I already made my first mistake. There's 10 grandchildren. I have a hard time remembering my own age. So there's going to be issues this week, I know. That's just, it just goes with me. I'm sorry about that. But by the time the week's out, you'll know there are issues. I love to see children at a church. And tonight, as I looked out over this group, I saw children in here. And so I'm going to do something here. I'm going to start tonight with a continued story and have a section every evening. If you want to get the whole story, you should come every evening. Can I see the hands of the children? Way back there. Put them up high. Yes, I want to see them all. I like to see the children. You're very much a part of these meetings. And so I really want you to be here, and I hope you can enjoy the meetings. So I'll let you sit where you are as I tell the story. And then after the story is done, I'm going to ask Benjamin to come. We'll have just a chorus real quickly. I want to even sit down. And then we'll go into the message. That work? OK. The story I'm going to tell you started back in early 1800s in Germany, I think. The book doesn't even say. And it's a story about a man whose name was Frederick. His wife's name was Adele. And they lived in the early years of Germany, if I understand right, in a huge, big castle. One who had a castle had a lot of land around the castle. So they would have a lot of servants that would work there and stay there. Somebody to run the household, somebody to help with the farming, do the gardening, and all of that kind of thing. Then when the country would be in trouble, the head, the governor, I guess we could say, of the country would call upon these men who owned the castles to come and to help protect the country. Well, in the story we're going to tell you tonight, Frederick was one of these men who had a castle. And he had a wife and he had one child only. That child's name was Henry, a little boy by the name of Henry. It was just a little boy who wasn't even able to talk yet. When the call came from the governor that Frederick is needed to protect his country, hastily, Frederick and some of his servants left. And Adele was distressed because she knew well that it's very possible that Frederick would never come back. and that Henry would never get to know his daddy. So she was very, very much concerned about that. Frederick left, and Adele was at home with Henry and the servants. And there was one real special servant in the house. Her name was Margaret. She was an orphan girl. Margaret had been chosen especially as the caretaker for little Henry. Margaret being an orphan, she loved Adele. She adored her like she would have her own mother, but her mother wasn't there. So she tried to be as loyal as possible to Margaret and to the instructions of how to care for Henry. One evening, There was one of the servants that had gone with Frederick, arrived breathlessly back at the castle with a message. Frederick has been hurt. He would like to see his wife once more before he dies. Would you please come, Adele? And Adele was like, Yes, indeed, I'm going to come, but what of Henry? She knew that there was not a car to take him. Have to be with a horse and wagon. And she knew she couldn't take Henry along. She didn't know how long she would be away. And she was very, very much distressed because, but she knew she wanted to see her husband yet one more time before he passed away. An underservant, when he saw how scared she was, he said, there's a possibility that he could recover. But that didn't help that much. So quickly, Adele told Margaret, you take really good care of Henry. Don't leave his side at any point. Even if he's sleeping, be right there, watch him. Make sure that all his cares and concerns are met, that he's really being taken care of good. And when I come back, I will make sure to reward you very, very well." And Margaret promised. Indeed, she would. And so late that evening, Adele got out, went up into the wagon that was out there to leave, and it was raining. The storm was coming, and it was raining, and a servant The wagon and Adele left that evening and the servants went back into the castle. There was a certain amount of sadness because they were wondering what was going to happen with Frederick. They were hoping that Frederick would survive and that Adele could come back. Days passed. And both of them had been gone, Frederick and Adele had been gone for some days. And one day there were some musicians that came outside, where it just seemed to be traveling through. They came outside to the castle and they were outside the gate and they were just playing up a storm. And they were just making it, just having a grand time playing the music. The servants were like, you know what? Let's invite them in. So they invited them in. And the musicians went down into the basement of the castle there, and they began to have their music. And Margaret was upstairs. Henry was sleeping. It was in his cradle. His cradle was really nice, decorated. She wanted to be sure that if he woke up, he would see flowers and that kind of thing. She had her cradle all decorated. Over the top of the cradle, she had some, like a screen to keep the flies off of him so he could sleep well. But the musicians were there. She loved music and the music was coming up and she could hear that music and she wanted to go down and listen to the music But this was her responsibility and she was gonna stay right here Well all of a sudden into the room pops a young man by the name of George. He was the gardener He came up to Margaret and said Margaret Oh, you've never had so much, such a party. You should just come down and see what's going on. I mean, really, literally, we are just, these guys are good. They're just, you need to come down. Margaret said, look, I've got to stay right here. I promise. He said, look, you can't help the child sleep. The child is sleeping. Come on down. Even just for a few minutes, come on down. So finally, Margaret yielded. She went downstairs. She thought she would enjoy the music, but no, she did not enjoy the music because she was thinking of Henry up there. The others kept, come on, just a few minutes, come on, stay here. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She went zipping up the stairs and into the Henry's room, up to the cradle. She could not believe her eyes. The cradle was empty. Oh, she thought, somebody of the servants is playing a trick on me. and has taken Henry somewhere and hit him. She zipped down to the basement and said, who's playing a trick on me? Henry's not there. Immediately, the music stopped. All the joy was gone. All the servants began to search the house. Henry was nowhere. Come back tomorrow night. We'll tell you where Henry is. The chorus Spirit of the Living God, Fall Fresh on Me. Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me. Spirit of the living, God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, Open your Bibles please to Revelation chapter 1. I want to speak tonight on the subject of The revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ. My goal for this sermon this evening is that every one of us this evening would catch a fresh glimpse of Jesus Christ himself. Not only so, that every one of us would carry with us a renewed appreciation for the scriptures that we have with us so freely and have the ability to look into. And as I look into this passage, and I want to read the first three verses here as an introduction to the subject tonight. It says here, 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 bear 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 word of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. Now we could speak a number of sermons out of here. We could speak on the subject of the time is at hand, but that's not the subject of the evening. But I want you to look at three words in verse three that I think are very important. Blessed are they that read. Blessed are they that — blessed are he — is he that readeth, and they that hear. and they that keep these things." Read, hear, keep. That's speaking about the Word. And we're going to come back to that a little bit, in just a little bit. But let me look here, the very first five words. That's where I want to spend a good bit of my attention this evening. The revelation of Jesus Christ. I always thought the book of Revelation was the revelation unto John the Apostle. The revelation of John the Apostle. But when I began to look at this chapter, I realized that Jesus Christ is the one here that was speaking. He's the one that was calling, and he wanted these words written, and he brought it to John so that John would write it. And John was faithful in writing it down. So the revelation of Jesus Christ, these are the words of Jesus speaking. And we could go through the book of Revelation, there's a lot we could get, and maybe we will more in the later part of this week, I don't know if we get to that or not. But as I look at, this is not the Apostle John speaking, it is not the revelation to the church even necessarily. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And it's amazing to think that God's interest, Jesus, the interest of Jesus is so much in us, His people, that He wants to reveal Himself to us. Well, how is He going to reveal Himself to us? Through the Scriptures, of course. That's the real way that he's going to reveal himself. Repeatedly in this passage in the book of Revelation, you have things like Jesus is the worthy one. He is the one that will be exalted, the theme of eternity. Worthy is the Lamb. And then there are things to think about such as he is the faithful and the true one. Then there is the word, the Alpha and Omega. Now the word Alpha and Omega represents the first and the last of the Greek alphabet. We could say he is the A and the Z. The all-encompassing, from the beginning on through to the end. That's who he is. Over again in scripture, he calls himself The I am, not the I was, not the I will be, the I am. When you think of the I am, how do you define the I am? I am who? Whatever your need is, defines what I am means to you. If you need someone to stand with you in your time of trouble, I Am is your comforter. If you are in fear, I Am is there to stand there and guard you. If you are discouraged, I Am is there to lift you up and encourage you. He is the I Am. Alpha and Omega. The meaning of the word revelation is to unveil, to unveil, to disclose, or to reveal something that previously was hidden. But the root word really is to reveal. So Jesus Christ wants to reveal Himself to all of us here this evening. Please turn with me, will you, to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, chapter 4, I'm sorry. I want to look at just one verse. Jesus wants to reveal himself to us. But there's a problem sometimes. We're going to look at that too. Verse 6, chapter 4, for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God wants to reveal Himself through the light of the Word. But He wants to reveal Himself, you would see the image of Jesus Himself. And I believe that that's imperative for every one of us that would name the name of Christ, would seek to be a follower of Jesus. And in seeking to be a follower of Jesus, we're seeking to be like Jesus. We're seeking to know Him as He really is. Seeking to emulate His character. Seeking to be His mouthpiece as we meet those who have no knowledge of Him. Seeking to be an ambassador here on earth as we are called to be. That's what God would want of us to be. That's, I believe, why he wants to reveal himself. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. We know there's darkness. has shined in our hearts. That's what happens when we receive Christ as our Savior. That's what happens when we invite Christ into our life. And we'll speak more, Lord willing, about that later on in the week. has shining a heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But there is a problem. There's a problem. Turn with me, will you please? Revelation chapter 12. I want to introduce you to the problem. I've got to get used to this gadget. Chapter 12, verse 7. There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought in his angels, and prevailed not, neither was there a place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which is seen with the whole world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. What's the problem? There's war going on. There's a war going on. So God wants to show us the light. But there's a war going on. Let's go right back. Now we're grateful here, we can see the end from the beginning. It tells us Michael and the angels were fighting, but it also tells us that they were cast out. They lost the battle, they were cast out. But you know what that is, what that means? That's bad news in some ways. It tells us that Jesus is the victor. It tells us that he's gonna win. So we have that behind us, we know that. But there's an issue here. He was cast out of where? Out of heaven. Where'd he go? He came to the earth. The war is not in heaven anymore, my friends, the war is here. Maybe I shouldn't say the war's not in heaven anymore. I don't know that for sure, I don't know how that all works. I don't — this is probably just a partial glimpse of what all is going on. But the war is now on earth. Turning to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 again, I want to look at another verse in this passage that I think is very important for us to look at. In whom, verse 4, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. My friends, tonight, God wants to show and reveal himself, but Satan wants to hide him. Satan wants to blind the men, the lives of men and women, so that they will not be able to receive the knowledge of the truth of the gospel. Satan has brought a war. That war is a war of ideas. It's a war of beliefs. It's a war of wills. It's a strife for the control of your mind. He knows that if He controls your mind, He can shape your beliefs. If He can shape your beliefs, He can dictate your actions. If He dictates your actions, He can develop your habits. And if He develops your habits, He can determine your destiny. And that's exactly what he wants to do. He wants to shape your destiny. So Satan's goal is to blind us from the revelation of Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. One of the ways that he blinds us, my friends, today, if he can't make you bad, He'll make you busy. We all need to be busy. Jesus said, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. We need to be busy. God wants us to be busy, but you know what Satan wants to do? He makes us busy with the wrong things. Busy with the wrong things. I'm grateful for every one of you that is here this evening. It tells me something about you. You have some priorities that brought you here. Now, when I was growing up, there were six boys in the family and we had plenty of things going on in the household. At the tail end, there was a girl that was adopted. But there were six boys there, but there was one thing we had an issue with at home. We had a drug problem. We were drugged to church all the time. We didn't like it real well. In fact, we'd get sick, get on the couch, I remember being on the couch. I thought I was sick enough to stay at home. And mom and dad wanted to make sure I was sick enough to stay home. They'd come check my forehead to make sure there was a fever there. And I'm laying there and I'm hoping I'm sick enough that they'll let me stay there. Sure enough, I stayed there. It's amazing how much you can improve after they leave. But what that did, that drug problem was an issue all of us boys knew about it. You didn't stay home from church. If there was church, you went to church. What is happening today is Satan loves to make us so busy that the things of God become secondary. Secondary. And now we've had COVID come through. And now we have all kinds of stuff to stay at home from. Used to be, like I said, you had to be really sick. If you were coughing a little bit, that wasn't enough to stay at home. You sniffle a little bit, that wasn't enough to stay at home. My friends today, if you sniffle a little bit in church, you get a hairy eyeball. You see, something has changed. Isn't our God big enough tonight to work and protect us from those things? I don't think we should be careless. Get me right. But what I'm saying is meeting with the people of God should still be a priority for us. Satan is so busy trying to make us busy and trying to give us priorities. so that we won't be in church. We will not be in fellowship with the people of God. Busy, burdened, under Satan's yoke. Think about that. How can we know then? So we have the word. And God speaks to us and shows us Jesus Christ through the word. And people will ask you this question, this challenging question. How can you trust that? That's an old book. You know that. Well, that's out of date. How can you trust that? Let me give you seven reasons why I trust this book. First of all, I trust this book because of the testimony of internal consistency. Internal consistency. Now when I mean internal consistency, I mean the book agrees with itself. Sixty-six little books in one bigger book. written over 1,500 years of time, before the age of Facebook, WhatsApp, email, conference calls, and all of that. These people couldn't be calling each other, saying, why don't you write? To make sure that what they write is going to be just exactly what the other one writes. No. After all, they were 1,500 years spread into writers. They didn't even all live during the same time. So they were not communicating together in that way. There were 36 writers, I believe it is, if I have this correctly. Some of them, I believe, were different continents even, I think, if I have it right. And so, they were addressing then, of all things, the most controversial issues that have ever faced man. The issue of God. The issue of God. It's one of the most controversial issues you can bring up to speak about. How do you know there is a God? That issue is addressed in this scripture. The issue of spirituality is addressed here in the scriptures. And that's a great thing of discussion. Thirdly, the issue of truth. What is truth? Pilate himself asked that question while he was standing in front of truth. Couldn't define it. So there's all kinds of writings today that have partial truths, but many have only partial truth. Here we have a book with nothing but the truth. Oh, how do you know that? Well, let's go on in our observations. Truth in front of us. What a blessing to have this truth here. Out of all this diversity, as we talk about the internal consistency, 66 books, 36 writers, over 1500 years, how can there be consistency? Because behind every penman, there was an author. And it was the same author Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God of the past, the God of the present, the God of the future gave this word. And that's why there is internal consistency with this book. Secondly, the testimony of history. The testimony of history. This book has survived the centuries. There have been those that have wanted and have burned the book. When it was first translated and as there were those who wanted to make the Bible come and make it available for the common man, there were those that objected and started bonfires and any copy they could get they would burn. And yet it survived perpetually. So we have the record of history. This book has survived history. Thirdly, we have the testimony of archaeology. And when I talk about archaeology, maybe I'm gonna have that, bend that word a little bit. I believe it was in 1947, when there was a shepherd, a bored shepherd, down close to the Red Sea somewhere. And as he was down there keeping his sheep, and the day was getting long, Of the many caves that were around him he saw this hole up the side of the hill and he took a rock and he hurled it up through there. I have no clue how many rocks he hurled up that side of the rock before he actually hit the hole and went inside. But what stunned him was when the rock went on inside is what he heard. He heard the breaking of pottery. And it was then that they discovered what is known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Dating back to the first and second century, parts of the scriptures written down and preserved in those clay pots. Not only that, there are over 20,000 different parts of the scriptures that have been found, of scriptures from years back. And they're consistent with the scriptures that we have today. You can trust this word. How can that be? Because God has his ways of preserving his word. His word will always be preserved. Fourthly, the testimony of science. Testimony of science. I remember as a little boy, down in Sugar Creek, close to Sugar Creek, just outside, Outside that little country house where we lived, laying in the backyard, looking up at the stars, my faithful little pet beside me. And looking up there, and no matter what the day held, you could look up there and you'd see the stars. Now there's a lot of, I'm not much of a stargazer. They talk about the bear and I see the imaginary lines drawn out and I look up there, I don't see a bear. It's all that stuff. But you know, there is one thing I do see and that's the dipper. Pretty clear up there. Oh, it goes around. Sometimes it's dumping, sometimes it's filling up, whatever. But it's there. I moved to Kenya. I looked at the stars. Oh, they were different. But there's something about that. They stayed in their orbit. Kenya, the sun came up. East goes down to west. East to west. You and I know good and well that you take a ball and you hurl that with all your might down these aisles, it's gonna stop. It's gonna stop. How come? Those balls up there don't stop. The evidence of science. The evidence of science. Fifthly, the testimony of relevancy. The testimony of relevancy. Is this word relevant? How can it be that a person on the other side of the globe in Africa can pick up this book and can read in this book and can find things that will help them through their issues in their tribe. How can it be that someone here in America who has been troubled and has been working through some very difficult things can find something in this book that is relevant to their need. And I trust that you have read through this book, and in the times of your trouble, you have found something that is relevant to your need. Doctors, lawyers, oh, tax collectors. The writers of this scripture were tax collectors. I don't know, a lawyer, maybe not. Fishermen, countrymen, learned men like Paul, educated. The Scriptures, there's something of relevance for every class of people, in every part, every tribe, every nation, every place, upon the face of this earth. the relevancy of the scriptures. Number six, the testimony of the transformed life. The testimony of the transformed life. An old man in Kenya that I knew, I loved him. He'd been a cattle thief. I remember so well, he'd come to church in his older years. He was only converted in his older years. First time I went to his mud hut and I sat there in his mud hut with him. And you could feel the oppression of evil in that household. But when I went back today to preach his funeral sermon, there was a totally different feel. Something had happened from the first time I was there to the last time I was there His testimony in church He'd get up. I love Jesus. I had oh, yes. Oh, I had oh, yes. I love Jesus And he testimony time would come you couldn't keep him or on his or in his seat hardly Oh, he'd say the same thing. But you know why he said the same thing. He meant it from the bottom of his heart. I He was a transformed man, used to be a cattle thief. He would ask the spirits to keep the people in the house asleep. You see, they bring their cattle into the compound so that they won't get stolen. The older boys They have their houses built right outside by the, right by the gate. Anybody coming in the gate, they're there to defend the gate. Husband's house straight ahead, his wife's close by. You have this, and inside there you have the cattle in a corral. He would pray to the spirits that those people wouldn't wake up. They'd go in there and steal the cattle and take them out. Power of the Spirit, they knew about them, and they knew they worked. But one day, the power of Jesus Christ got a hold of that man, and he realized that there's a power greater than that power. And he was changed by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, transformed. renewed into the likeness of Jesus. And that man would walk down off that mountainside and come to church. The effort, his legs would be swelling up. He couldn't hardly walk because he'd take his stick and come there. He'd be there. He never wanted to miss. His desires were changed. He wasn't stealing cattle anymore. He was so poor, he could hardly put food on the table. But he was coming to church, coming to church. His boys hated him. He didn't live a good life when he was young. They didn't have good memories of their dad. They didn't treasure their parents' relationship at all. Husband-wife relationship, I just remember coming up there and looking into that casket. That man was laying there. His time was done. And his wife there, shooing away the flies. Making sure no flies sit on his face. Token of her love for her husband. The relationships of a man and his wife changes were there changed by the power of Jesus Christ? The power of a changed life, changed from the inside out. Seventh, the testimony of prophecy. How can you have Isaiah 500 years before the crucifixion? Write Isaiah 53. And as you read that chapter 53 of Isaiah, it's as if you were sitting there looking at the cross. 500 years before the idea of crucifixion was even brought to bear. And he writes that book, and he writes that chapter of the suffering of Christ. Just like painting a picture. I'm convinced without a shadow of a doubt, I can trust this book. And so can you. So can you. How can the testimony of prophecy be so accurate? Turn to me, will you please, Isaiah chapter 46. I want to look at two verses here. There's only one way that the future can be foretold. Did you realize there is no other religion or faith that has written within their books the issue of prophecy. And this scripture is more than 20% prophecy. There is, Muslims do not have the prophecy to relate to. They can't go back to that. In fact, if you want to challenge a Muslim, they believe in Abraham. You ask them this question. If you believe in Abraham and all of that, why do you not worship the God of Abraham? Ask them that. I'll have the first one answer me that question. I don't think they are able to answer that question. They believe in Abraham. After all, Ishmael was a son of Abraham too. And then, so you ask him those questions, but what I want to bring out here tonight is the testimony of prophecy. How can prophecy be accurate? There is only one way. The future has to be known before it comes to pass. Isaiah chapter 46, verse nine. Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from the ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Why can there be prophecy of the Old Testament fulfilled in the New? How can the book of Daniel lay out clearly the ruling of the empires that follow up through Alexander the Great and the four generals and all of that? You see it written right there in the book of Daniel. How can that be so laid out? Did the prophets understand what they were writing? I don't think so. In fact, turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 1, and I want to point out a picture here of what the prophets were saying. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 10, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that that should come unto you, seeing what or what manner of person, of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves But unto us that administer the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into." They didn't understand what they were writing. They couldn't figure it out. But they wrote it because God told them to write it. We understand salvation because it's been a gift that we have been privileged to understand through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They didn't have that. They didn't have that. But they wrote about it. Think about it. Testimony of prophecy. I trust this book, my friends. God is seeking to reveal himself to us through his word. Satan is blinding men from the truth by busying them and doing all kinds of things. He's bringing fear. Fear is one of the big tools that he uses. But my friends today, there's one big issue. Satan. Satan does not want you to know what he's doing. And in trying to deceive men, he is counterfeiting. I spoke to you about Now, Udi, the man who would call the spirits to keep those people asleep, there's a power there. Those people knew that power. And there are people that will serve that power because they know that power. What is Satan doing? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen a collarfit $13 bill? I never have. Why not? There's no genuine. $100, $50, $20. They're doing it all the time. In fact, my wife was in the bank here not so long — not very many weeks ago, and she asked to tell her there, you probably don't — or said something about, you probably don't see Conor Austin probably three times a week. Well, how do you know it? Well, you got to know the genuine. You gotta know the genuine. But you know what Satan is trying to do? He's trying to copy the genuine and pull people away from God in that way. He is, he does have a power, but it's not something you and I need to be afraid about. If you want to know the genuine, you need to read, you need to hear, and you need to keep the word that is here for us today. Going back to the book of Revelation chapter 1, time's going faster than I am, so we gotta get right back to Revelation chapter 1. I want you to see this chapter in this chapter, the vision that John had. Daniel had a very similar vision, I believe it was in chapter 10, where he saw the man, Christ Jesus there, and it's very similar except for there are two things here that are not in the book of Daniel. It says here in verse 9, I John also I'm your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom of patience of Jesus Christ Was in the isle 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 which was Right What thou seest right 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 golden candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot. John was struggling to bring to our attention what he really saw. So look what he says. His head clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about the paps with a golden girdle. What did he say? One like unto. He had a hard time describing what he was seeing. The long robe is symbolic of royalty. The gold is symbolic of holiness. So you have the combination of holy royalty here that is being shown by this image of Jesus Christ that John was seeing. And then we go into verse 14. His head and his hairs were white like wool. As white as snow. It's the whitest thing you can think about. White as snow. That depicts purity. He saw someone with royalty. He saw royalty. He saw holiness. He saw purity. And then we read on. His voice, no, his eyes were as a flame of fire. Flame of fire eyes like a flame of fire. Have you ever been out at night? with a flashlight a bright flashlight and shine around and you see the glare of eyes What does it do to you? What's out there Get out of here You know what the eyes like a flame of fire No one's comfortable in that What does that mean? Eyes that see. There is nothing hidden from the presence of God. Hebrews chapter 4 tells us that we're dealing with the eyes, the eyes of the Lord are in every place. We're having something to do with these, this man behind the eyes. Yes, he sees everything. There's no hiding from him. The eyes, and then we have in verse 15. His feet were fine like brass, were likened to fine brass. There's no other place in the scripture where these words are used, were fine brass. So there's a dilemma to how to determine this. Brass is a symbol of judgment. I get the idea of shiny brass, but there's a word here in the original that is not, scholars are arguing about. It's frankincense brass. And I can't quite figure out what that means. You see, John was at a loss for words for what he was saying, what he wanted to say, what he saw. When you and I see Jesus, we're going to be at a loss for words. We're not going to be able to say what we really saw. The best we can do is try to describe it. His voice was like the sound of many waters. I don't know if you have ever stood at the base of a large waterfall. What does it do to you as you hear the rush of that water? The roar, the thunder of that water coming down over and you're standing there and the earth is shaking as the water hits the ground there and you're hearing and it's deafening. It makes you feel really big, right? No, it makes you feel small. Small. Is it any wonder that John fell on his face as one did? In the presence of Jesus Christ. When we see Jesus, it's gonna do something to us. It's gonna change us. It's gonna change our perspectives. We like to talk about the love of Jesus, but my friends, you and I have missed it if we forget that the love of Jesus is balanced by his judgment and justice. And there is no respect of persons. His feet like fine brass, his eyes as a flame of fire. Had in his right hand seven stars, verse 16, And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. You don't find this in the book of Daniel. And his countenance was as the sun shining in its strength. That sword, my friends, is the word of God. And the word here for sword is not the sword of a single, small, little, personal sword. It's the symbol, it's the word for a sword that is so heavy and so big, it needs two hands to handle it. But the issue here, where is the sword? Is it in his hand? No. It's in his mouth. The word of God spoken. He spoke the word into creation. The war in heaven. God doesn't need to have a literal sword. Jesus doesn't need to come by with a sword in that way. The spoken word, my friends. We have the written word here so that you and I can see and have the spoken word. And when we are confronted with satanic forces, evil forces, and temptation and testing, the word of God written, inspired, holy, complete, unabridged, fully truth is ours to keep us safe. And like a light, he says, brightness of a light. Saul, when that light came down, he fell onto his face, and John did the same as he saw this description of Jesus Christ. But now we have these next words, and I just want to look at these very quickly. Don't want to wear out my welcome first evening. I am he that liveth and was dead. Oh, verse 17, fear not, that's what Jesus said to him. I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore, amen. And hold the keys of hell and of death. Beautiful words, my friends. You afraid? You afraid? My friends, Jesus, Jesus, Get a glimpse of Jesus. When you see Jesus, yes, you have something to be afraid about, if you want to say it that way. There needs to be a holy fear. No one can stand in the presence of God and live, the Bible says. No one can see his presence and live. But my friends, the message to John, as his right hand goes out, pulls John up and says, fear not, fear not. I'm Alpha Omega. I'm the beginning. I'm the end. You can trust me. I'm right beside you. I'm right here. What's more, I've got the keys of hell and of death. Satan can't chase you, can't put you to hell. I've got it locked. And ain't nobody gonna open it. Except me. That's what Jesus was saying to John. I've got the keys of death and of hell. My friends, when you live for Jesus, you don't need to be worried about death. You're not going to die until he lets you die. He's not going to let you die until he says it's time for you to die. A couple weeks ago, I was at the bedside of my brother Ivan when he passed away. It's a very, very special occasion. As I was there and read Psalm 23 to him, and as his body relaxed in those last moments, he transitioned from a terrible physical fear, not physical fear, I'm sorry, physical pain, excruciating pain, where he could not lay quietly, suddenly as those words from scriptures, Descended into that room He became quiet as the transition began from physical pain No more It seemed like Jesus took the pain away and the transition began and he relaxed as we read Psalm 23 And slowly, he faded away. I'd walked with Ivan for years in the ministry. It was my pleasure to be at his side as he approached the gate of death. But I could not walk through that valley with him. But my friends, I know He didn't go alone. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. A message tonight, fear not. I have the keys of hell and of death. If you know the man who has the keys of hell and of death, You don't have to be afraid of death or of hell. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Let's stand for a word of prayer.