11:37);(4) Daniel, whose symbol
is the lion on his shield (Dan. 6:10-23);(5) Ezekiel, whose symbol is the temple
gates or pillars (Ez. 41); and (6) Jeremiah, whose symbol is a tower-dungeion
because he spent much of his life in prison (Jer. 32 ff). The persons above the Old Testament row represent the New Testament dispensation: (7) Peter,
the chief of the apostles, whose symbol is "the keys of the kingdom" (Matt. 16:19); (8) Paul,
the great missionary, whose symbol is a two-edged sword because Paul spoke of "the sword of the Spirit",
which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17); and the four "Evangelists" (the writers of the four gospels), each
portrayed with a book and a quill pen: (9) Matthew, whose symbol is the head of a man;
(10) Mark, whose symbol is the head of a lion; (11) Luke, whose symbol
is the head of an ox; and (12) John, whose symbol is the head of an eagle. Above these are (13) Abel, the first Old Testament martyr, (Gen. 4) whoses symbol is a shepherd's
staff, and (14) Stephen, the first New Testament martyr, whose symbol is an apron
filled with loaves of bread because he was one of the deacons elected to feed the poor (Acts 6:5 and 7:57-60).
The artist said that he put these two persons in the window to indicate the God's plan of salvation includes
martyrdom for some. The climax of the picture story is portrayed by (15) "John the Baptizer", the forerunner
of Christ, who is pointing to Jesus as "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) and
(16) Christ, portrayed symbollically as Prophet (Luke 7:16 and Acts 3:22), Priest (Heb. 4:14-15)
and (9:11-12) and King (Matt. 21:5 and John 18:33-37). His three "offices" are indicated by the robe of a prophet, the
breastplate or "ephod" of the high priest, set with precious jewels, and a crown. In his left hand he holds a sphere,
representing the earth, with a cross mounted upon it to indicate that the cross triumphs over the world
(John 12:31-32) and his right hand is portrayed in the act of blessing (Luke 24:50). Because God's plan of salvation ends with "the church triumphant" in heaven, the window includes
representations of the four archangels: (17) Gabriel, (18) Michael, (19) Raphael, and
(20) Uriel. Above these are the Seraphs (21 and 22) referred to in
Isaiah 6:2. The two heads on each side (23 to 26) Mr. Wright called "cherubs" who represent the
angelic host of heaven. The Greek letters (27 and 28) are Alpha and Omega,
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, to remind us of the words of the Heavenly Christ in
Rev. 1:8, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending".
[ Home | Stained Glass Windows ]