Now a revelation of Jesus Christ
is really a portrait or a picture of Christ as he is. That song
that Mike just sang, the delightful day will come when my Lord will
bring me home and I shall see his face, as John saw him here
on the Isle of Patmos. Artists, painters have tried
for centuries to paint pictures, portraits of our Redeemer, the
Lord Jesus Christ. There are thousands of pictures
and statues and images in homes, in churches, in stores, in what's
called Christian bookstores all over the world. But these are
all idols. I don't mean to offend you, but
they're idols, religious idols. And I say they're idols, whether
admitted or not, for two reasons. Number one, they're forbidden
by God in his holy law. All pictures of Christ are forbidden,
statues, pictures, and portraits of the Son of God of the angels
of God Almighty are forbidden in the word of God. And a man
paints them, or a person purchases them, at his own risk. That's exactly right. You turn
to Exodus chapter 20, and let the word of God enforce what
I've just said. Exodus chapter 20, verse 1. And God spake all these words,
saying, I am the Lord thy God, which hath brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, Exodus 20,
verse 3. Thou shalt have no other God
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image, any etchings, pictures, portraits, or any likeness,
what you think is a likeness, of anything that's in heaven.
an angel, a seraphim, least of all God Almighty, of anything
that's in heaven above, in the earth beneath, that's in the
water under the earth. I shall not bow down myself to
them, to these statues, to these portraits, to these pictures.
I shall not bow down or pray to them. Give them a special
place. I'm the Lord thy God. I'm a jealous
God and I'll visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. The second
reason why these to me are idols, I'm once forbidden of God, that
should be enough. But the second reason why they're
idols is it's utterly impossible for us to put on canvas or in
a statue anything that resembles the unspeakable glory of our
God. You can't capture the glory of
God on a canvas. Or in a statue, the best that
a mortal man could produce would be dishonoring to the Lord. Can
a statue contain him whom the heavens can't contain? The Lord
said to David, would you build a house for me? the heaven of
heavens can't contain me. And Christ Jesus, our Savior,
is called the exact image of God. Can you put the exact image
of God on a canvas? Christ Jesus, the Lord, is called
the brightness of God's glory. That cannot be captured on a
picture. The folly of even thinking of
reducing the Lord of glory to a picture. Paint the Spirit of
God moving upon the face of the waters in creation. Paint Melchizedek,
king of peace, priest of the Most High God, blessing Abraham. That's Christ. Paint the boy speaking from the
burning bush to Moses, I am that I am. Paint the Shekinah glory,
the presence of God that rested between the cherubims on the
mercy seat. Paint the Son of Man walking
in the fiery furnace with the Hebrew children. Paint Jacob's
ladder reaching to heaven. That's Christ. Paint the rock
that followed them, the pillar of fire by night and the cloud
by day. Paint the angel of the Lord that
wrestled with Jacob. Paint the glorified Son of God
on the Mount of Transfiguration. Paint the soul agony. They've
got pictures of Christ on the cross. Offensive. They are offensive. Because you cannot see the soul
agony of the Son of God who walked the winepress of God's wrath
alone, bearing our sins in his body on the tree, his countenance
so marred his visage that he didn't look like a human being.
Paint the risen, exalted Christ that met Paul on the road to
Damascus. Who art thou? I'm Jesus of Nazareth,
struck Paul blind. And you're going to hang one
on your wall. Paint the coming King whom we
shall see and be transformed into his likeness. We shall see
him and be like him. We shall see him as he is. Until you can, put away your
canvas, put away your paint and your pen, and do what everybody
else has done who has truly seen the Lord. Moses, take off your shoes. Yo, Lord, I've heard of you by
the hearing of the ear. Now, man, I see a thing. I repent
in sackcloth and ashes. I put my hand over my mouth.
I've spoken things too wonderful for me. I'll never open my mouth
again." Or Isaiah, he said, I saw the
Lord, high and lifted up, his train filled the temple, his
build the heavens, and I cried, I'm cut off. I'm cut off. I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell among a people of unclean lips. Mine eyes have seen the
Lord." John, I read to you, he said,
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as a dead man. He sat at his feet and listened
to him. Amen. When we truly see the Lord,
we are literally overcome with two things, our sinfulness and
his holiness. That's right. The head that once
was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now. A royal diadem
adorns the mighty victor's brow. The highest place that Deity
affords is His, and His by right. The King of kings, the Lord of
lords, is Heaven's only light. He who on earth, as man was known,
and bore our sin and shame, now is seated on His eternal throne,
the God of glory reigns." It's idolatry. to present him any lower than
he is. He's idolatrous, to bow before
anything that's a replica, a representation of him. And John's going to tell
us about the Christ he saw. He's going to tell us about the
revelation. He says in verse 9, our John, I'm your brother. I'm your brother in the flesh,
I'm your brother in the faith. We are alike. I'm not any special
heavenly messenger, I'm your brother. And I'm your companion
in tribulation. I have with you a common faith,
and I have with you a common trial, common troubles, which
are common to all believers. And I'm your brother in the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We've both been translated from
darkness to light, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of
his dear son, and I'm your brother in patience. John was the last
apostle. They're all dead. They're all
martyred. Some of them crucified, some
of them beaten and stoned and other ways. But John's in his
nineties here, and he's exiled to an island out there by himself,
the Isle of Patmos. He's exiled. He said, I'm on
the Isle of Patmos, and I'm here for two reasons. I'm here for
preaching the word of God. They've exiled me for preaching
the gospel. But don't people, aren't they
starving for the gospel? They're starving for religion.
They hate the gospel. That's right. They hate the gospel. Always have and always will.
The truth of God, the truth of man, the truth of Christ. I'm
here because I preach the word of God, and I'm here for the
testimony, the gospel, as a witness. Jesus Christ, and he's going
to really give us a witness. God put him on that island for
this right here. God put him on that island to
write this right here, to give us this revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 10, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day. This is the Sunday. The first
day of the week is called the Lord's day. He didn't say I was
in the Spirit on a Sabbath day, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day. The early church met on the Lord's Day, on the first
day of the week. They came together to preach,
to break bread, to bring their praise to the Lord. It was the
day of his resurrection. Our Lord laid in the tomb on
the Sabbath day. He fulfilled the Sabbath. He's
our Sabbath. This is the Lord's Day. This
is the day the early church met for worship, and John couldn't
be with them. See, he's on the Isle of Patmos.
He's exiled. He couldn't be with them. He
missed them. He would like to have been with them. When the
people of God meet together, the people of God want to be
there. I don't ever beg people to come to church. Never. If
they love Christ, they'll come. If they're hungry, they'll come.
You know, I never had to beg our children to come to the table.
They always ran to the table because they loved to eat their
mama's cookies. And God's children run to the house of God. that
they might enjoy the Father's cooking, the bread, the children's
bread. Can't live without it. But John
couldn't be with them, but I'll tell you where he was with them
in spirit. He said, I was in the spirit
on the Lord's day. My thoughts were with you. I
was worshiping God. And I heard behind me a great
voice as a trumpet. You know, we hear people talk
about God speaks in a still, small voice, and he does, and
Let me show you where that comes from, over in 1 Kings 19. 1 Kings 19, verse 9. 1 Kings 19, verse 9. This is interesting. 1 Kings
19, verse 9. And he came, Scyther, into a
cave. This is Elijah. Into a cave and
lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord
came to him. and said unto him, What doest thou hear, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts.
And the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, and thrown
down your altars, and slain your prophets with a sword. And Lord,
I, even I only, I am the only one left, and they are seeking
to take my life. And the Lord said, Go forth and
stand upon the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord
passed by in a great Strong wind ripped the mountain, breaking
it in pieces, while Eli just stood there on the mountain. Breaking pieces, the rocks, before
the Lord. But the Lord wasn't in the wind.
And after the wind was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn't in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord wasn't in the fire.
The Lord will come as he pleases. He sent that big wind and shook
the mountain and sent that earthquake and sent that fire, and then
after the fire, a still, small voice in his own way. And it was so when Elijah heard
that still, small voice, he wrapped his face in a mantle and went
out and stood in the entering of the cave, and behold, there
came a voice unto him, Elijah, what doest thou hear? in a still, small voice. But
don't expect him always to speak in a still, small voice. John
says, Behind me I heard a great voice, as a trumpet, as a trumpet. God may use the
still, small voice, but he tells us in Isaiah 40, listen to this,
he tells us in Isaiah 40, verse 9 through 11, listen to this,
He says to his preachers, verse 9, Isaiah 40, O Zion that bringeth
good tidings, get up to the high mountain. O Jerusalem that bringeth
good tidings, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, don't
be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, Behold
your God. Say it out loud. Say it where
it can be heard. Behold, the Lord comes with a
strong hand, and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, his reward
is with him, his works before him." So our God speaks great
things in a great way, and when he declares his name, it's with
a great voice. That's what he said. You get
up on the mountain, you lift up your voice, and you say with
a loud voice, the Lord reigns. When he reveals himself, it's
with a great voice. And he says in verse 11, this
is the Lord Jesus speaking, I am Alpha and Omega, I'm the first
and the last. Alpha is the first letter of
the Greek alphabet, Omega is the last letter. I'm A to Z and
all in between. Christ is all and in all. In
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body. No man knoweth
the Father, but the Son, he to whom the Son will reveal it.
No man hath seen God at any time. The Only Begotten hath declared
him." and omega. I'm the beginning
and I'm the consummation. I'm the author, I'm the finisher.
I'm the first, I'm the last. How could one talk too much of
him when he's everything? How could one ever exalt Christ
too highly? He's everything. How could God,
how could anyone look to anyone else when they're nothing? And
he's all and in all. And John said in verse 12, and
I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned,
I turned to see who it is, and the voice that spake to me. And
being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst
of the seven candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man. What
are these seven golden candlesticks? Well, the Lord himself tells
us down here in verse 20. He says, the mystery of the seven
stars, which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. Here's the answer to the mystery.
The seven stars are the angels. The angel is a messenger. It's
not heavenly angels. It's the messenger or minister
or pastor of the churches. That's who it is. the angel of
the seven churches, the messenger. And the seven candlesticks which
he saw are the seven churches. Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamos, these
are the seven churches. And Christ in the middle of them.
Where is Christ? Well, find the church. That's
where he is. He said, where two or three are
met in my name, I'll be in the midst of them. He's in the midst
of his church. Found the church, a true church,
true believers, true worshippers of God. Christ is there. His
word's there, his message is there, his worship is there.
He's there. Found his sheep. Where is the shepherd? Where
is the shepherd? Where's the shepherd? Where's
the sheep? I'll never leave them alone.
He leaves us in green pastures. He leaves us by still waters.
He's the shepherd. I'm the shepherd. Always with
his sheep. You want to find Christ, you
hang around with his people. He's close by. I've never seen
the righteous forsaken. You want to hear from Christ,
go where his people are meeting. Not where people play in church,
but where the church is meeting and preaching the word of God.
Where is Christ? Find his body. He's the head. You want to find my head? Find
my body. That's right. One of the old
Puritans says that where the head is, the body is not too
far behind. What is he? He's their light.
A candlestick is worthless. if it doesn't have a light. It's just worthless. And Christ
is our light. A church without a light, a candle
without a light, that's what we're for, to give light. Not
our light, we don't originate light. He's the light. We're like the moon, it has no
stars, no light of their own, the light comes from him. And
the golden candlestick That's right, they're golden. They're
of the earth, that's right, they came from the earth. But he's
made them beautiful. They're golden candlesticks for
their excellence, for their value, for their preciousness, and for
their glory, and for their beauty. And it's not theirs, it's his
glory and his beauty. I turned to see the voice that
spake with me, and being turned, I saw the seven golden candlesticks,
and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one likened to the
Son of Man, Son of God, Son of Man. And he was clothed with
a garment down to the foot, and girded about the pap with a golden
girdle." I know exactly what he had on. He had on his high
priestly garments. Christ is our great high priest.
We have a great high priest standing in the midst of the church, having
made atonement for their sins, and now with their names on his
breastplate and on his shoulders, and dressed in his glorious garment
of his priesthood. Let's read about it in Exodus
28, when God made Aaron the high priest of Israel. Aaron was a
type of Christ. And God told Moses about Aaron's
robes, Aaron's garments. Do you remember now, here our
high priest standing in the midst of the church has on a garment,
down to the foot, glorious garment. Girt about the paps with a girdle,
glorious. Now listen to Exodus 28. Take
unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him from among
the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the
priest office, even Aaron. Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar,
Aaron's sons. He's going to pass that on down.
There were many high priests, because they died. Christ is
the one great high priest. These are all pictures of Christ,
all examples. And thou shalt make holy garments
for Aaron thy brother, holy garments for glory and beauty. And thou
shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled
with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments
to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's
office. And these are the garments which ye shall make, a breastplate,
an ephod, and a robe, a broadered coat, a mitre, a girdle, gird
about the paps. And they shall make holy garments
for Abel and thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister
unto me in the priest's office. They shall take gold, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet, and Make the ephod of gold, of blue,
of purple, of scarlet, and fine twine, linen, with cunning work.
It shall have two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges
thereof, and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle
of the ephod which is upon it shall be of the same according
to the work thereof, even of gold, and blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twine, linen. And thou shalt take two onyx
stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel. six of their names on one stone,
the twelve tribes, and six names on the rest of the other stones
according to their birth. And verse 12, And thou shalt
put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod, for stones of memorial
unto the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names
before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And Aaron shall bear the names
of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon
his heart, when he goeth into the holy place, for a memorial
before the Lord continually." Aaron's garments, the high priest,
had a mitered holiness to the Lord. And these awesome, beautiful,
glorious garments, and on his shoulders the names of the twelve
tribes, and on his breastplate. Now there's a change of garment.
When Aaron slew the animals, one day out of the year, the
day of atonement, he slew a lamb and took its blood into the Holy
of Holies and put it on the mercy seat of atonement. He didn't
do that in these glorious garments. Before he slew that animal, before
he shed the blood, before he put it on the mercy seat, he
took all these garments off. all of these garments of holiness
and beauty and glory and laid them aside, washed his body,
put linen, linen breeches, linen coat, white linen. Jesus Christ
came to this earth not robed in the garments of glory. He
came robed in human flesh. Our high priest first had to
give his blood, had to sacrifice himself on the cross had to go
into the presence of God as the God-man, as the Son of Man, as
a sacrifice for sin. So Aaron, in this linen clothe,
went into the Holy of Holies, took the blood, put it on the
mercy seat, which covered the broken lump, between the chair
bends, before the glory of God, as an atonement. And he came
out and washed, and then he put back on those robes. But the head on his shoulders,
on his breastplate, the name of the children of Israel. Christ
Jesus is in the presence of God. This is what he has on, the garments
of glory, and on his breastplate are the names of his people and
of his children. He intercedes for us. He ever
lived to make intercession for us. I saw him, he said, verse
13, in the midst of the church, clothed with a garment Down to
the foot, gird about the paps with that golden girdle. You
won't see him on a cross. He's not on a cross. Jesus Christ
is not on a cross. He's not down by the seashore
fishing with the disciples. He's wearing glorious garments. He's our great high priest in
the presence of God. We're going to see him as he
is, not as he was, not as he died, as he is. And his head
and his hair is what says, well, white like wool, as white as
snow. We read in the Song of Solomon when the bride was describing
her husband and the brides of the church. Listen to what she
says about his hair. In the Song of Solomon, there's
no discrepancies in the scriptures. There's no contradiction. John
saw him on the Isle of Patmos. head and his hairs were white
like wool, like wool, as white as snow. And she said in Solomon
5, verse 10, My beloved is white, he's holy, he's ruddy, he's strong,
he's the cheapest among ten thousand, and his head is as fine gold,
and his locks are bushy and black as a raven. What's the difference? The bride over here the bride,
the lover, rejoiced in his perpetual, eternal strength, his love, his
care, his provision, the ageless one. That's how she saw him,
always young. Jesus the same yesterday, today
and forever. That's how she saw him. But John
saw him here as the ancient of days, who's the everlasting father,
the wisdom of God, whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting." That's how John saw him, the eternal one. Then he says over here, his head,
his hair were white as wool, white as snow, his eyes were
a flame of fire, a flame of fire. But over here in Solomon, the
bride didn't see a flame of fire, she said in verse 12, His eyes
as the eyes of a dove, a dove, a gentle dove by the
rivers of water, washed with milk and firmly, fitly set. That's his eyes. She saw him
again, I say, as her lover, as her husband, as the perpetual
eternal, eternal one. Eyes of a dove. eyes of love
and kindness and compassion. But John sees him not only with
compassion, but without compromise. John saw him as the pitying lover,
but also he saw him as the judge of sin. The lover saw him as the
living Savior. John saw him as the just judge. His eyes were piercing. like
a flame of fire. See, he passed the skin into
the heart, passed the thoughts into the motive, passed the act
into the attitude. But you know, a true believer
doesn't fear that kind of eyes in his Lord. He rejoices in it. When Peter was sitting by that
fire, the Lord said, Do you love me? Peter said, Yes. Do you love me? Yes. Now he's
going to find his foundation for a relationship with Christ.
You know everything. Peter wasn't afraid of those
eyes that looked into his eye, the flame of fire. He took comfort
in it. He said, Lord, you've got piercing
eyes as a flame of fire. And you know what's going on
right in here, and you know good and well I love you." That's
what the old timers said, true faith doesn't fear omniscience. True faith does not fear omnipotence. His eyes was a flame of fire. They see everything. I'm glad,
don't you? He knows everything. God is not
mocked. He's not deceived. God's not
mocked. He has eyes as the flame of fire. And his feet, listen
to this, his feet like unto brass, like unto fine brass as they
burn in a furnace. His feet like fine brass for
firmness, for strength, for steadfastness, and for walking the winepress
alone, and for treading upon his enemies. And his voice, ah,
his voice, it's the sound of many waters, the powerful, majestic
sound of his voice, not the still, small voice here, but the voice
with power, strength, the sound as majestic as many waters. You know, such a sound of the
dashing sea and the roaring sea will have much effect on us depending
on where we are. The voice of the Lord in his
strength and power and justice and righteousness will have different
effect on us depending on where we are. In the fall of 1945,
I was off the coast of Okinawa. There was a typhoon projected
coming in, and we took our ship and tried to get out of there.
And we, I don't know how far we went, I don't remember it
all that well, but I remember when it hit. And we weren't allowed
to go topside. We were only allowed to stay
down below. The only people topside were in the steering cabin. Nobody on the counting tower
were topside. because the waves were literally
washing over that ship. Somebody asked me if I've ever
prayed during invasions, and I don't know. I wasn't. I'm about
18, 19 years old. But when that storm hit, I was
upset. I was upset. I thought that old
boat, it creaked. Oh, it creaked. It shuddered. It shimmied. It'd get out of
the water. Then it'd come down hard on that water and just shake
from the stem. I was scared. depending on where you are. Last
summer, we were in Pensacola when the hurricane came through.
It wasn't bad enough to evacuate, so we stayed there. And I listened,
lying in my bed, to the waves out there. I mean, they were
roaring. In fact, a young man, 23 years of age, went out surfing
and never came back. They finally found him three
days later down the beach, right in front of where we were. But I was safe, I was in my refuge,
I was in my bed. I listened to it, it was beautiful.
And let me tell you, the voice of God as mighty water is beautiful
if you're in Christ, if you're in his arms, if you sleep in
Christ, if you're in the refuge, you don't fear. But if you're
out there in the middle of it, you've got every reason to be
frightened. His voice, it's all right. His eyes are a flame of fire,
wonderful. He sees everything, knows everything.
His voice, sovereign, powerful, judgment, justice, it's all right. We've got a refuge. A man will be a hiding place
from the what? The storm. A refuge from what? The wind. And when the overflowing
scourge of God's wrath comes through, it won't touch you.
All right, let me bring this to a close. And he had in his
right hand seven stars. You know, I told you, those are
the pastors or ministers of the churches, these seven churches.
And he has them in his hand. He puts them, like the stars,
where he wants them. He calls the stars by name, and
they're where he put them. That's right. And secondly, the
stars have no light of their own. They get the light from
the sun. They're reflected light. That's
all we are. We don't have any new revelation. We just reflect. We just tell what we read, what
we saw. Thirdly, as the stars guide the
sailors, the stars, the ministers, guide
the people of God to whom they minister. And there in his right
hand, that's the hand of authority and the hand of power. What they
say, what they preach, what they teach, when it exalts Christ,
is to be heard. And out of his mouth went a sharp,
two-edged sword. Two-edged, well, out of his mouth
must be his word. Two-edged sword, word of God,
not the word of man, it's out of his mouth. It's the law and
the gospel. The law slays and the gospel
gives life. It's for the defense of his people
and the destruction of his enemies. Too edgy. And his countenance was as the
sun shining in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as a dead man. I did when I saw him. And that's
the way we, every time I read this and every time I try to
preach on it, I just feel so inadequate. It's impossible,
impossible for anybody to describe what John saw. You can't do it. I feel like falling at his feet.
But I'm glad for the next line. John says he lays his right hand
on me and he says, Fear not. Fear not. And I'll give you three
reasons, John, why you don't have to fear. I'm the first and
the last. Fear not. I'm God. I'm God. Look unto me and be ye saved.
I'm the first and the last. I'm God. There's none beside
me. Fear not. Over here, one of my favorite
scriptures over here. Listen to this. I'll just read
it to you. He said in Isaiah 43, Fear not. I've redeemed thee. I've called you by name. You're
mine. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. And through the rivers, they'll
not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you'll not
be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you. I'm the
Lord thy God. I'm the Holy One of Israel, your
Savior. You don't have to be afraid. Don't be afraid. I'm the first and the last. And
here's the second reason. Don't be afraid. I am he that
liveth, and I was dead. And behold, I'm alive forevermore.
I'm your Savior, and I live. I did die on the cross for your
sins, and I was buried. I rose again, and I'm alive forevermore. And because I live, you live. Because I live, you don't have
to be afraid. I ever live to make intercession for you. Third
reason, fear not. I am the first in the life. I am he that lived and was dead,
and I'm alive forevermore. Amen. And let me tell you something
else. of hell and death. I've got them. They're on my
belt. I open and no man shuts. And
I shut and no man opens. You don't need to fear death.
I have the keys. You don't need to fear to lie
in the tomb. I have the keys. And you don't need to fear to
enter heaven. I have the keys to hell and death. Don't be afraid. All right, may the Lord bless
that in our hearts.