Jesus, Son of Man
“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks One like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” Revelation 1:12-13
The Apostle John had been summoned by Jesus to write to the seven churches of Asia Minor the vision that Jesus was going to allow him to see concerning the time of the end. When John heard Jesus’ voice, he turned and saw seven golden candlesticks. These appear to be seven individual oil burning lampstands which represented the seven churches. Right in the middle of this circle of candlesticks stood, as John described, “One like unto the Son of man”. The title “Son of man” was the one Jesus used to identify Himself most of the time. The book of Luke was written focusing on Jesus’ human identification. The title “Son of man” was used in 26 verses of Luke, and was the “racial” name that Jesus used to identify Himself with the human race. Being fully human gives Jesus the ability to understand and sympathize with the human condition (Hebrews 4:15), and being fully human and fully God gives Him the right and prerogative to judge all mankind. On the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:2), John, James, and Peter saw Jesus in His glorified body, fully human yet fully divine. As far as we know, John was the last surviving apostle. He had many memories of his time that he spent with Christ on earth. Even with his past experiences with Jesus, John must have been completely awed, but also completely full of fear at the sight he was beholding.
John described the Son of man as being clothed with a garment down to the foot. We don’t know what color the garment was, but it could have been white, representing purity or purple, representing royalty , the robe of the High Priest and the King. Around His chest was a band of gold which represented His majesty and glory. Jesus’ garment was a far cry from the humble swaddling clothes He wore as a baby and the ordinary robes of the common folks that He wore as He sojourned throughout Israel during His time of ministry. His dress was fit for a King. His hair was white like wool, white as snow. Daniel described God as the “Ancient of days” whose hair was white like wool (Daniel 7:9). The eyes of the Son of man were as a flame of fire. What does fire do? It purges away everything that is not pure. Fire brings light to darkness. It penetrates into the most hidden recesses of a person’s soul. We have an old saying, “If looks could kill,” indicating intimidation by, for example, a parent without saying a word. If a human has this ability, imagine the depths at which Christ can inspect and evaluate the very thoughts and purposes of the human heart.
Jesus’ feet were like fine brass. Brass is an alloy made of copper and zinc. Some scholars believe there was also some gold and silver added in to this picture of the Savior’s feet. Brass is known to be one of the strongest and most durable metals and is smelted in an extremely highly heated furnace. Jesus’ feet had been through several fiery trials, one of which was in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). He suffered many other trials all the way to crucifixion yet endured the pain and humiliation to give us eternal life. Jesus’ feet took Him all the way to Calvary, and they will once again touch the earth when Christ comes again to rule and reign. The Son of man had a voice that sounded like “many waters”. His voice is compared to that of the roaring ocean whose waves crash along the shore with great power and might. In Revelation 14:2 and 19:6, Jesus’ voice is described as a “greater thunder” and “mighty thunderings”. Daniel 10:6 describes His voice “like the voice of a multitude”, that is, millions of voices raised at one time. His voice will penetrate every ear and every heart, and there will be no mistaking who He is.
After describing the Son of man’s hair, eyes, feet, and voice, John looked down to see what Jesus was carrying in His right hand. It was seven stars small enough to fit into the palm of Jesus’ hand yet important enough for Him to protect them by His righteous power. These seven stars represented the seven angels of the seven churches. John went on to then describe what would have been the most striking and fearful sight displayed before him. Out of the mouth of the Son of man went a sharp, two-edged sword with a dual function: one side was to show forth God’s wrath upon sinful unbelievers and the other side was to purge believers from anything that detracts from living a godly life. The face of Jesus was so bright that it was like looking into the sun itself. Even when we can’t see the sun at night, it’s still there burning brightly as the moon reflects its light giving us hope for another day when its presence will be felt. Jesus never leaves us or forsakes us. Even when we don’t seem to feel His presence, He is still there ready to receive us into His open arms while also working out all things in our lives for good (Romans 8:28).
After John witnessed Jesus in all His glory, John experienced what one would be expected to experience–an overwhelming sense of fear and awe. He became excruciatingly aware of his own sinfulness and insignificance when compared to the Lord of glory. A true encounter with the Savior makes one aware of his or her own spiritual poverty and the need for a touch from the Son of God. Oh, that all men and women everywhere would repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. What a different world it would be.