I'm going to be speaking to you
today from the book of Revelation. Now this is the revelation of
Jesus Christ. I know in most Bibles, when you
open the Bible to the book of Revelation, it says the revelation
of Saint John the Divine. Well, the revelation was given
to John, and John wrote it. But this is the revelation of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's about It's about the book
of Revelation is about Christ, His redemptive work, His redemptive
glory. Now here's the verse. I wish
that you'd take your Bibles and follow along with me today as
I speak to you. I'll be speaking from chapter
1 of the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 1. Now here's
my text. This is the text and this is
the title of the message. John said in verse 17, Revelation
1, 17, And when I saw him, when I saw him, I fell at his feet
as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, Fear not, fear not, I am the first and
the last. Now that's the title of the message,
I am the first and the last. You know, throughout the generations
of the sons of men, a few men have seen the Lord, have actually
seen the Lord. A few men have had a vision and
a revelation of the glory of God before their face. And without
exception, absolutely without exception, every one of them,
when they saw the Lord, fell at His feet. That's what John
said here, when I saw him. When I saw him. There wasn't
any whoop to do, and shouting, and hand clapping, and singing. John said, I fell at his feet
as dead. And what I find throughout the
Word of God, when men actually have a revelation of the glory
of God, of the person of our Lord, they have fallen at his
feet in worship and reverence. For example, Moses, 80 years
of age, was tending sheep up there on the mountain, and he
saw something very strange. There was a bush that burned,
but it wasn't consumed. And Moses walked over closer
to that bush so that he could get a glimpse of it, and a voice
spoke to him. God spoke to him and said, Moses,
take off your shoes. Come down. Humble yourself. Take off your shoes, you're on
holy ground, you're in the presence of God. Also, Job. Job, you know, God talks about
how righteous Job was and what a wonderful servant of God he
was, but over there in the latter part of Job, God revealed himself
to Job in his majesty and greatness and power, and Job said this,
he said, Lord, I've heard of you, I've heard of you by the
hearing of the ear, and now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I
hate myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes. I put my hand over my mouth. I've spoken things too wonderful
for me. I'll never do it again." When
he saw the Lord, he brought him down. Isaiah! Isaiah wrote so
much about King Uzziah. King Uzziah was Sort of his hero. Everything that King Uzziah did,
Isaiah wrote the scripture says. Well, King Uzziah died. God killed him. Uzziah violated
the priesthood. He went into the holy place to
offer a sacrifice and God turned him into a leper and killed him.
And Isaiah in chapter 6 says, and when Uzziah died, I saw the
Lord high and lifted up. and his glory filled the temple.
And the angels and seraphims about the throne cried, holy,
holy, holy Lord God of hosts. And I cried, woe is me. The seraphims cried, holy, holy,
holy is the Lord. And Isaiah said, and I cried
when I saw the Lord, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell among a people of unclean lips. Thomas, Thomas who doubted
his resurrection, Thomas who didn't believe the disciples
when they told him that the Lord had risen, our Lord appeared
to him, what happened? Thomas fell at his feet and cried,
my Lord and my God. That's where you always found
Mary, was at the feet of the Lord. Every time her name is
mentioned, it's the one who sat at his feet. who sat at his feet. Saul of Tarsus, on the road to
Damascus, God appeared to him, the Lord Jesus spoke to him.
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Who art thou, Lord? He said.
I'm Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And Saul said, I
fell to the ground. So this is what John is saying,
when I saw him, when I saw him, in his glory, I feathered his
feet as a dead man." Here the old serpent, the old apostle
John, the one who leaned on his breast at the Last Supper, John,
ninety some odd years old, is living in exile on the Isle of
Patmos. I'm told that all the other apostles
were dead. John was the last of the apostles
alive. Peter was crucified at Rome. James the Less was stoned. Andrew was crucified. Philip
was stoned and then crucified. Thomas was driven through with
a spear. Bartholomew was beaten and then
crucified. Matthew was slain with a halberd. James the Great was beheaded.
Simon Zalotes was crucified. Jude was crucified. And here
John the last of the apostles. He is on the Isle of Patmos in
exile for preaching the gospel. And the Lord appeared to him.
The risen, glorified, exalted Lord Jesus Christ appeared to
his beloved disciple. And John said, when I saw him,
I fell at his feet. That's dead. You know, I have
no doubt, now listen to me, I have no doubt today that a true revelation
of the glory and majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ. If a man,
if God is pleased to reveal to our eyes of faith and to our
understanding and to our hearts a glimpse of His glory, a glimpse
of His majesty, a glimpse of the glory of Jesus Christ, I
believe it will have the same effect on us. Today, as it did on these men,
if we were permitted to behold His glory, if God is pleased
to reveal Himself to us in the person of His Son, I believe
we would be overcome with reverence and fear and awe in His presence. You know, Psalm 46 says, Be still
and know that I am God. and know that I'm God. Here's
a verse in Psalm 89. Listen to this. God is greatly
to be feared in the assembly of the saints. Now listen. God
is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to
be had in reverence of all them that are about him. He's to be worshipped. in awe
and reverence and fear. I want us to look at this scripture
here in Revelation 1. Will you take your Bible and
open there and follow along as I read. I'm going to start with
verse 9. Let's go back a little bit. Verse
17, John said, And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.
But let's go back and see what takes place here. In verse 9,
listen to John. He's writing here. He said, I,
John, who also am your brother, and your companion in tribulation,
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, I was in the
isle that's called Patmos, for the word of God, or because I
preached the word of God, and for the testimony of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, I was exiled out of the country, across the
sea, onto this little island, and that's where I was, your
brother and your companion. You know, John was an apostle.
one of the twelve. He wrote the book of John, the
gospel of John, and first and second and third John. A great
man, a gifted man, a servant of God, but a humble man. He
said, I'm your brother. I'm your brother. I'm your companion.
I'm not your master. I'm not your lord. Call no man
father. You have one father in heaven.
Call no man master. Christ is our master. You're
brethren. That's what John said. I'm your
brother. I'm your brother, I'm your companion, and I'm your
companion in trouble and trial. You have troubles? I do too.
You have trials? I do too. John said, I'm your
companion in trouble and trial, and I'm a prisoner for the sake
of the gospel. Suffering, loneliness, isolation
for the gospel's sake. And listen to verse 10. I was
in the Spirit of the Lord on the Lord's day. I was in the
Spirit. on the Lord's day. Now listen
to me. This was not the Jewish Sabbath
which was fulfilled and abolished. Our Lord lay in the tomb all
through the Sabbath day, the Sabbath day. You see that Old
Testament Levitical law enforced the Sabbath and the tithe and
the feast and the sacrifices and the priesthood and all these
things And when the Lord Jesus Christ came here, he fulfilled
all the Old Testament types and patterns and pictures and sacrifices
and holy days and Sabbath days and all these things. And when
he was buried, he lay in the tomb the whole Sabbath day. It's dead. It's buried. It's
put away. And he arose on the first day
of the week. And John said, on the first day
of the week, I was in the Spirit. the first day you see that's
the day of the Lord's resurrection that's the day when the disciples
meant to worship the Lord in Acts chapter 20 verse 7 it says
and on the first day of the week when the disciples came together
to break bread to observe the Lord's table on the first day
of the week to worship God Paul preached to him and then first
Corinthians 16 to the scripture says upon the first day of the
week Let every one of you lay by and store as God has prospered
him." You see, Christ is our Sabbath. Christ is our rest. And we don't keep the Sabbath
day. Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled it, lay in the tomb on that day,
and rose on the first day of the week. And John said, here
I am on an island, alone, exiled, but on the first day of the week.
I know the body of Christ. I know the people of God, over
yonder, wherever they are. are gathering together to worship
the Lord on the first day of the week. And John said, I was
in the Spirit on the Lord's day. I wasn't with them in body, but
I was with them in heart. I was with them in spirit, and
I worshiped God on the Lord's day. Oh, Roland Hill, a pastor
and minister of the gospel over in England many years ago, a
great preacher. Roland Hill was on his way to
church one morning, riding his buggy, horse pulling the buggy.
Left home, started towards where he pastored, preached on Sunday
morning. And he passed this field and
there was a neighbor, a farmer, out sowing his seed, sowing the
field. And Roland Hill stopped his buggy
and he waved to the man and the man stopped sowing his seed and
Roland Hill said to him, Why don't you rest yourself and
rest your animals and come go worship the Lord with us today? This is the Lord's Day when the
people of God gather to worship the Lord. Why don't you go and
worship the Lord with us?" And the man laughed. And he said
to him, he said, I plowed my field on Sunday. I plant my fields
on Sunday. I reap my crops on Sunday while
you people are in your church service. And come October, come
October, I always have a better yield than all of you Christians. What do you think about that?
Mr. Hill replied, my dear man, I
would have you bear in mind, as you reap your abundant crops
next October, I would have you bear in mind that Almighty God
does not always settle His accounts with men in October. It's appointed unto men once
to die, and after this, the judgment, payday. John said, I was in the
Spirit on the Lord's day. And I heard a great voice, a
great voice. I tell you, when our Lord speaks,
it's in a great voice. It's a great day. And he talks
about great things, a great voice. I can imagine Satan speaking
in whispers, in subtlety and craftiness and evil suggestions
and wicked works, whispering. But our God speaks in a great
voice. He has great tidings and good
tidings. And he says in Isaiah 40 to the
church, O Zion, when you read the word Zion, In the Bible it's
talking about the church, God's church, O Zion that bringeth
good tidings, get thee up to high mountain and lift up your
voice with power and say to all the cities of Judah, behold your
God. John said, I heard behind me
a great voice and that voice said, look at verse 11, I am
Alpha and Omega. I'm Alpha and Omega, the first
and the last. You see, Alpha is the first letter
of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the last. Alpha and
Omega, first and the last. Jesus Christ is the first and
the last, and all in between. You see, my friends, this is
our Lord Jesus speaking. I am Alpha and Omega, the first
and the last. See, there was a time when this
world had no being. There was a time when the world
wasn't here. Scripture talks about before the foundations
of the world. Well, if Christ is all, if Jesus
Christ is all, where was he then? Well, the Scripture says in John
1, in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and
the Word was God, the same was in the beginning with God. You
know, our Lord prayed, glorify me, Father, with the glory which
I had with thee, before the world was. Well, there was a time when
the world was made. When the trees, and the stars,
and the moon, and the sun, and the dry land, and all these things
appeared. If Christ is all, where was He
then? Verse 3 says, and all things were made by Him. And without
Him was not anything made that was made. Then was the time when
man was made. God said, let us make man. In
our own image, in the image of God, created he them male and
female, but they didn't stand long in their holiness, they
fell. And death and darkness and disease and judgment fell
on that couple and God cast them out of the garden. If Jesus Christ
is all, where was he then? Listen to God speak. Listen to
God speak to the serpent. I'll put enmity between thee
and the woman between thy seed and her seed, you'll bruise his
heel, he'll crush your head. That's Christ, the seed of woman.
That's Jesus Christ. And in that darkness, God announced
him as the light of the world. In that time of death, God announced
him as the life of the world. In that time of expulsion and
exclusion, God said he's the way back. Well, it was a time
when God came to this earth. human form, made of a woman,
made under the law. There was a time when God came
to this earth. The angel said, Mary, you're
going to have a son. She said, I don't know a man.
He said, the Holy Ghost will come upon you. The fire of God
will overshadow you. And that holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God and God the Son. The Son of God, who's God the
Son. He said to Joseph, don't be afraid
to take Mary to be your wife. That holy thing in her is the
Son of God. You call his name Jesus. He'll
save his people from their sins. And then that wonderful morning,
the angels spoke to the shepherds on the hillside and they said,
we bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all
people. Unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord. He's all. He's all. And I tell you, there's coming
a time when this old world's going to pass away with a fervent
heat. Heaven and earth shall melt with
a fervent heat. There'll be a new heaven and
a new earth. The world shall end and all men will stand before
God. The Scripture says, the sea gave
up the dead, death and hell gave up the dead, which were in them.
And all men, small and great, stood before God. stood before
God, and the books are open. Well, if Jesus Christ is all,
where will he be then? Listen. Acts 17, 31, God hath appointed
a day in which he'll judge the world in righteousness by that
man, by that man whom he hath ordained whereof God hath given
assurance to all men in that he raised that man from the dead
and made him Lord and Christ. He's all. He said, I'm Alpha,
I'm Omega. I'm the first and I'm the last. He's the one with whom we have
to do. All that God has to say to you and me is in Christ. All that God has to give To you
and to me is in Christ. All that God requires of you
and me is met in Christ. All that God will accept from
us is in Christ. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. Verse 12, I turn to see that
voice. Wouldn't you? I would. I heard a great voice behind
me saying, I'm Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And John
said, I turned to see the voice that spake to me, that voice
as a sound of many waters. And I saw him. I saw him. I saw seven golden candlesticks,
and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one likened to
the Son of Man. What are these candlesticks?
Look down verse 20. Verse 20 tells you the seven
candlesticks are the churches, the seven churches of Asia, and
Christ is in the midst of the seven churches. Let me tell you
something. Where two or three are met in
His name, that's where He is, in their midst. You find His
church, that's where He is. He's in the midst of them. You
find His sheep, you'll find the shepherd. You find His body,
You'll find the head, you'll find his bride, and you'll find
the bridegroom. John said, I turned and I saw
seven golden candlesticks, and right in the middle of them,
one likened to the Son of Man. And he was clothed, verse 13,
he was clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded
about the paps with a golden girdle. You know what this is? You get your Bible and open it
to Exodus 28 sometime and read a description of the garments
of the glorious high priest, Abram, the mitre on his head,
the beautiful garment, robe with which he was clothed, the breastplate
with the twelve tribes, the golden breastplate, the shoulders, all
this beautiful, beautiful robe. John said, I saw him clothed
as the high priest. He's our high priest. We have
a high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who's at the right hand
of God, who intercedes for us. But you know, in Leviticus 16,
Aaron one time laid aside this robe and the mitre and all these
beautiful things, and clothed himself in linen, white linen,
and went into the Holy of Holies and put the blood on the mercy
seat, the atonement. And when he came out, He laid
the linen garments aside and put back on the robes of the
high priest. And here we see our Lord in the
robes of the high priest. But when He died on the cross,
they wrapped Him in linen and put Him in the tomb. And when
He arose from the grave, He folded up the linen and laid it aside.
And now He's clothed in His priestly garments. Our great high priest. And John says, his head and hairs
were white as wool, as white as the snow. What does that mean? He's the eternal God. He's the
ancient of days. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. And his eyes were as the flame
of fire. That means he knows everything.
He sees everything. His eyes burn away the darkness,
burn away the hypocrisy, burn away the pretense. His eyes look
on the heart. His hair is white as snow. He's
the Ancient of Days. His eyes are flames of fire. His feet, like fine brass, burned
in a furnace. He walked the winepress of God's
wrath alone. And he had in his right hand,
verse 16, seven stars. What are these seven stars? Look
at verse 20. pastors of the seven churches. Why are God's pastors
called stars? Well, one thing, as stars, he
puts them where he wants them. Every star is where he wants
it to be. As stars, they only reflect his
light. They don't have any light of
their own. As stars, they give true directions. That's what,
when I was in the Navy, that's how we used to get our positions
off the stars. And a true minister will point
you right. And there in his hand, his right
hand, the place of honor, power, and nearness, and out of his
mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. That's his word. And when
I saw him in his glory, in his greatness, in his majesty, in
his power, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand on me and said to me, fear not. You don't have
to be afraid because I am the first and the last. I'm in charge. I'm sovereign. I'm he that liveth,
I was dead. But behold, I'm alive forevermore,
and I have the keys of hell and death. Don't be afraid.