Opus 2026-062: Uncharted Revelation: Facing It

I was struck with the desire to declare much of revelation as figurative, and needing to be spiritualized.  The scenario was singing a song which has the chorus which goes, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full and his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim…

I’ve sung these for years.  I find it inspirational.  I, along with the rest of the congregation really love these words.  My problem is that I had been reading the book of Revelation.  Actually, it’s not really a problem, but it sets up a bit of cognitive dissonance.

Here is how the Bible describes the face of Jesus in revelation,

Revelation 1:14-16 (KJV) 14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Take a moment and look at the literal picture being drawn.  Not only is his hair white, but the impression is His entire head is white as snow.  Then you have these eyes with flames coming out of them, a voice it sounds like Niagara Falls, a sword sticking out of his mouth, and finish it all off of face that is so bright that it would blind you if you looked at it.

Not a very inspirational sight.  Now, I will admit that there are probably some deep hidden meanings here, if you look at this as John, seeing Jesus and all the splendor and having trouble describing it, you’re good.  However, this does not describe a face that I want to gaze into and sing about.

There are times when I wish I could just turn off my imagination.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-518: Uncharted Revelation: 1000 Words Worth One Picture

We’ve all heard the statement that one picture is worth 1000 words.  I’m sure that that came up before we had Photoshop and AI.  Nowadays, the photo isn’t worth much of anything if you really want to know what something looks like.

Most of us have seen different artists impression of what Jesus looked like.  Most of them reflect the cultural background of the artist more than what reality would show.  If you want to speculate on what Jesus would’ve looked like in the flesh then find a young Palestinian and take a photo.  We do, however, have a picture of what Jesus look like, but it’s in words, not in pixels.

It’s found in revelation chapter 1.

Revelation 1:13-16 (KJV) 13 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. 14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.

Notice that not only does it tell us what He looked like, but it tells us how He was dressed and what He sounded like.

I don’t expect a lithograph based on this description to start adorning churches and Christian homes.  Keep in mind this isn’t my description.  This is the one that the apostle John gave us.  If you don’t like it talk to him.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-104: The Picture

Have you ever heard someone look at a Renaissance painting of Jesus and say, “We really don’t know what He look like?”  In a sense that is true, but in a sense it isn’t.  We do not have any photographs or portraits by contemporaries.  We don’t know if he had freckles, or it was left-handed.  We do, however, have descriptions of what Jesus look like.  Here is one,

Revelation 1:13-17 (KJV) 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.  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.  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

And a little later we have,

Revelation 5:6 (KJV) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

And,

Revelation 19:11-16 (KJV) 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

When I see descriptions like this, it tends to make me want to disregard the things that Revelation tells me.  It tends to make me want to reject a literal interpretation.  I do believe that most of revelation is figurative and artistic, not literal, lineal history.  I also believe that any visual relevance that it has is set in a time when we are no longer simply physical beings.  These are descriptions of Jesus, and in other places of God the Father, which we can’t understand because of our limitations.

In the afterlife, when we see someone with glowing eyes and a sword coming out of their mouth, what fills us with horror now might cause waves of love and affection.  Let me give you a sample from our day-to-day lives.  I don’t think I would want to climb up on the back of a tiger and chew on its ear.  You would probably agree, but you have all seen pictures of tiger cubs, climbing the neck of the adult animal, and chewing on its ear or jumping on its tail.  I would not recommend such behavior if you are a tourist in Africa, or India, or just visiting the local zoo.  It is not a survival technique.  If, however, you are the cub of the animal, it would never occur to you to be worried.  It would be home week.

Jesus taught us to call God, “Abba Father”.  He put it in terms that we couldn’t understand now, however, the book of Revelation is trying to get across to us the glory of what it will be like in the presence of Almighty God then.  The pictures are different.  What we don’t understand now will become clear to us then.

Hope to see you on the other side.

homo unius libri