This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

This is day four of our look together through Revelation chapter one. We're
going to focus on verses 12 to 16 today, and in that look at these verses, we're
going to look at the emphasis of the book of Revelation. I don't want you to
miss the emphasis, the main character, the center of the book of Revelation.

As you read through this book, the beast, a beast is mentioned 37 times in this
book. A throne is mentioned 41 times. Angels are mentioned 71 times.

But the focus is not on the beast. The focus is not on angels. It's not even on
the throne.

The focus is on the one who's on that throne. The focus of the book of
Revelation, he's on every page in one way or another. The focus is on Jesus.

He's called the son of man. He's called the lamb. He's called the rider on the
white horse as we read through this book.

He is the central person in the book of Revelation. If the book of Revelation
were a movie, Jesus is the main character. He's so much the main character that
every other character, they're not just a minor character in the plot.

They're not even noticed after you walk out of the movie theater. The only one
you remember is Jesus Christ. Don't miss that.

To miss Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation, it's like going to New York
Harbor and not seeing the Statue of Liberty. It's like going to Mount Rushmore
and only noticing the trees. It's like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon
and only seeing a trail of ants at your feet.

Don't miss Jesus Christ. From the very beginning of the book of Revelation, we
are focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read for you verses 12 to 16.

When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And
standing in the middle of the lampstands was the son of man. He was wearing a
long robe with a gold sash across his chest.

His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were
bright like flames of fire. His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a
furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in
his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face
was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance.

These verses, verses 12 to 16, they're a description of Jesus Christ. And what a
description. Now, as you study the entire Bible, you see that much of what's
said here draws upon the Old Testament in describing Jesus Christ, especially
the book of Daniel.

I've just read these verses for you. Let me read a couple of passages from
Daniel, and I think you'll see what I mean. Daniel 7, 13 says, "In my vision I
looked, and there before me was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of
heaven.

He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. " And then in
Daniel 10, verses 5 and 6, "I looked up, I saw a man dressed in linen clothing
with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body looked like a dazzling gem.

From his face came flashes like lightning, and his eyes were like flaming
torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice was like
the roaring of a vast multitude of people. " You see that as Jesus Christ
reveals himself to John here, he's saying, "I am the God.

I am the Jesus of the entire Bible. I am the Jesus that's come for all people. I
am the Jesus that from beginning to end has come to give salvation to mankind.

" He wants us to get this picture. Now, let's just walk through it together,
this picture of who Jesus Christ is. And as we walk through it, don't just think
about, "Oh, that's interesting.

" I want to think about it, and I encourage you to think with me. How can this
be made real in my life today, these characteristics of Jesus Christ? He is the
son of man, one like the son of man.

What does that mean? It means that Jesus Christ became human. He is God, and he
is also man.

He came and was born at Bethlehem. He lived his life for us. He came to let you
know, to help you to see that he can understand everything that you're facing.

And maybe you need to know that today. That's who Jesus is. This picture of
Jesus Christ, the Bible says he had a robe that reached to his feet.

He had a gold sash. This picture of a robe and a gold sash, it is a picture of
the kind of garment that was worn by a priest, a priest in the Old Testament.
And these verses remind us that Jesus is our high priest.

That means he's the one who can forgive my sins because of what he did for us on
the cross. He's our priest. He's also our sacrifice because he gave his life for
us on the cross.

Maybe today you need to be reminded that Jesus Christ has forgiven your sins.
Picture that in your life, or maybe you need to ask him to forgive your sins and
realize that he can. He has the power to do that because of who he is.

We continue to walk through this picture. Jesus Christ, he has hair that is
white like wool. Daniel 7, 9 gives the same picture.

As I said, Old Testament to New Testament, we see the picture of who he is.
Daniel 7, 9 says, "The Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white
as snow, and the hair of his head was white like wool.

" In this revelation, we're being helped to see who Jesus really is. And this
hair that's white like wool is a picture of the Ancient of Days. Jesus is not
only man, he's also God.

But it's also a picture of the eternity, the wisdom of Jesus Christ. Maybe you
need to know that he's God today, that he is in control even when you're not.
Maybe you need to know that he is a God of wisdom today.

And to ask for his wisdom. In the book of James, we're told that if we need
wisdom, we should ask for it, and God will give. Ask for his wisdom for a family
decision, a business decision, a decision of your heart.

He is the eternal God, the eternal wisdom that I need. As you continue to walk
through this picture of Jesus Christ in these verses, the next picture is that
his eyes were like blazing fire. The eyes of Jesus Christ.

Many times as you read through the Gospels, you see that they pierced to
people's souls. And maybe you need that today. Maybe you've been fooling
yourself and fooling everybody else, pretending and pretending in front of
everybody else, or hiding and hiding from everybody else.

You need Jesus Christ's piercing eyes to look through to your soul and let you
know he can forgive. He can change. He can bring truth.

He can bring hope. To pierce through all the layers you put into your life, to
see the real you and let you know that he loves the real you, can redeem the
real you, can use the real you. Eyes like blazing fire.

And then the next picture of Jesus in these verses is that he has feet like
glowing bronze. In Ezekiel and Daniel in the Old Testament, this idea of glowing
bronze, these feet, they were pictures of power. They were pictures of the glory
of God.

And feet standing on this glowing bronze, it's a picture of the strength of
God's glory in our lives. I need to know that. Sometimes my life, and maybe as
you look at your life, you feel the same way.

It doesn't look so glorious. It looks pretty routine. It looks pretty ordinary.

It doesn't look like I want it to look. That does not change the truth, the fact
that God is a God of glory and that the strength of his glory can be revealed in
my life on a day-to-day basis. I may not see it in the details of my life, but I
can see it in the depth of my soul.

I can see it in who I am because of who he is. Feet like glowing bronze. And
then the next picture is that he has a voice like rushing waters, as mighty as
the ocean waves.

Many people have said that because John wrote this on Patmos or was encouraged
to record it for us on Patmos, that as he saw this picture, heard it, there was
also the waves behind him on this small island. But this voice of God was
mightier than those mighty ocean waves. It was stronger and louder than that.

What does this mean? Again, you look to the Old Testament, Ezekiel 1, 24, and
43, verse 2, the idea of mighty rushing waters is the voice of God. So we're
hearing here that the voice of God is speaking to the person of Jesus Christ.

He's not only man, he's also God. And the voice of God wants to speak into my
life, into your life today. There's a lot of voices that want to speak into your
life.

Your doubts, other people's praise, other people's failures and attempts to
bring you down. There's all kinds of voices, voices of temptation, voices of, in
your own life, lacks of confidence or presence of pride, a lot of voices that
want to speak, but God's voice is more mighty than all of them. His is a voice
like rushing waters.

It's a living, powerful voice. So hear his voice today, his voice of hope, his
voice of joy, his voice of a different kind of confidence that you could ever
build on your own, a voice like rushing waters. This picture goes on.

The Bible says he has seven stars in his right hand. We're going to learn later
that those stars have to do with the angels who are going to give a message to
the church. Jesus Christ holds all of heaven and earth in his hand.

I have confidence in him because of that. As you go on in this picture, he has a
sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth. In Old and New Testament, this is
a picture of the word of God.

Hebrews 412, we're told that the word of God is living and active and sharper
than any two-edged sword. The word of God speaking into my life and into your
life, but not to scare us, not to destroy us, to bring us hope. God's word
defends us.

That's how it works as a sharp two-edged sword in our lives. It defends us
against the attacks of Satan, but it also, in God's love and grace, it also
works on us. It sometimes does surgery of the soul so that your heart can be
changed in ways that only God can change your heart.

That's what the word of God does. And then one final picture in this picture of
Jesus, his face as bright as the sun. I love that picture because I think, as I
read that picture, I think of John who heard, who saw this revelation, and I
think of John during the ministry of Jesus Christ going up on a mountain with
Jesus with a couple other of the disciples, and the Bible says in Matthew 17-12,
"As these men watched, Jesus' appearance changed so that his face shone like the
sun, and his clothing became dazzling white.

" John had been there on the Mount of Transfiguration. He'd seen Jesus even in
his human flesh. He's seen his face shine like this, and here it is again.

So it's unmistakable to John, this is Jesus Christ. Jesus was there on that
mountain, and Jesus was there on the island of Patmos, and Jesus is there in my
life today. That's the message of this picture of the book of Revelation.

So let's praise him as we pray. Jesus, thank you. Thank you that you are here in
my life right now.

There is never a moment when I cannot depend on you. So help me to depend on you
today, for this day, for the problem that I'm facing, for the wisdom that I
need, for the hope that my soul is desperately longing for. Help me to depend on
you today because you, you are here.

Thank you, Jesus, in your name, amen. Tomorrow we're going to look at verses 17
to 20, and in those verses we're going to see Jesus' personal encouragement as
we begin the reading of this book.