In this message we will continue to consider the experience and enjoyment of Christ as the Son of Man.
Revelation 1:15 says, “His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace.” Feet signify the walk. In typology, bronze signifies divine judgment (Exo. 27:1-6). When Christ was on earth, His earthly walk and daily walk were tried and tested. Every step He took in His human living was tested, and He passed all the tests. Because His walk was tested, He came out shining. Now the feet of Christ are as shining bronze, as mentioned also in Ezekiel 1:7 and Daniel 10:6, signifying that His perfect and bright walk qualifies Him to exercise divine judgment.
To be “fired in a furnace” is to be tried by being burned. Christ’s walk was tried by His sufferings, even by His death on the cross. Hence, His walk is bright as the shining bronze, which qualifies Him to judge the unrighteous. Since His walk has been tested, He can test and try us. When He comes to possess the earth by judging it, His feet will be like pillars of fire (Rev. 10:1).
The Lord with His shining bronze feet is walking among the churches. His shining feet cause us to realize how dirty, unclean, sinful, dark, and earthly our daily walk is. Consequently, we fear and tremble before the Lord. Such humbling experiences are a strong sign that the Lord is walking through the churches. We should praise the Lord that He is shining today in the churches.
The Lord tests us by His shining feet. From His head to His feet, He is a shining person. When we come into His presence, there is no darkness. Instead, we are under the absolute shining. In His presence nothing can be hidden or concealed; everything is exposed. The apostle John saw this Christ, was frightened, and fell at His feet as dead (1:17). Similarly, in the church life we need to be in His presence, come under His absolute shining, and experience a thorough exposure that frightens us. Under this exposure, we will see that all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do cannot stand His test. Then we will fall at His feet as dead.
The feet of the Lord Jesus “were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace.” Feet signify walk. We all should have a walk like the Lord’s walk. Ezekiel 1:7 tells us that the calf’s foot “sparkled like the sight of burnished bronze.” The shining of bronze comes from the heat of the furnace. The more the bronze is burned and tested, the brighter it shines. This indicates that we need a walk that has been tested and burned by the Lord. If our walk has been tested in this way, it will be like shining bronze, enlightening others and becoming a kind of shining to them. If we have been tested and examined by the Lord, our walk will shine like burnished bronze, giving light to others, testing them, and causing them to realize whether their walk is right or wrong. Likewise, if we have been tested and examined by the Lord in the church life, then our walk in the church life will be like shining bronze, enlightening others and testing them. Wherever we go and whatever way we take, our walk will shine upon others, giving them light and testing them.
Revelation 1:15 also says, “His voice was like the sound of many waters.” This means that His voice is loud and mighty. “The sound of many waters,” a tumultuous sound, is the sound of the voice of the Almighty God (Ezek. 1:24; 43:2). It signifies the seriousness and solemnity of His speaking (cf. Rev. 10:3). Sometimes the Lord’s voice is gentle and tender, but at other times His voice shocks us like thunder. Whenever we are sloppy or sleepy, the voice of the Lord will wake us up. His voice, which is that of the Almighty God, warns us and wakes us up.
In His human living, the Lord was at times silent (Matt. 12:19), but today He is different. Today He is in the churches with a voice like the sound of many waters. Like Him, we should be living and voicing. We are not serving a silent Christ but One with a voice like the sound of many waters. When we come together in the churches, we need to have many a sound. In the churches we must be filled with Him and make a joyful sound, a joyful noise, to Him (Psa. 100:1) so that our praises will be like the sound of many waters. We should praise the Lord with a joyful noise, because the Christ who is within us and who is walking in the midst of the churches is a Christ with a loud voice.