THE ALPHA AND OMEGA

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 NIV)  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  (Revelation 22:13 NIV)

Jesus is the beginning and the end. He is the author of life. He is the hope. Without Him, there's nothing. With Him, there's everything.

-- General Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria from1999 to 2007 (from tributes regarding The Jesus Film)

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COME, LORD JESUS

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city… I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”  (Revelation 22:12-17 NIV)

So, for many there is no emotional yearning for the return of Jesus. The best hope they know is a kind of intellectual, theological hope. But an intellectual knowledge of what the New Testament teaches about the return of Christ is surely a poor substitute for a love-inflamed desire to look on His face!… The crux of the whole matter is this: our wonderful, created world will be restored to its rightful Owner.

I for one look forward to that day. I want to live here when Jesus Christ owns and rules the world. Until that hour, there will be conflict, distress and war among the nations. We will hear of suffering and terror and fear and failure. But the God who has promised a better world is the God who cannot lie. He will shake loose Satan’s hold on this world and its society and systems. Our heavenly Father will put this world into the hands that were once nailed to a cross for our race of proud and alienated sinners.

It is a fact. Jesus Christ is returning to earth.…

I bow my head and continue to pray with the humble writer of the Revelation: “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

--  A.W. Tozer in “The Tozer Topical Reader”

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A KING WORTH FOLLOWING

If you have a Sunday school image of Jesus as mousy and passive, [the Book of] Revelation will help you forget it.  The risen Christ appears to John in chapter 1, and John faints.  Jesus declares, "Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One, I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death and Hades.  Write, therefore, what you have seen." (Revelation 1:17-19)

Jesus proceeds to give instructions for all the churches John is overseeing.  He then reveals the throne room of heaven, a place of awe-inspiring worship. If you allow yourself to picture these scenes, your private world will shrink and you'll see why this is a King worth following, even into the mouth of hell.

Revelation is not primarily about Satan or the Antichrist.  It's about Jesus Christ, King of a glorious kingdom in which you are invited, even now, to participate.

-- Karen Lee-Thorp in A Compact Guide to the Bible


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