Okay, shalom everyone. I want you please to take your Bibles, open in the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, and we are going to continue today to study from the seventh verse of the first chapter, the book of the Revelation, chapter one. I'm going to begin the reading today from verse seven. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him. And all the kindreds or the tribes of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty.

I, John, also, who am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Yeshua the Messiah, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus the Messiah. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice as a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven assemblies which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and 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 lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with garment down to the foot, and girt about the chest with golden girdle, his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in furnace, and his voice as the sound of many water.

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 shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell 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, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen. And have the keys of Hades and death. Write the things which 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 lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches, or the seven assemblies. And I stop with the reading here at the end of the first chapter of the book of the Revelation.

In our last meeting together, we have covered, even though we read up till verse 8 of chapter 1, we actually only covered the first six verses, and we kind of began to look into verse 7, and I thought, because we were just reaching towards the end of our time together, I thought we better wait and talk a little bit about these two verses in the next session that we have today. But remember, beloved brothers and sisters, just quickly, by way of refreshing of our hearts and our mind, that here John, this Hebrew person, this Israeli person, this Jewish person, is given by the resurrected Messiah, by the glorified Messiah, a book or a letter that he is to write, to put down on paper, and to give it to the seven local assemblies that existed in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey.

And here John received this revelation, and remember, he received... Give these greetings from the triune God, from the Father, from the Son, from the Holy Spirit, to those seven local churches in seven local towns. We're going to talk a little bit about those seven churches as we are moving along. But by the time we get to verses 4 to 8, after we have the introduction, we have the greetings. And you notice, we have noticed in verse 4 that the greetings are to those seven churches. You notice that? John to the seven churches. John to the seven assemblies. So there were seven assemblies in Asia Minor to which John is writing those greetings.

And then he said in verse 5 that Yeshua the Messiah was the firstborn. He was the one that is first in rank. He is first in position. He is the one that God had given all his authority to this one man, the Messiah, Yeshua. So in verse 5, we have the fact that he is the first. In everything. He is the first because God put him, placed him in the pinnacle of the universe now, but he is going to be the first in everything in the life of this universe, and he ought to be the first in the life of the believers.

In verse 6, we notice that he made us kings and priests. We read also that he have washed our sins with his blood in the end of chapter 5. He cleansed us and he washed us, and all of us who are believers have such a joy in our hearts to know that our sins have been forgiven, and we are washed and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. And not only so, he made us kings and priests unto God the Father. And if we understand it, you a believer, and I a believer, we are kings and we are priests.

To serve this God at the time that we are here, and forever we are going to serve this wonderful person, the Lord Jesus the Messiah. So now, in verse 7 and 8, it's still, by the way, part of the greetings to the church, to these assemblies. In verse 7, he tells us what is very important, that the Lord Jesus the Messiah is going to come very soon. He's coming.

You know, it is important to understand, in this world in which we live in today, people don't realize that one day the Lord Jesus, the rejected Messiah, is going to come, and he's going to come to judge this world in righteousness. And that's why it says, notice, behold, in this particular verse, verse 7, it says, behold, he cometh with clouds. Now, I want to pause here for a moment. This words coming with clouds has to... To do not with the rapture of the church, but with the judgment, with the second coming of the Messiah.

Sometimes we don't distinguish the two. The rapture of the church is going to happen prior to the coming of the Messiah in His second coming. The rapture of the church is going to come before the tribulation period, and the second coming of the Messiah is going to be at the end of the tribulation period. There will be about seven years difference between the rapture, the snatching up of the church of Yeshua the Messiah, then the second coming of the Messiah at the end of the tribulation. But you notice He said, Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. Every eye. He's talking about the fact that this world, everyone will see who Jesus is at the second coming.

Is going to come in power and in glory at the second coming and everyone will see this. Now you might say well how can everyone will see him? Somebody may live in Jerusalem, another person will live in Toronto, another person will live in Russia, another person will live in any other country in this world. How can everyone will see him? Now I personally believe that God will reveal his son to everyone from whichever place a person gonna live in this world. But you don't have a hard time to understand it even for us today. You know you just turn your television on at any time of the day and you just watch any news and you get clips about events that have happened in Jerusalem. You can see it on the moment, live, you can watch it on your television. It's not a big deal to understand that every eye will see him, everyone will see him.

And there is a promise that he is going to come to judge this world in righteousness. Now, where did he get John this information? And you see, beloved, the importance of connecting the Hebrew Tanach with the New Covenant. You see, everything we have in the Brit HaChadashah, in the book of the Revelation, all the symbols, all the types, all the promises, are not taken just like that. Most of them have been taken directly from the Old Testament passages in the Word of God, from the Tanach. And just to read you something that we read in the book of Daniel, if you turn to Daniel for a moment, turn to Daniel chapter 7. For one second, I want you to see what Daniel had been writing to us. Daniel chapter 7 and verse 13. Look what God or the angel said to Daniel. Chapter 7. Verse 13, it says like this, And I saw in the night vision, and behold, one like unto the Son of Man came, notice, with the clouds of heaven.

And he came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. You notice, the Son of Man is a prophetic title of the Messiah of Israel, the Mashiach, as the Son of Man, that he came to the Ancient of Days. This is God the Father. And what we see here, the promise of the coming of the Son of Man, that he came with the clouds of heaven, Daniel 7 and verse 13. There is the promise of the coming of the Messiah with clouds. Now I was often wondered about the word clouds and I was thinking to myself what does the writer mean when he used these words as clouds now does he mean that he's going to come with those ordinary clouds that we have today that are filled with water and ready to pour upon us rain now it may be somewhat as well has to do that he's coming in the clouds of heaven speaking about he's coming in this realm of the heavenly area the heavenly realm but also beloved brothers and sisters we understand from the scriptures that the Messiah in his coming is also going to come with angels number one and with the church saints he's going to come with the believers of this present day dispensation the church saints and we have it clearly taught to us in the scriptures in both the gospels as well as the epistles Just go back to one book back, if you just go to the book of Jude, and you notice what Jude is saying there, in Jude verse 14, just couple of pages back.

It says in verse 14, And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of those saying, of these sayings, and he said, Behold, the Lord cometh, with ten thousands of his saints. Here we see the promise, Jude is telling us, this is kind of information that this man by the name of Judah is giving to us, of the coming of the Lord with ten thousands of his saints. What does he come for? What does he bring the saints of God for? It says in verse 15, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince All that are ungodly, among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

You see, he's coming. But he's coming now, beloved. He came once as the Lamb. He came to wash our sins away. But he's coming to judge this world in righteousness. And that's what we read here in this book of Revelation, chapter 1 and verse 7. Behold, he come with clouds, and every eye shall see him. You know, he himself, Yeshua the Messiah himself, said this when he was speaking to the leaders of Israel and also to the disciples. In Matthew chapter 24, if you don't mind, please, just turn there for one more verse I want to read to you. Matthew chapter 24, and look what he says in verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.

And you notice it says, there appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. Then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory. You see, the Lord Jesus is coming. He's coming very soon, and He's going to come with authority, with power, and He's going to execute judgment upon those that rejected Him after He had offered Himself to this world, and the world have rejected the Messiahship of the Lord Jesus. So John received this revelation from the glorified Messiah, and he's saying, Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him.

But you know what's going to happen when those going to see Him? You know when people are going to see the Lord coming? When He's going to come in judgment, there will be very little time to repent. There will be very Very little time to make a choice. It is now the time where people have to make a decision for the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Here and now, right now, in the day of grace, before He is coming in judgment. That's why He is stretching out His hand, and He says, Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

But it's not only this. Not only every eye are going to see Him, He is now zeroing it upon the people that He want to repent. And who are those people? It says in verse 7, And all the tribes, in the English, in the King James, it says the kindred, and it is a Greek word, a phula, that has to do with tribes. That particular word, in the Greek, phula, f-u-l-a, that particular Greek word has to do with tribes. And every time you read it, at least most of the time you read it in the Scriptures, it is in connection with the people of Israel. And that's why he's saying, and all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of him. But if you just go one line before that, it says, not only every eye shall see him, but they also which pierced him.

And you know what, beloved brothers and sisters, this is an expression that always in Scripture apply to the nation of Israel. Now we know that actually Israel as a nation did not pierce the Lord, because it was the Romans who actually pierced him. You remember the Roman soldiers pierced his sides and so on, his hands and his feet were placed on the cross on a tree, but it was the Roman soldiers that pierced his side. But it became a title, or I should say, an expression that deal directly with the nation of Israel. And he want to restore Israel as a nation. And you see, it will take that time of tribulation, it will take that time of judgment upon the world and upon the nation as a nation, that will at the end of the tribulation, finally Israel as a nation, they are going to see him.

And it is really in fulfillment of what the prophet Zechariah said many years before the coming of the Messiah, when he said, they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and they will mourn. And you know what, I tell you, beloved, that's what God is waiting for. God is waiting for the time when Israel as a nation will recognize that Jesus, that Yeshua, is that promised Messiah. And so this statement, and they that have pierced him, is taken from Zechariah 12 verses 9 and 10, that Israel as a nation will finally recognize the Messiahship of Yeshua, and they will confess their sins and repent before the Lord. It is written like that in this particular chapter, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication.

And they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and there shall mourn for him as one mourns for his son, and there shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadad Rimon in the valley of Megiddo.

And it speak about the national restoration of Israel, when they shall finally see the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. And you see, beloved, this is what is the theme of the book of the Revelation. The theme is the second coming of the Lord in judgment upon this world. But he's writing, he's giving this to Yohanan, to John, to put it on paper, and he can give it to those seven local assemblies. The day will The plan of God for the church, for the world, for the nation of Israel, in this present day, in the tribulation day, in the millennial days, and eventually in the eternal order. And so he's writing this to John, and he's telling them, every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him, all the tribes of the earth shall wail or mourn because of him, even so.

Amen. And so in verse 8, Yeshua, we read about Yeshua, actually about the eternity of the Godhead, the eternity of the Messiah, the eternity of God. I am the Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty. You know that expression, was, is, and is to come, it's the really the Hebrew word Yehovah, Jehovah. Jehovah, if you take the Hebrew word Yehovah, or Jehovah, is four letters, Yud, He, Vav, He. Those four letters, you can take them and rearrange them, and you can put yourself and write three words, Hayah, Hoveh, and Yehiyeh, Was, Is, and Will Be. And that is the kind of God that we have. That is the Messiah that we have. The Alpha is the first Greek letter, the Omega is the last Greek letter. He is the beginning, and He is the end. He is altogether the one that is almighty.

And so, in verses 4 to 8, we have the greetings to the seven churches which John, inspired by the Lord, have been putting down to write to those churches. Now, in the next verses, From verse 9 all the way to verse 20, we have the vision that John received on the island of Patmos of the glorified Messiah. First of all, in verses 9, 10, and 11, we see what John heard.

Then in verses 12 to 16, we see what he saw. And then from verses 17 to 18, we read of what he did. What he hear, what he saw, and what he did in those verses. Let's move one verse at a time. First of all, John in verse 9 is on the island of Patmos. Now I'm telling you, I really enjoyed my visit with the group that we have taken to Israel and to Turkey and to Greece. I immensely enjoyed the visit to the island of Patmos. It is about sixty miles from Ephesus. We took a boat ride, we crossed all the way from Turkey to Greece, and when we landed on that particular island, this island is today thriving. You have there, I don't know, about three thousand inhabitants who live there, beautiful homes, it's a tremendous place to go for a vacation.

But when John had been there, when the Apostle John, when he had been there, it was an island that was off, away from an area that was populated, and he was there, it was like a prison, it was a place where all those that had been outcast had been placed there in prison, separated from those population that they wanted to be with. And so we read in verse nine, I, John, notice that, also who am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus the Messiah, I was in the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah. Now, you notice John when he's writing to these brethren, to those seven churches, he doesn't elevate himself, he doesn't exalt himself, he's telling them, I, John, who am also your brother.

He was calling himself a brother. You know, there is no title here, the great apostle John, or the great person, pastor, or leader John, he was simply calling himself a brother, and he was a brother. He was a brother to those believers. God have given him responsibility of leadership, God have given him a leadership, God have placed him to be an apostle, the Lord Jesus have given him a lot of responsibility, but John never elevated himself, and he called himself a brother. A brother, he's just a brother, but not only a brother. You notice that he's saying, I am a companion in tribulation.

He was part of this company of believers that he wrote to that have gone through trouble. They were going through tribulation. It was not an easy path for them to take, and he had tribulation in his life. Just recently in our Bible study in Romans chapter 5, the Apostle Paul said to the Romans believers, he said, and we glory in tribulation. We just started this recently, just last Thursday. Now mind you, beloved brothers and sisters, who can say that we are glorying in tribulation? Well, we are not glorying in tribulation by nature. We don't like tribulation. Tribulation is something that we seek to set them away from our lives. We don't want trouble. But you know, when you are walking with the Lord, and you are following His footsteps, in a world that reject Him, you will find out that trouble will come your way.

And so here we see that those believers, those saints, by the way, those believers, he was their brother, he was also companion with their tribulation. There was trouble because of their faithfulness to the Lord. There was trouble that came their way. But also, he says, not only that I am your brother, I am companion in tribulation, but he also said in the kingdom and patience of Jesus the Messiah. What does he mean here? Kingdom, he doesn't talk about the Messianic kingdom yet, because the Messianic kingdom was not established. But do you know what happened? When the Lord Jesus the Messiah was rejected as the king of the universe, he had been rejected, so the king is now absent, he is now in heaven. So there is what you call a kingdom right now, with an absent king.

And you and I and John and those seven churches that we have in the book of the Revelation, they followed the Lord Jesus, the rejected king and Lord, but there was a kingdom that is what you call mystery kingdom. And it is the kingdom and patience. Of Jesus the Messiah, this kingdom is awaiting the day when the Lord will take his rightful place. And so we and he, John, and those particular seven churches were part and parcel of tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus the Messiah. There is a lot of patience that they had to learn through the tribulation as they were suffering and going through trials and problems in their lives. So they had to learn patience. Romans again chapter 5, tribulation worketh patience. When you have trouble in your life, when I have trouble in my life, it teaches us more patience and it makes us more conform to the image of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

And so he's writing this to them in verse 9, and now notice why he was in the island of Patmos. Two reasons why John was in the island of Patmos. It says, I was in the island of Patmos, it is called Patmos, for two reasons. Number one, for the Word of God. Number two, for the testimony of Jesus the Messiah.

Two reasons. He had been removed from Ephesus, removed from there, from the local assembly, removed from his friends, brothers and sisters, companions. Why? For the Word of the Lord, and for the testimony of Jesus the Messiah. You notice that, brothers and sisters, when we are going to preach the Word of God, you will see what's going to happen. In a world such as we live today, there will be a rejection, a removal of the person who believe in Jesus, who preach the Word. They do not want to hear the Word of God. That will happen to John.

He was preaching the word, he was faithful to preach the word, and he was removed from the local assembly by this emperor Domitian, who took him and placed him on the island of Patmos. Number one, for the word of God, number two, for the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah. He was faithful to give testimony to the Lord, and Domitian wanted to remove him, and he placed him in this island that is called Patmos. So the person is John, the place, the island of Patmos, and the persecution is the removal of John and placing him alone in that island that is called Patmos. Well, so John is in this island. In verse 10, Look what we read about this experience that he had in verse ten, John telleth what he saw. What did he saw? He says here, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.

And then he says, and what you see, write in a book and send it unto the seven assemblies. And he gives us all the seven names of those local assemblies. I've listened to a couple of messages and read a few commentaries about this verse. John said that I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. Now there are three ways in which we are to look at this statement, the Lord's day. Some say that it speaks of the first day of the week, of Sunday. And because it is the Lord's day, John was on the island of Patmos Sunday. That's one way of looking at it. And a godly people teach that.

The other group of people teach that he was there on the Lord's day, and because the vast majority of the book of the Revelation deal with the Tribulation period, so it may speak of the fact that he, by virtue of the fact that he has experienced the day of the Lord, the Tribulation period, so that statement, the Lord's day, speaks about the fact that he was in the spirit in the time of the Tribulation. In other words, the Lord took him and show him what's going to happen in the Tribulation time. Often sometimes scripture often time use the word the day of the Lord to mean the day of the tribulation period. That's the second way of looking at that. But there's a third way of looking at that, and that is this expression instead of the Lord's day, meaning Sunday, another one looking at as a Lordy day, a special day, simply meaning that it was a special day in which John was in the realm of the Spirit, guided by the Holy Spirit to receive the revelation concerning the future event.

Now you may choose whichever one you like, I personally take the position that this day of the Lord, or Lord's Day, has to do with not Sunday and not the Tribulation, but a Lordy day, a day in which He was really carried on by the Holy Spirit of God to receive the revelation concerning the future events. And so it says, I was in the Spirit, under the guidance of the Spirit, on a Lordy day, any day, special day that the Lord carried Him, and let Him receive this revelation, and I heard behind me a voice as of a trumpet. And here John is hearing that voice as of a sound of a trumpet. On a special day carried by the Holy Spirit of God to receive a special revelation from Yeshua the Messiah. And notice what the Lord Jesus tell him. I am the Alpha and Omega.

I am the first and the last. What you see write in a book and send it to the seven assemblies which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, unto Smyrna, unto Pergamos, unto Thyatira, unto Sardis, unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Here John, hearing the voice, hearing the words, the voice of the Lord, telling him to write this unto those seven churches. You notice that, beloved, that he says that Jesus here speaking, the Messiah speaking, and he's saying, I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Where did he take this expression from? Well, these are expressions that's speaking about Yehovah in the book of Isaiah. In chapter 41, I am the first and the last.

The Lord, the God of Israel had been speaking to the nation of Israel, telling them, I am the beginning and the end. I am the first and the last. And what we learn from here, that this Jesus of the New Testament is none else but the Yehovah of the Old Testament. I am the first and the last. It is a quotation from Isaiah 41 and verse 4, Isaiah 44 and verse 6, and Isaiah 48 and verse 11, where the God of Israel has spoken to the nation and told our own people, I am the first and the last. And so in verses 9, 10, and 11, we see what John heard. He heard the voice of the glorified Messiah, and then he was told that he was the first and the last. To put it down, to write it to the seven churches which are in Asia, and we have the list of the names of the churches.

Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Seven churches in Asia. I want to mention here also that there were more than seven churches in Asia Minor, but the number seven in the Bible is a number of completeness. The number seven in the Bible is a number of wholeness, fullness, perfection. We have seven days in a week, we have seven colors and a rainbow, and so on. There is many, many times the number seven that are given to us in the scripture, and it speak of a one that is perfect and complete. So verses nine, ten, and eleven is what John heard from the glorified Messiah. And so now let's move on down in verse twelve to verse sixteen. We have the revelation and what John actually saw. And I want you to notice this, it's so interesting, because in those verses we see what John is seeing. What did he see?

So we read first of all in verse twelve, he saw seven golden lampstands. I know in the King James it says candlesticks, but it's better correct to say lampstand. It was seven individual lampstands. Not seven pine, not seven like that, those candlesticks, but we are talking about seven single individual lampstands. So it says in verse twelve, And I turned to see the voice of the one that spake with me, and behold, I saw seven golden lampstands. Those are seven distinct lampstands that formed like a circle. So he turned back, and he's looking, what does he see? He sees a circle, and seven lampstands really positioned in a circle.

And then you notice, in verse thirteen, And in the middle of those seven lampstands there was one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with garments, down to his foot, and girt about his chest with golden girdle. What does he see? He hears the voice before that told him to put everything on paper and to write this down. And he's turning around to see the voice that spoke to him. Number one, he see the seven lampstands in a circle. And in the middle of those seven lampstands, we have the word in the midst of them, there was one like unto the Son of Man. Here he see the humanity of the Messiah, the glorified Messiah in the middle of those seven lampstands. Now what are lamps for? You know, you notice that when you look at this lamp, this lamp give light. You see, every time you light a lamp or you light a flashlight, it's to give light.

And those seven lampstands are representing those seven churches, those seven assemblies, and those seven assemblies were supposed to give light to the world around them. And in the middle of the seven lampstand was the one like the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Himself. Now you know what he tells us? I tell you what he tells us. He tells us that all the time the Lord desired to be in the midst of his own people.

He's the center, and you know he's like watching, he's like going in a circle, and he's watching every assembly, every local church, wishing and desiring that this church will give light to the world around us. In the Gospel of John he says, I am the light of the world. In other gospel he says, ye are the light of the world.

And so the churches, the assemblies, were to give light to the world around them. Jesus, the Messiah, is in the midst of his own people. Now you know what? We believe, and I believe, that here we are gathered together, We are not gathering to a name, we are not gathering to a preacher, we are not gathering to a society or an organization, no. The Bible never teaches us that the church is gathering to a certain organization, no. The local assembly, the believers are gathered around the Lord Jesus the Messiah, He is the center, He is the one that's supposed to be the object. We don't go to a church meeting because of the preacher, we're going to a church meeting because of the Lord in the midst of His people. And that what happened here. He is in the middle of the lampstands and He is viewing everyone, every local assembly.

And then we read in the next verse, what happened? It says here in verse 13, in the midst of the seven candlesticks was one like the Son of Man, clothed, notice, He is clothed with garment down to His foot. And he's girt about his chest with golden girdle. Now, you see, this is really showing to us the Lord Jesus as the king in a role of a judge.

It's like he's an examination time. He's examining his people. He's examining the local assembly. And he does examine us. He examine us individually. He examine us as a family. And he examine us as a collective group. He's examining us and he asking us, what about your spiritual state? What about your life, your personal life? Are you walking with me? Are you living for me? That's why he's in the middle of those seven local assembly, examining the local assembly to see their spiritual state. And he's a king in a role of a judge.

Now notice, how he's dressed, it says that he has a garment all the way down to his foot cover, and he has, as it says here, that his chest is covered with golden girdle. He's ready to judge, ready to examine even his own people. In verse 14, we see the wisdom of this judge. You notice that it said in verse 14 that his head and his hair were white like wool. You know, when you look at an older man, that his hair is white, what you learn from that, you assume that life of experience will bring him wisdom. You know, the Bible does teach us that a white hair is old man's glory and wisdom. You know, I know we often get older and get white hair and very little wisdom.

But not with the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. He, as it says here, that his hair were white like wool. It speak of the wisdom of this one. He's wise, he knows everything. You know, we cannot fool him. He's wise, he knows everything about each and every one of us. Notice it's continuing, it says white as snow. It talks about his hair, white as snow. Then it said that his eyes were as the flame of fire. What does that mean? That speaks about the eyes, it speak about perfect knowledge. You know, his eyes were piercing. You know, with his eyes, he see everything about us. Those local assemblies, those seven lampstands, you know, he knew everything about every church. That's why he's writing to those seven churches. His eyes, he can see through. You know, you and I sometimes think that the Lord does not see what we do, where we are, where we go. We think, you know, maybe the brethren don't see.

Maybe this person doesn't see, or that person doesn't see, but the Lord sees. The Lord knows everything about us. He knows everything about us, and He loves us. He wants to restore us to Himself. We cannot hide from the piercing eyes of the glorified Messiah. You just read Psalm 139. The psalmist years ago, when he was writing to the nation of Israel, and you notice what he says in Psalm 139. I'm going to read some of these verses there, Psalm 139. He said, The Lord thou knoweth me. He knoweth my down sitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thoughts afar off.

He says, If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Shion, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. And he's speaking about the fact that God knows everything about each and every one of his people.

That's why he's writing to the seven local assemblies. You know why? He knows everything about us. His eyes are piercing, seeing through. His wisdom, he knows the wise direction to go. And he is the glorified Messiah, the head of the church, there in glory, in the midst of the seven churches, observing the condition of us all. And oh, beloved, sometimes we have to put our head down in shame and to realize, Lord, I know that I have not been in a place that you want me to be. I haven't done the things that you want me to do. I haven't honored you in a way that I should honor you.

And how sad when Christians When those who belong to the Lord are wandering around, trying to find satisfaction around the world, and not coming to find satisfaction in the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah in His Word. How sad it is to the heart of the Lord. And so here we see, His hair white like wool and white as snow, His eyes were as the flame of fire. He sees everything in the life of those seven assembly. Then notice what it says in verse 15.

In verse 15, the Lord is not only wise and His eyes piercing through, He sees everything, but you notice in verse 15 it says, and His feet like unto brass, as if they burn in a furnace. And you notice that this expression brass speaks in the Bible of judgment. It was the brazen altar that the sacrifices were laid upon the altar, and they were consumed with fire. Here we see the Lord as a judge, standing in judgment, ready to execute judgment. His feet were or like unto brass, as if they had been burning in a furnace. You see, that expression, the color or the metal, brass, speak to us of the judgment that he is about to execute upon, even upon his own people. Now, don't forget, I know we always talk about unbelieving world, that God is going to judge the unbelieving world. Yes, he will.

But God also judges, and when I use this expression, judges, we don't lose our salvation when he judge his own people, but he judge us by disciplining us. By rebuking us, by correcting us, by, if you will, spanking us and disciplining us in order that we will be restored into a relationship with the Lord. And He is not going to spare us. He is going to work in our life also in order to restore us. But that's not everything. It says also in verse 15, And His voice, listen to that, it's the sound as many waters. You know, like the sound of the sea, the roaring of the sea. You know, if you have ever been on the seashore and you heard the waves coming in and falling, as strong falling one after the other, it speak about the fact that when He is judging, He is going to judge in according with His power and authority that He has.

And also you see in verse 16 it says, And he had in his right hand, here we see the glorified Messiah, having in his right hand seven stars. You understand? And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. Another three things we hear about him in verse 16, that in his right hand he hold seven stars. Now those seven stars are actually representation of seven angels that would be leading or caring for the local assembly. And he's holding those seven stars in his hand, it says in verse 16, but then out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.

This Sharp two edged sword speaks of the word of God. Whatever he says, whatever he speak, it's sharp, it's like two edged sword, like we have in Hebrews 4. That the word of God is sharper than two edged sword. And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. It speaks about the purity in the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. He's shining, he's bright. And when you facing the sun, you have to cover yourself because of the brightness of the sun. Well, that's the person that God revealed to us in those verses. So John heard, verse 9, 10, and 11. John saw, verse 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. He saw the glorified Messiah as a king in the role of a judge. So what does he do?

In verse 17 and 18 we see what he did. If you would have been there in the island of Patmos, and if you would have seen such an experience that John has seen, what would you do? Look what he did. It says that he fell at his feet as dead. That's what happened. When John has seen this vision, it broke him, and he fell at his face as dead, as dead.

And you notice, when he fell as dead, he took his right place before the Lord, before the glorified Messiah, he fell as dead individual. And when he was laying down there on the ground, here comes the Lord, and you know this beautiful, what did the Lord does? It says, and he laid his right hand upon me. He touched him. First of all, the Lord Jesus touches John. How many times in the Bible we read of the touch of the Lord?

You know, it's the hand of the Lord laid upon a person and touching him. To give him a hand, a comfort, an assurance of his love and his care. You see, John, while I am the judge, while I am the one that is going to examine everything in your life and in the life of the local assemblies, John, I love you, I care for you, John. He lays hand upon him. He gives him, as it were, confidence. It give him an assurance that he care for him and he love him. He put his hands upon him. His right hand he put upon me.

Secondly, he gives him an assurance by telling him something and he said to him, fear not, John. Fear not, you know this expression, fear not, has been mentioned many times to the believers in the gospel when the Lord Jesus says, don't be afraid, it is I, be not afraid. And so while we look at him and we see the glory that is found in this person, we do not need to be afraid of him, he is the one that saved us, the one that washed our sins away. And so he tells him, don't be afraid, I am the first and the last, I am he that liveth that was dead, behold, I am alive forevermore, amen. And I have the key of hell and death, or better said, I have the keys of Hades and of death.

Jesus, the glorified Messiah, telling to John the Apostle. John, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, John. I'm the one that was dead before I died, but I was buried and I've been resurrected and I've been ascended. I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm there in glory on behalf of the people of God. And he said, I'm alive forevermore and I have the keys of Hades and of death. You see, the Lord Jesus had the keys in his hand. He is in authority to take those that need to be judged and to those who need to go to hell, those who did not accept him. He has the keys. He has the keys of Hades. He has the keys of death, the physical and the spiritual. Hades is the place of the departed souls. Death is the grave, is the place of the departed, of the bodies of the individual. He has authority over death and over hell.

I have the keys. He said to him in verse 18, Don't be afraid, I am the one that was dead, and I am alive again. And now quickly we want to finish this chapter, and you notice in verses 19 and 20, we have the instruction that the Lord have instructed John to put down here on that, the letters that he is writing. So verses 19 and 20, in conclusion of Revelation chapter 1, he telling John to write those things, but I want you to notice that he gives us the whole division of the book of the Revelation in this verse. Actually, if you want to know how the Book of Revelation is divided into, you have it divided very nicely for us in verse 19. Verse 19 gives us the exact division of the Book of Revelation. Notice that, verse 19. Write the things which thou hast seen, that's number one, then the things which are, that's number two, and then the things which shall be hereafter, that is number three.

The whole division of the Book of Revelation is right here found very nicely given to us by the Lord Himself. The things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. That's how the Book of Revelation is divided. And let me give it to you. The things which you hast seen It has to do with chapter one. John just saw the revelation of the glorified Messiah. This is actually for verse nine all the way to verse seventeen and eighteen. What he saw? He saw the glorified Messiah as the king in a role of a judge. Revelation chapter one. Then secondly he said, and the things which are.

The things which are has to do with chapter two and chapter three of the book of the Revelation. That has to do strictly with the church age. The things which are presently in this church age, chapter two and chapter three. And you can read it as you read it and we study that, you see, he's writing to seven churches, the things which are. The existence, what's going on in the local assembly.

And then the things which shall be hereafter, after the church age, from chapter four to the end of the book of Revelation, this is the third section of this particular book. If you notice, by the way, in chapter four, verse one, it says, notice this expression, after this, the things which shall be after, after the church age is finished, then chapter four to the end of the book of the Revelation are the things which are after. And I want to make sure that you understand, after, from chapter four on, we don't hear of the church at all. The church is not here. The only time we read of the church is at the end of Revelation, at chapter 21, 22, actually.

All the way chapter 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, even 20. The church is not mentioned even once, because the church is not here on earth. The church have been raptured to be with the Lord in heaven. And so you see how nicely dividing for us the book of the Revelation. The things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. And then he closed that particular chapter with the help that he gives us, the Revelation interpret itself. And he said to us in verse 20, the mystery of the seven stars, which you saw in my right hand. What are those seven stars? He says the seven, seven lampstands, he says the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.

And the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. You see, remember I told you before, the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The seven stars are the angels of those particular seven churches. And here we get for us the Bible interpret itself. We don't need to go far. If the Bible gives us these symbols, it also explain itself in the word, either in the book of the Revelation or elsewhere in the word of God. We don't need to look anywhere except here in the word of God. And so, beloved, this is chapter one that we had before us today, the rest of the chapter, the theme, he comes. He comes. He is not talking about the rapture. You know, we might not even finish the meeting today, and we're gonna be taken out of here in the rapture.

But when the church is in heaven, the beginning of the tribulation will begin, and then at the end of the tribulation, he's going to come to judge this world in righteousness. If you are not a believer here today, I'm telling you, I'm appealing to you, you turn to the Lord Jesus, because the only answer is the Lord Jesus the Messiah. But for us, may the Lord help us to recognize that he is evaluating our lives, our conduct, our behavior, our walk with him, and he want to restore us, so we will be a shining testimony here for him in this world. May he help us to do so. Can we say amen to that?