Strong’s Greek 5470 (χαλκᾶ) designates objects made of bronze or copper. Its single New Testament appearance stands in Revelation 9:20, where bronze idols are named among the false gods that bind humanity in unrepentant rebellion. The verse places bronze alongside gold, silver, stone, and wood—materials representing the pride of human craftsmanship when it is divorced from true worship. From Genesis to Revelation, bronze functions as both a legitimate material for God-ordained service and a symbol of human self-reliance turned toward idolatry.

Occurrences in Scripture

• Revelation 9:20 — “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, still did not repent of the works of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.”

Though 5470 appears only here in the Greek New Testament, the broader biblical account contains many bronze references that illuminate the word’s theological weight.

Historical and Cultural Background of Bronze in the Biblical World

Bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) was vital in the ancient Near East. Its durability made it ideal for tools, weapons, and artistic objects. Nations surrounding Israel crafted bronze statues of their deities, and archaeologists have uncovered countless small household idols fashioned from bronze. Because bronze resisted corrosion better than iron, such images survived to become enduring icons of pagan worship.

Bronze and Idolatry

The worship of bronze idols, condemned in Revelation 9:20, echoes earlier prophetic denunciations.
• Isaiah 46:6 mocks craftsmen who lavish gold “and hire a goldsmith” to make a god that “cannot move.” Bronze idols fit the same critique.
• Daniel 5:4 records Belshazzar praising “gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone” during the feast that triggered divine judgment.
• Psalm 115:4-7 declares that idols have mouths but cannot speak and ears but cannot hear—language mirrored in Revelation’s closing phrase “which cannot see or hear or walk.”

Revelation 9:20 reveals humanity’s stubborn loyalty to such lifeless gods even under apocalyptic plagues. The listing of metals in descending value (gold to bronze) exposes the irrationality of idolatry: people will bow to anything their hands can shape, regardless of its worth.

Contrast with God-Ordained Bronze in Worship

Scripture also portrays bronze as an honorable material when employed at God’s command.
• Exodus 27:1-19 specifies bronze for the altar, utensils, bases, and pegs of the tabernacle.
• Numbers 21:9 introduces the bronze serpent, a means of deliverance when viewed in faith.
• 1 Kings 7:23-47 describes Solomon’s colossal “Sea of cast bronze,” supporting temple worship.

Bronze therefore carries an ambivalent symbolism. In devoted use it signifies judgment borne and atonement provided (the bronze altar where sacrifices were consumed); in profane use it becomes a monument to self-made religion.

Prophetic and Eschatological Implications

Revelation 9:20 signals a climax of the prophetic theme that idolatry persists until final judgment. The absence of repentance despite extraordinary plagues fulfills warnings such as Jeremiah 8:5-7, where the people “hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return.” The mention of bronze idols marks continuity between ancient rebellion and end-time defiance, underscoring the justice of God’s forthcoming wrath.

Application for the Church Today

1. Discernment: Even durable cultural achievements—technological, artistic, or economic—can become “bronze idols” when they demand allegiance that belongs to God alone.
2. Evangelism: Revelation 9:20 motivates believers to proclaim the gospel before hearts harden irreversibly.
3. Worship: Like the bronze furnishings sanctified for Israel’s worship, every material resource in the church should be consecrated to the Lord and guarded from idolatrous misuse.

Related Scriptures

Exodus 38:1-7; Leviticus 6:28; Numbers 31:21-23; Deuteronomy 28:23; 2 Kings 18:4; Psalm 106:19-20; Isaiah 30:22; Acts 17:29; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 John 5:21.

Summary

Strong’s Greek 5470 highlights humanity’s capacity to convert the good gift of bronze into an idol. Revelation 9:20 frames that capacity as a persistent sin that will draw divine judgment in the last days. Yet the same material, when offered in obedience, served holy purposes in the tabernacle and temple, pointing ultimately to Christ, whose atoning work cleanses worshipers from every form of idolatry and secures their place in the New Jerusalem, where “nothing unclean will ever enter it” (Revelation 21:27).