mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as
the sun shineth in his strength.

17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first
and the last:

18. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive
for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The hieroglyphic, or symbolic, characters now begin. Turning in the
direction from which the voice came, John saw seven beautiful
candle-sticks and standing in their midst, a personage whose appearance
was inexpressibly glorious. John had recognized the voice of Christ
announcing "I am the first and the last," but he was not prepared for
the sight that met his gaze when he turned and found himself in the
immediate presence of his August Majesty, the Son of God. A human form
was there, but clothed in such vestments as proclaimed God; and no
wonder mortality was overwhelmed when ushered into the presence of the
uncreated Deity--he whose feet glowed as brass in a furnace, whose eyes
were as a flame of fire, and whose voice was as the sound of many
waters. Any man would have fallen as dead before such a personage as is
here described. Men may talk atheism, but it is the atheism of the lips
and of a coward heart, an atheism that would flee appalled before the
burning footsteps of the Deity, and the irresistible conclusion would
be, "It is God himself."

John was not left in doubt regarding the identity of this personage;
for, laying his hand upon the prostrate form of the apostle, he said,
"Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was