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Echoes of Revelation
Revelation never quotes the Old Testament outright, yet no New Testament book refers to it more. See both texts side by side, why they don’t match, and what John does with them.
Revelation 1:14, eyes like a flame of fire
The fiery eyes come from the shining man in Daniel 10, whose eyes were like torches of fire.
Revelation 1:14, in every translation this tool compares.
A cover version can keep a song's tune and change one word in the chorus. In Daniel 10 a shining man appears to Daniel by a river. His eyes are like torches of fire. John's figure has eyes like a flame of fire. The picture is Daniel's; the word is a little different.
Eyes and fire, in the same kind of portrait: a glorious man seen in a vision. In Greek both say his eyes were as something of fire (pyros).
Daniel's man has eyes like torches or lamps (lampades). John says flame (phlox). The word flame of fire appears in Daniel 7:9 too, for God's throne. John may have joined the two. He keeps the order of Daniel 10 through the next verses: eyes, then feet, then voice.
Fire that sees through everything is a picture of judgment. Beale notes that in 2:18-23 the one with eyes like fire searches hearts and gives each church what its deeds deserve. The ESV Study Bible says these eyes see through any front a church puts up.
Not a picture of anger alone. The fire also stands for full knowledge, which can bring blessing as well as judgment (Beale).
Beale says the description of the eyes and feet follows Daniel 10:6 in Greek. The vault's Greek Daniel reads hoi ophthalmoi autou hosei lampades pyros; John has hoi ophthalmoi autou hos phlox pyros. The words phlox pyros occur in Daniel 7:9 of the Ancient of Days' throne, a link noted here and not by the sources. Beale reads the eyes as judicial and ties them to 2:18, 23 and 19:12. Keener lists the features of the mighty angel of Daniel 10:5-6 among the sources of verses 13-15; the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, the ESV Study Bible and the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible all cite Daniel 10:6. Walton notes that Daniel's five features (body, face, eyes, limbs, voice) also describe the throne-bearers of Ezekiel 1. The grade is drawn here: the picture is uniquely Daniel's, the wording is not identical.
Heiser calls the fiery eyes a bit of an outlier: the picture is not entirely from Ezekiel 1, but such descriptions are used of God elsewhere. He reads the whole portrait as John fusing descriptions of Yahweh from different places into one picture of Jesus.
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- G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), comment on 1:13-15
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Revelation 1:13-15
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, note on Revelation 1:14
- ESV Study Bible, note on Revelation 1:14
- NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, note on Revelation 1:14
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, on Daniel 10:5-6
- Septuagint, Daniel 7:9 and 10:6, Interlinear Greek-English Septuagint
- Michael S. Heiser, Revelation 1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ and the Glorified Son of Man, video lecture (Naked Bible Revelation series)
