Revelation: Eyes Like a Flame of Fire

 Eyes like a flame of fire

Revelation 1:13-16 (ESV):

13 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.
14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

We have already looked at the white hair and the double-edged sword. We have seen the meaning behind the imagery, but we have also seen that this imagery gives us deeper insight into its significance. Jesus' righteousness is like white hair. His word is like a sword.

Today we will look at the eyes that are like a flame of fire.

First, let this sink in. Suppose you encounter Jesus in this way and these fiery eyes look at you; what would you feel? It might feel somewhat condemning. It would literally burn. It is like a fire.
Think, for example, of a child who has done something wrong. When the mother knows this, her look alone can make the child feel as if it is burning, making the child not even dare to look up.

The psalmist says:

Psalm 11:4-5 (ESV):

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

He tests the righteous with His eyes, which see everything. The righteous are proven to be righteous with His penetrating gaze and will be saved, but the wicked will fall.

But there is another kind of judgment for believers today. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin as if it were the eyes of God Himself, and by doing so, we can confess our sins and flee to Jesus. At this moment, these fiery eyes are fixed on believers for their own salvation. It is for their own good.

Paul illustrates this well:

1 Corinthians 11:32 (ESV):

But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Hebrews 4:13 (ESV):

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

This gaze may make us feel guilty, but do not fear to face it! The gaze that judges us is from the same person who casts our sins away, never to see them again.
One day Jesus will return, and everyone will see Him. Then those eyes may condemn us too late.
If we do not let ourselves be judged by those eyes now, bringing our sins to the cross, it will happen when it is too late.
For Him, everything is as light as a flame of fire. His eyes of understanding, so to speak, are completely illuminated, and nothing is hidden from Him. He sees every reasoning, every feeling, and every thought.

Let us not hide this from Him as if He does not know it, to appear better before Him. This will only make us fall deeper. He already knows we are completely corrupt, so lay it before Him. Then the righteousness of Jesus will be counted to our name. And when Jesus searches us with those burning eyes, He sees them as if they are as righteous as Himself. And if we were to search Jesus; every feeling, every thought, every inclination, and every reasoning, it would prove to be perfect. Only through Jesus do we then deserve everything, even though we actually deserve nothing. For it is written:

1 John 1:9 (ESV):

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.