09-24-2023 I Am the Alpha and Omega
Text: Revelation 1:8
Today we are going to complete our look at the eight I AM statements made by Jesus. It began with Moses when he asked God what he should say when the people asked who sent him to help free them from Egypt’s bondage. Exodus 3:13 shows us howe God told Moses to tell them that “I AM” sent him. Why “I AM” and not just God? I AM comes from ‘I am that I am’ which means I was, I am, and I always will be. We can trust what God tells us because He always was and always will be, and most important, He never changes. Then along comes Jesus announcing Himself as the “I AM” causing serious problems for the religious leaders. Jesus said, Before Abraham was, I AM. They considered this blasphemy because Jesus was saying that He is God. Because Jesus told us that He and the Father are one, we can trust that Jesus is, was, and will always be the same as well.
So far, we have learned is that Jesus is our bread, our light, our door to Heaven, our good Shepherd, our resurrection and life, our way, truth and life, and our true vine; all which we learn from the Gospel of John. As we finish, I think it’s fitting that the final I AM statement comes from Revelation. We briefly touched on this during our study of the book but today we will look a little deeper into the meaning.
Today’s text is Revelation 1:8 which says: “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.” From our earlier study we learned that many heavenly beings spoke to John during his vision. But this statement was directly from Jesus, the Lamb of God. We know alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, what we know as the letters A and Z. But why use the alphabet? Because every need, concern, fear, and desire known to mankind is expressed using spoken or written words made up of letters from the alphabet. Great authors of drama, romance, history, and dreams of the future have all used the letters of the alphabet. It is a vehicle of love and the expression of the poet’s thoughts in songs. When trying to emphasize a thought often it is made letter by letter such as: s-i-n, f-e-a-r, or d-o-u-b-t. The alphabet means that if we can spell it, write it, or read it we can tell it to Jesus. Another way of referring to Jesus as Alpha and Omega is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians where he writes: “Christ is all and in all.”
As the Beginning and the End, we can learn more about who Jesus is. As the Creator He is the great Beginner and Finisher. Genesis 2:1 tells of the finished creation which brought order out of chaos by creating land and sea, day and night, plants, and animals, and finally, man and woman. But some will say that was God and not Jesus. Well, when you read Genesis, you will see a reference to “us, ” showing God wasn’t alone in this.
John 19:30 shows that through His own words Jesus is the Finisher. The last words He spoke on the cross were “It is finished.” But what was finished? The redemption of mankind from sin. All of the prophecies of the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection happened. The last step left to finish will occur when He returns to establish His earthly kingdom. As Finisher, He finishes His work in our lives. Paul writes in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing (which refers to our growth in Christ), that He, which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus (a reference to the Rapture of the Church).” But salvation from Jesus is just the beginning. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship (meaning salvation doesn’t come from ourselves), created in Jesus Christ unto good (goodness in us is the result of and not the cause of our salvation)…”
The second half of our text tells us Jesus is the one “which is, which was, and which is to come.” This is the definition of “I AM.” Jesus is the One who lived among us, died, rose, and will come again. What will happen when He comes again? We are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 that the dead in Christ will rise and living believers will be caught up to meet Him in the air. But unbelievers will be left for the Great Tribulation. Until that time we must ensure that we are ready for that moment when Jesus calls us to Him. After what we learned about the Tribulation, we surely don’t want to be around to personally experience how bad this world will become.
What we have learned from the I AM statements is that Jesus is a loving, all sufficient Savior. He alone can forgive us of our sins, provide for all of our needs, walk with us through all of the difficulties we must face in this sinful world, and give us eternal life with Him IF we allow Him to come into or hearts and lives to show us how to live a life pleasing to God. Come to Him in faith and I promise you will find all that you need to live the kind of life that will assure your place in eternity.
Until we meet again, may God bless and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.