Revelation chapter number one. Last week we introduced this next series of messages on the revelation of Jesus Christ. Not looking at the book from a prophetical standpoint, but from a personal standpoint, this is the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we'll look at different aspects of how he is revealed through the book. It will obviously touch on some prophetical issues, but our focus is on Christ and what a beautiful revelation it is that God's given to us. If you would stand with me for the reading of God's word, we'll read the first eight verses of Revelation chapter one. The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John who bare record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful this morning to be in your house. Father, we are grateful for the blessing it is that we can wake up in the morning and and to see the beauty of your creation, to smell the beauty of your creation, be able to have the energy and strength to come here this morning and to sing praises to you and to hear your word preached and taught. Lord, we are grateful for your great goodness that you've poured out upon us. Lord, we know that your goodness is just as evident to those that woke up this morning and couldn't see. I woke up this morning and are not well enough to be in your house. Father, your goodness is not diminished in their lives. Father, you are good to all. Father, you've been good to us to give us your word, to preserve it for us, that we can have it within our hands this morning and read it and study it. We thank you, Father, for this book of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that you would reveal him more to our hearts this morning. Father, you'd be honored and glorified with how we receive your word. They would go out in this day, go out throughout this week, better enabled to honor and glorify the one who died for us, was buried and rose again. Father, for the everlasting life that he's given to us. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Last week, we mentioned that we will be looking at eight different aspects of the revelation of Christ. here in this book, kind of boiling them down to eight different messages. Some of those messages will just be one Sunday, like today's message. Others will have to be over two or three Sundays. But we're gonna look at the person of Christ. We're gonna look at that today, the person of Christ. And we could say that's really limited, not because the book is limited. The whole book is on the person of Christ, the revelation of Jesus Christ. But there are a few points that we're going to pull out and deal with in particular because so much of the others are also dealt with in the other points as we go through, such as we know that Christ is God. We're not going to be dealing with the divinity of Christ this morning, although that is a revelation of His person, but that is brought out throughout the book and we'll hit on that throughout the rest of the messages. and deal with those. And there are other aspects that we won't be touching on. But we are going to look at the person of Christ this morning. We're going to look at the power of Christ. And again, that's another aspect of His person. The last verse we read, verse number eight, We're going to look at the power of Christ in one of the messages. We'll look at His presence. And we see that throughout the book, but especially in chapters 2 and 3. in the midst of the canon of six. Look at his presence, look at the priesthood of Christ. Throughout the book, as you read it, you'll see over and over again, the Lamb, the Lamb, the Lamb. That's reference to his priesthood and his sacrifice. Look at the preeminence of Christ as well, his perceptiveness, his prerogative, and the parousia of Christ, or the second coming of Christ. All those subjects we'll look at as we go through this series. Today, again, we'll be focusing on the person of Christ, and in particular, four aspects of his life. We'll be looking at his humanity, his eternality, his faithfulness, and his royalty. So number one this morning, looking at his humanity, the title of this point is, he is tangible. He is tangible. When we consider the humanity of Christ revealed in this book, let's just look at a few of the verses. We read two of them, or one of them already this morning, verse number five. It says, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead. Those things are in reference to Christ and his humanity. Jesus is the name of Christ when he came to be a man, when he took upon himself a human form, he was given the name Jesus. That's in reference to his earthly life here, and he's the first begotten of the dead, speaking of his death and his resurrection. Look over to verse number 18 of this same chapter. Christ speaking and said, I am he that liveth and was dead. Again, referencing his life. Look over to Revelation 5 and verse number 9. Revelation 5 and verse number 9. Can't wait to sing this song. And they sang a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book. A wonderful song that we will sing one day, but a description of Christ that he was slain, that he had blood to shed for us to redeem us out of every kindred, tongue and people and nation. Look over to Revelation 14. verses 12 and 14 of that chapter, Revelation 14, verses 12 and 14. The last word of verse number 12 is the reference here, but we'll read the whole verse. Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The faith of Jesus. Verse number 14, And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. The Son of Man is a description found throughout the New Testament describing Christ in his humanity. And then lastly, Revelation 22 and verse number 16. Revelation 22 and verse number 16. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star. All these verses touch on the humanity of Christ. John started off his first letter in 1 John 1 and verse number 1, he says, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life." John and the disciples and those in Christ's day, they're able to see Christ, hear Him, behold Him. Not just, I like what John said there, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon. So is he just repeating himself? He's not just repeating himself. Two separate things there. Oftentimes, maybe the disciples sat around, maybe John at a time would poke Peter in the ribs and said, do you see what Jesus is doing right now? Peter said, yes, of course I see what he's doing. No, but look, really look. Pay attention to what he's doing. Look at him smiling as he hugs that leper. Look at him cry as he's dealing with that widow. Look at his compassion on those that are sick. See how he touches their lives. See how he deals with them. Look at how sympathetic he is with them. They're able to touch him and see his humanity. We read about his humanity. and we can get a glimpse of him. The apostles and the rest of the disciples in the early church, they were able to see him, touch him, hear him, be with him. John laid it upon his breast, enjoyed that. Christ was one that, as a man, he touched, he smiled, he laughed, he wept, he showed compassion. In Hebrews 4 and verse number 15, describing the kind of high priest that we don't have, that we don't have in a high priest that can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmity. Is that word touched? There's a word that we get our word sympathy from. Christ is sympathetic with us. He knows who we are. He was a man. He became a man and we see that throughout the book of Revelation but not for the purpose of compassion on our part. God the Father is not revealing to us Jesus Christ here in this book. This revelation is not given to John and to the churches and to us for us to feel some kind of sympathy for what he went through. for the things that he endured, the hunger that he experienced, the thirst that he experienced, the times that he was weary in John chapter 4 when he was weary with his journey and sat thus in the well. We don't read through the book of Revelation and say, oh, he went through so much for us. We don't get that at all. John is not trying to make us feel compassionate towards Christ in his manhood. Think about the Gospels as they were written. They pointed out different aspects of Christ. Matthew pointed out that Christ is the Messiah. He is the coming King. His genealogy lines it back all the way to David. He is the King of Israel. Peter says that Christ tells Peter that the truth, that he is the Christ, that was revealed to him by the Father. Matthew is very clear on who Christ is, giving a portrait of Christ as the Messiah. Mark showed him as a servant, described Christ as a servant. We see the urgency of Christ demonstrated throughout the book. Mark is a good one to write about and focus on the servanthood of Christ. Mark was one that, that was an issue in his life. When he went out with his uncle Barnabas and Paul on that first missionary journey, he went and he was a servant to them. He was their minister. He went just as an assistant. Did they need their tent folded up, cooking food, gather firewood, get water, whatever they needed. He was there to be their minister and he only lasted a short term and went back home and left them. But he came to the place where Paul says he's profitable for the ministry. He learned some things, I believe he learned some things about servanthood when God used him to write the Gospel of Mark. He focused on Christ being a servant. Luke focused on him being the Son of Man. In the 35 parables in the Gospel of Luke, 19 are unique to Luke. We call it one of the Synoptic Gospels, because Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar, tell a lot of the same stories. John is very different, very unique. But Luke is unique in the parables. He's got 19 unique parables, and in those, he focuses on Christ's compassion, his love, his availability to those that need him. He demonstrates that. Christ identifies with us. And John, when he wrote the Gospel of John, plainly tells us, I've read these things that you can believe that he is the Son of God. Focusing on the divinity of Christ. In Revelation, we have a picture of Christ as a man, but it's not given to us so that we can have compassion on the things he went through as a man. It was not given for that. He wasn't given for confirmation that he's trying to prove that Jesus was a man. John isn't proving anything in this book as far as Christ being a man. He's not showing any credentials that, yes, he was a man. Because of that, he's able to be the King of David. He's able to fulfill these different roles. That's not why we won't see any of those in there. So why is his humanity displayed throughout the book? I believe it's for continuity. And what do I mean by that? Look over to Acts 1 if you would. When Christ left, when he ascended up to his father, after he gave the commission to that early church, when he ascended up into heaven, and the disciples sat there gazing up into heaven, in Acts 1 verse 9, It says, when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. This same Jesus. Imagine if the book of Revelation was written where all the references to the humanity of Christ, to him being here on earth, if there were none of those in the book of Revelation. We might read through that and maybe be like the Ethiopian eunuch. Who is being revealed here? Is this talking about some powerful angel? Who is this exactly being revealed? No, these things are revealed because the one that's being revealed here in Revelation is the same Jesus in Matthew 1 verse 21 that was announced, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. It's the same one in Matthew 8 verse 20 that said that the foxes have holes, the birds have nests, but the Son of Man hath nowhere to lay his head. Nothing. I don't have anything. It's the same Jesus that said that the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. That's the same Jesus that we see here in the book of Revelation. The same one. It's the one that knew in Matthew 17 verse 22 when he spoke to his disciples and said that the Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. He knew that. And that same Jesus is the one we see in Revelation. It's the same one in Mark 15, verse 15, where it says that Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them. Instead of releasing Jesus, he released Barabbas. He knew Christ was innocent. He wanted to release him, but to content the people, he released Barabbas and delivered Jesus when he had scourged him to be crucified. That's the same Jesus here in Revelation. That's the same Son of Man. It's the same Jesus in Matthew 28, verse five, Mark 16, verse six, when the women went to the tomb, and the angels were there, and the angels said unto them, in Mark 16, verse six, be not affrighted, ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. He is risen, he is not here. That's the same Jesus. We're not talking about someone else. We're not talking about anyone different. It's the same Jesus. The Christ that we read about in the Gospels, this is the same Jesus being revealed to us here in the book of Revelation. The same one. The one that was dead, but lives. The one that washed from our sins in his own blood. The one that was slain and redeemed us to God by his blood of all nations and tongues and kindred. It's the same Jesus. The same Jesus that promised in Matthew 16 verse 27, He's the one that we see revealed in the book of Revelation. Again, we don't see anything defended about what he did or who he was. It's just connecting us. We're talking about the same one. Don't get confused about who this might be. This is the Christ that you read about throughout the Gospels. It's the same one. Number two, we can think of his eternality. I will say that he is timeless. We see this in this book. Almost in the same two phrases that are mentioned. We read one in Revelation 1 in verse number eight. Yes, this is the one that was born of a virgin, he lived, he died, he rose again, he ascended to his father, he sits in the right hand of God, but as Brother Aaron brought out in the sensical hour, his life did not begin there in Bethlehem. He's timeless, he is the eternal one. Revelation 1 verse 8, he says, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, sayeth the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. We serve the eternal God. Verse number 11, he says, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Verse number 17, the last phrase there, fear not, I am the first and the last. Revelation 21, verses six and seven, same thing. Describes himself the same way. It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Revelation 22 verse 13. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Jesus Christ is the eternal God. He did not become the Christ, as some would teach, that he was a man, and then at his baptism, the Holy Spirit, God, chose him, and at that time, he became the Christ. No, he is the Messiah, but he was always the Son. He was eternal God. He is the eternal God. Look back to Psalm 90 in verse number two. Moses, here, writing this Psalm, As you're turning there, maybe think of Micah 5, verse number two, in reference to his coming there in Bethlehem. That prophecy said, thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. Christ did not come into being there in Bethlehem. He is the eternal God. Psalm 19, verse number two. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. From everlasting to everlasting. That's the God that we serve. That's Jesus Christ. That's the God revealed throughout this book. That's the Christ that's revealed throughout this book. Look over at Isaiah 41, if you would. Isaiah 41. through 48, those are some great chapters if you're dealing with the Mormons, dealing with the Jehovah's Witnesses, dealing with those that would claim that Christ is not God and Christ is not Jehovah. These are great chapters to turn to, to point out. Isaiah 41, look at verse number four. That's Jehovah. It's in all caps, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. That's the name Jehovah. Jehovah's Witnesses say that's Jehovah, that's the God that we serve, and they'll call Jesus their prophet, they'll call Jesus a good man. Well, he's not a good man if throughout the book of Revelation he calls himself the first and the last. If that's not who he is, he's not a good man. If that's not who he is, then he's a wicked man. He's a blasphemer if Christ is not who he says that he is. Look at Isaiah 43 and verse number 10. Jehovah's Witnesses point out this verse and say this is talking about us. Jehovah's Witnesses point to that and say that's the God that we serve, Jehovah. But they won't relate Christ to that. Mormons will say that that God was once a man like us, that God, the Father, was a physical person just like you were, but he came to the point where he became a God, and you can become a God. Well, what does that God say? Here in our text, before me there was no God, neither shall there be after me. So you have no opportunity to become a God. That's not your opportunity. There's only one God. Isaiah 44, verse number six. Same Lord speaking here. Isaiah 44, verse number six. Who is that? That's Jesus Christ speaking there. Isaiah 48 verse number 12. We serve the eternal God. That's who Christ is. When John began his gospel, he said in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, not was a God. He was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. Paul told the Colossians that before him, or he is before all things and by him all things consist. He is the eternal God. What a wonderful truth. But because he is the eternal God, because he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, he's also the ever-present God. And this is a wonderful truth. He is the eternal I am. When Jesus said in John 8 verse 58, when the scribes and the Pharisees said, how can you say you're, you know Abraham, Abraham knows you. He said, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Did he just not know his grammar? Why did he say before Abraham was, I was? Because he's the eternal I am. Before Abraham was, he is. Before he created the heavens and the earth, he is. Before he comes back to get us, he is. He's the eternal I am. There's nothing that we've gone through in life, nothing that we're going through in life, nothing that we will go through in life, that he's not already there. He already knows what you've gone through, what you're going through. He already knows the end from the beginning. He knows the end of your story. You don't know the end of your story. Your earthly story may end today. You may not make it home today. That's where your story may end. He knows that. He knows what you'll be going through. In Hebrews 13 verses five and six. How can we fear when he says he'll never leave us nor forsake us? He's already present in your tomorrow. It's not his tomorrow, he's there. He's the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Consider Jeremiah, look back at Jeremiah, we see an example of this in his life. And what God says to him, and what God said to Jeremiah, apart from His particular work they call Jeremiah 2, but as far as the knowledge that God had of Jeremiah, he has the same knowledge in your life, of you. Jeremiah 1 verse number 5, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctify thee and I ordain thee a prophet unto the nations. What a wonderful truth. Before you were ever born, God knew you. In Psalm 39, or 139, the reference is one of my mind, where the psalmist says that God knows all of his members. Before they even formed, he wrote our members in a book. We're fearfully and wonderfully made. And God wrote all about you. Before you were ever formed, he wrote all about you in the book, and you grew, you formed, you went through life, you progressed through life, exactly how he has the story written down. Nothing's happened that he didn't say, oh, get my eraser, I didn't know that was gonna happen. He knew exactly what was gonna happen. Everything you've gone through, all the joys you've gone through, all the sorrow you've gone through, he's there. Not just was there, he's there now. He's there in your yesterday when you sorrow. He's there in your tomorrow when you'll sorrow. Or when you'll rejoice. As you continue looking in Jeremiah, look at verse number six of chapter one. Then said I, O Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child, but the Lord said unto me, say not I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whichever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee. To deliberately saith the Lord. He is with us. Not just today, He's with you already. He's already with you a month from now. He's already there. He's with you there. You haven't even got there yet and He already knows what's gonna happen. So don't be afraid what's gonna happen tomorrow. Don't be afraid what's gonna happen in two months because He is with you. Not just today, He's with you there. He's never gonna leave you or forsake you. Christ is described here in this book as timeless. Number three, he is true. He is true. Consider the faithfulness of Christ. We read in Revelation 1 and verse number five, he's described there as the faithful witness. The faithful witness. Look at Revelation 3. To two different churches, he describes himself as being true. In Revelation 3, in verse number seven, to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. Consider what he says here. Revelation 3, in verse number seven. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth. So he rushes to that church and he says, this is the one that's running to you. This is his own revelation of himself. This is how he's describing himself, he that is true. To the church of the Laodiceans, look at verse number 14. In honor of the angel, the church of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the amen, the faithful and true witness. The beginning of the creation of God. The faithful and true witness. And look over to Revelation one, I'm sorry, Revelation 19, verse number 11. This is a beautiful revelation of Christ. He is true. Revelation 19 verse 11, Make war. He is faithful. He is true. He will never fail to act as he should. He'll never fail to do what he's promised. He'll never fail to provide what's needed. He's faithful and true. We can trust him. He's never late. He's never early. He's always on time. He's faithful and true. He is true. Thayer described, translated this word, That which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name. In every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name. Real, true, genuine. Opposite to what is fictitious, counterfeit, imaginary, simulated, or pretended. Christ never pretended. He never faked it. He never gave himself away. When he says, I am the Good Shepherd, that is exactly what he is. That is exactly what he is. When he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. That is exactly what he is. He is true. He is the faithful witness that we can trust to accurately and efficiently relate to us the things revealed to us that he says must shortly come to pass. We can believe this book. We can believe every word of the book of Revelation because it's he that's faithful and true that's giving us this witness. So we can trust it. He wrote to the church of Philadelphia. Here's the one encouraging, sometimes we'll call the Church of Philadelphia the missionary church. Encourages them, I am he that is true. Why would that be an encouragement to that church there? in Philadelphia. Here's the one that opens doors and closes doors. Here's the one as they're going out and preaching the gospel, they're going out to the uttermost part of the earth. Why is it important for them and important for us to know, he is the one that's true. When he says, go into the uttermost parts of the world, when he says, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, when he says, and lo, I am with you always, he is true. We can trust that as we send people around the world that Christ will be with them. Christ will be with us. Why? Because He is true. He has never said a false thing in His life. He's not a liar. He is true. I am with you always. That's never been rescinded. That's never been proven false. There's never been a missionary that has not had Christ's presence. We're praying about About that brother, I forgot his last name, is it Sullivan? The preacher, missionary church planner over there in South Africa that was abducted by gunpoint. Don't know the end of that story. I don't know him personally, but Christ is with him. Just because he was taken by gunpoint, if he's being tortured, if he's being beat, if he's being starved, whatever's happening with him, Christ is there with him going through that. That's not false just because he's going through bad things and his family is suffering, his wife and children are wondering, worried what's happening. Christ is with them. How do we know that? Because he's faithful and true. His presence today is just as sacred as when He said it there and promised that early church that I'll be with you always. His power is just as strong there in Acts 1 verse number 8, that you'll receive power and you'll be witnesses to me unto the utmost part of the world. That power is just as strong today when we go out. Why? Because He's faithful and true. His provision for us As we go out and preach the gospel to the world, it's just as sure today. How do we know that God will supply the needs that we have to preach the gospel to all the world? Because Christ is sure. To the comfortable church there, the church of the Laodiceans, he is faithful and true witness. He's the one that doesn't make idol threats. When he warned the church there of the Laodiceans, he was not exaggerating. He was not puffing himself up and just hoping that he could fool the later scenes enough that maybe they would change their ways because he really isn't going to do anything. He isn't really that angry with them. I want to make myself appear more angry than I am, appear more displeased with him because if I do that, maybe they'll change. We'll do that with our kids. We'll do that with other people. We'll pretend that we're something more than we really are. Christ isn't pretending. He's not making any idle threats. If we want to be a lukewarm church, if we want to be a church like the Laodiceans, Christ does not exaggerate when he says, I'll spew thee out of my mouth, that it makes him want to vomit. He's not exaggerating. Lukewarm Christianity makes Christ want to vomit. He's not just saying that hoping that maybe you'll feel a little bit uncomfortable and want to change your ways and adjust some things. You make him sick. You make him sick. He's not exaggerating. How do we know that? Because he told that church, I'm faithful and true. I'm the faithful and true witness. In Revelation 19, verse number 11, when he comes back and he's the one coming back in glory, sitting upon a white horse, What's his name? He's faithful and true. He's coming back just as he said. Promise after promise after promise he made that he's gonna come back. Guess what? He's gonna come back. Why? Because he's faithful and true. We can trust him. We can rejoice in that. He is true. And lastly, he is triumphant. We can see the royalty of Christ in Revelation 1 and verse number 5. And I'm gonna point out about six verses here. Six or seven verses. There's more throughout the book. We see it displayed over and over again. But just one aspect we're gonna kind of focus on. Revelation 1 verse number five. He's described there in the middle of that verse, the prince of the kings of the earth. He is the prince of the kings of the earth. Look over to Revelation 2 verse number 27. Revelation two, verse number 27. He shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father. Look at Revelation 12, verse five. Here we have kind of a symbolic representation here of a woman giving birth to a child, a picture of Israel giving birth to the Messiah, But a description of that Messiah that she brought forth in Revelation 12, verse five, is she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. This child, this man child, was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. In Revelation 14, in verse number 14, And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharpsicle. Look at 17 verse 14. 17 verse 14. Revelation 17 verse 14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them for I love that phrase. And they that are with him, we're going to be with him, are called and chosen and faithful. And lastly, Revelation 19, verses 15 and 16. Revelation 19, verses 15 and 16. That with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. That's the Christ that's revealed here in the book of Revelation. We see a glorious revelation here of Christ from the beginning to the end. He is the triumphant king. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don't see him as a baby fleeing from King Herod the Great. King Herod the Great will bow before this one and proclaim him as Lord. We don't see him before Pontius Pilate who tried to wash his hands and say, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm guiltless of the blood of, of this man. He's not before him being bent and being condemned to death. Pilate's going to bow before him and proclaim him to be Lord of Lords. He's not, we consider the kings and rulers of the earth in, in Psalm 2, that the Bible says they set themselves and took counsel against him. They said, let's break their bands asunder, cast away their cords from us. Those kings and rulers of the earth, We don't see Christ wringing his hands and wondering, what shall I do with them? You don't see any of that here. He is the victorious king. They will bow before him. He will have them in derision, we're told. We don't see him hoping for victory through this book. He is victorious. We don't see at the beginning of the book him saying, I will be victorious. No, he is victorious. From the beginning to the end, he is the victorious king of kings and lord of lords. There's no stopping him from opening the seals. There's no one there gonna prevent him from doing that. He will open the seals. There's no one there that's gonna knock the trumpets out of the angels' hands. Those judgments will come. There's no one that's gonna stop the vials from being poured out. They will be poured out upon the earth. Nothing's stopping that, why? Because he is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. All majesty, all power, he stands supreme over all the kings of the earth. There's nothing that is going to stop him. There's nothing that's going to prevent him. He is proclaimed throughout this book as the victor, not as the one that will be victorious. No, he is victorious. Throughout the book, he is the victorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What a beautiful picture of Christ in this book. Again, all of those things that we looked at this morning, they're brought out in so many of these other aspects. When you talk about the priesthood of Christ, we'll be looking at his humanity because he's going to give himself as a sacrifice. He's going to have to shed his blood for us. But we focus on a little bit different aspect of it when we look at the priesthood of Christ, look at his power, these other aspects. We'll see his royalty, we'll see his prerogative. He has every right, he is the one worthy to open the seals. He has every right to pour out his wrath upon the world. When he does that, and the Bible says in Revelation 17, Revelation 18, that the smoke of their torment sent up forever and ever. The next voices in heaven is not like, oh Lord, you're so, why did you do that? The next words are hallelujah. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. There's praise and glory be given to him because he has every right, it's his. And Christ is revealed here. We look through the Bible as we mentioned last week. that we see some imprinting through the Bible. We get glimpses of his divinity, we get glimpses of his power. And here in the book of Revelation, it's pulled back a little bit more, but even as we read through this book, we can't quite grasp it. Until we're there, until the cover is completely taken off and we are experiencing these things, then the world will get a clear picture of Christ. They'll have a clear understanding of Christ at that time. And then in Deuteronomy 12, verse number 10, that when he returns, they'll look upon him whom they pierced and they'll mourn. Here in our text in Revelation 1, when it says that the nations of the world, all kindreds, in verse number seven, all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. They're gonna see him as he is and they'll wail. will see him as he is. Last verse this morning, turn back to 1 John. This is a glorious truth for those that are God's children. We look through the book of Revelation and we see God's We see God's wrath. It says that Christ treads the winepress of the wrath of God. In 1 John 3, verse number one, it says, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, That word appear there is the same word, Revelation 1, verse 1, the revelation of Jesus Christ. When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. What a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. S.M. Lockridge, many of you have heard his sermon or a portion of his sermon, S.M. Lockridge preaching, That's My King. If you haven't heard that, I would recommend you go online, go on YouTube and look up S.M. Lockridge, That's My King. It's maybe three or four minutes long. I just wanted to read you a portion of that message, of that section. He says, the Bible says my king is a seven way king. He's the king of the Jews. That's a racial king. He's the king of Israel. That's a national king. He's the king of righteousness, the king of the ages, the king of glory, the king of heaven, the king of kings and Lord of lords. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immorally graceful. He's empirically powerful. He's impartially merciful. And throughout the message, he keeps asking, do you know him? Do you know him? He's God's son. He's a sinner's savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands in solitude of himself. He's awesome, unique, unparalleled, unprecedented, the loftiest idea in literature, the highest personality in philosophy, the supreme problem in higher criticism, the fundamental doctrine of true theology, the cardinal necessity of spiritual religion, the miracle of the age, the superlative of everything good that you choose to call him. He is the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Savior. I wonder if you know him today. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick, cleanses the lepers, forgives sinners, discharges debtors, delivers captives, defends the feeble, blesses the young, serves the unfortunate, regards the aged, rewards the diligent, and beautifies the meek. He's the key of knowledge, the wellspring of wisdom, the doorway of deliverance, the pathway of peace, the roadway of righteousness, the highway of holiness, the gateway of glory. And he keeps asking, do you know him? Do you know the one that we've just got a glimpse of this morning in the book of Revelation? Do you really know him? To know him is to love him. To know him is to serve him. If he saved you, he saved you so that you can serve him. And what a one to serve. You're already on the winning side. You know, you're going to be victorious, because he's already victorious. And he's already given us the victory. We can live in that victory. Do you know him this morning? Let's all stand together. Brother Jeb, will you come and lead us in a closing hymn? What a wonderful Savior we have. How important to know him now. He's appointed unto man and wants to die, and after this the judgment. Now is the time to know him. You'll know him then. You'll bow before him and you'll recognize him. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. How much better it is to do that now, amen?