Welcome to the Cary Baptist Church radio broadcast entitled Thy Word is Settled in Heaven. I'm Pastor Ben Donohue. Cary Baptist is in Athens, Alabama. Today we're continuing in our study and interpretation of the book of Revelation. This is part two. We're still in chapter one. We're going to begin reading in verse nine and read a portion of this chapter as the second part of this study of the book of Revelation. We're doing a word-for-word interpretation of the great symbols and emblems and sacred truths that are found in this book. We'll begin in verse 9 of chapter 1. I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. unto Ephesus, unto Smyrna, unto Pergamos, unto Thyatira, unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 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 middle with a golden sash. 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 into fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice is 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 shining in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell down 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, and I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things that thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks, The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches. Brother, we're going to end there, having read down to verse 20. Here in part two of our interpretation of Revelation, we're going word for word. We want to capture everything that is here, and we're going to notice that the book of Revelation in general is a great picture, an emblem of what future events will take place. We're not going to spend too much time reviewing the book, but we know at the very end The devil and his angels are cast in the lake of fire, never to tempt or ruin men again. And there's a new heaven and a new earth created, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and the saints are with God forever in heaven, where there's no sorrow, no pain, no tears, no crying. That's how the book ends. It ends in a great victory for the saints and for the Lord Jesus Christ, but here in chapter 1, we're setting the stage for the rest that follows. As we mentioned in part 1 that we looked at before, this is setting the stage and we saw that Jesus, his deity, He is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He's everlasting. And we notice that he loved us and washed us from our own sin in his own blood. So there in the beginning of Revelation, we have the redemptive love of Jesus Christ given to us again. So here we are in verse nine, and we begin there, today, and he says, I, John, who am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the aisle that is called Patmos. So he was a man who served God for many years and he's now locked up on a prison island because of his testimony for Jesus Christ. He's being persecuted, he's in prison, but God is going to use him to give us the book of Revelation. As we said before, John has been preserved, the longest of the apostles, he's preserved to get this, the last book of the Bible. Once he writes the last word of the book of Revelation, That closes the canon of the scripture forever. And so he says, I'm on this island for the word and testimony of Jesus Christ. And now he's going to get into the vision. He sets the stage and he says in verse 10, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. So God gave him a vision in the spirit. In the spirit, he saw this vision. And it happened on a day that is called the Lord's Day. And the Lord's Day is the day that recognizes the day of his resurrection. That's Sunday, the first day of the week. And this is indication that the first century church had a special day called the Lord's Day. And this is when Jesus began this vision. And he says, I was in the spirit on that day and heard behind me a great voice has a trumpet. And we're going to see Jesus in his glorified state. We're going to see him dressed. We're going to see some physical attributes explained about Jesus, including his voice. And these are going to be metaphors and symbols of his great glory. For example, he has a sharp sword coming out of his mouth that is an emblem of the power of the word that he speaks. He has hair white like wool, like snow, indicates his wisdom, the wisdom of age. Older people, most of them, or many of them, or some of them we could say, have the wisdom of age. They've learned a few things and they have wisdom. Well, white hair indicates age and wisdom. Well, Jesus is supremely wise. So we have these images of Christ that tell us various attributes and characteristics, especially showing he's in his glorified state. And so John hears a great voice, has a trumpet. And this is a startling voice that wakes him and gains his attention. And the voice says, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And here again is a reference to his deity. He's the beginning, he's the ending. Everything is encircled within that beginning and ending, the first and the last. And he says, what thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches. So the last book of the Bible is going to be a great vision that John's going to see. He's going to be raptured up into heaven in this vision. He's going to see heaven. He's going to see Jesus in heaven. He's going to see many things in heaven and the purpose is that he's going to write it in a book and distribute it to the churches. The churches are the caretakers of the Word of God. The Word of God is a sacred deposit. It's a treasure indeed. We have here what thou seest, this vision that's going to run throughout the book. write it in a book, and distribute it to the churches. Now we have a list of seven churches in Asia. These are representative churches. Seven is the number of completion. They represent all churches. And he lists the seven churches, Ephesus, Myrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Seven churches representing all churches because the things that were happening in these churches and the corrections that Christ will give to these churches are applicable to all churches for all time. So we don't necessarily ascribe to this approach that each of the seven churches represents a time period. We don't ascribe to that, though we've heard good preachers preach on that subject, but we personally don't ascribe to that. We believe that these were real actual little churches that had their blessings and their problems, and they're going to be addressed by Jesus in chapter two and three, but they're also representative of all churches. The problems they have in these seven churches are problems that all churches can have. Not every church has every problem. Not every church has every blessing enumerated. But generally, they represent the churches. Each of these churches is different. You can see that in chapter 2 and chapter 3. There's a different word given to each church. And so we believe these instructions, seven churches, are applicable to all churches and worthy of all dispensations and all time periods. There'll be churches like Ephesus throughout the entire church history. There'll be churches like Laodicea. You can find them throughout church history. So we don't ascribe to seven periods. We do ascribe to representative churches, representing all churches. Now verse 12, and I turn to see the voice that spake with me. And I being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. So the first thing that John sees are seven candlesticks. They're representative of the church, and what a good and fitting representation. A candlestick is something you carry into a dark room or a dark place, and that candlestick gives light. And so too the churches are to give light, the light of Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world. And Jesus called his own disciples in the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew 5, you're the salt of the earth, you're the light of the world. A good church that is following Christ, that is faithful to Christ, will be like light in a dark place. And what a fitting image churches are candlesticks. They have the light of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the commandments of God, and the word of God, and the teaching and sermons of the apostles. The churches are a candlestick that light the earth, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like the Son of Man. Again, we have the number seven, like we have the seven churches of Asia. Seven is the number of completion, so the seven stands for all. Among them is one like the Son of Man. This teaches us that Jesus, He's not in heaven, divorced from the church, far away. No, He's working in the churches. He is in the churches, working His will. Wherever two or three gather together, there I am in the midst of you. How about Matthew 28, the Great Commission? Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, and lo, I am with you even to the end of the age. And John is seeing Jesus walking among the candlesticks. He's active in the churches. And Jesus is with his people. He'll never leave nor forsake his people. Jesus is concerned about the churches. It's his organization. It's his institution. He's the head of the church. He is the husband of the bride of Christ, which is the church. And John says, he saw him clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about the middle with a golden sash. Now perhaps he has a long robe to signify that he's functioning in the priest's office. Jesus is our high priest. The priest had long flowing robes. And perhaps this is a picture of the mediatorial office of Jesus, who operates as a high priest. The book of Hebrews tells us we have a high priest. And Christ ever liveth to make intercession for them. Around his chest, or his middle, is a golden sash. Now the King James Version, which I always read, says he has girt about the paps with a golden girdle. But I take that as easier to understand. He's girt about the middle or the chest with a golden sash. Gold is a signification of purity. And his head, and his hairs were white like wool, we've already referred to that, has the wisdom of age, and Christ has infinite wisdom. And now here's an interesting characteristic that John sees, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. I believe this is a powerful and good emblem. It tells us that Jesus can see through all facades and false fronts. He can see through the play acting of people. He can see into their hearts. He knows and can seize immediately their motivations, their intentions, their history, their thoughts. Nothing is hidden from Jesus Christ. And I believe that is what is meant by his eyes were as a flame of fire, that he can see all. that the front and facade and false impressions that people can give to others and even mislead them, misrepresent themselves and they can fool some of the people some of the time. But Jesus is never fooled because he sees the heart. He sees right into the heart. Also his eyes were a flame of fire could refer to his sight of the future. He sees all things in the future completely and perfectly. And so we have piercing vision to see through things and to see the future. And indeed, this is a picture of Christ in his heavenly splendor. And his feet were like fine brass as they burned in a furnace. Now I take this to mean judgment. Furnace represents fire, which is representing of judgment. And brass is a metal that represents judgment. And so Jesus is also the judge. Jesus said in Matthew, all judgment has been committed unto the Son that men may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Now we see in verse 16 that he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. A two-edged sword would be his word. That word can tear down and build up. That word can judge and encourage. Out of his mouth is this holy emblematical. Jesus uses his word to accomplish his will. He speaks things into existence, and he judges by his word. So his word has a sharp sword that accomplishes much. and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength." Again, this representation of the divine glory of Jesus Christ. Remember on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus on the mountain, transfigured with Moses and Elijah on each side of him. John had seen this once before. It tells us of the glory and the majesty and the awesomeness of Jesus in his heavenly state. And John sees this, so great is the sight, So awesome is the sight that it says, and when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, a choice servant of Christ, a great apostle of Christ, fell down as dead before Jesus Christ. Jesus is Jehovah God. John sees him in his heavenly splendor. Back on earth, when Jesus was on the earth, Jesus was in his humble state. He laid down some of his prerogatives temporarily to be a humble servant, to die on a cross. Now in heaven, John sees him in all of his heavenly glory and splendor, and it's too much for him, and he falls at Jesus' feet as if he was dead. And brethren, God is an awesome God. And God is light and in him is no darkness. And we're being reminded of the majesty of Jesus Christ. But notice, we also see his grace and mercy in operation. And Jesus put his right hand upon John, saying unto him, fear not, I am the first and the last. Yes, God is an awesome king. His majesty fills heaven, but he's also a loving, merciful God. And he raises John up and he puts him on his feet. Because his purpose is not to overawe John, his purpose is to communicate with John some glorious and necessary and sacred truths. Because John is going to be the spokesman that will speak to the church, write to the church, and God is interested in communicating these great truths in Revelation. to the church through John. So the Lord Jesus is going to communicate to John. He's preserved John to receive this book, and John is going to be his penman to write this truth for us today. So brethren, we're about out of time. We see in this part of the book of Revelation that John sees a glimpse of Jesus in his heavenly glory. He sees these great attributes, characteristics, and virtues of Jesus. He sees him dressed as a priest. He sees him with a sword coming out of his mouth. And this would indicate that Jesus is both king and priest together. Brother, we're going to have to end it here because we're about out of time. I'll remind you, you've been listening to the Cary Baptist Church radio broadcast. Cary Baptist is in Athens, Alabama. We're in our 101st year as a church. We started in 1923. I'm Pastor Ben Donohue, and I want to thank you for listening, and I hope you join us again next time. And until then, we'll say goodbye. Thank you for joining us on today's broadcast. If you have any questions or want more information about Cary Baptist Church, you can find us on the web at carybc.com. That is C-A-R-E-Y-B-C dot C-O-M. May the Lord richly bless you as you tune in again for Thy Word is Settled in Heaven.