(ἀστραπή).-Lightning, the visible discharge of atmospheric electricity from one cloud to another, or from a cloud to the earth, is now known to be essentially the same as the electric flashes produced in the laboratory. To the ancients it seemed supernatural. Terrible in its dazzling beauty and power to destroy, it was associated with theophanies (Exodus 19:16; Exodus 20:18, Ezekiel 1:13-14), and became one of the categories of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic (Revelation 4:5; Revelation 8:5; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 16:18). See Thunder.
James Strahan.