"I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end, the first and the last."—Rev. 22:13
Exceeding grandeur marks this designation. The crown fits
not a mortal head. The jewel sparkles not on human breast. Infinity is its
scope. It stretches from everlasting to everlasting. It cannot belong to
less than Deity. The ground is evidently hallowed. Let each step now be
taken with reverential awe.
At once the echo of Isaiah's voice is heard. When the
seraphic seer would sing Jehovah's glory, he sounds this high note, "Who has
wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord,
the first, and with the last; I am He." (Isa. 41:4) No fitter words could
proclaim Jehovah the eternal God. We listen, and again like terms describe
Jehovah's majesty. "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 besides Me there
is no God." (Isa. 44:6) Again the prophet strikes his harp, and again
Jehovah is the subject. But with all language at his command, with choice of
imagery as his handmaid, gifted with all the charms of eloquence, he can
employ no terms more suitable or more significant. The same sound still
reverberates. "Listen to Me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am He; I am
the first, I also am the last." (Isa. 48:12) Such then is Jehovah's chosen
designation.
Before the Revelation closes, Jesus claims this title as
His prerogative. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first
and the last." The truth then shines forth, "fair as the moon, clear as the
sun, terrible as an army with banners." Jesus is Jehovah. He who is the
truth claims Jehovah's glories, takes Jehovah's name, ascends Jehovah's
throne, wields Jehovah's scepter, assumes Jehovah's crown, demands the
homage which is Jehovah's due. Thus adoration is due to Him as the Creator
and Preserver, by whom, and through whom, and to whom are all things. He
stands before us as "I am that I am." He manifests Himself in all the
incomprehensible glory of self-existent and eternal Being.
I. Let some general inferences be considered.
Ample fields invite to meditative rambles. But thought must be briefly
limited to some especial attributes. As Jesus is Jehovah, all power
in heaven and earth is in His hands. Let no fears then depress His
people. Let no trembling apprehensions sadden their days. Providence may
seem to frown, but smiles will soon break forth. Events may show a
threatening form, but they roll on subservient to His ordering. His power
stands as a bulwark against all final ruin. The united fury of all satanic
foes is as a broken reed against His all-protecting arm. His people shall be
surely kept by His almighty power unto eternal life.
In His character, love takes essential place. From
everlasting to everlasting "I am that I am;" and from everlasting to
everlasting His heart is boundless love. Before the foundations of the world
He loved, in foreknowledge of all our sinfulness He loved, through all
life's sinful days He loves, to the end His love will burn unchanged,
unchangeable. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rom. 8:35)
The perpetuity of His love is as sure as His protecting power.
Similarly He is the all-wise and the only wise. Wisdom
in the highest is His property. His people claim this wisdom for their
teaching and their guidance. "All things are yours, for you are Christ's,
and Christ is God's." Thus the whole expanse of Jehovah's excellencies are
the believer's heritage and joy, his portion and his defense, his excellency
and his glory. Holy Spirit! accept our fervent thanks for revealing Jesus to
us as Jehovah, "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the
first and the last."
II. Particular lessons result from these terms.
Jesus is emphatically "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end, the first and the last," both in creation and redemption.
Contemplate the former work, "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made
by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:1, 2)
The Father is revealed as addressing Him, "You, Lord, in the beginning have
laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your
hands." (Heb. 1:10) We thus are emboldened in spirit to listen to His
creative voice, calling all things out of nothing. Let vain speculation
bewilder itself in mazes of imaginings; let it raise and pull down and
re-erect, and again recall systems upon systems of evolution and gradual
development. Let us be content to know that, "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth." (Gen. 1:1) In this work our Jesus sat coequal on
creation's throne—the Alpha, the beginning, the first. It is a charming
exercise to hear Him speak, and light shines forth, the source and handmaid
of all beauty, and chaos melts into form, and lovely order robes the world,
and the sun goes forth, "as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and
rejoicing as a strong man to run a race." We know that it is at His bidding
that the firmament on high is bespangled with innumerable orbs, and glitters
seemingly with worlds upon worlds. He is the Alpha, the beginning, the first
of earth in all its multitudinous array of beauty and of wonders. Marvel at
the earth, now rising high in mountains to the sky, now sinking into lowly
valleys, now startling with cataracts of watery fury, now lulling with the
gentle streamlet's murmur, mark its verdant carpet, its beauteous flowers,
its majestic forests. Mark too the ocean, spreading its expanse of wave,
raising the foam of mighty billows and subsiding into unfathomable depths.
Behold the earth, the air, the waters, teeming with life! Behold man, also,
created after God's own likeness, receiving life that he might be capable of
grace, receiving grace that he might inherit glory. Adoring wonder stays its
flight and checks its aspiring wings, and blesses Jesus, the Alpha, the
beginning, and the first of all created things.
He too shall be the Omega, the end, the last. We read
"they shall perish, but You remain: they all shall grow old as does a
garment, and as a vesture You shall fold them up, and they shall be
changed." (Psa. 102:26) At present we cannot foresee the beauty of this
earth, during the millennial reign, and the splendor of "the new heavens and
the new earth, where righteousness dwells," but we know that all shall be
the work of Jehovah Jesus. As in the beginning He was Alpha, the beginning,
the first—so in the final scene He shall be the Omega, the end, the last. He
is all in the world's birth, its continual progress, and until time shall
reach its timeless end. We adore You, O Jehovah Jesus.
Let redemption be next contemplated. Here, Jesus
is the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
He is the foundation, He is the top-stone. The main parts of it are
exclusively His work. He is the Alpha, the beginning, and the first before
the foundation of the world. In the counsels of the everlasting Covenant, He
presented Himself to be the substitute of His people, to receive all their
sins, as truly His own acts, in human form, to make atonement for them, to
present satisfaction to every outraged attribute of God, to bear all wrath,
to endure the law's total curse, to pay every debt to justice, to meet
truth's every demand, to render all obedience to the requirements of perfect
love, to invest with this robe all the family of faith. To execute this work
He came, He lived, He died. He challenged all heaven to bear witness, "It is
finished."
He too shall be the Omega, the end, the last. The day
shall come when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; and
every foe to the eternal reign shall be forever vanquished, and God shall be
all in all; and the last stone of salvation's pyramid shall be brought forth
with shouts, "Grace to it, grace to it."
In contemplation of this glorious work, faith loudly
sings, You are worthy O Jesus, to receive blessing and glory and wisdom and
thanksgiving and honor and might, for You are "the Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last" of redemption.
III. Concluding inferences claim notice. As
Jesus is "the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last," to the whole Church, so too He is all in the case of each believer.
He begins the good work, and carries it on, until the home of glory is
attained. The good Shepherd goes after each of His lost sheep. He finds them
straying in the wide wilderness of the world. He lays them on His shoulders
rejoicing, and brings them to His fold of peace. By His Spirit He carries on
the work of grace, awakening the hatred of all sin, the love of all
holiness, the resolute choice of every holy path. He implants unwavering
faith in His atoning blood, delight in His imputed righteousness, confidence
in His unfailing love. He makes them more than conquerors in every conflict.
He never leaves nor forsakes until the valley of the shadow of death is
passed, and the last enemy is swallowed up in victory, and welcome is given
in the courts of heaven. Thus He is the foundation and the pinnacle of
salvation in each individual case.
The inference is obvious. If Christ be all for us,
gratitude requires that we be wholly His. This thought applies to every
state and condition of life, and to every moment of our fleeting time. It
embraces each movement of the mind, each word, each step. Mark how cogently
it presses on all who are called to the eminence of ministerial life, who
are invested with the high honors of being ambassadors for Christ, and who
bear the responsibility of watching for souls as those who must give
account. In every pulpit, beside each dying bed, in every visit to the sick
and whole, in all the teachings of the school, the instruction should be
redolent of Him. His work, His grace, His love, should be the all-pervading
theme. He should be the opening and the concluding thought. The life should
be as full of Him as the sun is of light, the ocean of drops, the garden of
fragrance, the groves of melody in spring, the trees of leaves in summer. In
all matters of arrangement, whether in the family or in more public matters,
all decisions should be cast in one mold—Christ the beginning and the end.
We are often called to design, to plan, to project. We are perplexed, and
doubt whether to turn to the right hand or the left. How simple would be our
course, if the one inquiry should be, Will He, whose I am, and whom I am
bound to serve, give His approval? Will His presence accompany? Will His
smile bless? Will His Spirit lead these schemes to happy issue? Sometimes we
may be required to fix abode, to choose profession, to determine plans for
children and dependants. In such cases seeming advantages must give place to
the primary inquiry, What is the mind of Christ? What plan most entirely
accords with the rules of His kingdom? The career of life would glide in a
safe and happy path, if Christ were always made "the Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last " of every thought, desire,
and work.
This thought applies too to every day. Here let Christ
always be "the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last." When morning dawns, and consciousness returns, and refreshed
faculties begin to move, let the mind fly up to Him, let the first thoughts
be sanctified by converse with Him. David testifies, "When I awake I am
still with You." (Psa. 139:18) As the day advances, let His image be
constantly before the eye. Let His word be diligently studied. Let passing
hours bring Him nearer to the heart. Let new views of Him be gained. Let
devoted consecration be given to His service. Let His praises flow from the
lips. Let some testimony to His worth be given. And when evening calls to
repose, let communion with Him close the curtains of the couch.
Thus Christ should be "All in All" on earth, as He is
"All in All" in heaven. The Father's eye is ever on Him, the holy angels
ever worship Him, the spirits of the just ever adore Him. Each day will be
as heaven to us if similarly we ever make Him our Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last. "O Lord, accomplish this work
in us, and to You be all the glory." Amen.