Dwelling Place

Al Pittman: Historically, Jesus is from the Middle East. When Europeans got a hold of Him, they sort of Europeanized Him and gave Him blonde hair and blue eyes and all that. So then, what it does is that those who are white, they begin to think, "Oh, we must be better." Or those who have taken Jesus and made Him black, now all of a sudden we feel like, "Oh, now he's black, so because I'm black, so Jesus must have been black, so I must be better than anybody else."

You see how we do things? You see how racism and prejudice is so evil? We even ascribe it to the Lord many times. And so the Lord in His wisdom made sure there was no description. Because if there was, and it said Jesus turned around and I saw His countenance and He had high cheekbones, "I have high cheekbones, so I must be like Jesus." Or He had dark skin, "I have dark skin, I must be like Jesus." We would worship those things. And so the Lord didn't even mention the pigmentation, lest we divide ourselves and be worshipping the outward things rather than the Lord God Himself.

And here in this description, when John turns around and sees Him, he says, "Man, all I saw was a brilliant light, shining brighter than the sun." Amen. That's all God says. That's all you need to know.

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry from Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow. To support this program financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at AlPittmanMinistries.com. That's AlPittmanMinistries.com. Thank you for partnering with us. Now, here is Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: "He who was, who is, and is to come." Listen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord. "Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Yes, the Almighty, says the Lord. He's the Alpha, the Omega, the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. The Beginning and the End. In other words, Jesus is saying, "I've got it all covered."

God understands and knows the end from the very beginning. But He's also the Almighty. The Greek word is Pantokrator, and it is a masculine noun meaning omnipotent, all-powerful. All-powerful. Jesus is declaring this about Himself. Oh, what a glorious thought that is for us.

Philippians 1:6 says that He who began a good work in you, He is faithful to complete it. Amen. We are confident of this thing, that He who began a good work in you is also able to complete it. God is saying, "I'm at the Alpha, and I'm at the Omega. I started a good work in you, and I'm going to complete it. I know you've given up some times and you've doubted, but He who began a good work..." I don't walk off the job halfway through. I don't walk off when you get too old and gray. He's there from the beginning all the way to the end.

Aren't you glad about that? He is faithful, no matter how you feel right now, no matter what you're going through. God will finish that work within you. The Bible says He will present us blameless, faultless, and with exceeding joy before the presence of God on that day. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. That's not something we do; that's something that God is able to do because Jesus Christ is the Almighty. Amen.

"I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos." All that we read before is just introduction. I was isolated on the island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. That's interesting right there in the text. John says, "I was isolated, I'm on the island of Patmos, I'm in a place of obscurity." But here's why I'm there: for the word and for the cause of Jesus Christ.

That makes a difference in our lives. You're in that marriage, you're on that job, you're in that classroom. You are there for the cause of the word of God and for Jesus Christ, for the glory of Christ. Amen. He said, "I'm in a place of obscurity, I don't know..." Hey, you're there for His purpose, for His glory. John understood that about his situation.

And he said, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day." Some people believe that could have been Saturday. That could have been the Lord's Day, which was popular and known to be the first day of the week when Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday. Some people think maybe it was that day, or it could just simply refer to the fact that it was the Lord's Day because God had ordained this day to bring this revelation to John.

And he said, "And I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet." Before we move on, I just want to point out here a great example. John says, "I am your brother and companion." And then he says, "Not in just fair weather, but in tribulation and kingdom and in the patience of Christ." I love that.

We need to have that attitude toward one another today in the church, that we would be a brother or sister and a companion with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, not just in the good times but in tribulation, in the kingdom of God, and in His kingdom, the things of God, and also in the patience of Jesus Christ. Too many times in the church, we're so quick to shoot our wounded. When someone's going through a difficult time, we don't want to be around them.

But we have a slogan around here that's more than a slogan because it's biblical, and that is that we do life together. God meant for us to be the body of Christ, to do life together, not hide out, not to be lone rangers, but to do life together through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Amen. Isn't that what a family's like? A family does that. There's no perfect families. You've fought with your siblings or whatever, and sometimes you fall out with each other, but you're still family. Amen. That's the body of Christ.

John here is demonstrating that, displaying this in his life. He says, "I'm your brother, your companion, not in the good times but in tribulation and the kingdom and in the patience of Christ." In tribulation because he's referring to the persecution under the Emperor Domitian. But he says also in the patience of Christ. What does the patience of Christ look like?

Peter tells us that we are called to suffer for Christ's sake. That's not a popular sermon title today, but Peter tells us we are called as believers to suffer for Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ is our example in suffering. Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 23, "Jesus, who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." That is the patience of Christ.

To commit myself to God's judgment, not to the judgment of others, not even the judgment of myself, but what does the Father think? Amen. He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Commit yourself to God, because if you're trying to please everybody else, you are going to go crazy. You're putting unrealistic expectations upon yourself and judging yourself by those expectations. You're going to go crazy. But it's God who has judged you righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. He judges you righteously. Thank the Lord for that.

Now we get into the personal revelation of Jesus Christ here in verse 11. This voice behind him spoke, John says, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, and what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia that are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." And then I turned and I saw the voice that spoke to me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.

And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, that is Jesus. Clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band, His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes like a flame of fire, His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as a sound of many waters. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

Talk about an experience. Imagine. He hears this voice, he turns around. Whoa. This Jesus that he said we will see Him as He is, John is now seeing Him as He is, glorified.

Guest (Male): Amen. We hope you're enjoying today's message so far. We wanted to take a quick break to thank you for supporting the Dwelling Place. Because of you, this message and many more will reach the whole world. If you'd like to support this ministry, please visit us at AlPittmanMinistries.com or mail a check to PO Box 50594, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80949. That's PO Box 50594, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80949. Again, thank you for supporting the Dwelling Place. Now, let's get back into the message.

Al Pittman: This Jesus that he said we will see Him as He is, John is now seeing Him as He is, glorified. I want to unpack these different descriptions that John gives us here within our text and go through them quickly, but to give us an idea, a little bit more depth of understanding in what he's seeing here. In verse 13, he says that he saw this Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to his feet and girded about his chest with a golden band or a golden sash going across his chest and this long garment. It speaks of a priestly garment.

The description is reflective of the garments for the priest that God gave to Moses for the priest to wear, for Aaron and his sons back in Exodus chapter 28. The sash and the robe coming down to the feet and all of that, it speaks of a priestly garment. And why not so, because Jesus Christ is our High Priest forever according to Hebrews chapter 9, verses 11 to 12. He is our High Priest. So what John is seeing here is Christ as our High Priest.

And then in verse 14, it says His head and hair were like wool, as white as snow. Now, I know some people that said, "His hair was wool, so he must have had an afro and it was white." No, it says it was like wool. And they would wash wool in the Old Testament and to Christ's times to get wool to be white, but this white was beyond the white that they could get wool to become. It was white as snow, a brilliant white.

This whiteness represents the Ancient of Days according to Daniel chapter 7, verse 9. The Ancient of Days is a reference to God Almighty. So it is again the reflection of Christ's deity here within the text, His hair showing as being as white as snow. And some scholars believe that it's not that His hair was white itself, but that it was lucent. It was brilliant. It was a glittering white that what John saw here, a lucent, glowing whiteness that was giving off light here.

And then he says His eyes were like a flame of fire. How would you like to look into those eyes? His eyes like a flame of fire denotes His omniscience, all-knowing God. That He knows all things. He didn't have blue eyes or green eyes or brown eyes; they were eyes that were like the flame like flames of fire. In other words, you can lie to some of the people and fool some of the people some of the time, but you can never fool Jesus. When He looks at you with His eyes, He looks right through you.

These eyes that are like flames of fire really speak of the penetrating nature of His divine knowledge, and it describes His piercing judgment of sin. Eyes as a flame of fire. And His feet, verse 15, the first part, His feet were like fine brass. Fine brass was an emblem that represented stability and permanence, brass being considered the most durable of all metallic substances or compounds.

And it was as if it was burned in a furnace. It had a bright brilliance to it, a beautiful metallic glow were His feet, the feet of Jesus. And then verse 15, the latter part says His voice, His voice was compared to that of the roar of rushing waters. Like being on the ocean or a huge waterfall, Niagara Falls or whatever, but it was like the rush like rushing water to John was the sound of it.

And then His mouth, it says a two-edged sword was coming from His mouth. Now, this may be symbolic, but maybe there was a sword that John saw. But that two-edged sword, in Revelation chapter 19, also says He has a sword that proceeds from His mouth and by it He strikes the nations. I believe it is symbolic of the word of God. And God's word, the Bible says, is sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce down into the bone and very marrow of mankind's consciences.

And so it could be just speaking clearly here of His mouth, of His words, the words that He speaks. But it's interesting, it's a two-edged sword, like a two-edged sword that he's speaking about here, like a Roman stabbing sword that the Romans would use for close-quarters combat, two sharp edges on it. It's a two-edged sword and it's indicative of the word of God, which is a two-edged sword, and that the word of God cuts you both ways.

It can heal you or it can kill you or convict you, but it cuts both ways. God's word is like a surgeon's knife that can heal us, but it can also be used in judgment. And then His countenance, and I want to look at verse 16 also, it talks about seven stars in His right hand, and we'll get an explanation of what the seven stars are here in a moment. But the seven stars indicate sovereign possession in the right hand of Jesus Christ.

His countenance, verse 16, His countenance he says in verse 16 was like the sun shining in its strength. A brilliant, lucent light like the sun shining brilliantly. Now, I think it's interesting here, I was thinking about this last night. And have you ever thought about this? And I think it's by God's design and it's miraculous, it really is. That there is no description found anywhere of what Jesus looked like.

Have you ever thought about that? We have movie stars and rock stars today, and we want to make pictures of them and put them on TV and we bow down and worship them, we buy their music or whatever. And no one took the time to say, "He had this, he had that, he looked like this, he had high cheekbones, he had this color eyes," no one. That to me is miraculous, that there's no record.

And I think God wanted it that way, because if there was, we would worship the outward things rather than worship the Lord. And here we find because, historically, Jesus is from the Middle East. When Europeans got a hold of Him, they sort of Europeanized Him and gave Him blonde hair and blue eyes and all that. So then, what it does is that those who are white, they begin to think, "Oh, we must be better." Or those who have taken Jesus and made Him black, now all of a sudden we feel like, "Oh, now he's black, so because I'm black, so Jesus must have been black, so I must be better than anybody else."

You see how we do things? You see how racism and prejudice is so evil? We even ascribe it to the Lord many times. And so the Lord in His wisdom made sure there was no description. Because if there was, and it said Jesus turned around and I saw His countenance and He had high cheekbones, "I have high cheekbones, so I must be like Jesus." Or He had dark skin, "I have dark skin, I must be like Jesus." We would worship those things.

And so the Lord didn't even mention the pigmentation, lest we divide ourselves and be worshipping the outward things rather than the Lord God Himself. And here in this description, when John turns around and sees Him, he says, "Man, all I saw was a brilliant light, shining brighter than the sun." Amen. That's all God says. That's all you need to know.

John said, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead," which is the proper response of all flesh. Sometimes I hear people, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to tell God, you know, I've said it sometimes, when I get I got some questions for God." You're going to fall dead. That's the proper response for the flesh. And when the flesh encounters the glory of God, we just fall dead because we've got nothing to say.

What are we going to boast in in the flesh? What righteousness are we going to bring to the table so that God would somehow honor us? What argument can we bring to God that somehow God's going to go, "Oh, I never thought about that, Al. You've got a good point there." No, my only proper response in my flesh because my flesh is wicked and carnal and putrid is to fall dead in His presence. It is for the flesh to die so that He can live through my life.

Amen. John fell dead before the Lord, and everyone else will too. Every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and everyone will. People can resist all they want now, but when you see Him, you're going to have to bow to His lordship. And to those who are redeemed, I love this, the Lord doesn't rebuke John, but He says to him, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last," verse 17, the latter part. "I am the First and the Last."

Verse 18, "I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore." And then He amens His own sermon. Amen. "And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." John, you don't have to worry. I'm for you. And if I'm for you, who can be against you? John, you don't have to worry. I hold the keys to the grave and to death. Don't worry, stand up, do not be afraid.

Romans chapter 6, verses 22 and 23 says, "But now, having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen. The wages of sin is death, but God has given, I've got the keys. He has the authority to declare life where there's been death.

Only He can do that. He holds the keys. Verses 19 and 20, Jesus says to John, write, the second time. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: for the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. And we will get into those churches the next time.

We're here today to celebrate Communion. I thought, man, what a wonderful, glorious day to celebrate Communion, talking about the one whom we celebrate through Communion, about Jesus Christ our Lord. The revelation of Jesus Christ here in the book of Revelation is for our comfort and to give us everlasting hope, to know that it's not where we've been, but it's where we're going that really matters.

That our eternity has been secured through our faith in Jesus Christ. But before this revelation, we have seen in His first advent, His first coming, the full revelation of God's love on an old rugged cross where He died for our sins, whereby we have come into faith in Jesus Christ, putting our trust in His atoning work on the cross. And in doing so, we need not live any longer in fear.

These words for those who do not know Christ are fearful, but for those who are in Christ, there is no fear. John, the same John who writes the book of Revelation, tells us why around 70 AD when he was writing 1 John, his first letter, after the Gospel of John, he said this: that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. And here's perfect love: not that we loved Him, but that He first loved us. Amen.

Guest (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting AlPittmanMinistries.com. Also, consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at PO Box 50594, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80949. Or visit us online. Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing info@alpittmanministries.com. That's info@alpittmanministries.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us, and we'll see you next time on the Dwelling Place. God bless.