Revelation: The Feet of Burnished Bronze
Revelation; Justification by Faith
The Feet of Burnished Bronze
[By M.L]
Revelation 1:13 (ESV):
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;
Revelation 1:14-16 (ESV):
The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 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.
Today we are discussing the feet that are like burnished bronze. These are closely connected to the voice like the roar of many waters.
The glowing, burnished bronze already makes us think of something glorious. When you put bronze in a furnace and heat it enough, it becomes almost yellow, glowing beautifully. Besides this, you can also purify bronze through a furnace.
This bronze is glowing, pure, and impressive.
Bronze itself, along with iron, was seen as a very strong and hard metal, which it truly is. Examples include:
Job 6:12 (ESV):
Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
Deuteronomy 33:25 (ESV):
Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.
In relation to the feet, this is a metal that can trample anything. Micah gives us an example:
Micah 4:13 (ESV):
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
Jesus is thus depicted here as very powerful, someone who can crush all nations, and He will indeed do so.
Revelation is full of nations, kingdoms, powers, and it is made clear to us that Satan is behind these.
Revelation 1 gives us an orientation of these things.
The nations may roar like a sea in a strong wind. It may be a confusing picture where everyone will be shipwrecked.
But there is One who tramples all of this.
His word alone stands above the great power of the sea, which threatens to destroy everything with mighty waves. Jeremiah says:
Isaiah 17:13 (ESV):
The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.
And the psalmist:
Psalm 29:3-4 (ESV):
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
This is how we should see all of this. When Adam fell, the dominion of this world was given to Satan. Although God always remained above him, Satan had a legal right to the world due to the fall. The kingdoms on earth are ways in which he has exercised this power.
But Jesus has rewritten the entire history of humanity. Through this second Adam, Satan has lost all rights to the world and to you. The prince of this world failed through something he could never do himself: an act of love that we see at the cross.
As soon as this kingship is preached, Satan panics, and his hatred is revealed through the kings of this world.
But Jesus has the right to destroy them all. Then there will be a kingdom that cannot be overthrown. Here lies our citizenship, not on earth, but in heaven.
Jesus said just before His crucifixion:
John 12:31 (ESV):
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
And Paul triumphantly says:
Hebrews 2:14 (ESV):
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
This is the whole theme of Revelation as we will see. It is the great struggle between two kings. What then is justification by faith?
It is the good news of the Kingdom of God, which forms an alternative to that of Satan.
Revelation 1:13 (ESV):
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;
Revelation 1:14-16 (ESV):
The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 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.
Today we are discussing the feet that are like burnished bronze. These are closely connected to the voice like the roar of many waters. The glowing, burnished bronze already makes us think of something glorious. When you put bronze in a furnace and heat it enough, it becomes almost yellow, glowing beautifully. Besides this, you can also purify bronze through a furnace. This bronze is glowing, pure, and impressive. Bronze itself, along with iron, was seen as a very strong and hard metal, which it truly is. Examples include:
Job 6:12 (ESV):
Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
Deuteronomy 33:25 (ESV):
Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.
In relation to the feet, this is a metal that can trample anything. Micah gives us an example:
Micah 4:13 (ESV):
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
Jesus is thus depicted here as very powerful, someone who can crush all nations, and He will indeed do so. Revelation is full of nations, kingdoms, powers, and it is made clear to us that Satan is behind these. Revelation 1 gives us an orientation of these things. The nations may roar like a sea in a strong wind. It may be a confusing picture where everyone will be shipwrecked. But there is One who tramples all of this. His word alone stands above the great power of the sea, which threatens to destroy everything with mighty waves. Jeremiah says:
Isaiah 17:13 (ESV):
The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.
And the psalmist:
Psalm 29:3-4 (ESV):
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
This is how we should see all of this. When Adam fell, the dominion of this world was given to Satan. Although God always remained above him, Satan had a legal right to the world due to the fall. The kingdoms on earth are ways in which he has exercised this power. But Jesus has rewritten the entire history of humanity. Through this second Adam, Satan has lost all rights to the world and to you. The prince of this world failed through something he could never do himself: an act of love that we see at the cross. As soon as this kingship is preached, Satan panics, and his hatred is revealed through the kings of this world. But Jesus has the right to destroy them all. Then there will be a kingdom that cannot be overthrown. Here lies our citizenship, not on earth, but in heaven. Jesus said just before His crucifixion:
John 12:31 (ESV):
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
And Paul triumphantly says:
Hebrews 2:14 (ESV):
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
This is the whole theme of Revelation as we will see. It is the great struggle between two kings. What then is justification by faith? It is the good news of the Kingdom of God, which forms an alternative to that of Satan.
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