1. Revelation 1:16 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why was the son of man's face so bright?

Revelation 1:16 (ESV)

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

After Moses came from the presence of the Lord, his face shone so that he needed to place a veil over it (Exodus 34:29–35). Paul recorded that with the coming of Jesus Christ something greater has arrived (2 Corinthians 4:7–11). Here is a now man whose face shone too, but even brighter than Moses’, and it is not veiled. The one like a son of man clearly has come from the presence of God himself; he’s clearly more than any earthly sovereign (such as Nero).