Apocalipse 1

Apocalipse 1

Meyer - THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST Rev. 1:8, 17, 2:8, 22:13. "I am Alpha and Omega.'----Rev. 1:8, 17, 2:8, 22:13. IT is hardly necessary to explain that these are the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet. Obviously they represent all the intervening letters, which they enclose as in a golden clasp. On those letters was built the entire literature of that wonderful people. Plato, Socrates, Sophocles, Thucydides, and Aristotle built up their reasoning, teachings, systems, and histories on the letters contained between Alpha and Omega. This metaphor, as the references indicate, is in frequent use throughout the Apocalypse. The majestic announcement at the opening of the book (Rev 1:8) refers to the Eternal God. His nature underlies the whole created universe, all races of being, the entire work of redemption, the destiny of His children, the ultimate victory of righteousness, order, and peace; all that has been, is, or shall be is conditioned by His existence. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to discover a more comprehensive formulary for Him who was, and is, and is to come, than this, "Of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever." We can almost hear the unceasing chant of the four living creatures, which are before the throne, who rest not day and night, saying, both when God's purposes are evident and when they are veiled, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Let us worship before the immutable and eternal Lord God Almighty, joining in that ceaseless chant. He is the First and the Last, and beside Him there is no other! In our thinking we must distinguish between that side of His ineffable nature, which has revealed itself in the universe, in the creation of Man, and in Jesus Christ, and that side of His nature which transcends our thought, infinite, eternal, self-existent. In the one He has revealed Himself so far as the naked spirit of man can endure the almost insufferable light. In the other is that which no man hath seen or can see, that which we can only describe by negatives, that before which angels veil their faces with their wings. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed him." What audacity it is to rush into His presence, without the due preparation and reverence of the heart. Even Moses was bidden to unloose his sandals when the bush burned with fire. But does it not stand to reason that, as we cannot know this great Being by the intellect, so we must give time to our fellowship with Him? We must wait before Him till the glare and noise of this clamorous world cease to monopolize our sense, and we are acclimatized to the conditions of His manifested presence. Dr. Lyman Abbot has said truly that the profoundest truths of spiritual experience are those which are not intellectually ascertained, but spiritually discerned. They are not taught to us, but revealed (ED: WHILE I AGREE, IT IS CRITICAL THAT THIS SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT BE WORD CENTERED, TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT). They defy definition, they transcend expression. So it must be in our fellowship with God. He is our Father. He loves us infinitely, but He is the Blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen or can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Such is the abyss of the Godhead for which we have no fathoming-line! We have, as Job puts it, only a whisper of Him in His works, and in Jesus a manifestation of only so much as can be translated into human speech. In the other quotations named above, the Lord Jesus appropriates to Himself these august words, though He was meek and lowly, and emptied Himself. When the fainting disciple whom He loved fell at His feet as one dead; when the Church at Smyrna needed encouragement to remain faithful unto death; when spirits athirst for God, in this life or the next, cry out for the living water; when the way has to be opened through the gates of the city to the Tree of Life, He quotes, in part or as a whole, these majestic words, "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." The very pressing question of this hour is to ascertain whether each of us is making enough of personal contact with Christ. We hear about Him, read of Him, talk about Him, but how far do we really know Him? Might He not say rather sadly to some of us, as to Philip: "Have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known me?" On the other hand, Paul said: "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord that I may know him!" QUESTION - What does it mean that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega? ANSWER - Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the “Alpha and Omega” in Revelation 1:8; 21:6; and Rev 22:13. Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Among the Jewish rabbis, it was common to use the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to denote the whole of anything, from beginning to end. Jesus as the beginning and end of all things is a reference to no one but the true God. This statement of eternality could apply only to God. It is seen especially in Revelation 22:13, where Jesus proclaims that He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” One of the meanings of Jesus being the “Alpha and Omega” is that He was at the beginning of all things and will be at the close. It is equivalent to saying He always existed and always will exist. It was Christ, as second Person of the Trinity, who brought about the creation: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3), and His Second Coming will be the beginning of the end of creation as we know it (2 Peter 3:10). As God incarnate, He has no beginning, nor will He have any end with respect to time, being from everlasting to everlasting. A second meaning of Jesus as the “Alpha and Omega” is that the phrase identifies Him as the God of the Old Testament. Isaiah ascribes this aspect of Jesus’ nature as part of the triune God in several places. “I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last I am He” (Isa 41:4). “I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). “I am he; I am the first, I also am the last” (Isaiah 48:12). These are clear indications of the eternal nature of the Godhead. Christ, as the Alpha and Omega, is the first and last in so many ways. He is the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), signifying that He begins it and carries it through to completion. He is the totality, the sum and substance of the Scriptures, both of the Law and of the Gospel (John 1:1, 14). He is the fulfilling end of the Law (Matthew 5:17), and He is the beginning subject matter of the gospel of grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). He is found in the first verse of Genesis and in the last verse of Revelation. He is the first and last, the all in all of salvation, from the justification before God to the final sanctification of His people. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. Only God incarnate could make such a statement. Only Jesus Christ is God incarnate.GotQuestions.org Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8; 22:13) - Herbert Lockyer - Borrow All the divine names and titles in the Bible : a unique classification of all scriptural designations of the three persons of the Trinity Among the numerous and impressive divine titles in Revelation, none is arrestive as this one the divine Speaker announces of Himself, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending"; "I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end, the first and the last." All authority is Christ's to announce His own titles and glories. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, just as A and Z are the first and last in the English one. As Alpha, our Lord is the Source, the Beginning of all revealed truth, of all promise given, and of all testimony committed to men. This title can intimate His relationship to Creation. He is the Spring from which the River of Grace flows. Is He our Alpha? Do we begin every phase of life with Him? "All my springs are in Thee." As Omega, He is also our End, with His glory as our goal. "Man's chief end is to glorify Him, and to enjoy Him forever." Everything in life finds its answer in Him who is "the first and the last." God's perfect Alphabet art Thou, Of truth, the kernel and the crown; Eternal Word to whom we bow, The Lord of glory and renown, The First and Last, oh wondrous sight! The First and Last of love and light. The Alpha and Omega true, Inclusive this of all between, Sum total of the Old and New, Of things invisible and seen. The First and Last, oh precious thought, The First and Last who sought and taught. —C. R. Rolls. All our testing as we sojourn here below is between Him as our Alpha and Omega. To Him as the end all gravitate. On our hands the threads are broken; in His hands they have never been rent In the midst of failed and failing circumstances, and the Church ecclesiastically, a ruin amidst the wrecked testimony of the ages, God's voice is heard above the din and strife. The beginning of all testimony is in God, and the end, too, centers in Him. In Him as the Omega is finished what as the Alpha He began." The writer of Hebrews reminds us that the warriors of old prevailed because their faith was in Him who was the Author and Perfecter of such faith. To them He was A and Z, and all in between—the Center and Circumference of all things, with past, present, and future all under His control. How the strain goes out of living when we rest in the joy of all Christ is in Himself! Whether we think of creation, revelation, redemption, history, or personal experience, Christ is "the beginning and the end." None is before Him; none is to follow. How expressive are the lines of T. W. H. Myers— Yes, through life, death, through sorrow and through sinning, He shall suffice me, for, He hath sufficed: Christ is the end, for Christ is the beginning, Christ the beginning, for the end is Christ. Can we truthfully confess that He is everything from A to Z in our lives? When it comes to our desires, plans, ambitions, is He the First and the Last? Is every phase of life inspired by His Spirit and marked by His glory? "In the beginning God." What tranquillity is ours, and how life is made radiant with His favor when Christ is all and in all to our hearts! To have Him answer to the whole alphabet of life is to spell out the language of Heaven. I am the First and I the Last, Time centres all in Me; Th' Almighty God, Who was, and is, And evermore shall be. Alpha And Omega "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord. — Revelation 1:8 Today's Scripture: Revelation 22:6-13 The meaning of the words Alpha and Omega —terms that refer to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet—is fairly easy to understand. Like A and Z, they simply mean “the beginning” and “the end.” In life, we understand these concepts. Things begin . . . things end. Jobs start . . . jobs stop. Decades come . . . decades go. Birth . . . death. But there is something special and unique about the words Alpha and Omega as they appear in Revelation (Rev 1:8; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13). Jesus Christ used those terms to describe Himself—terms that refer to His deity. When used in Scripture, the words have an almost unfathomable meaning. Jesus, the Alpha, had no beginning. He existed before time, before the creation of the universe (John 1:1). As the first cause of all that exists (Jn 1:2-3), Jesus cannot be limited by the word Alpha. And as the Omega, He is not the “end” as we know it. He will continue to exist into the everlasting, never-ending future. Alpha, Omega—our God we proclaim, Eternal, unchanging, always the same; He's the beginning and He is the end, He is our Savior, our Lord, and our Friend. —Fitzhugh For time and for eternity, Jesus is all we need. The Timeless Name I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. — Revelation 1:8 Today's Scripture: Revelation 1:8-18 Whether the company is Twentieth Century Fox in Hollywood or Twentieth Century Data in Dallas, time has caught up with these companies and they’re a century behind. Should they change their names? Consultant Frank Delano says, “You can’t do business in the 21st century with a 20th-century name. You need a name that is really universal with no limitations.” Through the ages, Christians have known and worshiped a Savior who is not bound by time. His name? In Revelation 1:8, Jesus Christ identified Himself by saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, . . . who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” He called Himself, “the First and the Last” (Rev 1:11,17). And in Rev 1:18, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” Do clocks and calendars leave you exhausted? Jesus Christ is the Master of time. Has death brought the pain of separation? Jesus Christ is Lord of eternity. Are you facing unwanted changes? Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Have failures filled you with despair? Jesus Christ is risen, the Victor over death and the grave! Jesus Christ—a wonderful name, Eternal, unchanging, always the same; He's the beginning and He's the end, He's my Savior, my Lord, and my Friend. —Fitzhugh Jesus is the Lord of time and eternity. Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. NET Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and the one who shares with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. NLT Revelation 1:9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God's Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. ESV Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. NIV Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. GNT Revelation 1:9 Ἐγὼ Ἰωάννης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν καὶ συγκοινωνὸς ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ ἐν Ἰησοῦ, ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ. KJV Revelation 1:9 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. ASV Revelation 1:9 I John, your brother and partaker with you in tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. CSB Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God's word and the testimony about Jesus. NKJ Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. NRS Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. YLT Revelation 1:9 I, John, who also am your brother, and fellow-partner in the tribulation, and in the reign and endurance, of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, because of the word of God, and because of the testimony of Jesus Christ; John: Rev 1:4 fellow partaker: Rev 2:9,10 7:14 Joh 16:33 Ac 14:21-22 Ro 8:17 1Co 4:9-13 Php 1:7 4:14 2Ti 1:8 2:3-12 in the tribulation: Rev 3:10 13:10 14:12 Ro 2:7,8 5:3,4 8:25 2Th 1:4,5 3:5 Heb 10:36 Jas 5:7,8 the word of God: Rev 1:2 6:9 11:7 12:11,17 19:10 John on Patmos JOHN IDENTIFIES WITH HIS READERS I, John, your brother (adelphos) and fellow partaker (sugkoinos) in the tribulation (thlipsis) and kingdom (basileia) and perseverance (hupomone) which are in Jesus (Iesous), was on the island called Patmos because (term of explanation) of the word (logos) of God and the testimony (marturia) of Jesus (Iesous) I, John - John for the third time (Rev 1:1,4) identifies himself. The use of the first person singular pronoun (I) identifies John as the human author and is repeated in Rev 22:8+ (cf other use of "I" in Rev 21:2+). Compare Daniel's use of the first person (Da 4:13, Da 7:2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 19, 21, 28, et al) This combination of the first person pronoun and the name is not restricted to prophetic writings because Paul uses it five times (2Co 10:1; Gal. 5:2; Eph. 3:1; Col. 1:23; Philem. 19). We also see this pattern once by Jesus in Rev 22:16. MacArthur suggests why John added "I" - John was astounded that, despite his utter unworthiness, he had the inestimable privilege of receiving this monumental vision." These same words are found in Rev 22:8+ "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things." Lehman Strauss writes that "Notice, it is not "The Revelation of St. John the Divine." There is no authority for this designation. Moreover, John refers to himself as "your brother, and companion in tribulation" (Revelation 1:9). He was a saint in the sense that all true Christians are saints, but he would be the last person to refer to himself as "divine." He was the chosen instrument to be the human penman of the book, but he was not divine." (Borrow The Book of the Revelation: Outlined Studies)