"His body also was like the
beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as
lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished
brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude."
(Daniel 10:6)
The Lord's body resembled a pure
gemstone of great value, and his face overpowered the beholder with
its holiness. The physical manifestation of this holiness was veiled
when Christ was born into the world, but here it is clearly seen.
Peter, James and John caught a small glimpse of it on the Mount of
Transfiguration when "his face did shine as the sun, and his
raiment was white as the light (Matthew 17:2)." As someone once
put it, Christ's ability to mask His glory was more of a miracle than
His ability to show it.
The eyes of fire bring to mind God's
ability to see through all things. No secret is hid from the
piercing fire of His all-seeing eyes. His arms and His feet
resembled burnished brass. Judgment and strength are likely pictured
by the brass. Because the Lord Christ knows all things, sees all
things and holds all things together (Colossians 1:17), He is
perfectly equipped to judge all things by His powerful and unfailing
word.
Daniel is careful to note the
overwhelming effect of the Lord's voice. It resembled the
overpowering sound of an innumerable company of people. As the noise
of a vast company of soldiers marching to war, the Lord's voice
struck terror and awe into the heart of the one hearing it. The last
few verses of John's revelation compliment Daniel's description of
the preincarnate Lord.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and
his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass,
as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many
waters. (Revelation 1:14-15)
The Lord Jesus Christ is often depicted
as an effeminate individual who is willing to compromise the Lord's
holiness for the sake of people who are not willing to bow the knee.
Daniel's vision paints the Lord in an entirely different light.
Everything about Him exudes holiness and the subsequent terror of
such overwhelming purity. Christ's beauty is not to be found in the
long-haired image on the front of a blasphemous shirt. He would not
go to the bar and have a drink for any purpose, evangelistic or
otherwise. He would not condone a Christian rock concert. His
holiness is not represented by an ill-dressed rebel who cares nothing
for the authority and application of Scripture. The Scriptures have
done a beautiful job in describing the character and glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is time for God's people to return to the
authority of these Scriptures, and let all who are unwilling to do so
go their way.