Torches are an emblem of the Passion and the Betrayal. They were carried by troops, led by Judas Iscariot, as they came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gesemane (John 18:3). Leo the Great, commenting on the Betrayal, describes Judas as being "inflamed with the torch of greed" and so "ablaze to gain 30 pieces of silver" that he did not see the riches of Christ which he forfeited (Leo the Great: Letters & Sermons, Sermon 67).
In Nativity scenes a burning torch may be used as a symbol for Christ, the Light of the World (John 9:5; 13:46). His holy light shines in the dark world of sin and ignorance, bringing us hope and the knowledge of a loving God. In this context He was especially a light unto the Gentiles (Is 42:6; 49:6; Lk 2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:23). Torches are emblems of enlightenment, truth, and divine wisdom - all of which are exemplified in Christ. St. John Chrysostom wrote that John the Baptizer was a torch because "he had not light of himself, but by the grace of the Spirit" whereas Jesus was the "Sun of righteousness" (The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Homily 40).
There are a few apocryphal accounts of Christ appearing as a young man or a boy bearing a blazing torch. The Acts of the Holy Apostle Thomas record that after Thomas had baptized a group of young believers, a young man appeared to them carrying a torch which burned so brightly that their own lamps appeared dark by comparison. Thomas is reported to have responded to this appearance by saying, "Thy light, Lord, is too great for us, & we cannot bear it; for it is too much for our sight" (Apocrypha of the N. T. , Acts of the Holy Apostle Thomas When He Came Into India). In another story, "the Lord Jesus Christ, having come in the likeness of a most beautiful boy, holding a torch of fire, ran to meet" ten soldiers sent by a king to tear St. Matthew and his companion to pieces (Apocrypha of the N. T., Acts & Martyrdom of St. Matthew the Apostle). This beautiful boy then burnt out the soldiers' eyes.
The Word of God is a torch as it cuts through the darkness - it has the power to illuminate and to burn. As a torch, God is able to light up every corner and see all things. Fiery torches represent God's zeal for His people: to fulfill His covenants with them, to cleanse them, to save them from their enemies, and to judge the world. His unapproachable holiness is also represented by His appearance as a flaming torch. When He cut the Abrahamic Covenant with Abram, God appeared as a smoking oven and a burning torch which passed between the pieces of the animals Abram had sacrificed (Gen 15:5-18). Seven torches symbolize the seven spirits of God (Rev 4:5).
The power of a torch to light another fire, without its own flame being lessened, has been used as a metaphor for the undiminished saintliness of the person whose life is a witness for Christ, setting the hearts of those around her ablaze with holiness (Select Writings of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Ascetic & Moral, On Virginity, Chapt. 24). This aspect of the flaming torch is also used by Tatian to demonstrate that the Logos (Creative Word or Jesus) of God the Father remains undiminished although its power goes out into the world (Tatian, Address to the Greeks, Chapt. 5: The Doctrine of the Christians As to the Creation of the World; see also Gen 1; John 1:1-4, 14). St. Gregory Nazianzen used the image of three burning torches held closely together to explain the concept of the Trinity. He wrote, "When I contemplate the Three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the Undivided Light" (Select Orations of St. Gregory Nazianzen, The Orations on the Holy Lights & on Holy Baptism).
Burning torches are attributes of various saints who were martyred by burning. Before St. Dominic's birth, his mother dreamt that she gave birth to a dog bearing a torch with which to set the world afire. During his life, St. Dominic would institute the popular devotion known as the rosary, fight the Albigensian heresy, and found the Dominican Order (often called the "domini canes" or the "dogs of the Lord"). A dog carrying a flaming torch is one of his attributes and represents his zeal for spreading the Gospel.
Torches are important attributes of many characters in world mythology including: Eros, Venus, Hypnos, Pax, Anteros, Mithras, Comus, the Furies, Hecate, Hymen, Hephaestos, Vulcan, Phosphoros, Aurora. Bacchants, Bellona, Amor, Artemis, and Iaachus. Hecuba also dreamt she gave birth to a flaming torch (Lib 3.12.5). Sacred fires were important to worshipers in the ancient world. Plutarch reports that Euchidas carried a torch all the way from Delphi to Plataea so that the sacred flames there might be reignited with holy fire. Having run all the way, Euchidas died of exhaustion after completing his mission (Plut. 17.20). When Hercules came against the nine-headed Hydra of Lerna, he found that each time he cut off one of the Hydra's heads two new heads grew up in its place. Using a torch, he was able to burn off the beast's heads and make an end of it (Bulfinch's Mythology). Worshipers of Ceres (Demeter) imitated her torchlit search for her daughter Persephone. When their honorary Persephone was found at the end of the evening, they threw their torches in celebration (Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes; Arnobius, The Seven Books of Arnobius, Book 5). Shortly after Althaea gave birth to Meleager, she beheld the fates who announced that her son's life would end as soon as a certain piece of wood, then burning upon her hearth, had been entirely consumed. The frantic mother removed the stick from the fire and kept it safe for many years. However, when Meleager grew to manhood, he killed his uncles in a rage. Overcome with a desire to avenge the deaths of her brothers, Althaea took the wood and burned it, knowing that her son died with it (Bulfinch's Mythology).
Torches are used to symbolize life and death. Burning torches which are held upright represent life, spring, morning, and the rising sun. Extinguished torches or those held upsidedown indicate death, darkness, evening, and the setting sun. Lifeless or extinguished torches (sometimes held by cupids) may be found on tombstones indicating that the life has gone out of the deceased. In ancient times it was the custom for victors to gather the armor of the conquered after a battle and burn it as a sacrifice to the gods who led them to victory. Therefore a blazing torch held to a pile of armor became a symbol of peace in the ancient world (Clarke's Commentary, Is 9:5).
During battle, torches not only provided much-need light, but were also fearful agents of destruction (Edersheim, Bible History, O.T., v. 3, Chapt. 18). Nahum warned the Ninevites that chariots armed with "flaming torches" to set all about them afire, and spears would attack their city because of the wrath of the Lord. The swiftness of fire (symbolized by torches and lightning) was also used to describe the speed of Nineveh's attackers as they careened through the streets (Nahum 2:3-4). Each member of Gideon's small army carried a trumpet and a torch hidden under a pitcher as they surrounded the Midianite camp. Then, at Gideon's signal they blew the trumpets, cried out, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon," and broke the pitchers so that the torches blazed forth making it appear that a great multitude had surrounded the camp (Judges 7:16, 20-21). The Midanite soldiers abandoned the camp and ran for their lives. The Lord promised that in the day He came to deliver Judah, He would make Judah's leaders like a "fiery torch in the sheaves"; able to devour all those who come against her (Zec 12:6). To vex his father-in-law, Samson divided 300 foxes into pairs, tied torches to them and set them loose in the fields, vineyards, and olive groves of the Philistines so that all of the crops were ruined (Judg 15:2-6). Chemosh, the Moabite god of war, was pictured with the ancient weapons of war including, a sword, a spear, a lance, and burning torches. In Revelations, a large star called Wormwood falls from heaven "burning like a torch" and pollutes a third of earth's waters (Rev 8:11).
Torches were carried in all kinds of processions both to provide necessary illumination and to signify various concepts. Wedding torches are a male fertility symbol. Israelites may have imitated the Roman custom of bringing the bride to her husband's home in a torchlit procession (Clarke's Commentary, Song of Solomon 5:5; Mt 25:1). In baptismal processions, torches or candles symbolized the spiritual marriage of the newly baptized with Christ, and the "enlightenment of faith" (Early Church Fathers - The Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril, Introduction). In funerary and initiation rites, torches were used to guide the dead or the candidates along unfamiliar paths either to the Underworld or to their new place in society. Torches are also a symbol of awakening. The Olympic torch is still carried in a relay today to announce the start of the Olympic Games. The custom of passing torches in relays is responsible for the use of the familiar phrase "the torch is passed" to indicate that a job or responsibility has been passed on to a new generation.
Heavenly beings were believed to be "clothed in light" (Bible Knowledge Commentary, Dan 10:6-13). Therefore Ezekiel's living creatures were bright and moved quickly like burning torches or lightning and Daniel's heavenly visitor (thought to be Gabriel) had "eyes like torches of fire" (Ezek 1:13-14; Dan 10:6-13).
In Jerusalem torches were carried by the Captain of the Temple Guard as he made his rounds. If he caught any of the temple guards sleeping, he set the culprit's clothes on fire (Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Life).
Burning torches are symbols of zeal, passion, rage, enthusiasm, destruction, enlightenment, the living spirit, immortality, truth, purification, intelligence, love, illumination, hope, the cauterization of wounds, and cleansing by fire. They are an emblem of the witnesses of Christ who let their good works shine before men like a light drawing them to the Father (Mt. 5:16).
Except where otherwise indicated all scripture quotes are from the NKJV.
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© 1997 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "The Weapons of Christ - Torch." ChristStory
Christian Bestiary. 1997. http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/torch.htm
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