The Eyes of the Risen Christ as a “flame (phlóx) of fire”: Part I. Beginning at the End: The Revelation of Jesus Christ and the “flame” of His holiness bringing judgment or transforming glory

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Introduction: Beginning at the end (télos)

If we begin this word study at the end, we find that the final three occurrences of “flame” (phlóx) appear in the opening and closing chapters of Revelation. And while we may immediately be drawn to think that “flames” in the Apocalypse will necessarily be employed to describe the fires of eternal judgment, they do not…at least not in the way we may so expect. For each occurrence is centered not in the Final Judgment, per se, but in the vision of the Person of the Risen Christ.

His “eyes”, we are told in each of its three appearances in Revelation, are “like a flame (phlóx) of fire” (Rev 1:14, 2:18, 19:12). And these eyes alone are able to see fully and perfectly into the depths of man, “searching [our] minds and hearts” (2:23).

φλόξ (phlóx)

Dictionary Definition

Derived from the verb, phlegó: ‘To burn’, this word means, without any nuance, “flame”. As we will see, however, in this series of three studies, phlóx is used to depict realities far beyond a physical flame…

7 occurrences in the NT:

1x in the Gospels; 1x in Acts; 2x in the Epistles; 3x in Revelation.

An (Introductory) Summary Synthesis

Beyond this literal definition, then, as in the case with our prior word studies, the ways in which this word will be used in the NT opens us up to much deeper levels of meaning. As we shall see, its opening occurrence in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus does, in fact, speak of the literal “flame” of fire; yet it is not physical in nature, but the “agonizing torment” of “Hell” itself enclosing upon the human soul, totally separated from the Divine Presence (Lk 16:24).

Its very next use draws us to the “flame” of the “burning bush” where Moses enters into the holy presence of JHWH Himself as the “Angel of the Lord” appears “to him in a flame (labbah—only occurrence in the OT) from the midst of a bush” which “burns with fire but is not consumed” (Ex 3:2). It is this “flame” of the divine presence that Stephen witnesses in his final testimony (Acts 7:30), out of which the “the voice of the Lord” spoke revealing that the eye of God Himself “has seen” the“affliction” of His people and has come to “deliver” them (7:31-34).

One flame brings torment and judgment. The other revelation and deliverance. And both reveal God’s holiness.

This two uses together then prepares us for how it will be used in the Epistles and Revelation. There, the “righteous judgment” of JHWH is inextricably tied to His holy presence, as the

Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in a flame (phlóx) of fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be wondered at (thaumázō) among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed (II Thess 1:7b-10).

That is to say, when we not only “believe” this testimony of the Lord Jesus, but “obey” His Gospel, we enter into His transforming glory. We, in the next instance in Hebrews, then become his true “ministers” (leitourgós) made as a “flame (phlóx) of fire” (Heb 1:7). As the glory of His holiness penetrates the depths of our person, it makes us like Him, as the Desert Fathers say, “becoming all fire”.

The final three usages, which will be discussed below occur in the Apocalypse, the opening verse of which declares the entire book to be the “revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1). And it begins with a depiction of the “Son of Man” coming in holiness and judgment with “eyes like a flame (phlóx) of fire” (1:14b-> Dan 10:6b), which will see beyond the external life of man into the depths of our very heart.

When the Risen Christ is revealed to the church at Thyatira, He is again said to see with “eyes like a flame (phlóx) of fire” (Rev 2:18) that look beyond our good works, even of increasing levels of “love (agápē), service (diakonía), faith, and persevering endurance (hypomonḗ, 2:19a), into the spirit of Jezebel bringing in corruption, deceiving it with the “depths of Satan” and deadening its influence in the world (2:20-23) that it have no “authority over the nations” to “rule with a rod of iron” as Christ, the “morning star” (2:27-28-> 22:16).

Its final use takes us to the end of Revelation where the Risen Christ again appears now on a “white horse” in “righteousness” to judge and make war” (19:11). His “eyes”, we are again told, are

like a flame of fire

and on His head were many crowns (19:12)

In the last battle (which is less of a battle and more of a sudden and total victorious conquering), He casts the “beast” and“false prophet” into a “lake of fire” and destroys their army by the “sword that went forth from His mouth” (19:20-21) . This, then, inaugurates the reign of His Church with the total and utter defeat of Satan (20:1-10), the Final Judgment (20:11-15) and the New Creation in His blood where God now comes finally to “dwell” (skēnóō) with man in the glorious Temple of His eternal presence (Rev 21).

Beginning at the End: Revelation 1 and the vision of the Risen Christ

Now that we have a picture of how “flame” is used throughout the NT, being integrally tied to the holiness of JHWH in a way that either brings judgment and destruction, on the one hand, or glorious transformation, on the other, we focus our attention on the revelation of the Person of Jesus. Beginning this word study, therefore, at the end we come to the opening appearance of the Risen Christ to the Apostle John. In this opening vision, He appears as

“One like the Son of Man”

whose

“head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow (1:13a-14a, drawing on Daniel’s visionary depiction of the “Ancient of Days” (more literally translated, “One who had been living for ever”; “the Eternal God”, Dan 7:9-14)

with

“eyes were like a flame (phlóx) of fire” (1:14b, again returning to Daniel’s vision where “His eyes” are spoken of as “blazing torches”, Dan 10:6b).

Walking “in the midst of the seven lampstands” which are “the seven churches” and holding “in His right hand the seven stars” which are the “angels of the seven churches” (1:12-13a, 20), His face shines forth “like the sun shining in its strength” (1:16a-> Dan 10:6a) and He opens His mouth with His words going forth as a“sharp two-edged (dístomos) sword” (1:16-> Is 11:4, 49:1-3) giving a “solemn pronouncement” [b] that will form the basis of the entirety of the revelation that follows.

This is the start of the

Revelation (apokálypsis) of Jesus Christ (1:1)

That is, the unveiling (apó + kalýptō) of “Jeshua”, the One “anointed” (Christós) by the Spirit of the Lord God to bring salvation to His people (Rev 1:5a).

Who is Himself

The faithful witness (ho mártys ho pistós),

Whose martyría to God’s eternal truth led Him down a narrow and suffering path to His own martyrdom; yet the redemptive suffering of this path conformed Him, the text continues, into

The firstborn (prōtótokos: Lk 2:7-> Rom 8:29-> Col 1:15-18-> Rev 1:5b) from the dead.

For in the words of the Fathers,

“a few drops of His blood recreates the entire world.”

As the “firstborn” of the New Creation that is given life “in His blood”, Jesus stands, therefore, as

The ruler (árchōn) over the kings of the earth (Rev 1:5c).

Yet His rule, unlike the “kings of the earth”, stems not from mere power, but from the reality of His self-sacrificial, purifying love;

For He

loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Rev 1:5d)

And re-formed, re-made, re-born by “His own blood” into this New Creation, He has

made us kings and priests to His God and Father

To [Whom] be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Rev 1:6).

The next two occurrences: The judgment of the Jezebel spirit in the church at Thyatira

With the revelation of the glory and dominion of the risen Christ in the opening of Revelation, the next occurrence comes in the very next chapter in the word given to the Church at Thyatira. As with each message to the seven churches, this begins with a vision of the Person of Jesus. And it repeats this exact same phrase drawing our attention again to the “eyes” of the Lord:

This is the solemn pronouncement of [bh] the Son of God,

The One Who has eyes like a flame (phlóx) of fire [bi]

and whose feet are like frankincensed bronze (chalkolibanon, 2:18-> Mt 2:11).

The question for us is

Why the repetition of His “eyes”?

For even Christ Himself commends this church with a commendation that surpasses nearly every other:

“I know your works, love (agápē), service (diakonía), faith, and your persevering endurance (hypomonḗ, 2:19a).

An extraordinary list; yet that’s not all:

And as for your works, the last are more than the first (2:19b).

Would we could be this church with such a level of ever increasing virtue…

But the “eyes” of the Resurrected Jesus see further, deeper, beyond our good works (which we in the world only see) into the spirit operating among them:

Nevertheless I have a few things against you

Because you allow (aphíēmi) that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants…(2:20)

The spirit operating among them unseen is that of Jezebel. We will return to the operations of such a spirit both in the OT and the New in the writing that follows. For the moment, we will only say that its operations are, according to Christ’s words to the Church, absolutely deadly. Union with her (spoken of as porneía), leads into “great tribulation” and ultimately “death” as it draws the deceived church into the “depths of Satan” (Rev 2:22-24).

Yet, as the Risen Lord continues, to those who “do not hold” her “doctrine” but rather “hold fast” to the true faith “until [He] comes”, Christ will “give” them

power over the nations (Ps 2:8).

No longer shall they be under the fierce rule of a Jezebel spirit that will deceive, delude, weaken and ultimately destroy them and their God-given leadership. Rather, they shall, in the Messianic prophecy,

rule (poimaínō, literally “shepherd”) the nations with a rod (rhábdos) of iron (cf. Rev 19:15)

such that those who reject this rule

shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels (Ps 2:8-9).

Christ will then give to them what, in His words,

I received from My Father[cl]; and I will give him the morning star.

What an exchange!

Instead of receiving the from Jezebel the “deep things of Satan” that strip from them any authority to bring the glory of the Kingdom of God into This Fallen Age, they are now granted the authority (exousía) of Christ Himself, the morning star (astḗr prōïnós, cf. Rev 22:16) Who comes in victory to conquer evil.

The final occurrence: The Final Judgment and the Last Battle

In the climactic appearance of this phrase, we are taken to the end of Revelation, immediately after the destruction of Babylon (Rev 18) with the “condemnation and punishment” of her “queen”, identified as the

Great prostitute who sits on many waters

with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality (porneúō)

and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her fornication (porneía, 17:1b-2).

With the “heavens opened”, Christ now appears as the “One Who is called Faithful and True” appearing on a “white horse” in “righteousness” to judge and make war” (19:11).

His “eyes”, we are again told, are

like a flame of fire

and on His head were many crowns (19:12)

He is

clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God (19:13).

Out of His mouth goes a

sharp sword (rhomphaía) with which He would should strike the nations and rule them with a rod of iron (19:15a)

On “His robe and on His thigh” there is “written a name”:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS

(19:16).

The Final Battle

What follows in that which has been called the battle of Armageddon is actually not much of a war at all. Rather it is an immediate, overwhelming victorious destruction of the enemies of JHWH:

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

Then the beast was captured

And with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image (19:19-20a).

That is to say, when the Risen Christ, the “King of Kings and Lord of Lord” appears with “eyes like flame of fire” His enemies are immediately seized, as it were, without their ability to withstand the manifest power of God. And as such,

These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse (19:20b-21).

Over. Done.

No drama. No stalemate of trench warfare.

Immediate, complete and total victory.

The Final Judgment

This is the power of the Risen and Ascended Christ Who returns in His Glory as a warrior and judge:

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Mt 24:27, 30-31).

Again,

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God (I Thes 4:16-17).

And once more,

When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all His angels are with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.

The people of every nation will be gathered in front of Him. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right but the goats on His left (Mt 25:31-33).

We should do well to note how Christ actually judges the sheep and the goats bearing in minds the words of the Apostle James 2:14-26…

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or evil (II Cor 5:10).

All of this was prophesied not only by Christ Himself before His crucifixion, but also by Paul after his conversion, and even by “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, who prophesied, saying,

“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly (asebḗs: From Α + sébomai: Those who refuse to worship and reverence God) of all their deeds of ungodliness (asebéō) that they have committed in such an ungodly (asebḗs) way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly (asebḗs) sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).

The final judgment comes on the “ungodly” (asebḗs), who

although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God,

Nor were thankful,

But became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Rom 1:21).

This refusal to “glorify” God and “give thanks” stands as the primordial sin of man, according to the Apostle. All the misery of the sin, which Paul will go on to document with horrifying precision that finally makes man “foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Rom 1:24-32) flows out of this first refusal. In the words of Schmemann, man rejects his original calling to be a “doxalogical, eucharistic” , in this way “giving himself over” and being “given over” (paradidómi) to the darkness of a “debased mind/heart/soul/sprit/nous”.

And with his whole being living in and operating out of that darkness, he comes, in Jesus’ own words, to actually “hate the light” and “love (agapaó) the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19-21). He chooses for himself, therefore, the “condemnation” of which Christ speaks and which Christ will come “with ten thousands of his holy ones” to finally execute.

Terrifying.

The conclusion

Beginning at the end, we see that the “flame (phlóx) of fire” of the “eyes” of the Risen Christ expresses the perfect holiness of JHWH. This holiness, as we have seen, is to those who have rejected His rule and lived a life of “ungodliness” an eternal fire that judges and destroys. Yet for those who have given themselves to the knowledge and love and obedience of “the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”, the “flame” of God’s holiness will be a glorious light that transforms them into the image of their Crucified and Risen Savior.

Amen.

So let it be!

In the next writing, we will return to the beginning, tracing the meaning of phlóx through the the Gospel of Luke in the well-known Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus which will take us into the “love of self” (phílautos) and “love of money” (philárgyros)….

To which we say,

Kyrie eleison!