Those in the book of Revelation
Introduction
Previously we considered the Saviour’s title ‘Son of God’
and affirmed our belief in the deity of the Lord Jesus. If this is
accepted, as I believe it should be, then there should be a harmony of those
names by which God (YHWH) is known in the T’nach (Old Testament) and those
names by which Christ is known in the New Testament.
In Exodus the revelation of God to Moses was as the
self-
existent One – “I AM THAT I AM” (Exod.3:14).
This
is the truth of the eternity of deity. He lives as no other being lives. He is
not caused but is the cause of all that is. He is unchangeable, infinite and
eternal. “For I am the Lord, (YHWH) I do not change”
(Malachi
3:6).
He is the Author and Creator of all things. “The
One who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens
day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the
face of the earth— YHWH is His name. ” (Amos 5:8)
He rules over all nations. Speaking of His
power to raise up the Chaldeans and put them down again, He said: “Behold,
I am the Lord (YHWH), the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jer. 32:27)
He, as King, must reign eternally. “The
Lord (YHWH) is King forever and ever” (Psalm 10:16) (See also Ps.
99:1; 146:10)
No instructed
Jew, who was present at the time, missed the fact that when Christ asserted
that He was the ‘I AM’, He claimed to be God, YHWH
of the Old Testament. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it
and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and
have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:56–58)
On this
declaration alone, they sought to stone Him. He was identifying Himself with
those aspects of deity that had been previously revealed. That He was not
caused but is the cause of all that is. He is unchangeable, infinite and
eternal. He is the author and creator of all things and the universal ruler and
as King will reign forever.
In the book of Revelation, His names
reflect these truths again and again. There is a reference to the ‘I AM’ name
at Rev.1.4, “Grace to you and peace from Him who
is and who was and who is to come ... ”
(Rev.
1:4). Although here it is applied to God who sits upon the throne of heaven,
very soon (in the same chapter) we will find the glorified Saviour described in
much the same way.
The theological
integrity of this name is bound up in the Biblical revelation that we have already observed –
that God is the first cause, and He also determines the end. He will reign
eternally, etc. That is why the truth of the I AM name of God is coupled with two
other names that express the same truth in verse 8. “I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is
and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty.” (Rev.1:8)
Just three
verses later, these same names, (which rightfully belong to God (YHWH) and are
anchored in eternity), are claimed by the glorified Saviour. Jesus, as the son
of man, walking in the midst of the seven lampstands, said, “I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” (Rev.1:11)
‘The First and Last’ title is later used in His message to the Church at Smyrna
(Rev.2:8).
Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, are designations that are evidently appropriate to Christ. Jesus—the Alpha, the Beginning In Genesis He was there as Alpha, the Beginning, where it is recorded, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ” (Gen. 1:1). The name of God there is Elohim which is plural, not only indicating the plurality in the Godhead but also that the Son was fully involved in the creation of the world. That the Lord Jesus was there as Creator is confirmed by other Scriptures also, including John’s prologue. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) So He was there when the purpose of God was uttered, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).
He
was there when there was another beginning to the purpose of God, “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name
Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matt. 1:23)
So He was there
as Alpha, the Beginning, when man was made in the image of God.
And He was there
as Alpha, the Beginning, when God was made in the image of man.
He will be there
as Alpha, the Beginning, when we will have our glorified bodies, and man will
be remade in the image of God.
Jesus—the Omega, the
End If He begins something, He will also see it to its
conclusion. He was there as the Alpha at the burning bush initiating the dispensation
of Law, and He was there as the Omega, the End, to bring that dispensation to a
close. “For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”
(Rom.
10:4).
And as He was
there when the heavens and the earth had their beginning, He will be there when
they have their end. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no
place for them.” (Rev. 20:11)
So those titles
in Revelation that speak of God as eternal and active:, such as ...
“Grace
to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come ...”
(Rev.
1:4): and “I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is
and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8): and “The
four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and
within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” : “And He said to me, “It is done! I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”
(Rev.
21:6)
… also point to
the Lord Jesus
“I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” (Rev.1:11)
“I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
(Rev. 22:13)
Significantly in
the Old Testament they belong only to God.
“Thus says the
Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first
and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” (Isaiah
44:6, NASB)
But in the New
Testament they belong also to Jesus!
More Next Time
