Wikipedia's first sentence called it “term used to refer to an aspect of divine presence”. Today it says “aspect of divine presence perceived as light during a theophany or vision”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means”. It now reads “Aspect of divine presence”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the October 6, 2023 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in October 6, 2023
Divine light (disambiguation) and Light of God . In theology , divine light (also called divine radiance or divine refulgence ) is an aspect of divine presence perceived as light during a theophany or vision , or represented as such in allegory or metaphor . The term "light" has been widely used in spirituality and religion, such as: An Nūr – Islamic term and concept, referenced in Surah an-Nur and Ayat an-Nur of the Quran . Inner light – Christian concept and Quaker doctrine. Jyoti or Jyot – a holy flame that is lit with cotton wicks and ghee or mustard oil. It is the prayer ritual of devotional worship performed by Hindus offer to the deities. Jyoti is also a representation of the divine light and a form of the Hindu goddess Durga shakti. Ohr Ein Sof – in Rabbinic Judaism and Kabbalah . Prakāśa – Kashmiri Shaiva concept of the light of Divine Consciousness of Shiva . Tabor Light – the uncreated light revealed to the apostles present during the Transfiguration of Jesus ; also experienced as illumination on the path to theosis in Eastern Orthodox theology during theoria , a form of Christian contemplation .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1168735876.
The opening as it stood in 2010
In this context, "light" can carry the full range of divine or else human-understandable concepts ranging from pure emotion up to concepts and conceptualizations. Hence human beings are said to be recipients of knowledge, " truth ," or " illumination ," originating from God in a transcendent reality to human beings in the 'known universe,' through spiritual means . Various local religious concepts exist: Inner light – Christian concept and Quaker doctrine An Noor – Islamic term and concept Ein Sof – in Rabbinic Judaism Tabor Light – in Eastern Orthodox theology Theoria – in Christian theology , illumination on the path to theosis Ayat an-Nur – in Arabic , the Sign of Light
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368548432.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In theology , divine light (also called divine radiance or divine refulgence ) is an aspect of divine presence , specifically an unknown and mysterious ability of God , angels , or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means, rather than through physical capacities.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 636893806.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means For other uses, see Divine light (disambiguation) . In theology , divine light (also called divine radiance or divine refulgence ) is an aspect of divine presence , specifically an unknown and mysterious ability of Angels or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means, rather than through physical capacities.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963906249.
The opening as it stood in 2025 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Aspect of divine presence For other uses, see Divine light (disambiguation) and Light of God . Effect of light from the rose window in Bari Cathedral , recurring in religious architecture to metaphorically allude to the spiritual light. In theology , divine light (also called divine radiance or divine refulgence ) is an aspect of divine presence perceived as light during a theophany or vision , or represented as such in allegory or metaphor . Light has always been associated with a religious and philosophical symbolic meaning, considered a source of not only physical but metaphysical illumination , as a metaphor for the revelation of a truth hidden in the shadows.The value of light often recurs in history of philosophy , especially Neoplatonic , in the course of which it is understood both as a structural component of every being, including physical ones, and as a metaphor of spiritual light.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1292276558. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “term used to refer to an aspect of divine presence”. Today it says “aspect of divine presence perceived as light during a theophany or vision”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means”. It now reads “Aspect of divine presence”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
term used to refer to an aspect of divine presence
Now
aspect of divine presence perceived as light during a theophany or vision
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
