Now, I'm just gonna read, looks
like four verses, five verses throughout Revelation for my
text. The first one is in Revelations
1 in verse eight. I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the ending
saith the Lord, which is, which was and which is to come, the
Almighty. Now if you want to, drop down
to verse 11, saying, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first
and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it to
the seven churches, which are in Asia, unto Ephesus and unto
Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis,
and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Now verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, fear not, I am the first and the last.
I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. Now, next chapter two, in verse
eight. And unto the angel of the church
of Smyrna write thee, saying, saith the first and the last,
which was dead, and is alive. Now the last, let's see, the
last one is in Revelations 22 and verse 13. I am alpha and omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. All right, my title today is
Alpha and Omega. Or if you like, the beginning
and the ending. Or the first and the last. But I'm going with
Alpha and Omega, because everybody knows what that means. Right? That last verse in chapter 22
is where he has all three of those written together. He said
those three things together. That's why I used it. But, This is probably the last of
the double titles of our Lord Jesus Christ that I'm going to
do. We did the shepherd and sovereign
of your soul, the apostle and high priest of our profession,
the author and finisher of faith. But I think this one is the most
glorious of all. This again are the words of Christ. Now they are spoken to John.
This is after his ascension, but he appeared to John on the
Isle of Patmos. Matter of fact, if you look at
the first page of the book of Revelations here, mine is incorrect
in my Bible. It says the revelation of Saint
John the Divine. That's not what this is. This
is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The first sentence tells you
in verse one, Now why they put this is the revelation of St.
John the Divine, I don't know. I just put it down to the relative
stupidity of man. And bookbinders, I don't know,
I got no idea. But this is the revelation of
Jesus Christ. And these are the words that
Jesus Christ spoke to John on the Isle of Patmos, among others. But these are the ones I'm dealing
with. Because here's the thing, not only is he the shepherd and
sovereign of your soul, not only is he the author and finisher
of faith, not only is he the apostle and high priest of our
profession, he is the alpha and he's the omega. He's the beginning
and he's the end. He's the first and he's the last. Guess what, folks? He is the
one with whom we have to do. We've got no way to God, no way
to the Father, except by Jesus Christ. Oh, I was thinking about this. Going on almost 40 years ago,
I stood before this assembly in a different place, but some
of you were there, some are newer, and I told what Earl Cochran
had said four years ago. Earl said, I'm not a novice.
Well, I stood up there four years ago and told you I was a novice. Now, I'm not a novice now, but
I sometimes feel like it still. It's part of that thing. If you feel worthy to be here,
you probably ought not be here. I mean, that's the God's honest
truth. That's the only way I can speak it. It's an awesome responsibility
to try and bring a message from God, from God's word, to his
people. But here is one. He is alpha
and he's omega. He's the beginning and he's the
ending. He's the first and he's the last.
I like that, I like that, I'm telling you. Oh my, because this
double title of Alpha and Omega encompasses all of the scripture
that we have, every bit of it, from Genesis through Revelations.
He's the beginning and he's the ending. Matter of fact, God,
Specifically, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke the world into being. He spoke this world into being,
he spoke all of them into being. In the beginning, that's what
it says in Genesis, in the beginning God. And in the Gospel of John,
what's it say? In the beginning was the word.
And the word was what? With God. And the word was God. And the word is God right now. And that word is our Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the beginning and the ending. And I'm gonna tell you something
right here. I've mentioned this before, I will mention it again.
In the book of Genesis, he says, let there be light. And you know
what happened? There was light. There was light. Wait a minute, folks. You have
to keep reading on down a little bit in Genesis before it says
there was a sun and a moon and the stars. There was light before
that. There was light before that.
That's the beginning. That's the beginning, oh my.
But here's not the only thing he said about that light. I preached
on this a while back. And God saw the light, that it
was good. That's Genesis one verse four.
But he didn't stop there. And God divided the light from
the darkness. Before there was a sun, before
there was a moon, God divided the light from the darkness.
And that light's good. You know what? The light's still
good. Was what Jesus Christ say, I
am the light. I am the light, and that light's
good. That light's good. As a matter
of fact, I'll say it, it's very good. Oh my. But even in Genesis one, God's
telling us, Christ is telling us, there's a difference between
light and darkness. Oh my. And you know what? Man
didn't make a division. God made the division. God made
the division. between the light and the darkness.
Because I'm gonna tell you something. Man can't know the good without
the light. Oh. And how does the scripture
speak of the glorious future of our Lord Jesus Christ? Well
let me point it out here. Revelations 21 and verse 23.
Well, 22. And I saw no temple therein,
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple, what? Of it. And the city had no need
of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory
of the Lord did lighten it, and the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is the light thereof. Understand in the beginning,
there's light before the sun and the moon. And here at the
ending, there's light without the sun and the moon. He's the beginning and the ending.
And he's still the light. And he always shall be the light.
Oh, I like that. He's the first and the last. The beginning and the ending
are brought to pass by the one who is the light, our Lord Jesus
Christ. Because without the light, there's
only darkness. In his kingdom, there's not gonna be any darkness.
There's not gonna be any darkness. And we're not gonna need the
sun, we're not gonna need the moon, why? Because we'll have
the light. We have the light, oh my. And at the beginning and at the
ending, there's light. There's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and
the last, the Lord Jesus Christ is all of these, and more, and
more. Because I'm gonna tell you something.
God said the light was good. There's nothing good without
Jesus Christ. Not a thing, not a thing. He's
the first, he's the last. Matter of fact, he made everything
and everyone. Now we started at it talking
about it in Genesis, but you wanna know about creation and
salvation? Both of them? Know about creation?
Know about salvation? Well, I can tell you an easy
place to look. Take a look at Colossians. Chapter one. Beginning in verse 12. giving thanks unto the Father
which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in life. Folks, that's salvation. And
guess what? He made us meet, we didn't make
us meet, not even me and him. Not even you and him. He made
us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints and
lights who have delivered us from the power of darkness and
have translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. He just told
you how he did it. You were delivered from the power
of darkness and translated into the kingdom of his dear son.
What? The light. The light. In whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Who is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. Now you wanna
know about creation. That's salvation right there,
folks. It's God's work. It's Christ's work. It's his
blood. It's his justification. It's
his satisfying God, not ours. But here, creation, verse 16. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
What's that mean? All things were created by him
and for him, for him. Oh, I like that. And not only
that, he is before all things. All things. And by him, all things
consist. They consist. Oh, and he's the
head of the body, the church. Who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have, what? The preeminence. Why? and he's
the omega. He's the beginning and he's the
ending. He's the first and he's the last. Oh, I like that, I
do. For it pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell. Dwell. Oh my. Full of grace and truth. All fullness dwells in Christ.
All fullness dwells in him. Oh my. Our inheritance is in the light.
You know how? The father delivered us from
the power of darkness and placed us, translated us, transferred
us into the kingdom of his dear son. Neither you nor me nor any man
had anything to do with that. That's the work of the Father.
That's what the scripture says. And you can either believe it
or not. That's what it says when Paul
preached. You read it toward the end of the book of Acts,
it says some people believed the things that Paul preached
and some people didn't. And I'm telling you folks, it's
exactly the same today. Some people believe and some
believe not. And I, nor you, can change that. It's the work of God, not only
in creation, but in salvation. Because this is the one with
whom we have to do. He's the alpha, he's the omega.
He delivered us from the power of darkness and he transferred
us, carried us into the kingdom of his dear son, who's our Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh my, he redeemed us through
his blood. We didn't have anything to do
with that but that would be the cause of shedding it. That was our
fault. We also can take credit for the
transgressions and sins and iniquities that he bore in his own body
on the tree, but I'm not proud of that. It's true, and I'm thankful
for it, but I'm not proud of it. He redeemed us, not only redeemed
us through his blood, he forgives our sin. We have forgiveness,
we have redemption. Again, no work by me, the work
by the Alpha and the Omega did this. He's the beginning and the ending,
I'll say it, of salvation. He's the first and the last of
salvation. He's the Alpha and the Omega
of salvation. Oh my, and I'm so glad for that. You understand, that's a reason
to be joyful all the time. no matter your condition, he's
the source and the giver of the salvation of God to his people. Because here's the thing, if
God doesn't deliver you from the powers of darkness, and if
God doesn't translate you into the kingdom of his dear son,
you're not gonna be there. You're not gonna be there. You have neither part nor lot
in this. Because it's his redemption,
It's his deliverance, it's his transference, and it's his forgiveness. And this is all through his shed
blood. His work, his sacrifice, his
offering to God. Matter of fact, you'll see all
through this book. In Genesis, the first book of
the Bible, we have the first mention of the gospel. They call
it the, what is it, proto-evangelical. It's in Genesis three, where
you hear about the seed of the woman that's gonna come and bruise
the head of the serpent. That's the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Alpha and Omega. When we are told of that seed
of the woman to come, we are shown in that also same account
in Genesis in the garden, that God clothed Adam and Eve in skins. Matter of fact, they were clothed,
and I'll put it, by the hand of Jesus Christ himself in the
garden. We are told of the perfection
in God's law, which we cannot fulfill or keep. But that doesn't
make it any less perfect. Oh my, we are told by the prophets
of one, the Messiah, to come who would fulfill and perfectly
keep God's law. Matter of fact, we'll see in
Isaiah 53, the perfect substitute, if you read it. He was bruised
for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was what? Laid on him. He paid the death that we could
not pay. And I'm saying it in the past
tense. Isaiah says it in the future tense, because it hadn't
happened yet. But it has happened now. It happened 2,000 years
ago, because he, Jesus Christ, what? Saw the travail of his
soul and satisfied. God is satisfied with the offering,
with the substitute of Jesus Christ. Mm. Let's see. He saved, what did
it say? Many. Why? For he bore their
iniquities. Oh, I like that. Iniquities I got. Forgiveness
I need. Forgiveness I need. Oh my, in the four gospels, You'll
hear of his coming to this earth, physically, as a man. Still God,
but still man. I can't explain it. I can preach
it. He is the God-man. As Earl used
to say, the Adam Kadmon. The God-man. Oh, I like that. God manifests in the flesh and
dwelt among us. Walked on this earth. eating
and drinking. Oh my. And in those four gospels we
hear of his coming, his miracles, his healing, and most importantly,
I think, his preaching. His preaching to the gospel of
the poor. The gospel is preached to the
poor. That's what he told them after the list of those miracles.
Those two or more of the disciples of John the Baptist. Oh, the
sight's given to the blind, lepers are healed, the dead are raised,
what? And the gospel is preached to the poor. Oh my. Jesus Christ's words are recorded
for our exhortation and for our admonition. Oh my. And we read that Jesus Christ
commands his people to believe him and love one another. That's the commandments he gave
us, to believe him and love one another, love his people, love
his brethren. Oh my. In the rest of the New
Testament, we learn that his people are his church, his assembly,
his very body. That's what they use in the description. And our relationship to Christ
is explained by marriage, the relationship of a husband and
wife. There's the duties of the husband
to the wife, and Christ fulfills his perfectly. And then there's
the duties of the wife to the husband, and we're not so good. But he forgives, he forgives,
oh my. You understand, I'm not gonna
go into that. But we also learn in the New
Testament that he's coming again. He's coming again. And I'm gonna
tell you something folks, he's coming this time, he's gonna
be victorious. He's coming, he's coming. In body, in person, our
Lord Jesus Christ is coming. Victorious and in power. And
I'm gonna tell you something, he's gonna raise his people up. on the day that he wants to. I don't know what day that is.
If any man tells you what day that is, he's lying. Because
no man knows that day or that hour except the Father and the
Son. That's what the scripture says. Oh my, I'm not gonna tell
you how many times that day has been prophesied and gone right
on by. Oh my. but he's gonna raise his
people up. And so, here's the most wonderful
thing, so shall we ever be with the Lord. Why? He's the beginning and the ending. If in this world only we have
hope, we are of all men most miserable. That's what Paul says. That's a strange statement. especially when we've got people
running around on television nowadays preaching to thousands
and millions on TV, baby, I don't know. I would hope not, but there
probably is. And they're preaching what they
call the prosperity gospel. You give and God will give you
more, but you have to give it to me. No. It's not in this world that we
have hope. We have a hope that our Lord is coming back to this
world. and to raise his people up at
that day. Oh my. But we know this, our Lord Jesus Christ has power
over all flesh. I'm gonna tell you something
folks, that's living flesh and that's dead flesh. That's live
and that's not alive. He's got the power. And he has
the power to give eternal life to as many as the Father has
given to him. And that's what he's doing right
now. You know why? Because he's the alpha and the
omega, the beginning and the ending, and the first and the
last. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform. What's that other verse say?
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud
may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. I'm
gonna tell you something, folks, the ending is good. The beginning's
good, but the ending's good, too, for his people, for his
people. Oh, my. Let me read you one more passage.
This is in Isaiah 46. If you want to read the same
thing, something about the beginning and the ending. Isaiah 46 verse
nine. Remember the former things of
old. The beginning. For I am God and
there is none else. Oh my, I am God and there is
none like me. And here it is folks, declaring
the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done saying, my counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executed counsel from a far country, yay. Yay, I've spoken it. Yay, I've
spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. Do it. Harken unto me, ye stout-hearted
and that are far from righteousness, I bring, I bring near my righteousness. It shall not be far off, and
my salvation shall not tarry, and I will place salvation in
Zion for Israel, my glory. I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. We're included in that Israel, the true Israel of God. Oh, I like that. I like that,
you understand? It says, his purposes shall ripen
fast. Why? When he's good and ready.
When he's good and ready. Oh my. And I'm gonna tell you
something. This is God. I don't know what kind of God
most people believe in, but you understand, this is the God of
the Bible. He is God. He is Lord. He is sovereign, and he does
what he pleases among the inhabitants of the earth, armies of heaven
and the people in hell. His will is supreme and his will
goes forth. Why? Oh my. He is king of kings and lord
of lords. He's coming again folks, he's
coming again. And this is the God that's coming
again. This is the one with whom we
have to do. I remember telling Debbie some
of these things when we first met years and years ago, back
before we were married, before we started dating. And I told
her, I said, God does what he wants to do when he wants to
do it. And I don't know if she told me then, but she told me
later, I know, that that's God. That's the real God. Well, the
question is, do you know if that's the real God? Because it is. It's from his word. I'm not making
this stuff up. It's all in here. And a whole
lot more besides. But let me ask you, I'm gonna
quit. But let me ask you, I think it's
three questions I got here. I'm gonna ask you three questions. Now I'm gonna tell you the answer.
But actually I already have told you the answer. But I'll tell
you again. How is it How is it that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
that are called according to his purpose? How is that? How does he do that? From the
beginning, he declared the end. He is the beginning and the ending. So, how does the potter make
out of the same lump of clay vessels under honor and vessels
under dishonor. How's that possible? I have spoken
it, I will bring it to pass. He's the alpha and the omega.
Last question. How is it possible that all men
and women that come to God by Jesus Christ shall be raised
at the last day. I've purposed it, I will do it. Understand, we have the promises
of God himself, and God himself manifests in the flesh right
here in black and white. Or red and white, if you got
the words of Christ in red in your Bible. We have the truth
of God right here. He is the first and the last,
the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the ending. This
is God. There is none else. The God of
men's imagination. And I'm not talking about them
old idols they used to make and some of them still make maybe
today. I'm talking about the thoughts of Christ and God in
men's head whose lips are close to him, but their heart is far
from him. This is the God of the Bible.
This is the one with whom we have to do. This is it. This is he. He's the alpha, he's
the omega, he's the beginning, he's the ending, he's the first,
and he's the last, and he's the one we have to do. With whom
we have to do. I thought of another question.
How is it that we, nah, never mind. Because it tells you the
answer. Tells you the question. How is
it that he works in you both the will and the do of his good
pleasure? Well, I already said it, he's working. It's his work. He's purposed it, he's doing
it, he's spoken it. It's gonna come to pass. Oh,
I like that, I do. Because I got one word for the
end of this sermon right here, and I got this, amen. Even so,
come Lord Jesus. You understand, this is the one
I wanna meet in person. and it's promised in the scripture
also. What did, Job said, I think it was Job,
I know that in my flesh I'm gonna see God, who I'm gonna see, and
not another. My eyes are gonna look upon him.
And it does say some of them are gonna look upon him whom
they have pierced. I want to look upon my Lord.
I want to see the King of King and the Lord of Lords come riding
in, through the air, and I want to rise up to meet Him. Now,
this is the one with whom we have to do. Amen. That's the only word for
it. Our Heavenly Father, we are thankful
for this time and this place. Lord, we are so thankful for
your son who gave himself for us, who gave himself to us, and
is giving himself in intercession and advocacy right now at your
right hand. Lord, continue to save us. Help us to walk in your paths.
Keep us by the faith you have given us. Be with Walter as he
comes to preach. Be with Paul as he preaches elsewhere
and all of the other preachers, preaching the true gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ. And be with everyone who wanted
to be here but couldn't and want. Lord, just touch them. Ease their discomfort, their
pain, help them. to see a better picture of your
son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to see him more clearly. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.