O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. 

O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

“Oriens” (“Rising Sun”) can also be translated as “Radiant Dawn.”

Isaiah writes: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them a light has shined” (9,2). In the Nicene Creed as used, for example, in the Book of Common Prayer, we say: “I believe.. in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light.” The Prologue to John’s Gospel refers to the Word of God as the “true light, which enlightens everyone” (1,9). Note that the ‘petition’ of this antiphon is almost identical to that of the previous one.

“Sun of Justice” is a symbol often found on ancient, including pre-Christian, sarcophagi. Like the symbol of the Shepherd (also found on many ancient sarcophagi), the Sun of Justice (or the Rising Sun) can be viewed from either a pagan or a Christian perspective. For Christians, Christ is the Sun of Justice, who “brings true justice to the nations.”