When you open your Bible to the
book of Revelation, the first thing you see is large print
declaring the revelation of Saint John the Divine. And I understand what the translators
had in mind when they called this book the Revelation of John. I don't know about the Saints,
the divine, but the revelation of John. I understand what they
had in mind, that the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ was
given to John, the revelation of Christ which was given to
John. But the book itself is the revelation
of Jesus Christ, and that's what we read, the first five words. the revelation of Jesus Christ,
he's the subject of this book. It's his person as our Redeemer,
our Christ, his offices, prophet, priest, and king, his church
and kingdom, his return, his glory, his kingdom. That's what
this book is all about, is the revelation of Jesus Christ, his
person and his work. It says, which God gave unto
him. This is not saying which God
gave to John. This is what God gave to Christ.
God gave Christ this office. He said, the Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me. He hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to give sight
to the blind. The Lord God, the Heavenly Father,
made Christ our servant. our representative. He made him
the Christ. That's right. If you will, turn
with me to John chapter 12, the book of John chapter 12, verse
49 and 50. While you're finding that, you
remember Paul said in Romans that God set him forth to be
a propitiation. And we read a while ago, for
God so loved the world, he sent his only begotten Son. God didn't
send his Son into the world and condemn the world. It was already
condemned. He sent him to save it. And here in verse 49 of John
12, I have not spoken of myself. This is Christ speaking. I've
not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me, he gave
me a commandment, what I should say, what I should speak. And
I know that his commandments lie everlasting. Whatsoever I
speak, therefore, even as the Father said to me, so I speak."
So, this revelation, back to our text, the revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave him, the office which God gave him, the
anointing and appointment which God gave him to be the Savior.
Well, to show unto his servants, he shows He reveals them to us. God spoke to our fathers with
a prophecy spoken to us by his Son to show unto his servants
things which must shortly come to pass. God gave all these things
to Christ to make known to his people, his servants, that which
must shortly come to pass. And then he sent and signified
it by his angel. to John. Christ sent and communicated
to John, the writer of this book. So this is the revelation of
Jesus Christ, son of God, prophet, priest, and king. His person
and work committed to him by the Father, given to him by the
Father, that he might show his people, his servants, his church,
his brethren, all things that lust shortly come to pass. And then he, by his angel, was
sent to John on the Isle of Patmos. Now, John exiled in solitude,
alone on the Isle of Patmos, and Christ came. Christ, the
angel of the Lord, came and revealed to John this great revelation
of the Son of God. who, this is John, John Bear
Record of the Word of God. When I read that, I thought immediately
of John's writing over there in the Gospel of John, chapter
1. Turn over there. John says here
that John Bear Record of the Word of God, it says in John
1, verse 1, this is the first thing John wrote when he wrote
this book. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word of God. And the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God, and all things made by Him without Him was not anything
made that was made. Now skip down to verse 14. And
the Word of God was made flesh. And He dwelt among us, born of
a woman, made under the law, dwelt among us. We beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth." John bear record of the Word of God. And
John bear record of the testimony of Jesus Christ. What is the
testimony of Jesus Christ? It's the gospel of Christ. It's
his deity, his humanity in two natures. That's what John says
here. The Word was with God. The Word was God, all things
were made by Him, but He came into this world and turned to
1 John chapter 1. Listen to John, the beloved disciple
here in 1 John. And he said, And that which was
from the beginning, that which was from the beginning,
in the beginning was the Word, which we've heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which We have looked upon our hands of
handles of the word of life, for the life was manifested.
God was manifest in human flesh. And we've seen him, and bear
witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the
Father and was manifested unto us. That's what he's saying here
in Revelation 1 verse 2. He bare record of the word of
God. of the testimony of Jesus Christ
and of all the things that he saw. I saw him, he said. My hands
handled him. The word of life manifested. In verse 3 of 1 John, he said,
chapter 1, that which we've seen and heard declare we unto you.
That's the purpose of my ministry, John said, to make him know,
to tell you about him whom I have seen. whom I have heard, that
you may have fellowship with us, with Christ, and our fellowship
with the Father and with the Son." That's the glorious fellowship. That's the church of the living
God. That's the kingdom of God. John, Christ on that island,
sent by his angel unto his servant John, this man who bear record. of the Word of God, this man
who bear record of the testimony, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who never varied, not for a moment, who sealed his
testimony with his own blood of the things that he saw. And
he says in verse 3, watch this, "...and blessed indeed is he
that reads the words of this prophecy." Blessed is that person
who reads privately. Privately reads God's Word. I'll tell you, as long as some
of us have been around, none of this book should be strange
to us. We've had time. We've had time. We've neglected this book. None
of it should be new. Much of it not understood, but
not new. The preacher never turned to
any place in this New Testament that we have not already read.
Blessed is the man who reads the words of it, reads it privately,
reads it with his family, reads it publicly in church, who reads
it with interest, who reads it with understanding, who reads
it with a desire that other people might know what he says. That's a blessed man. Faith cometh
by reading and hearing the Word of God. Then he said, blessed
are they that hear the words of this prophecy, hear it attentively,
hear it with interest. Blessed is that man who's been
given ears to hear it. Blessed are your ears, Christ
said. Blessed are your eyes, they see.
Blessed is the man who reads this word, who hears. Blessed is the man who hears
it, who has ears to hear. Listen, it may not, it may be
that you'll read something now that will not bear fruit, but
the seed will last a long time. A seed that is sown lasts a long
time. Spurgeon tells about a man who
heard Whitefield preach when he was 16 years old. Heard George
Whitefield preach when he was 16 years old. He moved away from
England, came to America. And when he was 75 years of age,
God brought to mind that that he heard when he was 16, according
to his own testimony. And he began to inquire into
that which he had heard, and that seed brought him the knowledge
of Christ. So, blessed is the man who reads
it, who hears it, because even though it may not bear fruit
immediately, God said, my word will not return to me void. If it's preached, if it's read,
if it's presented, and God sent it by His Spirit, it won't return
void. It shall accomplish that where
unto I've sent it. And blessed is that man who keeps
these things, who keeps those things which are written therein,
keeps them where? In his memory, in his memory,
memorize the Scripture. Be able, even when you don't
have a Bible in your hand, to call it to mind. Memorize the
Scripture, for when you're talking to others and there's no Bible
there for you to turn to in his pages, you can quote, the Lord
said this. But son, this is what the Scripture
says. But wife, this is what God says. But this is the way
of life, in memory, in thoughts, but most of all in heart. Love
is Word. Love is Word. That's what we
do here at this church is preach the Word of God. Blessed, because blessed is he
that reads this Word, hears this Word, and keeps out, keep thy
Word, I'll hide it in my heart that I might not sin against
thee, because the time is at hand.
When all these things shall be fulfilled, the time is at hand.
Some of us believe the time literally is at hand for the whole world. Most people that I know believe
the time is literally at hand. We know for certain it is at
hand because it's appointed unto me and wants to die. And then for some of us who have
lived our free school in ten years and are living on that
by the will of God years, it's literally at hand. It is at hand. The time is at hand. See what
he says about Christ Jesus. All right, John, so he, Christ,
this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, of that which God gave
him, the Father, which he was, God gave it to him that he might
give it to his people. And he committed it to John to
write. And John said, I bear witness of the word of God, testimony
of Jesus Christ, and blessed is the person that hears me.
that reads it, walks in it. So here, John to the seven churches. What are they? Look at verse
11. Verse 11, saying, I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write
in a book, send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. And he names them Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Those are the seven
churches. Grace be unto you, that's the
common salutation, grace be unto you and peace from him which
is and which was and which is to come, that's the Father, from
him which, the Father and the Son and the Spirit, from God
which is, which was, which is to come, and from the seven Spirits,
I say it's from the Father because the seven Spirits are the Holy
Spirit. Seven being the number of God, the perfect number, which
are before his throne. Grace, mercy, and peace be to
you from the Father, him which is, which was, which is to come,
and from the seven spirits before the throne. That's the Holy Spirit,
listen, and from Jesus Christ. Someone said he's the second
person of the Trinity, and he's usually mentioned after the Father.
Go baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy
Spirit. They're free by record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Spirit. So usually when you say grace,
mercy, and peace to you from him which is, which was, which
is to come, and from the Son, and from the Spirit, but here,
from the Father, the Spirit, and from Jesus Christ. But here's
the reason, I believe. He's mentioned last because of
the many things that John now has to say about him. in identifying
him. He identified the Father, which
is, which was, which is to come. The Holy Spirit was the seven
spirits before the throne, and now from the Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, which occupies this text and occupies this revelation.
And it says here in verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, and I'm
going to give you about seven or eight things it says about
him here. Number one, he's a faithful witness. If you're taking notes,
write that down first. Jesus Christ is the faithful
witness. The faithful witness. We go back
to Deuteronomy 18. Back to Deuteronomy 18. Moses
leading the people of Israel. And Moses talked about this witness. What's a witness? Prophet, preacher. One who tells what he's seen,
what God's taught him. In one of the offices of Christ,
he's a priest and a king, but he's the prophet. And in Deuteronomy
18, verse 17, "...and the Lord said unto me, they have well spoken that which
they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet
from among their brethren, like unto thee, Moses, a prophet."
And I'll put my words in his mouth. What did I say when I
read John 12 a while ago? The words I speak are his words,
which he gave me. I'll put my words in his mouth.
He'll speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall
come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which
he shall speak in my name, I'll require it of him. Jesus Christ
is that faithful witness. He's that prophet. There's so
many scriptures, I want to show you just a few. If you don't
wish to turn to all these, just listen, I'll turn and read them.
Isaiah 61, he said this, "'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me. He hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor, to
the meek.'" In Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, Malachi
chapter 3, verse 1 and 2, Listen to Malachi. This is the
last Old Testament prophet. Malachi 3.1. Behold, I'll send
my messenger. He'll prepare the way before
me. That's John the Baptist. And the Lord, the Lord Jesus,
whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. Who is he? He's the messenger of the covenant. He's that prophet. He's that
faithful witness. He's that messenger of the covenant. And then, in Hebrews 1, Paul
said, "...God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners
spake in times past to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things." You remember when our Lord took Peter, James,
and John up on the mountain? His glory, the glory of God,
just engulfed the Savior, and His clothes glistened. And Moses
and Elijah appeared and talked with Him. And when Moses and
Elijah were gone, the voice of God the Father spake from heaven
and said, This is my beloved Son. Hear Him. Hear Him. God has spoken thus by His Son.
Hear Him. Hear Him. All right, back to
the text. That's the first thing he says
about Jesus Christ in the Revelation. He's the faithful witness. That
prophet. Hear him. Hear him. Secondly,
he's the first begotten of the dead. What does that mean? He's
the first. He's not the first man rose from
the dead. He raised Lazarus from the dead.
He raised the widow's son. He raised others. But he was
the first, listen, who arose from the dead by his own power
to immortal life and never to die again. The first. Lazarus died again. You can be
sure the widow's son died again. And all who were raised on this
earth died again. But he's the first to come forth
from the tomb by the power of God, his own power, to immortal
life, glorified body. Glorified body. These people
were raised in the flesh. He was raised in a glorified
body. He said, because I live, you
live. Now, the key word, remember this
word, representation. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
15. Here's the key word. Here's our confidence. Here's our assurance. 1 Corinthians
15. Now stay with me here. Here's
the key word. He's the firstfruits of them that slept. In 1 Corinthians
15 verse 20. But now is Christ risen from
the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since
my man came death." How did death come? When God created Adam,
he breathed into his body the breath of life, he became a living
soul. A living soul. But Adam died. And his son died. And his son
died. And everybody dies now. Everybody
that came from Adam died. He's a representative. Adam's the first man, and the
only man God created. Everybody else came out of Adam.
And by Adam, by Adam, by man came death. Death, nothing but
death, just death. Death, decay, corruption, rotting,
annihilation. By man also came the resurrection. For as in Adam we died, in Christ
we made alive. There's another man. But every man in his own order.
Christ the firstfruits, and afterwards they that are His. They that
are Christ's, His at His coming. Now turn to 1 Corinthians 15,
and we'll identify, verse 47, we'll identify these men. The
first man is of the earth, earthic, as Adam, representative of all
men. When he sinned, we sinned. When
he died, we died. He's the firstfruits. of corruption,
sin, and evil. He's the evil tree, and from
an evil tree comes only evil fruit. And the first man is of the earth
earthy, but the second man is the Lord from heaven, Jesus Christ,
who became a man, not from Adam, but a seed of woman. And he had
no sin, knew no sin, did no sin. Perfect. And he is our representative. Adam's ahead of his race, Christ's
ahead of his race. Adam's ahead of those who are
His, Christ's ahead of those who are His. And as is the earthy, verse 48,
such are they that are earthy. That's all of us. But as is the
heavenly, such are they that are heavenly from God. Now turn to Romans 5, and we'll
get a little more light on this. Romans chapter 5. Romans 5. Now listen to me. Romans 5 verse
12. Wherefore, Romans 5 verse 12,
as by one man sin entered this world, entered this world, and
death by sin. So death passed upon all men.
For all sins we sinned in him, death passed upon us. Now verse
13 starts with a parenthesis. It's going to talk about that
death, you know, and the similitude and the Babies dying, infants
dying, everybody dying. It begins with a parenthesis. Skip over now to verse 18. You see verse 17, that parenthesis
ends. So we'll just lift that statement
out, that parenthesis, and we'll read it. Verse 12. Death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. Verse 18. Therefore,
by the offense of one, Adam, judgment came upon all men to
condemnation. Even so, by the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification." Look at verse 19, "'For as by
one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many, many, many be made righteous.'" In the flesh, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh, Adam. First fruits of them that die,
all just like him. Then Christ came, Christ representing
a people, surety of a new covenant, a new kingdom, people of God,
chosen in Christ. He came, born of a woman, perfect,
lived a perfect life for us, the righteousness of Christ.
He's lived for us. We were in Him, chosen in Him,
accepted in Him, redeemed in Him, glorified in Him. He went to the cross and died.
We died to sin. He's the first begotten from
the dead. Because I live, you live. Because
Adam died, I died. Well, because Christ lives, I
live. All right, what's the third thing? Here's the third. He's
the prince of the kings of the earth. Most religions and most preachers,
most religious folks, present the Lord Jesus Christ in a different
light than does the Word of God. I think one word describes the
Jesus of this day. Powerless. That's the word. Impotent. Wanting to do a lot
of things that he just cannot do. Jesus. Poor Jesus. Sweet little Jesus. They're pitiful. But there's one word in my text
that describes him. Look at verse 8. This is Christ
speaking. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, which was, which is
to come, the Almighty. I suggest to Jesus that the Bible
presents, and John presents, this is the testimony of Jesus
Christ. He's the faithful witness. He's
the first begotten from the dead. He's the Almighty. He is the
King. He's the Prince of the kings
of this earth. He's the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let
me read you some scripture. I do want you to turn to this.
Turn to Isaiah 45. Now, we know whom this speaks.
It's Christ. It's Jesus Christ, Isaiah 45. This is Christ. Verse 5, Isaiah 45, I am the
Lord. So there's no doubt about whom
we're speaking. I am the Lord. There's none else. There's no God beside me. I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know from the
rising of the sun from the west there's none beside me. I'm the
Lord, there's none else. I form the light. I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Down at verse 21, Tell ye and bring them near. Let them take
counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
times? Who had told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord? There's no God beside me. I'm
a just God and a Savior. You say, that's the Father. No,
it's the Father, all right, but it's the everlasting Father.
It's the Son. I'm the Savior. He's the Savior.
There's none beside me. Look to me and be your Savior.
All the ends of the earth, I'm God. There's none else. I've sworn
by myself the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness
and shall not return unto me. Every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall swear it is written. King of kings and Lord of lords.
He said to his disciples, all power is given unto me in heaven
and earth. Go ye therefore and preach the gospel. He prayed
in John 17, Father, thou hast given me all power over all flesh
that I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
me. Turn to Revelation 19. Revelation 19. Listen to this.
Revelation 19, verse 11. I saw heaven open to hold a white
horse, and he that sat upon it was called Faithful, In righteousness
he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as the flame of
fire. On his head were many crowns.
He had a name written that no man knew but he himself. He was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. His name is called
the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp
sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, and he hath
on his vesture and on his star name written, King of kings and
Lord of lords." The Almighty. The Almighty. Well, he's the faithful witness.
first begotten from the dead. He's the Almighty, King of kings
and Lord of lords. And fourthly, He loved us. Look at that. Unto Him that loved
us. He loved us. We didn't love Him. He, this One, this faithful witness,
this Prince of the kings of the earth, this Almighty, He loved
us. Our love is the result of His.
We love Him because He loved us. And He loved us! It wasn't
a make-believe. It was He loved us! Having loved
His own, He loved them to the end. He loved us! We have people
say, I love you. They don't mean it. So many times. Pickle, foolish, changeable,
comes and goes. Not His. He said, I've loved
you with an effort. I should think love. Therefore,
with lovingkindness have I defied. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. He loved us. Oh, love of God,
how rich, how pure, how measureless, how strong. It shall forevermore
endure, the saints' and angels' songs. He loved us. He loved us. How could a holy
God love us in Christ? in Christ, the first begotten,
the representative, the federal head, the second Adam, the man
from heaven. He loved us in him. He gave us
to him. My sheep hear my voice. My Father
gave them me. My Father is greater than all.
All thine are mine and mine are thine. I don't pray for the world.
I pray for those you gave me. They're mine. They're mine. I love them. I love them. I love the least of them. I love
the weakest of them. I love the oldest of them. He
loved us. He loved us. Well, there's no problem revealing
whom he loved. You say, well, who does he love?
No problem. Read the next line. He loved
those he washed from their sins. That's the reason. He loved us
and washed us from our sins in His own blood. You know what this shows me?
It shows me that these people were loved before they were washed.
He loved me and He washed me. They were not first washed and
then loved. You clean your life up and come
to God. Don't you try that. Don't try that. He loved us and
washed us. He didn't wash us. He didn't
love us because we were washed. He loved us and then He washed
us. His love was the cause of His coming. For God so loved, He gave His
Son. His love was the cause of our
washing. Washing didn't precede the love. The
love preceded the washing. We were unclean. Could not help
ourselves in any way. But he loved us. And he shed
his precious blood for us. That fountain opened for sin.
He loved us. It's like whom he foreknew, foreknew,
he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called. Whom he called, he justified.
And he justified and glorified. It goes back to whom he Who? Whom he loved. And whom he loved,
he washed. That's right, that's what, unto
him that loved us and washed us from our sins. And I'll tell
you how much he loved us. He washed us from our sins in
his own blood. I love my sheep, I lay down my
life for my sheep. All right, what's the next thing
about this? about Jesus Christ, says, He hath made us kings and
priests unto God. You know, a son of a king is
a king. He's made us kings. We wear rich
apparel, royal apparel. We're clothed in His righteousness.
We wear a crown, all said, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord
will give to me in that day, and not to me only, but to all
those who love His appearance. We're priests. He made us kings
and priests. Whom he loved, he washed. Whom
he washed, he made a king. Whom he made a king, he made
a priest. Every believer is a priest to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God, well-pleasing to God. Sacrifices of prayer
and praise and thanksgiving and worship. Kings and priests. Watch this. He loved us. He washed us from our sins in
his own blood. He made us kings. He made us
priests. Not to men. Men don't know who
you are. No use trying to cast your pearls
before swine. No use. He made us kings and
priests to God. God knows who you are. God recognizes
you. And there's no way in this world
you're going to make, no way you're going to make this world
understand who you are. You're not a king to them, and
you're not a priest to them. You're not even a preacher to
them. You're not a prophet to them. You're a fanatic. You're a radical. You're a cult.
But he loved you, and he washed you from your sins, and he made
you a king and a priest to God. Remember, to God. That just adds that, his father. And he said, I go to my father
and your father. Now, to him be the glory. And
I'm going to give you one more thing and I'll close. To him
be the glory forever and ever. Verse 7, Behold, he comes with
clouds. The time is at hand. His coming
is certain. The Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout. He said to his disciples, I'll
come again. I go to prepare a place for you, I'll come again. The
angels, when he ascended to heaven, said this, saying, Jesus, which
is taken up from you shall so come in like manner in the clouds.
A cloud receives him up out of their sight, and he's coming
with the clouds. That's right. Daniel said that. This is interesting. Turn to
Daniel chapter 7. Daniel said that in Daniel 7,
13. Daniel 7, 13. I saw in the night
visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the
clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient of Days. They brought
him near before Him, and there was given him dominion and glory
and a kingdom that all people, nations, languages should serve
him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed." Ah, that doesn't sound like a little
weak Jesus. Pitiful, impotent. That's the
Almighty. He's coming. Oh, He comes with
clouds. It's certain. That's the manner
of His coming. And every eye is going to see it. Don't you
pay any attention to this. I saw a fellow with a shirt the
other day. He said, this shirt will be empty when the rapture
occurs. That shirt's already empty. He
didn't know it, but it's empty. And I see a bumper sticker. This
car may not have a driver when the Lord comes. It don't have
much of one now, you know, if I have that little sense. You think Christ gonna sneak
back into this world? This world spit in his face and
crucified him. hung him on a cross, and then
he's going to come in the dead of the night and slip his church out the back
door somewhere and leave this world going on like it is. Every
eye will see him. That's what it says. Isn't that
what it says? He's coming in the cloud, and every eye is going
to see him. And David pierced him. Every
eye, everybody who's got an eye is going to see him. And all
the kindreds of this earth, every nation, tongue, and tribe, are
going to wail. Because of what? Because of Him.
Because of their denial and their rejection, their unwillingness
to confess that He's Lord. He's going to come. We're going
to see Him as He is. Everybody's going to see Him,
not as a weak fellow hanging on a tree. not as a baby in a
mother's arms, but with a vesture dipped in blood, on his vesture
written, King of kings and Lord of lords. He's coming, and their
eyes are going to see him, and they're going to weep and wail. Because, verse 8, here he is,
I am Alpha and Omega. Write this down. Alpha is the
first letter in the Greek alphabet. Omega's the last, I'm A to Z. Alpha to Omega and everything
in between, I'm first and the last. Verse 8, I'm Alpha and
Omega, first and last. Verse 11, I'm Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last. Verse 17, I fell at his feet
and he put his right hand on me saying, fear not, I'm Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last. He's the chief and he's the whole
of all things. Christ is. You can't preach anything having
to do with God if you don't preach Christ. He's Alpha and Omega. He's the first and the last in
the covenant of grace, mediator, assurative, messenger, testator. He's the first and last in the
scripture, both the law and the gospel. He's the first word in
Genesis, in the beginning, God. He's the last word in Revelation,
even so come Lord Jesus. First and the last. In the Scriptures,
he's the Alpha and Omega of salvation, justification, sanctification,
righteousness, and redemption. He's first thing in creation,
in providence. He upholdeth all things by the
word of his power. He's the beginning and the end.
But you know, actually, This is the language of men. I'm the
first and the last. But really, he knows no beginning
or end. He is, he was, he is to come. The first and the last. There's
no last with him. He is the first and the last. Verse 8, I've closed. I am Alpha
and Omega. I am the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, which was, which is to come, the Almighty."
That's our Redeemer. That's our assurance. That's
our confidence. That's our message. That's our hope. That's everything. That's our life. And I'll tell you what an honor
and what a blessing God's conferred upon us. that we recognize Him,
that we know this. Do you realize they're rare,
rare, rare, rare to find a place where you could hear Him called
what we called Him this morning? It's rare. And that's to the
condemnation of this world. It's not to our praise because
He taught us what we have by His grace, but it's to His glory
and His praise. To God be the glory. Let's sing
449. Mike, 449. To God be the glory.