I'd like for you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to Revelation chapter 1. All of the messages that I've
brought to you so far have been preparatory messages dealing
with John's opening remarks before he gets into these visions that
the Holy Spirit gave him. He wants to take some time, and
it's the same with Peter. It's the same with the Apostle
Paul and all the other apostles. Everything, all of our knowledge,
I don't care what the subject is, all of our knowledge is based
on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no knowledge. God doesn't have anything to
say to anybody apart from him. So if you're going to understand
these visions, you're going to have to understand who He is,
and why He came, and what He did, and where He's at. And so
we're taking some time going through here, but this will be
our last preparatory lesson before we get into the visions. He's
been laying the foundation for all that He's about to tell us
concerning the victorious Christ, who not only has reigned in the
past, but who reigns presently and shall reign over all things
and all events and all principalities and all men throughout this gospel
age in which we live. And I would think, I'm just going
to speak for myself, I'm interested I'm interested because I see
the troubles. I see the problems. Not all of
them, but I see major difficulties and problems and things right
here in our own country. And these things will frighten
you unless you have some sense of who He is and where He's at
and what He's doing. And that's basically why this
whole book was written. It's to assure us that our Lord
reigns. and shall continue to reign.
And He's going to overcome all His enemies. So this morning,
I want to just consider one verse of Scripture. But oh, what a
verse it is. Look at this here in Revelation
1, verse 8. This is the Lord Himself. And
He's standing before John. And He said, and Omega, the beginning and
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which
is to come. Now listen to this, the Almighty. Huh? When you think of Jesus
Christ, do you think of Him as the Almighty? He is. He is. Oh, they said, don't go
up to Jerusalem. They'll kill you if you go up
there. They got angry and would have
taken him out. That city was up on a hill. And they would
have taken him out to the brow of the hill and threw him over.
But his time was not yet. He's Almighty God. Jesus Christ. Alpha and Omega. What does that
mean? What's he telling John when he
says, I'm alpha and omega? Well, alpha is the first letter
of the Greek alphabet. And omega is the last letter
of the Greek alphabet. So what he's telling John is,
I'm A to Z. That's what he's telling him. And everything in between. I'm
alpha and omega. A to Z. Well, in what sense is
he A to Z? That takes more than a lesson
today to tell you that. It said if the acts he did was
recorded in a book, the world couldn't contain the books. Let
alone in what sense he's Alpha and Omega. He's God. He's God. So this morning, let me give
you seven things just briefly that testify of him as Alpha
and Omega. So I want to answer this question. In what sense, as he stands before
John, is he declaring himself to be Alpha and Omega? Well, first of all, Jesus Christ,
our Lord, is Alpha and Omega in his deity as the Son of God. He's Alpha and Omega. Nobody
knows anything about God except what we know in Christ. He's
Alpha and Omega. Jesus of Nazareth, that little
baby, we see him around Christmas time and all these nativity scenes
and things. That little baby which came into
this world through the womb of the Virgin is God over all, blessed
forever. Now, I know this generation claims
to believe that, but they don't believe that. If they believed
He was God, they'd submit themselves to Him. Man says, well, I believe Jesus
Christ is God Almighty. If you don't submit yourself
to Him, you don't believe that. You're just talking. You're just
talking to a man who believes that. This is God come into the
flesh. He'll submit Himself to Christ. John plainly tells us in the
first chapter of his Gospel that the Word, the Word without whom
was not anything made that was made, the Creator, the One who
was in the beginning with God and who was God, the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us and we saw His glory. We recognized
who he was. He's God. God come into the flesh. And then Paul in Galatians 4.4,
he said, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth
his son. The Jews recognized that Jesus
Christ was sent of God, but they didn't recognize and were not
willing to admit that he was God. And Paul says, when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth His Son. His Son. In Him we live and move and have
our being. I want you to think about what
he's saying here. Made of a woman. My soul. Made under the law. To redeem
them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption
of children. A preacher, is this important
to know? Is there something needful to the faith of God's elect in
all this? Let me read you some scriptures. 1 John 4, verse 15. Listen to
this. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 1 John 5, verse 5, Who is he
that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God? And this is my personal favorite
over Colossians 2. Now, before he says this, he
tells us, don't be drawn away. Don't be drawn away. Don't be
deceived. There are many deceivers out here in the world. They're
going to draw you away. They're going to try to take this from you.
But he said, you stay right where you're at in Christ. As you receive
Christ Jesus through the Lord, so walk in Him, built up in Him,
rooted in Him, grounded in Him. He said, for in Him, Colossians
2, 9 and 10, for in Him, now listen to this, dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The fullness of the Holy Spirit.
He was given to him without measure. The fullness of the Father. His
name shall be called Father. The everlasting Father. That's
His name. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Now listen, and you're complete
in Him who is the head of all principality and power. You've
got nothing to fear. Nothing to fear. He's Alpha and
Omega as to his deity as the Son of God. Secondly, he's Alpha
and Omega in the redemptive purpose of God. Now, I know I quote this
verse so often that you probably have it memorized by now, but
it's the clearest verse I know on this subject. 2 Timothy 1,
verse 9. God hath saved us. When did He
save us? This is past tense. God hath
saved us. When did He save us? Way back
yonder in eternity. God hath saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, now listen to this,
but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. He's Alpha and Omega in the redemptive
purpose of God. Well, preacher, don't you think
that you do an injustice to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit
when you make such a statement? Not at all. Not at all. The Scripture
said, for it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness
dwell. Huh? Pleased God to do it this
way. Pleased Him. The Holy Spirit
said when He comes, He's not going to talk about Himself.
Why? Because His fullness is in the
Son. The Father's not going to talk about Himself because His
fullness is in the Son. And the Holy Spirit, when He
comes, He's not going to speak of Himself, but He's going to
take the things of Christ and show them to you. Does that mean
He's not going to teach us about the Holy Spirit? Not at all.
But you don't know anything at all about the Holy Spirit except
what you know about Christ. Now that's just so. The great mystery of God's redemptive
will, which Paul tells us in Ephesians 1, 8, and 9, that God has abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of His will. That's His redemptive will that
he's talking about. And here's how he sums it up.
Here's how he sums up his everlasting redemptive will, this great mystery.
That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, which are in heaven and
which are in earth, even in him in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance. being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. Now listen to this, that we should
be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ.
Huh? All God's redemptive purpose
he put in Christ. All his eggs in one basket. I'm
alpha and omega. You want to know something about
the purpose of God? Study Christ. Study Christ. He's Alpha and
Omega in the redemptive purpose of God. Thirdly, Jesus Christ
is Alpha and Omega in the creation of all things. I'm going to tell
you something this morning that I'm just going to throw this
out there, about 99% of this world is ignorant of. Most of them are ignorant of
the fact that creation, has its purpose in redemption. Did you know that? There's no
other reason for this world to exist. There's no other reason
for those stars to be in the sky, for the sun to come up.
That sun comes up every morning, every morning. You know why it
comes up? Because it's a picture of the Son of God, the day star
arising in your hearts. is about redemption. It wasn't
just creation is not something God just threw out there and
said, well, let's see what it does, like rolling the dice or
something. Creation is according to the redemptive purpose of
God. He made this world as a stage in which to manifest His glory
in the salvation of a people that He chose in Christ before
the foundation of the world. It has its purpose in redemption. and redemption in Christ. Listen
to this, Ephesians 3.8. Paul said, unto me who am less
than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ. to the intent that now under
principalities and powers and heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal
purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Creation
has its purpose in the redemption of God's people. Here's another
verse, Romans chapter 8 verse 20, for the creature. Now you
check me out on this. That word means creation. For
the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but
by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope." And one more just to nail it
down. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 16, talking about our Lord,
Alpha and Omega. in the creation of all things.
You want to know what creation is about, don't study creation,
study Christ. The more you know about Christ,
the more you'll know about creation. Colossians 1.16, For by Him were
all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities
or powers, all things were created by Him. And for Him. They're for Him. And He is before
all things, and by Him all things have their continuance. They
consist. He created all things. He shall
destroy all things. And the Bible said He shall make
all things new. It belongs to Him. as made for
Him and by Him, and when its purpose is done, He'll get rid
of it. He's Alpha and Omega in the creation
of all things. Fourthly, He's Alpha and Omega
in the redemption of God's elect. He alone. You remember, we're
going to get into that as we go on over into Revelation, but
I think it's in chapter 5. John said he looked around and
nobody could come. Here was this book. It was sealed
with seven seals. This book of God's redemptive
will, sealed. And no man could come and take
it out of the hand of Him that sat on the throne. None were
worthy, not angels or men. Nobody could come and take this
book out of His hand and open those seals. There was only one,
the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He hath prevailed. And he come,
and he takes the book, and he opens the seals. He opens the
seals. He's Alpha and Omega in the redemption
of God's elect. He alone could fulfill the redemptive
purpose of God. God cannot suffer, and man cannot
satisfy. But the God-man can do both.
Only the God-man. Now, let me tell you something
at the outset of this, and this is something else this world
is ignorant of. Redemption's already accomplished. They're trying, they're attempting
to redeem themselves. Redemption is a work already
accomplished. It's already done. It's already
done. Righteousness and atonement is
not something God left for sinners to do for themselves. Listen
to this in Hebrews 9 verse 12. I'm like Richard. I listen to
men on the radio and TV and I wonder if they ever read the Bible.
It might be a good thing just to buy one and send it to them.
Maybe they'll read it. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12 tells
us that by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy
place. Now watch this. Having obtained
eternal redemption for us. It's ours. It's ours. We're not attempting to work
out our own salvation in that respect. I'm not attempting by
my walk or by my preaching or by anything else to obtain eternal
redemption. That's already been obtained.
already been obtained. And he who obtained it, sitting
at the right hand of God, accepted. And since he accomplished this
redemption for us, it says, he obtained eternal redemption for
us, since he did it for us, my redemption sure, because my surety
sat down at the right hand of God. In Hebrews 1.3 it says,
when he had by himself purged our sins. He sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high. And then in Hebrews 10.10
it says, by the witch will, that is the accomplishing of the redemptive
will of God, by the witch will we're sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. That blood
set me apart. That's what he's saying forever.
Forever. We're not saved by our works.
We're saved by His works. That's what I want to tell you.
We're not saved by our will. We're saved by His free will,
not mine. I'm not saved by my works. I'm saved by His works. Christ prayed in John 17, verse
4, saying, I have glorified Thee on the earth. Now watch this.
I finished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. What did
He do? He's Alpha and Omega in the accomplished
redemption of the saints. And then fifthly, he's Alpha
and Omega in all things pertaining to the church. How can I say this? He told Peter, he said, whom
do men say that I am? And one of them said, well, You're Elijah, or Jeremiah, or
you're one of the old prophets. He said, whom do you say that
I am? Peter said, thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ
looked at him and he said, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh
and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father which is
in heaven. And upon this rock, that rock
Christ Jesus, upon this rock, Will I build my church? Who's going to build it? God. That's right. The God man. And the gates of hell shall not
prevail against him. I tell you what. I've seen churches
raised up in places. To me, in my mind, it would be
like trying to have a church in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrah.
But I tell you, if he wants one there, he'll have it. And the
gates of hell can't prevail against him. I don't care what the odds
are. I don't care what the circumstances
are. I don't care how the people are. He'll build his church. He'll do it. And he's the only
one who can. I've had to want to, and it didn't
happen. But when he wants to, it'll happen.
It'll happen. He's Alpha and Omega in all things
pertaining to the church. He's the one in whom the church
was chosen. He's the one who's head of the
church. He's the husband, as the church
is his bride. He's the heir, as the church
is the fellow heir with him. He's the potter, as the church
are the vessels of mercy. He's the king, as the church
fellow citizens and of the household of God. He's our great high priest
as we're made a holy priesthood by Him. He's all things pertaining
to the church. He's Alpha and Omega. Alpha and
Omega. Sixthly, Jesus Christ is Alpha
and Omega in the Word of God and the preaching of the Gospel. As the second person of the Godhead,
He has the name The Word of God. The Word of God. What a name.
John said he saw Him sitting on a white horse and He had this
name, The Word of God. The Word of God. You know about
this book as you know Him. As you know Him. I've seen men
sit down and Some of them are gifted and have memorized the
scriptures. I kind of picture the Pharisees
that way. You could say, well, what's that
say over there in Ezekiel 12? They could tell you. They could
tell you. I can't. I can't. I've memorized a handful of scriptures.
But those men, they memorized all of them, but they still didn't
know anything. He said, you search the Scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they
which testify of Me. But you won't come to Me that
you might have life. You read God's testimony concerning
His Son, and you still won't come to Me. You've seen Me, and believe not. Now, you took this back in your
memory somewhere, and don't ever forget it. God has nothing to
say to anyone apart from His Son. Not apart from His Son. You pick
up this book and it says what it says here, don't eat a certain
kind of meat. So I won't eat no meat. You haven't learned
anything. This book says to keep the Sabbath
day and keep it holy and so on Saturdays we're going to meet
and we're going to... You haven't learned a thing. You haven't
learned a thing. You understand the Sabbath when
you understand who Christ is. He's the only rest. He's the
one in whom the Father rested, and He's the one in whom all
God's people, all God's children are going to rest. It doesn't
rest anywhere else. It's in Him. You want to know
what that year of jubilee was? Oh, when that year come around,
that 50th year. All debts were forgiven. All
sins forgiven. Everything was cleared. You started
from scratch. That's Christ. That's Christ. In Christ, we have no sin. Our debt's gone. He's the city of refuge. You
can just go on and on and on. You want to know what this book's
talking about, you study Christ. You study Christ. Paul said to him, give all the
prophets witness. And our Lord turned to those
Jews and they said, we have Moses to our father. He said, if you
believe Moses, you believe me because Moses wrote to me. Woman's seed in Genesis 3.15
is Christ. Abel's lamb is Christ. You can
go on and on and on through all the types. The ark of Noah. Sabbath
days, feast days, the year of jubilee, the city of refuge,
the tabernacle, all of its furnishings, the coverings, the priest and
the burnt offerings, all typical of our coming Redeemer. Figures
for the time then present. Shadows of good things to come. And then Paul says in Romans
16, 25, now to him that is of power to establish you according
to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to
the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the
world began, but is now made manifest and by the scriptures
of the prophets. You mean he preached the gospel
out of the Old Testament? That's all he had. That's all he had. Genesis to
Malachi. And by the scriptures of the
prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known
to all nations for the obedience of faith. They preached the gospel
and never had the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, all the
way through the New Testament. They didn't have any of it. Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega
in the Word of God, And in the preaching of the gospel, a young preacher got up to preach.
And boy, he preached hard for about 35, 40 minutes. And the
old preacher, who had retired, was sitting there on the front
bench. And when he got done, the young
preacher got down. He said, what did you think about
my message? And the old man said, well, I
didn't think much of it at all. And it just destroyed that young
man. Well, was there something wrong
with my introduction? Oh, no, he said, your introduction
was right on the mark. He said, well, was there something
wrong with my illustrations? And he said, no. He said, there
wasn't a thing. He said, you had good illustrations.
And he said, well, didn't I speak up? Oh, yeah, you were perfectly
clear. I'm half heard here. Now, I could
hear every word that you said. Well, he said, what was wrong
with my message? He said, there wasn't no Christ
in it. Well, he said, Christ wasn't in my text. He said, Christ
is in every text. Huh? He's in every text. And then lastly, Jesus Christ
is Alpha and Omega in the consummation of all things. Who's going to wrap this thing
up? Christ is. Who's going to set in judgment
on this ungodly world? Christ is. Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega
in the consummation of all things. He's the one mediator between
God and men, and no other man has ever stepped in to take that
office. He'll still be mediator when
all things are brought to an end. All things have been trusted
to Him to finish for the glory of God. I gave a text for this
in Ephesians, and a man told me I was nuts. It didn't have
anything to do with that, so I'll give you another one. John
chapter 3, verse 35. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into His hands. Who did He give them to?
Give them to Christ. Here's another beautiful verse
of Scripture. John 13, verse 3. They gathered together and they
had the Lord's table. And listen to this. Jesus, knowing
that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that
He was come from God and went to God. You think about that. He rose
up from supper, and he girded himself with a towel, and he
began to wash the disciples' feet. It is the eternal purpose, will,
and decree of God to save a people through the person and work of
His Son. And in spite of Satan and the rulers of the darkness
of this world, in spite of the antichrist religion which is
established all over this world, and though it flourish under
Under their deception, in spite of the vain wisdom and philosophy
of this world, and in spite of the fallen wanton and wickedness
of this flesh, Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega in all things,
and he'll be victorious over anything that comes his way.
That's the message of John to the church, and that's the last
of those preparatory remarks. When I say he walks Among the
candlesticks, I want you to know who he is that walks among. When
John stands there in majesty and awe and bows himself before
him, I want you to understand who he's talking about and why
he's bowing. He's alpha and omega.