1:14 And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;

And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow;

The first thing that catches John's eye is the white head and hair of the One standing in the middle of the lampstands. This parallels the vision Daniel saw of the Ancient of Days - Daniel 7:9.

Sadly, our youth-oriented market-driven society would wish to see a brown-haired pleasant-eyed `Head of Christ'....BUT that is NOT what Jesus looks like today. Nowhere in the New Testament is the physical appearance of Jesus given. We only see Him as He was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-3) and as John describes Him here. Perhaps, well-meaning churches are deceiving their congregations when they hang a portrait of the "Head of Christ" in their sanctuary and it doesn't look like what John is describing here.

The whiteness denotes purity....the only kind of purity that changes scarlet sins to white - Isaiah 1:18. Praise the Lord!

In many cultures, white hair denotes wisdom and is an honor to have. Solomon indicates such in Proverbs 16:31 and Proverbs 20:29. Thus this image fits 'the Ancient of Days' - Jesus Christ.

and His eyes were like a Flame of Fire.

When polling the class I taught on Revelation, this feature was the one most impressionable. What is it with the eyes? In oriental films, when deep emotion is to be expressed, a tight shot of the eyes is put on the screen. Psychologically, we humans judge most quickly a person's character by their eyes. Some people use the expression 'he has wild eyes' or 'he has big eyes' to describe a person's demeanor.

Nathaniel was so impressed that Jesus "saw" him under the fig tree, that he became a disciple (John 1:44-51).

Here, these eyes  are very penetrating like as if His eyes shot fire. This is not surprising, particularly in light of what is going on in the model churches (next two chapters). In fact, this description is included in the 'who's speaking' part of the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18). Its these same eyes which are triumphant in battle (Revelation 19:12).

Daniel doesn't mention the eyes in his initial vision in chapter 7, but in his later vision (Daniel 10:6) the eyes are described to be like flaming torches. It's the fire which is so penetrating. All things are laid bare before the "Eyes of the Lord:"  Hebrews 4:13. See also Job 31:1-4. The "penetrating fire" checks for good and evil in our lives: 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Corinthians 3:13; and likewise "the light" in 1 Corinthians 4:5.

But let's not despair. These same eyes also look for the GOOD. Hanani told King Asa that 'the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may STRONGLY SUPPORT those whose HEART is completely His'. - 2 Chronicles 16:9. See also Proverbs 15:3 and Zechariah 4:10.

When these EYES look at you, what do they see? Is it dark and dirty inside or white like snow? Those eyes always see and know who you really are!