Revelation
1:8-11 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I John, who also am your brother, and
companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was
in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony
of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on
the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I
am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a
book, and send it unto the
seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto
Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto
Laodicea.”
The Lord Jesus again makes
a powerful statement of who He is with this verse. He is declaring Himself the Creator. Alpha and Omega are the first and last
letters of the Greek alphabet. He is
declaring Himself to be the source of all reality. Paul affirms this very truth in his letter to
the Colossians.
Colossians 1:13–17 “Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins:
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by
him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all
things, and by him all things consist.”
Jesus is the One that
created everything in existence outside of Himself and is the One that controls
destiny. He exists in the present, has
existed in the past, and will continue to exist in the future. He is the Almighty—the all-ruling,
omnipotent, absolute and universal sovereign; He is God. He describes Himself using exactly the same
terms used to reference God the Father—“which is, and which was, and which is
to come.” There are also scriptures that
refer to God the Father as “the first and the last.”
Isaiah 44:6 “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his
redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
Isaiah 48:12–13 “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I
am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath
laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up
together.”
Scripture everywhere
describes Father, Son and Spirit as “One.”
John declares himself to be
a “brother,” a fellow Christian. He
realizes that there are many in the family of believers that are suffering
tribulation as they patiently wait for Jesus to establish His kingdom. When
he received this revelation, he was, in fact, in exile on the penal colony of
Patmos because of preaching the truth about Jesus the Messiah.
John heard a great/strong voice that sounded like
a trumpet calling from behind him. This would seem to reference the voice of
the Lord. The Greek for the word “trumpet” references “a reverberation”
as well as a trumpet. In that regard, it makes me think of thunder, and
there are other scriptures that equate the voice of God with thunder.
Job 40:9 “Hast thou an arm like God?
or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?”
Psalms 29:3–4 “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory
thundereth: the LORD is upon
many waters. The voice of the LORD is
powerful; the voice of the LORD is
full of majesty.”
John is told that he is to write what he “sees” in a book that he is to
send to seven churches in Asia—Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis,
Philadelphia and Laodicea. As discussed
in a previous post, these churches were chosen as representative of all
churches that make up the whole church.
(to be continued…)
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