In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of not missing the main point when looking at a picture. He compares this to understanding the message of the book of Revelation. The speaker highlights the significance of the seven stars in the right hand of Jesus, representing the messengers of the seven churches. He also discusses the sharp two-edged sword coming out of Jesus' mouth, which serves to judge the world and divide the spirit and soul. The sermon concludes with a call to have a vision of the risen Lord and to recognize his righteousness, love, and power.

O Lord, Thou art the great God, and greatly to be praised. As we are gathering in Thy presence, what else can we do but to bow low and worship Thee? Thou art not only the one who is high above all, but Thou art the one who is so near, so dear to us. O how we praise and thank Thee that we can commune with Thee. We can behold Thee. We can worship Thee. O Lord, our hearts just bow low at Thy feet. We want to gaze upon Thee, gaze and gaze again. O how we praise and thank Thee a sight of Thyself. Thou slays everything else, makes everything worthless, because Thou art the only one who fills our hearts. O Lord, tonight we do pray that Thou will afresh. Give us a sight of Thyself. Lord, unless Thou dost reveal Thyself to us, we can never see Thee. We can never hear Thee. We can never understand Thee. Thou art so beyond our human capacity and ability. But Lord, how we praise and thank Thee because of Thy great love. Thou dost desire to reveal Thyself to us. So Lord, give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation. O that we may know Thee. And to know Thee is life eternal. O Lord, Lord, be gracious unto us tonight. In Thy precious name. Amen. Will you please turn to the book of Revelation. Revelation, chapter 1. Beginning with verse 9. Revelation, chapter 1, verse 9. I, John, your brother, and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. I became in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven churches, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Tyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. And I turned back to see the voice which spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and good about at the breast with a golden girdle, his head and hair white like white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass, as burning in a furnace, and his voice as the voice of many waters, and having in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth a sharp two-edged sword going forth, and his countenance as the sun shines in its power. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not. I am the first and the last, and the living one. And I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of Hades. The apostle John was the last of the twelve apostles. And in his old days, for the sake of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, he was exiled to an island called Patmos. Evidently before he was exiled to that island, he was laboring in those churches in the Roman province of Asia. You remember that? Paul was used of God to raise up these churches in Asia. But apostle John was privileged to labor in the same churches in Asia. But he was taken away from his field of labor, and was exiled to Patmos. Patmos was an island in the Aegean Sea, near the coast. From the island he could still see, if it was a good day, he could still see the faint outline of the Roman province of Asia, where these churches were. And he said, On the Lord's Day. Now, especially on the Lord's Day, usually, you know, with God's people, the Lord's Day was the day when we come together to remember the Lord, to worship Him, and to serve Him. The Lord's Day must be the day that the apostle John will be among God's people. He will be fellowshipping with them, and probably he will be ministering to them the grace of God. But because he was in exile, he was taken out of his work, and was put on an island all by himself. There was no fellowship with any saints. So naturally, on the Lord's Day, probably he will be sitting on a rock, on something that is high up, and he will look longingly across the sea. He could faintly see the outlines of these cities, of the churches among which he had labored faithfully and lovingly. While he was longingly looking, the Bible said he was in the Spirit. And in the Spirit he heard a voice, as of a trumpet, saying that, what you have seen, write to the seven churches in Asia. The voice came from behind. So he turned back to see the voice. We often think the voice is to be heard, but John turned back to see the voice. And as he turned back to see the voice, he was given a vision. He saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, one like the Son of Man. Brothers and sisters, why is it that God gave this vision, this revelation, to John and not to just anybody else? Our God is a God who reveals Himself. I often think that God delights to reveal Himself to us. It is His pleasure. He is trying to reveal Himself. He is trying to reveal His Son to us. There should be no lack of visions and revelations. Of course, by visions and revelations, we do not limit them to something you see physically. The Lord is able to allow us to see physically. I do believe that. But I think, by vision and revelation, it is something deeper than that which is physical. A vision and a revelation is an unveiling of God Himself. God unveils Himself. God reveals Himself. God makes His mind known to man. That is a vision. That is a revelation. Not necessarily to the naked eyes. Not necessarily to our physical ears. But especially, reveal Himself by His Spirit in us. And when such revelation and such vision comes to our spirit, we can truly say, we now see it. We haven't heard it. It is real. Probably, to many of us today, to our experience, it is almost like in the days of Eli. The vision of God is rare. And the Word of God is scarce. Not because God does not want to reveal Himself. Not because God does not want to speak. The problem is with His people. Because the people's hearts are not towards the Lord. Because our ears are dull. Our eyes are dim. And that is the reason why God's vision is rare. And His Word is scarce. I do believe that if our eyes are open, if our ears are open, if our hearts are open to the Lord, there will be no lacking of visions and revelations. God delights to reveal Himself to us. Why is it that this vision of the seven golden lampstands, with the Son of Man in the midst of them, was revealed to Apostle John and not to just anybody else? It was because here was a man who had the testimony of Jesus and who was willing to pay the cost because of it. He was exiled to the island Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony. In other words, if we are faithful, God will trust Himself to us. God wants to trust Himself. God wants to, in a sense, God wants to commit Himself, but He cannot. Not because He will not, but because He cannot. If God shall commit Himself to us and trust Himself to us, there must be a faithfulness on our part. If we are playing religion, if we are playing with God, God will not play with us. But if we really mean business with the Lord, if we are fully committed to Him, as we hear in the morning, if we are dedicated to Him, not to things, not to cause, not to project, but if we are really committed to Him as a person, to the living person, we are committed to Him, dear brothers and sisters, you can be assured that God will commit Himself to you. He will reveal Himself. So here you'll find John on the island of Patmos. He saw that vision. Brothers and sisters, I do believe this vision that John saw on the island of Patmos is a further revelation of the testimony of Jesus. Did John know the Lord Jesus? He certainly did. Was John faithful to the Lord? He was. To the extent of suffer for the Lord's sake, but thank God, there on the island of Patmos you'll find there was a new, a fresh, a fuller revelation of Jesus Christ. And this revelation of Jesus Christ, given to him on the island of Patmos, becomes the testimony of Jesus. That which he has seen and heard and report to the seven churches in Asia. And dear brothers and sisters, tonight he is reporting that very same thing to us. What is the testimony of Jesus? John saw seven golden leptades. You know, even though in the book of Revelation you'll find many symbols, and yet many of them are explained to us. You do not need to try to figure out what these symbols represent. Because many of the symbols in the book of Revelation are being explained to us. So the seven golden lampstands, as we find in the last verse of the first chapter of Revelation, the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches in Asia. John was thinking of the seven churches in Asia. So the Lord showed him the seven golden lampstands. And then he saw the Son of Man standing in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. Brothers and sisters, I would like to call your attention to this thing. You know, sometimes you are looking at a picture. When you look at a picture, usually the painter will first paint a kind of background. And then he will paint what is really in his mind. He will use the background for the sake of bringing that which he is going to paint out. Now it will be very foolish if we only see the background and do not see the foreground. Because you miss the whole point. But, without the background, you will not be able to be arrested by the foreground, as it were. So here you will find when God gave that vision to the Apostle John, what did he saw? As he turned back, he saw seven golden lampstands. Oh, these must be beautiful lampstands. Even though there is no description. But if you know anything of the Old Testament, and certainly the Apostle John was familiar with that, and if you know anything of the Old Testament, you will find the golden lampstands in the temple are beautiful vessels, instruments, beautiful. And yet, the seven golden lampstands are only the background. What stands out as John saw it, and he had the spiritual discernment to know what is the center of that vision. The seven golden lampstands standing there, then he saw in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, and that caught his attention. Brothers and sisters, the seven lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia. And the one who stands in the midst of the lampstands, of course, is our Lord. You can never separate our Lord from His church, or His church from the Lord. The Lord is the head, and the church is the body. Wherever is the head, there is the body. Wherever is the body, there is the head. A body without the head is dead. A head without a body cannot express Himself. So, brothers and sisters, you find there is a unity, there is a union of the Lord and the church whom He gave Himself. But the church is the background, the foreground. That which is the center of everything is Christ. A lampstand is not to attract attention to itself. That is not the purpose of a lampstand. A lampstand is to uplift the light. And that is the function of a lampstand. Brothers and sisters, do we see the relationship between the Lord and His church? This is the vision that was given to the Apostle John. And I do believe that this is the vision that God wishes to reveal to us. Brothers and sisters, we must see the Lord. And if you are able to see the Lord, you cannot help but see the church. If you say you have seen the church and yet you do not see the Lord, now what kind of a church is that? The Lord is the foreground. The churches form the background. Brothers and sisters, there are people today who seem to emphasize the Lord, but they forget the church. Their Christian life is more on an individual basis. They say, the Lord and I, that's all that matters. I do not need my brothers and sisters. I do not need a body. I am the body. It is just the Lord and I. How many so-called spiritual Christians boast of themselves, saying that I know no man, I know the Lord and myself alone. I have no other relationship with anybody else. It seems to be, it sounds very spiritual. But dear brothers and sisters, this is not God's purpose. If you really see the Lord, how can you help to see the church? But to see the church. Because the Lord and His church. And yet on the other hand, you may find other people who can see nothing but the church. And the church seems to loom so big in their eyes that it overshadows the Lord. The church never speaks of itself. It speaks only of the Lord. If the church speaks too much of itself, something must be wrong. So brothers and sisters, you'll find a vision there. It is the Lord who is the center of the picture. But not without His churches. The church, as it were, makes the Lord stand out. Dear brothers and sisters, what we need is a vision of the Lord. Not because we do not know Him, but because we know Him. If we know Him, we need to know Him more. So this evening we would like to share together just on this one thing. What is the testimony? The testimony of Jesus is that which He testifies of Himself. And He testifies of Himself in two different ways. He can reveal Himself by vision. That is to say, you can see Him. Or He can reveal Himself by His word. You can hear Him. These are the two ways that we come to know Him. Either by sight or by sound. And here you'll find in this chapter our Lord uses both ways, both means, to reveal Himself. First, as John turned back, He saw one like the Son of Man. And He saw. He saw the Lord. And because He saw, He knew. Then following that, you'll find the Lord began to speak to Him. And by hearing the voice of the Lord, He knew the Lord. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to see the Lord. Not outwardly, but inwardly. We need to hear the Lord, not outwardly, but inwardly. And once we see and hear in our spirit, we touch reality. And that becomes a testimony. What did John see? He saw one standing in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. In other words, the Lord today can only be known in relation to His Church. It is not the will of God that we should know the Lord as it were nakedly. Not in any connection with the Church. You cannot know the Lord that way. Today, the only way to know the Lord is to know Him with the background of the golden lampstand. But what do you know of Him? He was one like the sun. Dear brothers and sisters, you remember what Paul said when he was in Corinth. When he wrote to the Church at Corinth, he said, When I come to your midst, I am determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul knew the conditions of the Corinthians. They were a people who talk about worldly wisdom, made a boast of it. They were a people who were supposed to know everything and they talk about everything. But nothing really touched their life. Their life was unchanged. They lived a most wicked life. So there was a problem at that time. He lives like a Corinthian. It means that he lives a very wicked and dissipated life. In spite of all the knowledge they have, all the wisdom they profess to know, their lives were wicked, corrupted. So when Paul was led to the city of Corinth, he waved before the Lord. What should he say? How should he approach these people? And he was determined to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You know, it wasn't easy for Paul to make that determination. Paul was a man of great learning. He could not match his wisdom with their wisdom. He knew all these Greek philosophies to come into their midst and know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He will be looked upon by the Corinthians as a fool. But he was willing to be a fool for God's sake. He knew that they need to know the crucified one. The one who died on the cross for their sins. The one who could change their life. They need to know the Christ of the cross. That's what they needed to know. And he was determined to do that. For a year and a half, he talked to them day and night, in public and in private. And there was nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Think of that. For a year and a half, he talked nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And God honored that. The church in Corinth was brought. But dear brothers and sisters, these Corinthian believers know Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They knew the crucified one. But they did not know the risen Lord. They knew that Christ died on the cross for them. But they did not know that the Lord Jesus was risen from the dead. And He is made the Lord over all. They were saved. They were saved. But their vision of the Lord was limited, very limited. Brothers and sisters, sometimes we hear people boast and say, I know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Thank God that you know Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But if you try to catch the tone, you know, when you listen to somebody, if you only hear the words and you do not catch the tone, you don't understand. The words may be the same, but the tone may be different. And it makes all the difference. Oh, people say, I know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And sure enough, he knows nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Of course, that's a lot. That's a lot. We need to know the crucified one. But as the angel said to the woman, why do you come to find the living among the dead? Do you know that the one who was crucified on our behalf is now the man in glory? Do you know that he is no longer the despised one? He is no longer the one that you can treat him as you like? Do you know that he is now far above all? Everything is under his feet. Do you know him in that way? He thought Jesus of Nazareth was to be persecuted. And he did. But on the road to Damascus, the Lord, he didn't know him. Who are you, Lord? You are so glorious, so great, so powerful. You are in glory. The light of the glory blinded Saul's eyes. Who are you? And the Lord said, I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you persecuted. The same one, and yet in a different position. Brothers and sisters, what we need today is a fuller vision of our Lord Jesus. Thank God that we see him crucified. And as in Corinthians it said, he was crucified because of weakness. As he took our weakness upon him, he was crucified. But he is not weak in you. Why? Because he is risen. He is now a man in glory. Oh, when John turned back and saw one like the Son of Man. What a difference! Notice what the description says. Like the Son of... Like the Son of Man. John knew the Son of Man while he was on earth. John was the first disciple of our Lord Jesus. The first one. He and Angel were the first disciples. He knew the Lord so well. He knew the Son of Man who walked upon the earth. And he was so close to him that he leaned his head upon the breast of our Lord Jesus. You cannot be nearer to him. He knew the Son of Man. He was at the cross of all the disciples. He was the only of the twelve who were at the cross. He saw the Lord crucified. He saw it all. But as he turned back and saw, yes, the same one. And yet, not exactly. He is no doubt the Son of Man. But he is like the Son of Man. There is a change of position. The Christ that he knew was the Christ in his days of humiliation. Everybody can treat him any kind, any way you like. He was like a lamb led to the slaughter. But dear brothers and sisters, today he is at the right hand. The same Son of Man and yet so differently. Oh, you remember Stephen when he was stoned to death. He said, I saw the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand. Dear brothers and sisters, do you know the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man at the right hand. Once upon a time, he came to this earth to join himself with man. He is God. Eternally God. But he emptied himself, not of his deity. He emptied himself of his glory, of his honour, of his position, of his power, of his privilege. He emptied himself and he took upon himself the form of a slave and being made in the likeness of him. Once upon a time, he came to us to be one of us. He joined himself to us. Therefore, he is called the Son of Man. Once upon a time, he was THE man, the Son of Man. Just like Adam was the head of the old creation. The Lord Jesus being the Son of Man, he is the head of the new creation. Thank God. Today, he is in glory. Dear brothers and sisters, we need not only a vision of the cross, we need a vision of glory. Thank God, if we see the crucified one, we are saved by his grace. But only when we see his glory, we will be caught into the purpose of God. Oh, brothers and sisters, I do not know how to say it. Many, many believers are in the good of the salvation of the Lord, but they never see the purpose. We enjoy his salvation, but we do not know what is behind it. We are little children. We never grew up. It is a vision of the man in glory that will catch us up into the very purpose of God. What is the purpose of God? That he will lead many sons into glory. Oh, brothers and sisters, there is a man in glory. The man, the only man. But because there is a man in glory, one day there will be many sons. He has gone ahead of us in order that he may lead us there. Brothers and sisters, this is being caught into the purpose. This, who is like the son of man, he is in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. He is in glory. But he is in relation. As a matter of fact, his very being in glory is to lead us into glory. He is the son over the house. Whose house are we? If we continue in the confidence and boast of hope to the end. You find a very detailed description of the son of man. And brothers and sisters, this is to show us who he is, what he is. And the very revealing of who he is, what he is, is to draw us into himself. This is the testimony of Jesus. To be committed to us. To become our testimony. What did John see? He saw one like the son of man with a garment reaching down. Garment in the scripture always refers to our outward conduct. Because it is something that covers you. Our righteousness, all like filthy rags that cannot, cannot cover our nakedness, is our righteousness. Here you'll find the son of man has a garment reaching down to the feet. Of course, it is the priestly garment. Because the priests wear a garment that reaches down to the feet. Covers everything up. In other words, full of righteousness. Dear brothers and sisters, we have no righteousness whatsoever. But Christ is the righteous one. He is full of righteousness. And his righteousness give us. I cannot forget one story. I have said it before, but I would like to repeat it. You know, the one who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan. If you read the autobiography of John Bunyan, which is the book called Grace Abounding. That is actually his autobiography. You'll find he had a hard time in getting saved. You know, sometimes you wonder why some people got saved very quickly and easily. And other people got saved very difficultly. I was one who got saved very, very difficultly. And John Bunyan, he was saved in a most difficult way. As a young man, you know, he was very worldly. And yet from time to time his conscience bothered him. And whenever his conscience bothered him, he tried to reform himself. He began to go to church and try to be good. But that always, only lasted for a short period. And then he would go back again. And back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. One day, he was walking in the field. And he was during that period of being under conviction. And as he was walking in the field, he was meditating. How could I be saved? How can my sins be forgiven? I have no righteousness of any kind. I am full of sins and transgressions. Is there any hope for me? And as he was meditating and walking, and it seemed to him it was a hopeless case. Because he tried and tried and tried. But it got him nowhere. So while he was meditating, he suddenly, he said, he heard a voice. A voice came out of heaven. Now whether he heard it with his ear or his inner ear, I don't know. He said he heard a voice. And the voice said, My righteousness is in heaven. My righteousness is in heaven. He was trying to manufacture righteousness on earth. He was trying to manufacture righteousness in himself. And he couldn't. Then he heard a voice, My righteousness is in heaven. And you know, it dawned upon him. And it came to him stronger and stronger until he was saved. He began to realize righteousness is not something we do. Righteousness is a person that we put on. We have no righteousness whatsoever. But Christ is our righteousness. God has made Him righteousness. Brothers and sisters, do you know that the Lord Jesus is your garment? Any covers you throw and throw. The Apostle John says, I write these things to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father. Even Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. I remember dear Brother Lee said, My behavior may change, but my righteousness never changes. Do you see the difference? As our behavior changes, we think we have changed. Oh, if this morning you got up and you felt yourself very close to the Lord, and if through the day you lived a good life, before you go to bed, when you come to pray, you have boldness. Why? Because you live a good day. You have righteousness. You can come to God because you are righteous. But suppose one day, the day didn't start right, and through the day everything was wrong. When you come to the evening, there you pray, before you have to go through a long process, before you feel you can touch God. This is not to encourage us to be careless. Not at all. But this is to help us to see that our righteousness is not us. Our righteousness is Him. He never changes. Oh, walk in the light as He is in the light, and we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all our sins. If we confess our sins. He is righteous and faithful to cleanse us from all our sins and from all our iniquities. Our righteousness. Here you find our Lord Jesus is clothed with a garment, reaching to the feet. A priestly garment. And His priestly function is to cover us with Himself. Cover us with Himself. And gird about at the breasts with a golden girdle. You know, in the Orient, people wear long gowns, long dresses, that reach down to the floor. It's flowing, you know. It looks beautiful. But it is not very efficient. The reason why in the old days the Orientals can afford it because they don't need to be very efficient. They live a very free life. You know, they don't need to work, labor too much. So, that's why it is good. But whenever an Orient, Oriental, who usually wear long garments, is going to work, what will he do? He will use a girdle and girdle up the gowns. I don't know if you have seen it when I was a boy. That's what we did. You use a girdle and it girdles up the garment so that you can walk without being tipped and you can do things more efficiently. So usually you'll find the girdle is to girdle up for work. When you girdle around the loins you are strengthened. It gives you strength to do something. You are not just loosened up, you know. And when you are loosened up you don't want to do anything. But dear brothers and sisters, you'll find a difference here. Here you'll find one like the son of man who is girded with the girdle not around his loins. But across his breast. Now, who put a girdle across the breast? Breasts are the place of love, of affection. Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is girded with a golden girdle across his breast. Gold in the scripture always represents that which is pure. That which is permanent. That which does not change. That which is of God. Our Lord Jesus is full of love. His love is his strength. His compassion is his strength. Think of that. We have a Lord who is in glory, full of righteousness. And he covers us up with himself. We have one who is in glory, full of love and compassion. He is fit to be our high priest. What is the Lord doing today in heaven? One day, in a certain church, when you want to baptize people, you know, you go through a kind of examination. So one day, an elderly lady came for an examination as a candidate for baptism. And all the elders or deacons, you know, sat around there and if you get into your midst, well, it's a terrible experience, you know, to be examined by these big men. So this elderly lady came and saw these elders and deacons sitting there and they began to question her doctrine. And one elder asked her a question. He said, what is the Lord Jesus doing today in heaven? And this elderly lady thought for a while and he said, well, he said the Lord Jesus was standing there in heaven looking down at me trying to find fault in me. What a misunderstanding! The Lord Jesus is in the right hand of the Father and He has compassion for us. And He is able to save those who come to Him, by Him to the Father, to the Uttermost. He is our great high priest full of compassion and love. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with us because He was cantaking all things except He was. This is the Lord to us, full of compassion, never changes. Oh, often times, brothers and sisters, we doubt when we are puzzled. We begin to doubt when we do not understand. But we can be sure of one thing, His compassion, His love, His head and hair, white like white wool and snow. White hair is the glory of the aged. White hair in the Scripture speaks of wisdom. White hair should be wise, should have learned, even though it may not be true every time. But certainly with the Lord it is more than true, very true. But here you'll find His hair is white as snow, as white wool, full of wisdom. Oh, brothers and sisters, often times in our following the Lord you question His wisdom. Even though you may not say it, but in your heart you question Him. Why? Why this? Why that? Suppose He has done something wrong. But brothers and sisters, remember, He is one whose hair is white as snow, as white. It is very strange. Sometimes, you know, the Bible describes the hair of our Lord as white as white wool. In other words, it's all white. There's not even a hair of black. But if you read the Song of Solomon, you'll find His hair is as black as a raven. It's all black. When you see the Lord, when you see His wisdom, it's all white. But when you see His strength, His youthfulness, His freshness, it's all black. This is our Lord. And His eyes as a flame of fire. Oh, His look. You remember in the Gospels when our Lord Jesus was being judged? Peter denied the law three times. And our Lord just turned back and looked at Him. And it just penetrated. Like a flame of fire. How discerning. How penetrating. Everything is naked before Him. You cannot hide anything before Him. You know, one of the things, blessed thing, of life is, be honest with God. If you're honest with Him, you're blessed. Because if you're not honest, He knows it. It's no use. We can deceive people, but we cannot deceive Him. He has an eye as a flame of fire. It is so pure, so clean, so powerful, so penetrating. One day we shall all appear before Him. And a fire will test our worth. Not a literal fire. But I think a look from the Lord is enough. Is enough. In a sense, very terrible. In another sense, very blessed. Because as a flame of fire, what He sees, that is impure, He consumes it. He purifies it. That we may be blameless and holy in His love. And His feet, like fine brass, as burning in a furnace. Thrash in the scripture always speaks of judgment. Burning in the furnace. In other words, it is so purified by fire, it is just shining, reflecting. You know, when people in the temple, when the priest in the temple, before they serve at the altar, or even serve in the holy place, they have to go to the brazen laver to wash themselves. But you know, even when they are approaching the brazen laver, the brazen laver is so shiny, when you approach the brazen laver, it is being revealed. Because it's made with the mirrors of the women who serve at the gate of the tent of meat. First there is the judgment, and then there is the cleansing. To make us fit. Oh, His feet is like shiny brass. This is the way of the cross. Feet speaks of walk. His walk is the way of the cross. Everything is judged according to God. How we need to follow. And His voice, as the voice of many waters. Mighty, majestic. In the gospel according to John chapter 10 said, My sheep hear My voice. You cannot but hear His voice. His voice is like many waters. Many, many years ago, I was on an island, in China, by the sea coast of Hanoi. We call that island Kulong Su. And it was by the sea. And you can hear. I mean, even if you are in the house, or when you are walking close to the beach, even it is still a distance, you can see the voice of many waters. Oh, it's majestic. It's majestic. Overpowering. And brothers and sisters, when the voice of God comes to us, you cannot help but hear it. And blessed is the one who really hears it. And does it. And having in His right hand seven stars. Right hand speaks of power. In His right hand, seven stars. And we know the seven stars speaks of the messengers of the seven churches. In other words, He holds in His hand. He is responsible. He is supplying the power for our spiritual responsibilities. And out of His mouth, a sharp two-edged sword going forth. This sharp two-edged sword is not only to judge the world, but this two-edged sword is to divide the spirit and the soul. And His countenance as the sun shines. You know, brothers and sisters, a person's countenance is the show window of his inward condition. If you are very healthy, you are very happy, your countenance will show it. What is within you is shown by your countenance. If you are sad, if you have a problem, your countenance will reveal it. And here you'll find the Lord's countenance shines as the sun in its power. Oh, the glory. The glory of it. Oh, our Lord Jesus is full of glory. And it just shines out. May the light of His countenance shine. Now this is all about, oh, brothers and sisters, how we need a vision of the risen Lord. The Lord who is now in glory. So, so loving. So powerful. When John saw the vision, he fell at the feet of the Son of Man as one dead. Brothers and sisters, during the earthly life of our Lord Jesus, John was so close to the Lord, leaning upon His breast. There was no fear. But here when John on the island saw the vision of the Lord in glory, he fell at His feet. But Daniel did. Daniel, the beloved one. When he saw the vision of the Lord, what did he say? He said, My calmliness turned into corruption. You know, oftentimes we think we are quite calmly. We are quite beautiful. Oh, I, I think it's a modern, modern, modern English. Within the last few years, when you talk to people and people feel it's good, they say, oh, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. Everything is beautiful. Now, sometimes we think we are beautiful, are we? But if you really see the Lord in glory, your calmliness will turn into... Oh, here was Job, so self-righteous. And he was. There was no one more perfect than Job. And yet at the end, not arguments. Arguments only made him stronger and stiffer. But a sight of the glory of God. He said, I abhor myself and repent in dust. Dear brothers and sisters, the only safe place for us is ashes. If we see the Lord, we will be on the throne. But if we see the Lord, we will prostrate as dead. In other words, everything was brought to naught by his glory. Oh, all your spirituality, all your virtues, all your achievements, all your spiritual positions, everything, may I say, even that which you receive from the Lord, gifts, grace. When you see the Lord himself, all these things went, all these things go to death, as it is the sight of the Lord. Oh, brothers and sisters, one thing that we need today is to see the Lord. Not teachings, not doctrines, not interpretations, but a sight of the Lord in glory. If you see the Lord, you will fall down as one dead. That is inevitable. How do you know you have seen the Lord? If you are at his feet. If you are brought to death, you know you have seen the Lord. Oh, my God. As John fell at his feet, the Lord laid his right hand upon him and said, Fear not. Oh, the Lord, who is now in glory, his love has not changed. This hand that had touched so many while he was on earth, this one who spoke words of grace to so many his love, his hand, his heart, even though he is today in glory, and yet his love is just as real as it was before. The Lord touched him with his right hand, strengthened him, bringing him into resurrection ground, and said, Oh, brothers and sisters, that's what we need, life out of death. And that is real life. It is only when we are brought to death, into resurrection, this is the proof that we have seen the Lord. What is of us has gone to death, and what comes out. So here you'll find this is what John saw. But dear brothers and sisters, there is more. The Lord Jesus not only gave him a vision of who and what he is, but the Lord Jesus, and he said, I am the first and the last, and the living one, and I became dead, and behold, I'm living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of Hades. Now this is the... He not only shows us who and what he is, but he tells us who and what he is. I am the first. Now you cannot help. But remember, this is a title of God. God is the first and the last. There is no one else. And here the Lord said, I am the first and the last, because he is God. He is the Son of Man, and yet he is God. The Alpha and the Omega. The first letter in Greek, and the last letter in Greek. Fortunately, English is like Greek. You use alphabets, not like Chinese. We don't have alphabets. You cannot spell. But here you'll find Greek is like English. You spell it with alphabets. He is the first and the last. He is the A and he is the Z. And of course, he is all the alphabets in between. Everything is spelled by him. Do we know the Lord as the first and the last? Is everything begun with him? Does everything end in him? How often we initiate things, and ask the Lord to approve it, and follow us. How often after certain things are done, we give the glory to ourselves. He is not the Z, the last. And in between, how we depend upon ourselves. But dear brothers and sisters, he is the first. To put it in another way, in Colossians it is said that he may have the preeminence in all things. Or to put it in still another way, that it is neither Jews nor Gentiles, neither this nor that, but Christ all and in all. The all-inclusive. Brothers and sisters, do we know Christ as the all-inclusive? He is all. That is the testimony. He is never contented just by being something in your life. God's purpose is, he is the first. He must be all and in all. Everything in everything. That is the testimony. How much of the testimony do we have? How much of the testimony of Jesus do we really know? How much we can testify that he is the first and he is the last? Brothers and sisters, when we are measured by the testimony of Jesus, I wonder how much or how little and he is the living one. The living one. He is the life. He is not dead. He is living. And of course, you know the story of Martin Luther. Once when Martin Luther was in trouble and he was so weighed down by all his problems, he was walking back and forth in the room and didn't know what to do. He was really, really worried about things. And you know his wife, Catherine, tried to help her husband, but didn't know what to do. So when Martin Luther was not comforted, the Lord gave her wisdom, a woman's wisdom. So he dressed himself in black. He came to the presence of her husband. Her husband looked at her and said, What happened? Who died? Martin Luther said, Never! God never dies! He learned the lesson. Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is the living one. Do you know Him as the living one? Do you know that His life is operating? His life is a life that comes out of death. I became dead and I am alive. Oh, brothers and sisters, the life of our Lord Jesus, the Lord Himself is life. That life is so powerful it conquers death, it conquers everything. He is life, living, life in operation. And do we know Him? Whenever we know the Lord as the living one, you have a testimony. And then finally, and have the keys of death and of Hades. I don't know if I interpreted it right. If I'm wrong, you forgive me but once, Satan had the keys of death and Hades. Why? Because in Hebrews it is said Satan was the one who had the power of death. It seems as if the enemy had the keys of death and Hades and how he opened the keys, the doors with the keys, tried to get people to death and to Hades. But thank God.