Book of Revelation chapter one,
I'd like to read verses 12 through 20 for tonight and spend a little
time on the Lord Jesus. His revelation about himself.
Our great high priest. Revelation chapter 1 verse 12,
the scriptures share this. And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one likened to the son of man, clothed with
a garment down to the foot, and gird about the paps with a golden
girdle. 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. And he had in his right hand
seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand upon me saying unto me, fear not, I am the first
and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. Write the things which thou seest,
and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest is in my right
hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels
of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which thou
sawest are the seven churches. These seven golden lampstands,
or they're called candlesticks here, represent the seven churches,
and they would be pitiful if it wasn't for what we find in
the very next verse, in the midst of them, verse 13, in the midst
of the seven golden candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man.
We don't want to make too much out of verse 13, but we want
to make a great deal out of verse 14 and 15 and 16. Now, these seven candlesticks
are lit with oil and the oil has to be supplied. There's nothing
that a church has outside of Christ. There is no light outside
of Christ. There is no warmth outside of
Christ. There is nothing outside of Christ. They're dead outside of Christ. There is nothing there but a
social club. And that's what they become if
Christ is not the center. Now, the Old Testament priests
were nothing more than types in shadows and pictures. And
there's some things here in these verses that I want to speak on,
and I'd like to spend my time most of the night on the high
priest that is pictured here. And I know it will be tedious,
but I'd like to read part of a chapter out of the Old Testament,
the book of Exodus, that shares with us the view of Aaron as
he was being prepared for the priesthood, and then to look
at some verses in the book of Hebrews that share with us our
Savior. And there is a companion passage
of scripture with this, and it's found in the Song of Solomon.
So before we go anywhere, would you turn with me to the Song
of Solomon, chapter five. Song of Solomon, chapter five.
Now it's companion because it's a description of our Savior,
but there are some variables, some differences that are mentioned
here that we do not find in the book of Revelation. In the book
of Revelation, we see our Savior on his throne, After his ascension,
after his ministry and work on the earth, we see him as our
mediator, we see him as our great high priest. We see him different
in some senses because the words he used from the cross, it is
finished, are truly evident as we look at the Lord in the book
of Revelation, in particular in this passage of scripture.
Now over in the Song of Solomon, we have some thoughts there that
this description that the church gives of the Lord that are some
different just because of the perspective that the church has
of the Lord at this particular time. Now, I'm not saying one's
better than the other, it's just a different attitude that we
have about looking at our Lord. Over here in the Song of Solomon,
chapter 5, this companion passage of scripture With regard of a
picture of the Lord begins in verse nine of chapter five, it
says, what is I beloved more than another beloved? O thou
fairest among women, what is thy beloved more than another
beloved that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy. Now, there's two different descriptions
in that versus those thoughts. One of them is sharing his deity,
the other in his humanity. Now, I didn't look this up, but
I've heard, and I should have looked it up, that this word
ruddy is the same word for Adam found in the Old Testament. I'm
right. It's a distinguishing mark about
the God-man, the Lord Jesus. Now, we notice here he's the
cheapest among 10,000. And if we were to say that about
the revelation description, we could say he is the utmost of
the utmost. He is the highest of the highest.
In fact, he describes himself as the alpha and omega. He has
every superlative with regard to his character and attributes.
Back here in the book of Song of Solomon, it says that his
head is the most fine gold and his locks are bushy and black
as a raven. Now to the church, that is such
a wonderful aspect about the Lord. in this view, and over
in the book of Revelation, it's such a wonderful view about the
Lord, to see him in that view. Here, we find that his hair is
black, like a raven, and it is a description of the Lord Jesus
Christ becoming sin for us. And over in the book of Revelation,
his hair is white like wool, like snow. That part is over. He will never become sin for
us again. Once is enough. And that's what
we're going to find as we read several verses in the book of
Hebrews about our priest, our great high priest, that when
the ministry was finished, when the sacrifice was completed,
the ascension took place. Nevermore are we going to find
him. The book of Revelation does not
share with us, and even the book of Ezekiel shares with us about
a hair that is wool, it's white, it's pure. There's no thought
of sin about the Lord Jesus. Now, I rejoice when I read it
in the Song of Solomon about him taking our sin, but once
is enough. Never have to have that again.
He'll not be sacrificed again. Now over here it says in verse
12, his eyes were as the eyes of doves. And in the book of
Revelation, his eyes are as the flame of fire. And here it says,
doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set.
His cheeks are as the bed of spices, as sweet flowers. His lips like lilies, dropping
sweet smelling myrrh. His hands, are as gold rings
set with burial, his belly as his bright ivory overlaid with
sapphires, his legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of
fine gold. And over in the book of Revelation,
we read about his being fine brass. His mouth is most sweet,
yea, he is altogether lovely. And in the book of Revelation,
we'll find out of his mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword. So these
are views of the same person. And the blessing for the church
is found here in the Song of Solomon. The blessing for the
church is found over here in the book of Revelation, speaking
about the same person with some different characteristics and
attributes displayed. Now, when we see this picture
of the Lord Jesus, we see the Savior's revelation of Himself,
and when He speaks of a garment, it is a garment of absolute perfection. When we read about his garment
over here in the book of Revelation, a garment that reaches from here
to the ground, and we're gonna read over in the book of Exodus
that in a very special way was that garment made, and it had
one hole in it, and that was for the head to go through, and
it was bound so it wouldn't unravel. That's some really interesting
thoughts that we could look at, but just one piece sewn together,
I mean, woven together with a hole for the head. Now, the closest
that I could come to is a shirape, but it doesn't, it's not full
length, just a place for your head to go through, and it's
not bound off like it's described over there. Now this garment,
it is as perfect a garment as ever been worn. That garment
speaks of his righteousness. When we look over there in the
book of Revelation, when it speaks of gold, it speaks of the purest
of gold. I've seen stamps on gold ingots,
99.9% or 999.9. There's still some imperfections
there. We wouldn't quibble about it.
Someone wanted to give us some that had 999.9, we wouldn't quibble. But when it comes to the Lord,
we would, we'd have to because we want purity. When we see him,
the description about him has to do with gold. It is absolutely
the purest. There is no imperfections in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And when it speaks of wool, it
speaks of the purest wool. piece of description about the
Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely the best. He is Alpha and Omega. He is the beginning and the ending,
and everything about him in all of the clothes that he wore and
everything that he had in those verses of scripture are the absolute
purest that could be, because it is speaking of him and his
character. When we read about fire, it is
the purest fire. There is no dirty smoke in that
fire. It is the purest of fire. And
when he speaks of brass, it is the finest brass. And when we
read over there that his voice, it is the most clear voice you
have ever heard in your life. There is no imperfections in
the voice of the Lord Jesus. It's the purest, clearest, and
most relaxing voice. Now, I was given a radio, and
I've been taking it out on a job, and I found out that I can work
a lot better with elevator music than with rock
and roll. It's just clearer. It doesn't
interfere with you. Now, the Lord's voice is so clear and
so distinct and so relaxing. There is no disturbance in his
voice. There is no concern about whether
he got his job done in his voice. There is no record of him being
incomplete telegraphed through his voice. He's absolutely the
purest and kindest and gentlest and successful and all the descriptions
we can make, the voice of the Lord Jesus. And it is a voice
that's pure and clear and relaxing, the most delightful voice. And
when he speaks, it's a sharp two-edged sword. And we have
to say the same thing about that. It is the sharpest two-edged
sword. There's no dullness about that.
There is every characteristic and attribute of the Lord Jesus
Christ, as it's described here in these verses, is superlative,
the best. And we shouldn't have to say
best of the best, but we will. Best of the best. He has a sharp
two-edged sword, and the sharpness of that sword will cut even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. It is so sharp and it's two-edged
and it is a savor of life unto life and a savor of death unto
death. And he speaks with this, it's a sharp two-edged sword,
it's his word and his countenance is the brightest and purest and
most illuminating and most enjoyable countenance that could be ever
seen by a human eye. This countenance is so bright.
Countenance is so pleasing. No one that's in the bride of
the Lord Jesus Christ shrunk back because of his countenance. It is attractive countenance. It promotes us wanting to get
closer to his countenance. There is nothing that would hinder
us from coming in. There is nothing about him that
would cause us to draw back. There is everything about him
that would cause us to draw closer. His countenance is so bright,
and his voice is so clear, and he has most white wool, snow-white
hair. He is the Ancient of Days. He
has no sin. At one time, he became sin for
us, and when that was completed, oh, the white hair that he has,
displaying his absolute righteousness, and there's nothing that would
hinder the church from coming close. Now, we may do as John
did, We may appear to be dead, but there's always the right
hand. Now, that's no mistake. It's not just because the writers
decided to add the right hand. Who's on the right hand? Welcome
to the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
is on the right hand. And he deals with John with his
right hand, and he's upholding with his right hand. This is
so clear about the greatness of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and taking care of his people. Now, the Old Testament priests
were nothing more than types and shadows and pictures of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Not one sin was ever forgiven
by one priest. It didn't matter whether they
were high priests, regular priests, or just plain Levites. Not one
of them ever forgave a sin. Now they may have thought they
did. Some of those guys had no better view of Christ as their
savior than a hound dog. They just had no concept. They
just put into that position by inheritance. There was no, not one heart was
ever changed by those priests. When people came into their presence,
they brought their lamb, and the sacrifice was made, their
heart was in the same condition when they left as when they came.
There's only one that can do that kind of heart work, and
that's our great high priest. Now, he was as active in the
Old Testament economy as he is today. When it came to saving
people, our great high priest had to be active there just like
he is now. His characteristics and attributes
were just as applicable then as they are now. And this one
could change the heart, and this one did forgive sins. And to
many of those people, they were no better when they came. when they left, same people. Paul mentions this, he said,
before God, I felt like I had a clear conscience. When I sinned,
I offered the proper sacrifice and went home, and that was it. But he had no change of heart,
and as we heard Sunday, he probably had a whole bunch of the Old
Testament memorized. The Bible in his day was probably
committed to memory and had no more idea what it was all about
until after he was saved, and then he could preach Christ out
of it. So the Old Testament priests, they had no way of forgiving
sin. They had no way of making anybody
any better. They could go through all the
pronouncements and all of the activities and all of those things. And yet we find that they never
once ever, from a job description, ever got to sit down. because
the next day it started all over. Now the Lord Jesus Christ, we're
going to read, he, since he finished his work, sat down. Turn with
me, if you would, to the book of Exodus. In Exodus chapter
39, and there is a tremendous study in this Exodus chapter
39, the description of Aaron and all those who came
after him and the clothes they wore and the gold breastplate
and all these things that are brought out here have so much
to say about the Lord Jesus Christ in type and shadow and picture,
and we see them all absolutely and completely fulfilled in what
we read in the book of Revelation chapter one. Everything that
is here, he was able to take care of. all the types and the
shadows and the pictures were fulfilled in this one person,
our Savior, the Lord Jesus. In Exodus chapter 39, beginning
with verse one, and this is right in the middle of building the
tabernacle and all the descriptions of that, which are pictures again
of the Lord Jesus, and some could be said about the church in that
tabernacle, but here, Exodus chapter 39, verse one, and of
the blue and the purple and the scarlet, they made claws of service
to do service in the holy place and made garments, holy garments
for Aaron as the Lord commanded Moses. Now this whole description
is given by the Lord. It was not left up to Moses to
go and, well, I think we'll make his clothing look like this.
This is from the Lord, and every bit of it had some representation,
some picture, some type, some shadow. about the righteousness,
the holiness, the benefits of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
God's direction to Moses so that when Aaron came out to do service,
he was a picture of the high priest, every priest that ever
walked the face of the earth, even the pretend one now. They're less than a picture and
a type and a shadow because that's over with. That economy is over
with. But these high priests and priests
and Levites, they had their work to do, but it was never finished.
They had their service to do, but it was never complete. They
tarried on this earth as long as they lived. They always knew
what they'd be doing the next day because it was prescribed.
They knew what they would dress like the next day because it
was prescribed. And every step they took, They
were a walking picture of the one who was in heaven, anticipating
coming to this earth. During his ministry here, they
were a picture of what he was on earth. And we read about it
as he has completed his work. These are just types and shadows
and pictures of the one who has completed the work. The high
priest took a lamb. And our high priest took a lamb
himself. And he sacrificed the lamb and
he sacrificed himself. And he bore our sins on the tree.
The high priest in the Old Testament and the priest, they confessed
sin over these animals and then slew them. Just pictures. And yet we find the words were
given to them, just like we read in the book of Hebrews, the blood
of bulls and goats could not take away sin. Now I'm convinced
that that description of the Lord Jesus in the book of Song
of Solomon, when it says he had black hair, there wasn't a gray
one in it. Not one. And when we read that
description of him in the book of Revelation, there's not one
dark hair in his head. It's all white. He is not, you
know, The whole bunch of evangelicals, quote unquote, are looking for
the last red heifer. One cow with only red hair. I'm convinced there's only one
that's ever been born. Now if there's another one, that's
fine, but it's gonna have nothing to do with having any economy
going. They're looking for one. They
want one more red heifer so they can start the temple sacrifice,
that's what they say. But there was only one. And that
red heifer was used for centuries. The ashes of that red heifer
was used for centuries. Its description was there was
no black hair, no white hair. It was all red hair. And it was
a picture and a type and a shadow of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. And we read over there, he has
hair like a raven. It's all black. When I read over
here, he's got hair like wool. It's all white. There's no this,
no gray, no white and black. It's all equal, all the same. All right, now, in here, this
description, if we looked at how they made these colors, we'd
find a great, great story. Scarlet, there was a worm they
crushed, collected the blood, dyed the garments, It was only
a value when it was crushed. It was found out there in the
Arabian Peninsula. They crushed it up in a mortar and pedestal.
It had a quality about its blood that my blood doesn't have. The
blood of this worm did not coagulate when it hit air. Mine does, thank
God. That's how we clot. But this blood was able to be
used as dye, and it was used throughout the tabernacle and
throughout all the garments, and it was a picture of a very
special blood, the blood of our Savior. Verse two, and he made an ephod
of gold and blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen. And they did beat the gold into
thin plates and cut it into wires to work it in the blue and purple
and the scarlet and in the fine linen with cunning work. Now that's interesting. Mixing
gold with linen and these colors. I'm so thankful that our savior
gave up the glory that he had with the father and came down
to this incursed earth to become our sacrifice. made shoulder
pieces for it to couple it together by two edges. Was it coupled
together? Curious girdle of his ephod that was upon it was of
the same according to the work thereof of gold and blue and
purple and scarlet and fine twine linen as the Lord commanded Moses. Now he gave the ability of these
craftsmen to make the cloth that was going to be used. And he
gave the ability to the goldsmiths and he gave the ability to the
dyers, and he gave the ability to the linen makers. They had a gift given to them
by Almighty God to do what they were doing in a very special
way to make clothing for this very particular individual Aaron. Now, if we back up before Aaron,
we find out Abraham was a priest, Noah was a priest, Abel was a
priest. There were priests throughout
the Old Testament. They were heads of families. They were
priests and took care of business for the Lord. But when it came
to this point, he ordained, set aside this one Levitical man,
man of tribe of Levi, Aaron by name, and he started a whole
group of high priests. Now, I was reading this afternoon
that by the time the Lord got here, it looks like that that
job was up for sale. Because we find high priests, more than one. It's a very influential
job. And it was one of these guys
that was used to bring to the attention of the Romans, we need
this Lord, this Jesus taken care of. And that's what happened. Verse five, in the curious girdle
of his ephod, and it was upon it, was the same according to
the work thereof of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine
twine linen, as the Lord commanded Moses. And they wrought onyx
stones enclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets were
graven, with the names of the children of Israel. Now someone had a really good
ability given to them. because there were 12 tribes
listed here. All of the chosen of God. There wasn't a Hittite, a Hivite,
or a Jebusite listed there. They're all the tribes of Israel. And it put them on the shoulder
of the ephod and they should be stones for a memorial to the
children of Israel as the Lord commanded Moses. Now this again
is by God's divine command. And it would be a memorial. What's
a memorial? As Aaron walked, he could remember. And as the
people saw him, they could remember. This priest has a special duty
for Israel and sorry, according to God's design, for no one else. Israel was a special people called
out of all peoples, and they are a type of the church of the
living God, even though a whole bunch of them had no more concept
about God than that rich man did that lifted up his eyes in
hell being in torment. Not all Israel is of Israel. That's what Paul said. So it
wasn't because you were born an Israelite, it was because
you were born again as an Israelite that made the difference. Verse
eight, and he made a breastplate of cunning work, like the work
of the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twine linen. I can't help but think when Aaron
was clothed with this, he looked like a Jew. You know what the church said?
He's altogether lovely. Every stitch is perfect. Every woven piece of linen is
perfect. From outward observation, all
that gold was cut just right and threaded through all that
cloth. And the names, there was no mistake
made in the spelling of those names. and the letters weren't
backwards. They were all right. And when
he walked by, people could say, he's speaking for me. He's doing
it on my behalf. And when we see the Lord Jesus
Christ in his great high priestly work, his great high priestly
prayer, I pray not for the world, I pray for my people. His benefit
to us. He's speaking for me. He's interceding
for me. He's doing this for me. He's
dressed like this for me. He's entering into the holy of
holies for me. He's carrying the blood for me.
This is grand to see the Lord Jesus Christ as our great high
priest and to see the pictures here as Aaron portrayed a picture
of him. and made a breastplate, verse
eight, of cunning work. Verse nine, it was a four square.
They made the breastplate double. A span was the length thereof
and a span the breadth thereof. And I would venture to say you
couldn't find with the naked eye any discrepancy. When it said four square, there
was a man that was capable of measuring exactly. I don't know
how many times I heard kids say, this is supposed to, I'd say
this is supposed to be seven and three quarters. Yours is
seven and five eighths. What difference does it make? You know, and to a lot of people,
it doesn't make any difference, even about spiritual things.
But to God, it was four square. Exact. Get your micrometer out. There is no discrepancy. This is a representation of our
high priest. He has fulfilled it in every
character, in every form. And it could be said not only
by one, but by all the world. I find no fault in him. There's no discrepancy. There's
no error. He is perfect in every way. Even the chains that held these
plates was absolutely perfect. As men and women observed the
high priest walking by, I believe they said in their minds, that
is a beautiful display. Everything is lined up. Everything
is beautiful. Now, it goes on to say here,
set four rows of stones. The first row was sardis, a topaz,
a carbuncle. That was the first row. And every
one of these had some representation, something. It just baffles me
that these children of Israel escaping Egypt, leaving And they're
going through the desert there. In some way, they end up with
all these right stones. Just baffles me. You got better
things to think about. Escape. And then they spend about
two years there at Mount Sinai. And there's a bunch of that time
is spent with foolishness. And God comes down and cleans
house. And now he gets serious. He says, these are the descriptions
of You're going to have to get wood. You're going to have to
carve it just right and make this tabernacle. And here's what
I want the high priest to look like. The second row of emerald,
a sapphire, and a diamond. A third row of ligure, and agate,
and amethyst. And the fourth row of beryl,
and onyx, and jasper. They were enclosed in ouches
of gold in their enclosings. That's the gold that hangs on
to them and holds them. And you know what? The gold didn't
diminish the beauty of the stone, and the stone didn't diminish
the gleam of the gold. It was absolutely beautiful.
And when we look at our Savior, we can say, as the church did
in the Song of Solomon, even the ouches of gold The carbuncle, that's beautiful. Left out there in the desert,
looks like just a rock. It's leverite. You pick it up,
you look at it, and you leave it right there. It's just leverite. But made here, it's absolutely
beautiful. Stones were according to the
names of the children of Israel, 12 according to their names,
like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name according
to the 12 tribes. And those 12 tribes, when they
saw that, they says, thank you, God. And when God's people see
their names written down on the Lamb's Book of Life and see their
names inscribed on the hands of our Savior, the great high
priest, we don't get all built up over it. We just say, thank
you, Lord. you remembered me from eternity to eternity. Verse 15, they made up made upon
the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure
gold and they made two ouches of gold and two gold rings and
put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate And they
put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings of the
ends of the breastplate. And the two ends of the two wreathen
chains were fastened to the two ouches and put them over the
shoulders on the ephod before it. And they made two rings of
gold and put them in the two ends of the breastplate upon
the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.
And they made two other golden rings and put them on the two
sides of the ephod underneath, toward the fore part of it, over
against the other coupling thereof, all above the curious girdle
of the ephod. And they did bind the breastplate
by his rings upon the rings of the ephod with the lace of the
blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod,
that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod, as
the Lord commanded Moses. This is all how he did it. Now,
let's, well, the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue,
and there was a hole in the midst of the robe, as a whole of a
herbargon, and that means a piece of, a coat of mail. It was a defensive weapon, but
your head went through it, and it covered the rest of you, and
with a band round about the hole that it should not rend. It's
not going to come undone. I just look at that and I say,
my goodness, what a statement about God's work not going to
come undone. It's bound up and it's purposeful. And they made it into the hymns
of the robe pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet and twine
linen. And they made bells of pure gold
and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of
the robe round about the pomegranates. Pomegranate bell, pomegranate
bell, pomegranate bell, around this garment that had one hole
in it that your head went through. And these pomegranates and bells
around are decorated, but every step Aaron took. You could hear
tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle. It was about
his business. And it was melodious sound. And we can say the same thing
about the work of our Savior. Oh, what sweet music. Catches my ear. And when they
were in the holy of holies. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
tinkle, as they spread the blood on the mercy seat. As the body
moved, so did the garment. And as the garment moved, so
did the bells. Tinkle, tinkle. What melodious
sound when the blood was applied to the mercy seat. And what melody
in our hearts When God stirs it and we know that he spent
his time at the mercy seat for us. Bell in a pomegranate verse
26 and Bell in a pomegranate round about the hymn of the robe
to the minister in it in the Lord as the Lord commanded Moses. And they made coats of fine linen
and woven work for Aaron and for his sons, a miter of fine
linen, goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of
fine twine linen, and a girdle of fine twine linen, blue and
purple and scarlet of needlework as the Lord commanded Moses.
And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold and wrote
upon it in a writing like to the engravings of a signet, holiness
to the Lord. And they tied it upon it in a
lace of blue, to fasten it high upon the miter, as the Lord commanded
Moses. Now those kids that are watching
us all as Aaron goes by, not one of them could ever say, you know, I think my mama designed
that. Not one of them could ever say,
You know, they must have found that out of a catalog, because
how many times did we find in that, as the Lord commanded Moses,
this is what This is a clear picture. Not too long ago, I
found a photograph. It was a postcard, probably made
in the 1920s, maybe teens or 20s, of a hotel that sat right
on the property where my dad owned. It was the best hotel
between San Francisco and Portland. In the teens, it had hot and
cold running water. Now the fellow that took this
picture was using a camera about this big. And that picture was
so clear you could see a base in one of the windows. And you
can see people standing around. You see women with their bonnets
on. And you can see the trash in the foreground. An old broken
barrel. You see the corner of a depot
that used to sit there. It's just magnificent. You just
look around. And my brother and I were talking
about it over the phone. I sent it to him. I wanted to
buy it, but it went so high. I just sent the picture to him,
and he printed it off. And we're talking about it and
looking at it, and how clear and distinct this picture. Well,
I said that to say this. Look at this picture of Christ. So clear and distinct. There is such fine needlework. And every one of those is a representation
of such fine, clear work of our Savior. Now, turn with me, if
you would, over to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter five,
Hebrews chapter five. The book of Hebrews is so beneficial
to us to look at the Old Testament high priests, priests and Levites,
and then come over here to the book of Hebrews. And the Holy
Spirit allowed the apostle Paul to share with us. This is what
it means. Here's the picture. Here's what
it means. This is Aaron. This is his clothing. And here's what it means to us
in our Savior. Look at Hebrews chapter 5, if
you would. Hebrews chapter 5. I just would
like to read several verses in here. uh, the book of Hebrews
and starting with Hebrews chapter five and verse six, we read these
words and several times we're going to be reading about, uh,
Old Testament priest. That's not brought up very often,
but is so valuable found in the book of Genesis, a couple of
times in the Psalms and several times here in the book of Hebrews.
And his name is Melchizedek. And it says the Lord is a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. He says he's without father and
without mother, without beginning of days and without end of days.
Now when Abraham came back from the victory over the kings, he
met Christ. I don't know what the word is,
but there's a word about that. He met the Lord in a human body
before he came and was born with a human body. He met Melchizedek
and he paid tithes to him and Melchizedek gave him the gospel. Bread and wine. Broken body shed blood, the gospel
of the Lord Jesus. Now read with me here in Hebrews
chapter five and verse six. says, as he saith also in another
place, thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. You're a priest for ever. He
never had a beginning of the priesthood because he's always
had it. In the council halls of eternity,
he was the priest for ever. Melchizedek, when he met with
Abraham, He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's Christ come down
to visit, but he is such a wonderful statement about our high priest.
Then, if you'd look with me in chapter six, chapter six and
verse 20, if you look at this, whether the forerunner is for
us entered, even Jesus made a high priest. Now, did you notice that
to begin with, whether the forerunner is for us entered. That is so valuable, so valuable,
so important to us. He's entered for us. It says
there in Hebrews chapter six and verse 20, whether the forerunner
is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. And then in chapter 7, verse
11, chapter 7 and verse 11, these words, if therefore perfection
were made by the Levitical priesthood. Now we just read over there and
there's a whole bunch about that I don't understand. Whole bunch
about his clothing, whole bunch about his miter, whole bunch
about all of that. We're surmising. I mean, I've
never seen that and I don't, well, no one person told me one
time, says, if I could see Noah's Ark, then I'd believe. Sorry. Nope. It won't make any difference
to anybody to ever see Noah's Ark. And it wouldn't make anybody
any difference to see this robe over there. No, they'll not believe
Moses and the prophets. They'd not believe though one
rose from the dead. That's what Abraham said. Now. Sears here,
beginning in chapter seven, verse 11. If therefore perfection were
made by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received
the law, what further need was there that another priest should
rise after the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order
of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed,
there is made a necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom
these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no
man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
priesthood. And it is yet far more evident
that for that after the similitude of Melchizedek, there arises
another priest, who is made not after the law of carnal commandment,
but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For there
is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before, for
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the
which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an
oath he was made priest, for those priests were made without
an oath but this with an oath by him that said unto him the
lord swear and will not repent thou art a priest forever after
the order of melchizedek you know what that means he was ordained
he was ordained a priest But so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. And they truly were many preached
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. Now, there were a couple of them
that we read about. They brought in a strange fire
and they died. We'd say prematurely, but they were on time. I don't
read of anybody ever abdicating priesthood. They all went out
of this world by death. They didn't quit. But this man,
because he continueth ever. Now that's what makes that picture
of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation chapter 1 so delightful. Because he continueth ever. hath an unchangeable priesthood,
wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost. Now
through the Old Testament era, we have a priest after the order
of Melchizedek walking through time, saving his people from
their sins. And then we have priests after
the Levitical priesthood who didn't save anybody. Didn't keep
anybody, didn't make anybody holy. But we have this priesthood
after the order of Melchizedek, which is an eternal priesthood,
walking down through the same time, calling out his people. And as we read in the book of
Revelation, making them king priests, kings and priests, made
them. Oh, Aaron, he's doing his duties. And here's the gospel being declared
by the prophets, the gospel being declared by the priests, gospel
being declared by the kings, and the priest after the order
of Melchizedek is applying that. And he's not mixing in with the
Levitical priesthood. He's not mixing in with the law
of Sinai. He's not involved in that in
the sense of redemption. They're just two strains. One's
Levitical. One's after the order of Melchizedek.
And they never go this way. And they never go this way. And
they never marry. They're not even introduced in
the same household. It's the household of faith,
and then the household of Israel. It wasn't these that were the
gospel. The gospel was being declared,
and the priest after the order of Melchizedek was saving his
people, and Aaron was just doing his thing as it was commanded
by the Lord. We may have the Lord's Supper.
We may have baptism commanded by the Lord, but separate from
those types and shadows in pictures, is a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek, accomplishing his will, as we read there in
the book of Revelation and book of Hebrews here. Book of Hebrews
chapter 11, it says there, Verse 18, for there is verily a disannoying
of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness
thereof, for the law made nothing perfect. Verse 20, and in as
much as not without an oath he was made. Verse 22, By so much
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament, and they truly were
many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore he is able also to
save to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then
for the people's. For this he did once when he
offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priest
which have infirmity, but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the son who is consecrated forever. Now, as we read this about this
high priest, we're looking at him in Revelation chapter one.
This is that high priest, forever after the order of Melchizedek.
One that does not give up his priesthood due to death. this priest ever liveth to make
intercession for his people. This priest has always applied
his great high priestly prayer made in the book of John chapter
17. He applied it to Abel, Noah, David, Solomon. Throughout the
Old Testament, he applied his great high priestly prayer to
them. He made a sacrifice of himself,
fulfilled the words that were recorded in the book of Genesis
by Isaac and by Abraham. The Lord will provide himself
a sacrifice. And there it was. He provided
himself and he provided it. He is the only priest that ever
offered a lamb and he was the lamb. He's the only priest that
didn't send a scapegoat out into the woods. He took our sin, as
far as the East is from the West, by himself. And now we have this
high priest described. hair like wool white as snow,
raiment shineth as glory. What's it speak of? The wonderful
accomplishments of the high priest after the order of Melchizedek,
the Lord Jesus, of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This high
priest accomplished all when he said, it is finished. And
now we see him in his glory as a priest. The robe reaches down
to the ground, gold around the chest, hair like wool, out of
his mouth a sharp two-edged sword. This is our great high priest
and he's going to share a message with these people. Seven churches
of Asia. Write what you read. And if you
follow the message he sent to those seven churches, it's an
accumulation of what we have in Christ. Overcoming, overcoming. He overcame. Now, in conclusion,
would you turn back with me to the book of Revelation chapter
one? John turned, verse 13, there in the midst of the candlesticks,
one likened to the Son of Man. clothed with a garment to the
foot. We could say, well, it's probably
linen and probably had one hole in it and it was bound up well.
This is the fulfillment of every statement ever made about an
Old Testament priest. Here is the priest, gird about
the chest with a golden girdle, names written on it. Millions
and millions of names, a number of names that no man can number
out of every kindred people and tongue. His hair, his head and
his hairs were white like wool. Oh, the perfect righteousness
of Christ. And his eyes were as a flame
of fire. Nothing passes him. That's such
a positive statement. He knows the feeling of our infirmities. No priest like this priest. He
knows our heart. He reads us like a book. And
it says his feet like refined brass. I appreciated what our
speaker last year at camp said. He read over there about the
three Hebrew children in the burning fiery furnace. And one
like the son of man was in there, the son of God. And it says here,
that his feet were like fine brass, as if they burned in a
furnace. He went up against all our sin. Voice is the sound of many waters. Oh, so clear, so distinct, so
pleasant. He holds no charge against his
people. Has nothing against them. And
then it says here, I got the word. And that's what he speaks. Right hand with seven stars and
out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And his countenance
was the sun shineth in his strength. To the children of God, they
only ever get to see one edge of that sword. Just one edge. Cutting away. old life. Cutting away. We're
going to read about a group of people that are beheaded. Oh
my, what a sharp sword he uses to cut off our all of our feelings
and thoughts and relationship to Adam and gives us a new head
and that head is our great high priest the Lord Jesus. We'll
stop there.