I Am the Alpha and the Omega
We’re going to conclude our series “Who is Jesus and What Does He Offer?” by looking at one more “I am” saying – this one in the book of Revelation.
The Book of Revelation is the only place where the image of the Alpha and the Omega occurs, and it appears three times.
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – they’re used as a way to communicate God’s existence at the beginning and the end of everything.
Join us as Pastor Doug shares about the three times “I am the Alpha and Omega,” is used as a way of saying, God is the beginning and the end and everything in between.
Thank you for worshiping with us.
If you would like to give toward the work we are doing to share God’s mission at Brewster Baptist Church, please follow this link to our secure online donation page or you can text BrewsterGive to 77977.
If you would like to connect with us at BBC, please follow this link to our connection card.
This first video is the sermon
Listen to the sermon
Download or print the sermon
This video is the whole service
I Am the Alpha and the Omega
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on the “I am” sayings of Jesus from John’s Gospel and that you’ve learned a little bit more about who Jesus is and what he offers.
We’re asking everyone who participated in a small group to complete an evaluation (fill it out online here) because we want to know how this experience has impacted you so thanks for doing that and getting it back to us by next Sunday. I look forward to reading your responses.
We’re going to conclude this series by looking at one more “I am” saying – this one in the book of Revelation. Revelation is a type of writing called “apocalyptic.” The word “apocalypse” comes from a Greek word (apokalypsis) meaning “disclosure,” “unveiling,” or, “revelation.” Apocalyptic literature frequently reflects a negative view of the world because of difficult circumstances and expresses hope for salvation in a new creation or another life.
The Book of Revelation offers hope and reassuring visions for the church in crisis.
The church has seldom had times when there was no crisis.
The Book of Acts and the letters of Paul describe how the church developed in and survived crises in its early years including the arrests, imprisonments, beatings, and deaths of leaders including James (Acts 12:2) and Stephen (Acts 7:51-60).
The first-century church was confronted by the power of the Roman Empire including the Emperor Domitian who ruled from 81-96 and demanded to be worshiped as “Lord and God.” For refusing to do so, many Christians were put to death (Revelation 6:9, 13:15); others like John (Revelation 1:9) were exiled.
During this time of hardship, John recorded visions he had which he shared with his brothers and sisters in Christ in seven specific churches in seven different cities in what is now Turkey that are named in Revelation 1:11.[1]
One reason why Revelation is hard to understand and so frequently misinterpreted is precisely because the message is communicated in visions, mysterious figures, and extraordinary metaphors to prevent the imperial police from recognizing that this book is for persecuted Christians, assuring them that, despite the worst that the Roman Empire could do, God reigns supreme, Jesus, who died is alive forevermore (1:18), and that Christ has the power to overcome all evil even death.
Listen to Revelation 1:8-18
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying,
“Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.”
The Book of Revelation is the only place where the image of the Alpha and the Omega occurs, and it appears three times.
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – they’re used as a way to communicate God’s existence at the beginning and the end of everything.
“I am the Alpha and Omega,” is a way of saying God is the beginning and the end and everything in between.
We read in Genesis 1:1 (KJV), “In the beginning God…” Before there was anything, God was.
It’s mind blowing to think about God existing for billions of years before anything else.
In the prophet Isaiah we hear the Lord saying (Isaiah 41:4) “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am first, and will be with the last.”
Then in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”
The first time we hear I am the Alpha and Omega is in Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This tells us God is with us in times of hardship and persecution.
Not only is God the beginning and the end of all things, but John also says, God is the Almighty.
“The Almighty” is a favorite description of God that occurs nine times in the book of Revelation – (the only other place in the New Testament is 2 Corinthians 6:18).
God’s might is going to be shown in the book of Revelation.
We all need assurance when we’re frightened, and it looks like the world is a total mess that God is still powerful. To persecuted believers, to those grieving the loss of loved ones, being reminded of the timelessness and the mighty power of God regardless of current events, is helpful. It gives us an eternal perspective and reminds us that whatever the crisis, one way or another it will pass away, but God will not.
At the beginning of Revelation, John is saying, God is with us in times of hardship and persecution and, we’re all in this together. It helps in a crisis to be part of a larger community and to have people who care about us who we know, trust, and respect, reminding us of what is true.
John is such a trusted leader. He’s known to his hearers. He calls himself a brother (1:9) a common term of endearment among first-century believers, highlighting their equality in Christ.
The common barriers of status, gender, and rank were done away with in the early church, which had a sense of mutual care like a family.
John says he is a fellow participant with the seven churches he’s writing to in the persecution, the kingdom, and the patient endurance (Revelation 1:9). He’s not someone who writes from the comfort and safety of the rear echelon to tell troops on the front line what a fine job they’re doing and how, “We’re all in this together.”
John identifies with those undergoing persecution because he’s also enduring hardship for the cause of Christ, that’s why he’s been exiled to Patmos, a small island in the Aegean Sea, about 75 miles west of Ephesus. John had been banished there by the government for being a leader in the Christian movement and preaching the Christian message. John shares the life of his churches in – the persecution, the kingdom, and the patient endurance.
By “persecution,” John doesn’t mean the ordinary problems of human life but that time of terrible trouble which he believes will precede the End.
John interprets the social discrimination and government persecution which threatened the churches as the beginning of the labor pains that must precede the birth of a new world (Revelation 12:1-6).
You’re not being persecuted because inflation is high or because it’s hard to make a left turn on Cape Cod in the summer. Persecution involves being imprisoned, beaten, tortured, exiled, and even killed because of faith in Jesus.
Most of us don’t have any idea what that’s like, but John did, John shared that experience with his churches.
I was at a pastor’s gathering in NH two weeks ago and one pastor shared about visiting with pastors in a country where being a Christian is illegal. He said when one of the pastors hugged him, he could feel where his bones had been broken and not properly healed after being arrested and beaten. That’s persecution.
John also shared in the “kingdom.” For the first hearers of John’s revelation, the kingdom of God was present though it seemed small and hidden, though it was threatened and suffering, like Jesus. John points to the future to give them courage by reminding them a time is coming when the rule of God and Christ will be clear for everyone to see.
The third thing John shares with the churches is “patient endurance.”
Patient endurance is what’s required of believers as we hold on to our faith confident that Christ’s Lordship is real, though it doesn’t always seem to be visible in the violent, greedy, corrupt world in which we live. In Revelation 1, John begins his message by telling the churches God is with us in times of hardship and persecution, and we’re all in this together.
The second time the Alpha and the Omega appears is in Revelation 21:6,
“Then he (Jesus) said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”
This second Alpha and Omega statement describes the blessing that awaits those who persevere through hardship.
We all need motivation to help us in meeting challenges when we’re tempted to quit or give up. If you want to drink from the spring of the water of life and be a child of God, you need to conquer your fear and persevere.
In 1908, Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton headed an Antarctic expedition attempting to reach the South Pole. They came closer than any before but, 97 miles short of the pole, had to turn back. In his diary Shackleton told of the time when their food supplies were exhausted save for one last ration of hardtack, a dried sort of biscuit, that was distributed to each man. Some of the men took snow, melted it, and made tea while consuming their biscuit. Others, however, stowed their hardtack in their food sacks, saving it for a last moment of hungry desperation.
As the fire was built up, and weary, exhausted men climbed into their sleeping bags to face a restless sleep, tossing and turning. Shackleton said that he was almost asleep when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of his most trusted men sitting up in his sleeping bag and looking about to see if anyone was watching.
Shackleton’s heart sank within him as this man began to reach toward the food sack of the man next to him. Shackleton watched as the man opened the food sack and took his own hardtack and put it in the other man’s sack.”[2]
What an act of love and friendship. It inspired Shackelton as a leader not to give up and to keep doing all he could to save his men, which he did.
In Revelation, John is reminding the churches, Jesus put his life and friendship into your sack. The friendship of Jesus our Savior, Lord, and Teacher and the friendship of other believers nurtures, feeds, and sustains our life when we need encouragement to persevere, hold on and conquer the adversity we face.
The third and final mention of Alpha and Omega is in Revelation 22:12-13 after a description of how peaceful and comforting heaven will be.
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
At the end of Revelation and the end of the entire Bible we’re comforted with the message that death is not to be feared because it’s been overcome.
The message to threatened Christians in John’s churches and through all time is that the One who calls them to be faithful even at the cost of their lives (2:10) is the one who is in their very midst, embracing them all.
Jesus will be there at the End to vindicate and receive them, since he’s the one who has already gone before them through the reality of death.
Jesus says he has taken death into his own experience, has overcome it, and he now has the keys of death and Hades, he has power over life and death.
Christians are not promised that if they’re faithful they’ll be spared from the injustice of death by the Roman courts or anyone else; but that in and through death they’ll be met by the One who has conquered death and abides as the living one.
This is one of the most comforting thoughts in the Bible; that death has been defeated.
Christ communicates the message that the Almighty God is the beginning and the end of all things, so we need not fear.
The exalted and risen Christ is in the midst of the church in times of trial, hardship, and persecution. God’s people haven’t been abandoned. For hurting people, knowing that God was before the pain and that God will be after the pain serves as a comfort for the soul.
Teresa of Ávila wrote, “Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing upset you. Everything changes. God alone is unchanging. With patience all things are possible. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone is enough.”
We end where John began in Revelation 1:18, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.”
In the end, we know God wins and that gives us comfort and encouragement to keep going when life is difficult.
Some of us are enjoying the men’s college basketball tournament known as March Madness. What makes the tournament great is you never know what’s going to happen, and there are always shocking upsets like #16 seed FDU beating #1 seed Purdue and a #9 seed Florida Atlantic going to the Final Four. In the game of life, what helps us to persevere is knowing God wins so we don’t need to be afraid. The only thing we don’t know is the final score, and we want as many people as possible to be on God’s team when the final buzzer sounds.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega” is an anchor you can hold onto in the midst of the storms of life.
It also serves as a warning to those who might be tempted to let go during the storm. Don’t quit, don’t ever give up, the storm won’t last. God will. Like, John, you’re called to be a faithful witness to what you’ve seen and heard about Jesus. You’re to endure and share in hardship and suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ as Paul told Timothy (2 Timothy 2:3). You’re to be a sign of the kingdom of love and light as you live out the gospel in our time, in the hopeful expectation that one day the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our God, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and forever.
Prayer – Almighty, Most Holy God, faithful through the ages, we thank you for being with us in all our beginnings — and in all our endings — and everywhere in between. In school and work, in all seasons and stages of life, in times of joy and heartache, even to the end of our life help us to remember you are with us and give us the courage to do what you ask us to do – we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen
Blessing: Go now to keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus. “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Revelation 14:12, 7:12
[1] The specific letter for each church begins at the following verses – Ephesus 2:1, Smyrna 2:8, Pergamum 2:12, Thyatira 2:18, Sardis 3:1, Philadelphia 3:7, and Laodicea 3:14.
[2] Harold J. Sala, Heroes, (Promise, 1998), pages 277-278.
Questions for Discussion & Reflection:
- What does it mean that God is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 1:8)?
- What can you do each day to remind yourself daily of the awesome nature and power of Christ (Revelation 1:12-16)?
- How does Christ describe himself to John (Revelation 1:17-18)? What kind of power does Christ possess? How is this description comforting for the seven churches John was writing to, and how is it comforting for us today?
- How does Revelation 21:6 serve to motivate and inspire you or others who are facing persecution, hardship, or trials of any kind?
- What can you do to prepare yourself for either the return of Christ, or facing God, when you leave this earth (Revelation 22:12-13)?
- Of the different images Jesus used to describe who he is and what he offers, (bread of life; light of the world; the gate; the good shepherd; the resurrection and the life; the way, the truth, and the life; the vine; the Alpha and the Omega), which one speaks to you the most or is your favorite and why?