We left off beginning to look at the descriptions of Jesus Christ that are given here. These are not like any kind of description of Christ that we can find anywhere else in the Bible. We are seeing Him now in His glory and splendor and who He really is.
Starting in Revelation 1:13, “and in the middle of the lampstands,” the lampstands are going to have significance beginning in Revelation 2, because he speaks of each of the seven churches having a lampstand which symbolizes their witness to the world, their light to the world that points to Christ and these seven churches have a lampstand that they are to maintain for the glory of Christ. Christ is in the middle of these lampstands, so He is the central feature. The churches aren’t central, the lampstands aren’t central, Christ is central. So, Christ stands in the midst of this, and John says, “I saw one like a son of man,” so we have the retaining of some semblance of humanity here – Jesus looks like a man, but He is no ordinary man, as we read further, he says, “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.” So, we have a splendor. He is dressed like a king. He is dressed like royalty here. “His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow,” notice the terms like. Six different times he says these symbols represent something like something else. So, it’s not necessarily exactly what John saw. Remember that he is describing the indescribable, so we have to give him a little bit of a break on that. He tells us that His head and His hair were white like wool. This idea could cover a couple of things. White in this Scripture, such as in Isaiah 1, is speaking of purity or holiness. So, there is a holiness here that is represented in Christ. Some suggest that because His hair is white it speaks of His age. Christ is eternal, He does not have an age per se, but He is the Ancient of Days Scripture says. He is endless. He is timeless. So, it could speak of the fact that He has always been here. He is eternal. Not in a sense of time like we think of time, but in the fact that He is the Ancient of Days, and that wisdom comes with that ancientness.
It also says, “and His eyes were like a flame of fire.” We will find this description in several places as we go on in the book of Revelation. His eyes being like a flame of fire would speak of His eyes being able to penetrate and see that which is true. What humanity has often thought and usually thinks is that they can hide from God. They can get by with their sins. They can do whatever they want to do, and God will not see them. The picture we find of Jesus throughout this book is One whose eyes can see it all. His eyes penetrate. His eyes can see. It’s like fire is the way it is being described here. Revelation 1:15 says, “His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace.” We see a picture of His power and perhaps of His judgment. Bronze like this, is power on His feet, and can speak of the ability to trample down something. We find that, in Revelation 14 and 19, the Lord trampling in judgement upon those who have rejected Him. Perhaps His feet here, in this case, is speaking of that. Then it says, “and His voice was like the sound of many waters,” this speaks of power. Think of waterfalls, the Niagara Falls or something, the great power, the great noise. It speaks of the strength of Christ Himself and His Word.
And then it goes on in Revelation 1:16, “In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” So, we have three pictures here. In His right hand He held the seven stars. When we look down to Revelation 2, we find these stars referencing these seven churches that He is in charge of and wants to speak to. So, He is in charge of these seven churches . . .
