14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Drawing Connections
There's no better subject for us to talk about than Jesus, is there? It is so wonderful that Revelation starts with a description of Jesus right in the first chapter. Jesus wants to show us who He is. He wants to establish a relationship with the people who are reading this message. The message needs to become much more than just words in a book. He wants us to have the experience of this remarkable encounter with Him.
In Part 1, we saw how Jesus is fulfilling His promise to walk among His people by walking among the seven lampstands, symbolizing His continued presence with the church. Jesus, who once lived as a human and died for humanity's freedom, is now glorified. Through John's description, we now see Jesus as the all-powerful King and Priest.
PART 2 - Revelation 1:14-16, 20
Closer Look
*** Background ***: In Revelation 1:14,15,16, and 20, we have a very shocking description of Jesus' appearance. But we must have one thing in mind. John is explaining here something far beyond the description of Jesus' physical appearance. The main point of this description is to show us the character, the love, and the purpose of Christ. If we were to take a picture of this scene, where only His outward appearance was shown, it would be a very strange picture. So let's keep that in mind, that this is a picture of how we see Jesus only when we spend time with Him and when we take time to develop a relationship with Him. This is a picture of Jesus' character.
In study #8, which was part 1 of this study about Jesus, we saw how Revelation detailed a description of Jesus. And we compared it with other verses in the Bible, which describe Jesus in a very similar way. These other verses are found in Ezekiel 1:26-28, Matthew 17:2-6, and Daniel 10:5-12.
The verses in Daniel have all the elements that we see here in Revelation 1. The verses in Ezekiel and Matthew are also equivalent, even though they don't include so many details. The words these writers used to describe Jesus are almost the same. Interestingly, Daniel wrote about this vision that roughly 600 years before John's vision even happened.
In these verses in Revelation, we see 7 descriptions of Jesus, two things that He was actively doing in that scene, John’s reaction, and Jesus’s compassion in response to John’s reaction. So all of this is described here in this "photograph" of Jesus.
Isn't it interesting how the number 7 appears repeatedly? We saw the first description of Jesus in study #8, which was: Jesus looks like a human being who is wearing the outfit of a King and Priest. We also saw the first thing that He was doing in the scene, and He was walking among the seven lampstands, which represent the 7 churches to which John is sending this message of Revelation. Now let’s explore the other 6 descriptions of Jesus and also see the second thing He was doing.
*** Hair on his head was white as wool and snow ***: John described Jesus as having hair as white as wool and snow. Let’s compare this description with Daniel 7:9. In this verse, we read the part of his vision where Daniel sees the "Ancient of Days” (God the Father) taking His seat at the throne. Daniel describes God the Father as wearing clothes "as white as snow" and that "the hair of his head was white like wool". Later in the vision, in verses 13 and 14, Daniel says that the one "like the son of man" approached the Ancient of Days. As we saw on study #8, Jesus is the One who looks like a son of man. Continuing with the text in Daniel, we read about how God gave Jesus "authority, glory and sovereign power". John, in Revelation 1:14, describes Jesus as having the same characteristics and authority as the Father. The Father has white hair, Jesus has white hair also. Jesus Himself said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” and we read this in John 14:9. And, in Matthew 28:18, we read that after His resurrection, Jesus said this to His disciples: “[…] All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
*** His eyes were like blazing fire ***: the original in Greek says His eyes were like "a flame of fire". Hebrews 4:13 says that nothing can hide from God's sight. He sees everything (Job 28:24; Proverbs 15:3). In Exodus 15:26 we read that if people were to do what is right in the "eyes of the Lord", obeying His commands, He would spare them from the plagues that afflicted the Egyptians because He is the healing God. In Deuteronomy 4:23-24, we read that God is a "consuming fire" to those who do not keep His commands. Here in Revelation 1:14, we see the description of blazing eyes that see absolutely everything. Eyes that can purify His faithful servants, and also consume (or judge) those who choose not to follow His teachings. Jesus' eyes are bright enough to see through the darkness of a world submerged in sin, and even into the depths of a darkened heart.
*** His feet were like bronze ***: the word for bronze used in this verse, is chalkolibanō, and means polished or burnished bronze, or fine brass. Bronze and brass are used interchangeably in different translations. The Hebrew word for chalkolibanō used in Daniel 10:6 is nə·ḥō·šeṯ. Bronze and brass are both metal alloys, meaning they are not made of a single pure metal. Bronze is a metal that contains copper and tin, and brass is made of copper and zinc. Many of the furniture and utensils in the tabernacle were made of or covered in gold (Exodus 25 to 30). However, all other utensils, clasps, and pegs were made out of bronze (Exodus 27:19; Exodus 26:37; Exodus 27:17). Perhaps the most significant items made of bronze in the Tabernacle were the Altar of Burnt Offerings (Exodus 27:1-8), and the Basin for washing (Exodus 30:17-21). Sacrifice was offered at the altar, where the offering was burned with fire. It reminds us of a furnace, doesn’t it?
Altar of Burnt Offerings
Attribution: Jeremy Park, Bible-Scenes.com
The priests had to wash at the basin before offering sacrifices and entering the Tent of Meeting so that they would not die upon entering. Both the altar and the basin point to Christ. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb, and through His sacrifice, our sins are washed away, allowing us to live (1 John 1:7, Romans 6:22).
Basin
Attribution: Jeremy Park, Bible-Scenes.com
Another important bronze object, also symbolic of Christ, is the bronze serpent that God instructed Moses to make to save the Israelites from the deadly snake bites while they were in the desert (Numbers 21:4-9). If anyone who had been bitten looked at the bronze serpent on the pole, they would live. At first glance, this story sounds very strange, right? But Jesus explained the meaning of the bronze snake in John 3:14-15. He said: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
We can now see that the shining bronze feet mentioned in Daniel 10:6 and Revelation 1:15 are likely a strong reference to all these bronze items we studied here, which are all symbols of Jesus' sacrifice. Just as the metal alloys are made of two different elements, Jesus is at the same time divine and human (Colossians 2:9). According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, He was sinless, and yet He made Himself sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), in order to nail sin on the cross, and offer us life through His death.
*** His voice was like the sound of rushing waters ***: Psalm 29 gives a detailed and powerful description of the majesty and strength of the voice of the Lord. The Psalm says that "The voice of the Lord is over the waters", it thunders, it "strikes flashes of lightning", so powerfully that "in His temple all cry, Glory!". This description of the voice of the Lord reminds us of the sounds that accompanied the cloud of the Lord in Exodus 19:16, with all the thundering and lightning. The original in Greek of Revelation 1:15 says that "His voice was like the sound of many waters". This description of the sound of Jesus' voice is identical to the description of God's voice in Ezekiel 43:2. John describes the magnitude of Jesus' voice as being just as strong as the voice of the Father. We can really understand this magnificent voice when we read Revelation 19:6 - the voice of God sounds like the voice of a great multitude. So, it’s not just that anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father but also, anyone who has heard Jesus, has heard the Father.
*** In his right hand he held seven stars ***: Let’s talk about the second thing Jesus was doing in this scene. He was holding something in His right hand. And John said that He was holding seven stars in His hand. Verse 20 reveals "the mystery of the seven stars". The verse says they are "the seven angels of the seven churches". The word "angel" in Greek is angeloi, and the word in Hebrew is mal·’aḵ. The word angel means messenger or representative. In the Old Testament, the word mal·’aḵ is most often than not translated as "angel", as we can see in Judges 2:4. But Malachi 2:7 gives us another dimension of the word by telling us that the church leader is "the messenger [mal·’aḵ] of the Lord". As we saw in Revelation 1:3, The "Testimony of Jesus" which is to be sent to the seven churches, is expected to be passed along to the members by "the one who reads". We can understand that "the one who reads" is one of the local leaders, referred here in verse 16 as one of the seven stars or angels in Jesus' hand. The fact that the stars are in His right hand is very comforting. God's hand is powerful and mighty and He will protect His faithful people (Joshua 4:24; 2 Chronicles 20:5-9). Jesus Himself said, in Matthew 28:20 that He would be with His followers until the end of the age. We can see here that Jesus is highlighting in this scene, that the people, or messengers, who are passing along the unaltered message of God, are under His protection and guidance. What a wonderful thing!
*** Coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword ***: Let’s now talk about the part of the scene that is possibly the most shocking of them all, visually speaking. But let's keep in mind what we talked about earlier, that this is a picture of Jesus’ character. John said that Jesus had a sharp, double-edged sword coming out of His mouth. Normally, we would expect that if someone was carrying a sword, they would have it in their hand. But Jesus' sword comes from His mouth. Right away, we can see that the sword is a symbol for something else. As always, the Bible explains what this symbol is. Hebrews 4:12 says: "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." The sword coming out of Jesus' mouth is His Word, His teachings, His testimony. And His sword executes judgement (see also Job 19:25-29, Isaiah 66:15-16). Jesus' sword protects His followers, and it also destroys those who choose evil over His love. Did you notice here? The sword is the same. There is only one truth. God’s truth, described here as a sharp sword, protects those who follow it but destroys those who reject it. The truth simply is. People’s destiny - if they will be protected or destroyed - will depend on which choice those people will make and not on the sword itself. If they choose to follow the Truth, they will be protected. If they reject the Truth, they will be destroyed. The sword is sharp, and it will work according to each person’s choice.
*** His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance ***: 2 Chronicles 7:14 says that when we humble ourselves, pray and seek His face, and turn away from evil, He will hear our prayers and forgive us. In Psalms 80, David is asking God to revive and restore his people and to shine His face upon them, so they could be saved. In Psalms 119:134-135, David uses the same expression, asking God to shine on him. He wants God to teach him His decrees. It is interesting that David is asking God to shine His face so he can learn God's law, because immediately before God gave Moses the second set of stones with the Ten Commandments, Moses asked to see God's glory (Exodus 33:18-23). God agrees to show Moses only His back. No one on Earth can see God's face and live. So God tells Moses He will protect him with His hand while He is passing by. We can understand that God's glory is fully expressed through His face. The shine or brilliance from His face brings salvation and a desire to follow His commands. In Revelation 1:16, John is able to see the face of the one "like the Son of Man", and the glory of His face is so strong, that he compares it to the sun, just as John had seen during Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). What a magnificent vision!
Overview
John sees the entirety of Jesus, literally from head to toe. The description of Jesus is similar to the Old Testament description of the Father. The Son and the Father share the same authority and glory. Jesus can see the innermost thoughts of men, and nothing is hidden from Him. He is able to judge because He can see everything. Jesus sees the whole picture in the smallest of details. Through His sacrifice at the cross, He was able to wash humanity from their sins, prevent their eternal death, and allow them to enter Heaven. Jesus' powerful voice and righteous hand call and protect His church and give them the means to continue: His word, which is the ultimate weapon to be used in the spiritual war being waged on this Earth. Every word that comes out of the mouth of Jesus is like a sharp sword that can at the same time protect His people and consume those who choose a life without Christ. Jesus is the only one who brings salvation, and the glory of His face is the inspiration to follow Him and His teachings.
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Episode 9
YouTube video with this study
Episódio 9
Vídeo do estudo no YouTube
