Then we read that the Christ in Revelation has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace. All this means that He is burning. He is ancient, He is living, and He is burning. In the local churches there should be no coldness or lukewarmness, because Christ is the burning One. He is not only living, but He is also burning.
Would we be willing to pray-read for fifteen minutes and allow Christ to look upon us with His burning eyes? We must remember that He has seven eyes. Revelation 5:6 tells us that His seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God. The seven Spirits of God are like seven lamps of burning fire (4:5). If we allow these seven eyes to look upon us, surely we will be burned. If we can pray-read for fifteen minutes and yet be cold, our pray-reading must be wrong. There must be some kind of insulation, insulating us from within; otherwise, we will be burned. Christ is not only living, but He is also burning. We all must be burning. Do not speak to me too much; otherwise, you will be burned. I am burning. Every member in the local churches must be so burning.
When we are burned and burning, we are not always so clear. The coldest people are the clearest ones. When we are cold, we will have an exceedingly clear mind. But when we are burning, we are somewhat foolish. Praise the Lord! We must not try to be so clear. We need to be a little foolish, because we are burning.
Christ is the One who is walking in the midst of the local churches, and He is the High Priest whose work is accomplished but who has a concern of love for the local churches. He is also the One who is so ancient, so living, and so burning.
Suppose Christ were here today with His seven burning eyes and His feet like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace. Would we dare to contact Him? In the local church Christ is walking in the midst as such a burning One.
There is something more. Christ is not so silent. He was somewhat silent when He was walking upon this earth, but today He is different. Today He is in the local churches with a voice as the sound of many waters. We all must be living and speaking. We are not serving a silent Christ, but One with a voice like the sound of many waters. When we come together in the local churches, we need to have the sound of many waters. In the local churches Christ is not so silent. We must be filled with Him; then our praises will be just like the sound of many waters. “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” We need to be noisy, because the very Christ who is within us and who is walking in our midst is a Christ with a loud voice. Those in Christianity may say that this is extreme, but the Lord is going to revolutionize Christianity. He is even going to revolutionize our meetings. There is no need for us to keep the old way. There must be something new and living all the time.
The first chapter of Revelation is absolutely different from the first chapter of John. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is really good. But I also admire the first chapter of Revelation, for it tells us something about a Christ who is not so gentle but so fierce. Look at the picture of Christ in this chapter. His eyes are like a flame of fire, His feet are like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace, and His voice is like the sound of many waters. At the end of the age the Lord must be fierce. This is because the days are so dark, so evil, and so dead. We need something fierce. Dead Christianity needs a fierce Christ.
If you exercise your mind to read the Bible day by day, you will be so cold and so silent. But if you would forget your mind and contact the living Christ who is walking in the midst of the local churches, you will be burning. Why are you so silent? It is because you read too much. Why are you so silent? It is because you never say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” If you try, you will see. You will be burned, and you will jump up and shout. You can never be so silent if you contact the Christ in Revelation. Something will burn within you. This is the way Christ is today in the local churches.
We must not bring our past impression of Christ into the local churches. We must have a new impression of Christ. The Christ who is walking in the midst of the local churches is very ancient, yet so living and burning. He has seven burning eyes, His feet are like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace, and His voice is like the sound of many waters. This is absolutely different from the impression of Christ we received in Christianity. Praise the Lord that we have seen such a Christ!