Bella Vista Church of Christ
LIFELINES
June 12, 2002 Bobby Dockery
Portraits of Christ
Jutting out of a hillside in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is a 1000-ton mega-statue of concrete and steel known as the "Christ of the Ozarks." Nearby is the "Christ Only Art Gallery," which boasts the world's largest collection of artistic representations of Jesus. Each of the hundreds of works on display purports to be a portrayal of Christ. The Bible furnishes a far more revealing and moving portrait of Christ than those on display in any Art Gallery. In the first chapter of Revelation, Jesus presents Himself to His servants in a series of word-portraits intended to convey assurance and hope to saints who collided with the savage opposition of Satan. Note the seven portraits of Christ...
(1) The Revealer (1.1)
(2) The Faithful Witness (1.5)
(3) The First-Born of the Dead (1.5)
(4) The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (1.5)
(5) The Creator of a Kingdom of Priests (1.6)
(6) The Coming Lord (1.7)
(7) The Christ Among the Candlesticks (1.13)
The final strokes in our portraits of Christ are furnished by the massed choir of ten thousand times ten thousand angels who exclaim:
Worthy is the Lamb--to receive power
And wealth, and wisdom, and strength,
And honor, and glory, and praise.
(Revelation 5.12)
BOBBY DOCKERY
Fayetteville, Ark.
