Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. It’s hard to believe we’re almost done looking at the book of Revelation. Tonight, we’re going to be looking at verses 12-13. Before that, I ask for my prayer requests. First, I ask for my prayers with my Christlikeness. I am really learning a lot of things now and being shaped more into the man that I think I need to be. Second, I ask for prayers with my financial situation. Third, I ask for prayers in a third related area of my life that I do think is going well now. For now, let’s get to Revelation 22:12-13.
12“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
There can be no doubt that this is Jesus speaking. We never hear anything about the Father coming. Instead, the hope of the church was to see the coming of Christ. While it is impromptu within the passage as the speaker changes from John to the angel to this speaker, based on prior passages, we can be sure this speaker is Jesus.
What’s interesting is how he describes himself. He says he is the Alpha and the Omega. Have we seen that before? Yes! Look at Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
And recently we covered Revelation 21:6
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
This would be enough to show that the Son is fully God in nature, but we can also look at the other title he gave to himself alongside that, the first and the last.
We saw that used of the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:8.
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
But more interesting is Revelation 1:17
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
But let’s see what he says after that.
I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Which gets me to something we’ve been hinting at since the first mention of this idea. This is a great technique to use on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Go to the first two Alpha and Omega passages and ask them who the Alpha and Omega is. In the end, see that the Alpha and Omega is also the First and the Last. Then ask “When did Jehovah die?”
The question presents a problem for Jehovah’s Witnesses. It doesn’t for Christians. We serve the one who is fully God and fully man, the alpha and omega, the first and the last.
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