The moment of truth is ever-present, timelessly initiating us into purification and illumination, timelessly deifying us in Christ’s glorification. The moment of truth is death, death overcoming death by death, baptising us into Christ’s resurrection and ascension, raising us into his glory. The mystery of Christ’s glory is revealed in his death, for it is the cross that unveils the Lord of glory. Christ’s body of flesh dies on the Cross but his body of light rises on the third day, raising his body of glory which glorifies sinners by transforming them into saints. To crucify the Lord of glory is to pervert the moment of truth into a nest of lies, inverting Christ into antichrist. To rise in Christ into his resurrection is to invert this satanic inversion, restoring glory to the Father through the Son. The mystery of Christ is hidden at the heart of the moment of truth until revealed in the Spirit by the Father of glory, glorifying Christ for the salvation and glorification of all. Truth’s presence is at once timeless and eschatological, timelessly present as a renewing and transfiguring presence, and an eschatological realm of transfiguring glory. The moment of truth is mysteriously ever-present, revealing the uncreated presence of eschatological glory.
The Beloved Disciple recognised the Lord before the empty tomb and beside the Sea of Galilee (John 20: 15-18; 21: 7), beholding his death in the light of the glory of his resurrection, opening the fleeting moment of presence into the timeless presence of truth. When the Seraph’s burning coal touched the lips of the prophet, his guilt was released and his sins forgiven (Isaiah 6:1-12). The moment of truth is a burning coal revealing the Lord of glory whom we crucified, not only as the victim of our violence but also as victor over our violence, who freely gave himself up to death for the life of the whole world. To repeat, Christ is not only the victim of our violence but the victor who overcomes our violence, unveiling the ineffable peace of God. The moment of truth restores glory to God, undoing the ancient apostasy that reduced glory to vanity. Self-emptying kenosis empties out the vanity, restoring glory to God. This is the moment of truth: death, overcoming death by death. When we die into Christ, centred in this moment of truth, we are dying into his resurrecting life.
Death turns everyone and everything right round, revealing resurrected glory, extinguishing delusions of confusion and division. The moment of truth looks back to the beginning, to look forward to the end, God’s realm of infinite glory, ineffable in its many hidden mysteries. Glory is first and last, as it begins and ends creation with its uncreated grace. The moment of truth is the Cross which hinges on the axial Name, crucifying deception to unveil truth. Christ is the Word of light and life, revealing the timeless embrace of love with the sign of the Cross. The axial Cross stands steadfast whilst the world encircles round and round, until wisdom turns and sees God at centre in the midst. The moment of truth is the axial point, unveiling the grace of the Gospel by revealing the glory of grace, concealed in the Spirit until revealed by the Spirit, unceasingly unveiling death: the moment of truth.