"Eyes like Fire"

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire." Revelation 1:12-14

Allow yourself to picture Jesus Christ - not to imagine speculatively, but to form a mental image based on God's Word. What visual characteristics fill your mind when you think about the Lord? Which Bible verses inform your snapshot? Someday you're going to stand before Him. Today's passage about the brilliance and the radiance of His appearance ought to severely Photoshop some of your ideas of Jesus.


I don't think there's anything much brighter than the sunlight reflecting off the snow on a winter morning. It's probably the closest we can get on earth to experiencing the kind of brightness that emanates from Christ. The word translated white in Revelation 1:14 is the same term used to describe Jesus' appearance in the transfiguration (see Matthew 17:2). Glaring whiteness is a picture of His purity. We have to cover our eyes. The countenance of the risen Jesus Christ is more than we can easily look at. He has never sinned. He has never had an impure thought or a mixed motive. "The thoughts of [our] hearts are only evil continually," the Bible says (Genesis 6:5). Jesus is 100 percent the opposite of deceitful. And John tells us we can see the difference.

"His eyes were like a flame of fire." Never think that the purity of Jesus Christ means naïveté. He knows. He is immeasurably strong. The word "fire" here conveys the reality of searing judgment. Jesus tells us about Himself in a look.


For an analogy, let's return for a moment to childhood. Do you remember how you could feel your mom looking at you? I could be sitting at the table messing with my brother and I would sense Mom's eyes on me like laser beams demanding my attention. One glance and I was skewered! So much so that when I was a teenager, I could feel those looks even when I was away from home doing something I shouldn't do. Do you know what I'm talking about? Now if our moms can strike that kind of response from us, open your heart and think for a moment about the gaze of Jesus Christ. The Scripture says that His eyes "are in every place" (Proverbs 15:3). Everywhere we go. Everything we do and say. Even the "intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12) are known to Him. That truth ought to convict us. Our picture of Jesus should humble us to the point of worship.
 
 
[via Walk in the Word]
 
Be Blessed!
 
Dawn