All the imagery. belonging to Yahweh of the Old Testament. is lavished upon the Son of God. No Bible reader. Can honestly come away from the New Testament and deny the glory of Christ.
Just take the words of Christ and try putting them in the mouth of Michael the archangel or Peter. You know, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It doesn't work. It only works if he is everything that he said he is. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
Now, here's Pastor Rick in the book of Zephaniah, chapter 3, with his continuing study called The Ultimate Hero. Yahweh your God in your midst, the mighty one will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet. you with his love.
He will rejoice. over you with singing. It's beautiful language. It's right there in the Old Testament. God knew the New Testament saints would be reading these kinds of things.
He owns, Christ owns the non-apostate churches, and he disowns the apostate ones. It's their call. He promises, I'll come and take your lampstand away. You will not be included. With my light, associated with my light.
You'll have some junk going on, but I'm not going to be with you. John chapter 8, verse 12. I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness. but have the light of life.
Well, if he comes and takes your lampstand away from you, you'll be in darkness. And that's what an apostate church is and the people who support it. He says, one like the Son of Man.
Well, if you know your Old Testament, you know he's pointing back to Daniel chapter seven. With the ancient of the days. which moves from the Father into the Son, That's the Son of God. One like the Son of Man.
Now, during. the human life of Christ, he applied this title to himself 81 times. That's the kind of stuff you can't miss or you shouldn't miss. If you're familiar enough with the scripture, you say, boy, this keeps coming up. It is a claim to deity.
It belongs to no one else. Not in the context that it's given to us. Again, it derives from Daniel chapter 9. Were it not for the Old Testament, We would have no idea what John's talking about. Lampstands and s you know uh Girded across the breast with a golden band, the Son of Man.
What is he talking about?
Well, we do know what he's talking about because we have a foundation, and foundations. are meant to be built upon. They're useless if that's all they are as a foundation. What can you do with that? But if you build on a foundation, You can do a lot of things.
Incredible things. All the imagery. belonging to Yahweh of the Old Testament, is lavished upon the Son of God, No Bible reader Can honestly come away from the New Testament and deny the glory of Christ. Just take the words of Christ and try putting them in the mouth of Michael the archangel or Peter. You know, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
It doesn't work. It only works if he is everything that he said he is. No man takes my life, I give it. And then he backs it up on the cross. And he says, Father, into your hands I give my spirit.
And he gave up the spirit. Nobody can do that. You can't just say, I'm going to stop living. You'll still be there. to be laughed at.
Clothed with a garment down to his feet, adorned.
Somewhat again. as a Jewish priest of his age. And these descriptions are not, of course, all literal. That would just confuse us. but they are purposeful.
And they are identifiable. Poetically, they make their points. That's what God wants to make the point. Oh, how to do that, to learn to do that when sharing our faith, was an unbeliever. how to discern what goofy things they're saying.
And how to address them without feeling like you've got to read 500 books on how to share your faith. This one book, read the book of Acts. Read about being dependent on the Holy Spirit. Read about. Not letting anyone deceive you through philosophy and the traditions of men.
And watch and see what kind of power you come away with. And humility will be a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12. Talking about making points, spiritual points. This is what Paul said.
These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but. which the Holy Spirit teaches. comparing spiritual things with spiritual. It is powerful. I don't know if the quotation of some of these scriptures are being lost on some of you.
I know some of you it's not because you know the word, you love the word, you love to hear the scripture quoted. But maybe there's others that say, Well, I don't know these verses.
Well, you're getting a chance when you hear them read. Eager to learn what our high priest. Is doing who he is? In the midst of these lampstands, verse 14. His head and hair were white like wool.
as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. Though the glory of Christ flamed out on the Mount of Transfiguration. And it's flaming out here in front of John. He makes this grand appearance. Each element describes something about him.
In Daniel in chapter 10, it's almost an exact. representation of what we have here. And that was Daniel speaking with the Jewish people. Under the law, in mind. Here in the New Testament, it is Christ showing up With the New Testament church in mind.
And the New Testament church does not move forward without the Jews. It moves forward with them and Gentiles alike. White as snow, moral purity. It doesn't take much to understand. You know, you can go out and you grab a handful of snow and you can eat it.
So long as it's white as snow. Because you are learn, you know what corruption.
Well, how can it show up in many cases? Anyway, Antichrist. He shows up. riding a white horse. But he's a counterfeit.
and all that follows. makes that clear. How will the end time converts know that he's a fraud. 'Cause he's gonna be immoral. That's how.
The righteousness won't be there. They'll talk pompous words. And it would just get worse and worse. He comes on the scene acting like he's a man of peace. And Jesus said, beware when they say peace, peace.
Trouble's coming. eyes like a flame of fire. His eyesight is different, a different kind of sight. It sees everything. Hebrews twelve.
Our God is a consuming fire. Fire examines everything. Find out if it's going to take past the test or not, or it's going to perish or be damaged. 1 Peter chapter 1. Verse seven That the genuineness of your faith.
being much more precious than gold that perishes. Though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory. At the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now, he's not talking about the book of Revelation, it wasn't written then, he's talking about the coming. of Jesus Christ. This will reappear in Scripture twice more. Verse 15, his feet were like Polished brass. That's the idea behind the Greek there where it says fine brass.
It's a polished kind and got like a gold going on with it. His feet were like fine brass as if refined in a furnace, and his voice was the sound of many waters. Again, it would make no sense if we had nothing to go with. His feet are not mixed iron and clay, as the last kings of earth will be, according to Daniel chapter 2. But this is the strength of judgment.
Bronze and brass, they're Alloys of copper and metals the zinc or and other things to strengthen them. Copper's not very strong, but if you mix it with things, it's stronger.
Well, copper's resistant to fire, whereas other metals aren't so resistant to fire. But when you make an alloy like this, it becomes stronger And it resists fire. And incidentally, his feet are unshot. No sandals made from dead animals. I think that's an interesting thing from an End time view.
Right now it's fine. It's sort of a recycling system. When animals stop eating each other, I'll stop eating animals. And if you don't want to eat them, that's all fine too. All right, I was amused by all of that.
It didn't seem to register too much with you all. But coming back to this, his feet were like polished brass. And the many waters, unmistakable sound. If you've ever been about around white water rapids, for example, well, this alludes to Ezekiel chapter 43, verse 2, where Ezekiel uses the same language. Verse 16.
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 Well, the star is in his right hand, right hand, always an emblem of strength in the scripture. He's in possession. These are his. there under his sovereignty.
The seven stars are, as verse twenty will again tell us, the the pastors. His messengers Pastors are too. Do more. then give a Bible study. They are to do more than saying, I spent time in the Word, and here's what I think this means.
They're supposed to deliver the message. One of the hardest things about, or not hardest, but Interesting things about preparing a message is the title. Because it's supposed to Here's where the message is, and then you expand on that.
Well, this morning's message is Our hero, the ultimate hero. What does a hero do? When you're a young child, do you have heroes? I had heroes when I was a boy. And I've had heroes as I move through my adolescent years and into the military and out of the military.
I've had heroes and I've been very grateful for them. But they would plateau. They could only go so high. This one is the ultimate. He goes higher than anyone can measure.
And in his hands are messengers. The angels of the church are messengers.
Now, some will get tied up with the, well, the Greek word's not used this way.
Well, that's fine for you. But if a pastor doesn't come up with a message, then he's just lecturing. You can go elsewhere for that, and you get yourself a reference book. There's got to be a message. that is for the people.
Well, anyway, and and to the pastor himself. It should not be self-begotten. But God begotten.
Now, the stars, a feature about the stars, why the stars? Why did he say, you know, he shows up with, I don't know, something else in his hand, but it's stars.
Well, if you think about stars, which these things should make you do, they're heavenly. They are mysterious. They are uninfluenced by Earth. The earth has nothing to do with the stars. because of the immense distance between the two.
This should uh Tell what a pastor's message is about. It's uninfluenced by earth. It comes from heaven. Just like the prophets. God said to Moses to say to the people, This is a good pattern that we have.
Stars, they shine. Brightest when it's dark, in the darkness. They're always there. They're not always visible, but they're always present. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, that's the unsheathed weapon.
And that's what a sword is: it is a weapon. Sword in the scripture is an implication of violence. A potential violence. An adverse outcome for his opponents. We need to be very clear to the unbeliever there are consequences to rejecting Christ.
Second Thessalonians CHAPTER two Verse 8, and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming. Yeah, there's violence with the Lord. But it doesn't have to be. His countenance was like the sun shining in his strength. That's pretty intense.
The wicked will not be able to stare him down. When they face Christ, it won't be well I'll manage. No, you won't. You won't be okay. You may have gotten away with that in this lifetime, but this lifetime is a game changer when it ends.
It will be too much. Verse 7. And he's overwhelming his beloved John. Imagine what he'd do to his enemies. Verse 17.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last.
Well, it's been some 60 years since John saw him. And now he lays eyes on the glorified Christ. Coming on the scene as the ultimate hero. No longer is John that young fisherman that beat Peter to the temple in a foot race. He has stacked up a lot of life now.
And he says, I fell at his feet as dead. He's overwhelmed. He faints. If you ask him, he could say, I was like I was dead. In that condition, in this fainted or dead condition, this is when he hears the voice say to him, Don't be afraid.
I am first, I am the last, I am your God. Fear not Long ago, John reclined on the bosom of Christ. He wasn't overwhelmed in his presence then. He was reverent. He certainly viewed him as Messiah.
Paul said this in 2 Corinthians, Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. Things have changed. He has been glorified. His humanity has been pushed aside, his deity is now forefront. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Now, this is the pinnacle of laying hands on a servant.
The hand that holds the stars is the hand that comforts and restores me. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. And that's what we're seeing happening here.
And then he continues, of course, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
So he says, do not be afraid. Perfect love cast out fear. John already wrote that in his first letter. The touch of that hand The sound of that voice Revived John to see the apocalypse and write it down. The hand of the Lord was upon him.
We all want that. If we don't sense it, That doesn't mean we are relieved from duty. We are to function Inspired by truth. More than anything. The truth of Jesus Christ.
He is the truth. That is our main inspiration. Yes, it's nice when the music does do it, too. I know, I don't dispute that. But I don't depend on that.
When Jesus puts his hands on us, We are not. He sang dread not That's what he's saying. I am the first and the last. He is the ultimate being. Title comes from Isaiah several times in the prophet Isaiah.
There are none before him, and there are none after him. Isaiah 45. Look to me and be saved. ends of the earth, for I am God, there is no other. Why?
Because I am the alpha and the omega. I'm everything. I am the complete. Divine Being And Lord, you are worthy of our worship. The fact that you love us.
Is just incredible.
Well, it's not incredible in its truest sense. It is believable because we believe you. And the time will come When all the things that we believed about Christ will be realized, and we'll be Him, be with Him and see Him.
Well, if you go all the way back into eternity past Beyond that will be Jesus Christ. If you go all the way forward to eternity forward, future, Beyond that will be Jesus Christ. You're not going to get away. Before there was anything, there here he was. I am, verse 18.
I am he who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive. Forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.
Well, he's sovereign over life. Death and what happens after life and death. Spurgeon said this. He says, He will never again be dead the dead Christ of Calvary. He's alive forevermore.
Amen. He has the authority, thus the keys, to lock out. or to let in. And it is the sole authority. There's no one else.
I have the keys, not Satan, not the popes, not the government, not angels. Just the Christ. the key holder of heaven and hell, Matthew 10. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but fear, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both the soul and the body. In hell, he adds that.
Now there's a different Greek word for hell. same place, but where he mentions The one that can destroy the soul and the body, that's Gehanna, the valley of Hinoam. where the flames are. Here he uses a different word. with the same meaning.
It is death. But it's not Gehanna because if you're righteous in Christ, He has the keys to open heaven. For the righteous. And he has the keys. to damn the lost.
Hades End of death.
Now, Hades in the Greek used here is the afterlife, the grave. the beyond this life. And again, death there is Just what it is. The end of this life. Either for Salvation or not.
Verse 19: Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place. And we're almost done. This is a threefold outline of the book of Revelation.
So if you say, What's the shortest outline you can give me of Revelation? This 19th verse is it. The things which you have seen refers to what John has already seen in chapter 1. The things which are, that's coming in chapters 2 and 3, the state of the churches, and then the things which will take place after this.
Well, that starts in chapter 6 and runs through verse 22, the great tribulation and beyond. This is the a prophetic feature we have. And first Twenty It pains me to skip verses. You don't know. I want to read verses like time is not going to allow.
Verse twenty, The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are. The seven churches.
Well, the angels of the seven churches.
Well, what use is that to me? If they're just okay, they're saying there's nothing to back that there's these spiritual beings assign the church, though I do believe they're They they minister to us. I do not dispute that. I do believe we do have Angels Present now. But There's no direct assistance.
They don't speak to me. They don't give a message to me. Who gives a message to the church? Goes back to the pastors. This is why Satan targets the pastors so vehemently.
If he can't tear them down with immorality, he goes at them with lunacy, with heresy. He's always going at them, and you know it. And that's why many of you say, I pray for you. Before we come out, there are people who pray for me, not because. of me, but the office that I happen to hold.
And it is a big deal because you take away the message of Christ, the messenger in the assembly, and you're left with a free for all. And it doesn't work well. I've not seen it work well.
So anyway, coming back to this, finishing the mystery. Which is now being revealed.
So it's no longer a mystery, it's a revelation, the apocalypse. The seven stars, the pastors. As Moses was to Israel. Listen, Leviticus 18, for example. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them Moses as messenger.
Well, that's all I got the time for.
So we end our check-in.
Now we begin the next phase, the seven churches. And I want to close with this verse from the Song of Solomon. This is when. She's looking for her beloved. in the Song of Solomon.
And Solomon himself has made himself the nemesis in the story. uh the protagonist And the hero of the story is the beloved and the Shulamite woman. And she says to the Jewish ladies, to the daughters, help me find my beloved. I don't know where he's gone. And they said, What is your beloved more than another?
Sounds like a setup for witnessing to somebody, right? Let me tell you about my beloved.
Well, She goes on this whole thing in detail about her beloved, and then she says this, and this applies to the Christ, this ultimate hero. His mouth is most sweet. Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. What a powerful thing to say to an unbeliever.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend. And you can meet him. either with a double-edged sword or open arms.
Okay. This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Yeah.
