Revelation 1:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.

NIV: His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

NASB: His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.

CSB: His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters.

NLT: His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.

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

NKJV: His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

John describes Jesus further as having feet like burnished brass refined in a furnace. Likely, the reference is to brass that has turned white in the process of burning. The word for "burnished brass" is unique, and seems to only occur in the book of Revelation in all of ancient Greek literature (Revelation 2:18). It appears to be a compound of the Greek words for metals such as brass, and bronze, and the Greek term for frankincense, probably a reference to its whiteness. This makes sense of John's explanation that the appearance was like something glowing in a furnace.

The bronze altar in the temple was used for making sacrifices for sin and for expressing in fire God's judgment on sin. Jesus suffered on the cross to take upon Himself God's judgment for our sin. First Corinthians 15:3 states plainly that Christ died for our sins. He alone is worthy to execute judgment on all sinners that reject Him.

The apostle Paul told the assembly on Mars Hill that God has "fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). Revelation 20:11–15 describes the final judgment of the wicked of all periods of history. If a person's name is not found in the book of life, he or she is cast into the lake of fire.

John reports that Jesus' voice was like the roar of many waters. Isaiah 42:13 associates a loud voice with that of a warrior shouting aloud as a mighty man against his enemies. So Jesus will show Himself mighty against His foes.

Revelation 1:12–16 unfolds what John saw when he turned after hearing a loud voice command him. The speaker stood in the midst of seven golden lampstands. He was wearing a long robe and a golden sash around His chest. His hair was white. His eyes resembled a blazing fire. His feet were like bronze. When He spoke, His voice sounded like the roar of many waters. He held seven stars in His right hand. A double-edged sword protruded from His mouth, and His face shone like the noonday sun.

The Roman government had banished John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. While John was at Patmos, the risen, glorified Son of God appeared to him and commanded him to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). John pronounces blessings to those who read and obey Revelation, and then he greets his readers warmly and describes Jesus' appearance.

The apostle John begins this chapter by stating that he received the revelation of Jesus Christ by divine activity. God sent this vision to John while he was on the island of Patmos, likely as a punishment from the Roman government. This book follows John's four prior messages contained in the New Testament: the Gospel of John and the letters 1, 2, and 3 John. Chapters 2 and 3 tell what Jesus dictated to seven churches in Asia Minor, while the rest of John's message concerns future events.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''