So what do these symbols imply?

His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.REV 1:14,15

As we continue looking at John’s description of Jesus, if anything illustrates my point on interpreting Revelations, these verses certainly do.

Notice how much of the descriptive words John is using have “as”, or “like unto” along with them. For example verse 15 does not say his feet WERE fine brass, it says his feet were “LIKE UNTO” fine brass. By these words I am forced to believe that we cannot just take what is written here literally.

So what do these symbols imply?

As we look at verse 14 (“His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow…”) we do not find "like unto" or "as", so it very well could be that this part is literal, possibly even now his hair is white. However I feel the bigger interpretation is that his white hair is suggestive of holiness, righteousness, and the wisdom of God. White hair in the bible is something that allows the bearer to be worthy of honor, especially if it is gained in a righteous life. (Pro 16:31). Of course we know that there was none more righteous then Christ.

The next image we find is: “His eyes were as a flame of fire”. This is probably my favorite description of Jesus in the entire Bible. An old saying states that the "eyes are the windows of the soul". What must John have felt to feel the very heart and soul of Jesus coming through to him? It must have felt like fire burning him to his very core indeed!

The Greek word used for eyes in this verse(ophthalmos)is akin to opsis, "sight," and is probably from a root meaning "penetration, sharpness". Very poetically John was showing us that his gaze was so penetrating is felt like a fire that burned.

John stood before someone who knew his very thoughts, I’m sure someday when we ourselves stand before Jesus and his gaze rests on us it will feel like a fire is burning us too!

Perhaps the burning flame is the passion he has for us? On earth some are fortunate to see the gaze of one who loves them so passionately it feels like they were physcally touched by fire. How much more intense would that gaze feel coming from someone who loved us so much he scacrificed his life for us!

“And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace;”

The greek word for “brass” used in this verse, is also used to mean "white or shining copper or bronze”. It is from Greek, "chalcos," "brass," and Hebrew, "libbeen," "to whiten"; and so it is "brass" which in the furnace has reached a white heat.

Brass and copper is made and purified in the fire. In fact John says his feet were “as if they burned in a furnace”. Fire as we know speaks of the trials and tribulations we endure. Christ while on this earth endured much yet he passed through as he did when he was that fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. Once again we see his worthiness to judge sin, because he has passed through the fires of tribulation and sacrifice, and yet was without sin. (Note: Israel's altar of sacrifice was made of brass (Exodus 27:1-6); it was called the "brazen altar").

He has been purified to stand strong.

It is also interesting to note Brass was used to make weapons of war in ancient times. In addition when someone was victorious over their enemies they often “put their foot on the enemies neck” as a symbol of their conquest. I feel this picture of Jesus's feet "like unto fine brass" is also indicative of his victorious strength over his enemies.

“his voice as the sound of many waters.”

We find similar language elsewhere in the Bible to describe his voice. In Eze 43:2 it says “his voice [was] like a noise of many waters”, in Dan 10:6 it says his voice is "like the voice of a multitude." , and in Rev 19:6 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,”. In Rev 1:15, along with these verses, we see the awesomeness of the sound of his voice. Just as the sound of great waterfalls or a great crowd of people are thunderous, so is his voice.

(As a sidebar, often “waters” in the Bible is used to speak figuratively of many peoples. Taken in this light it is easy to see that Christ's voice is well able to be heard and understood no matter what language you may speak. Therefore there is no excuse for us to “not” here his voice when he speaks!)