Alpha and Omega Symbol
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.
START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Revelation 1:4-8
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OBSERVE:
The Book of Revelation is without a doubt the most disputed and controversial book in the entire Bible. Delving into this passage alone could take us several different directions, and require pages and pages of research.
Just a few words of background. John, writing in exile from the Island of Patmos, is conveying his visions to the Seven Churches of Asia — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
The greeting begins in a way typical of other epistles in the New Testament:
Grace and peace to you…
And then John introduces his own Trinitarian greeting:
from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
The greeting grace and peace comes from all three persons that we have come to know as the Trinity. This is a Trinitarian passage, without ever using the term, Trinity.
The Father is he:
who is, and who was, and who is to come.
We can’t help but think of Moses’ encounter with the burning bush on Mount Sinai, when the Lord discloses his name and nature:
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).
God is the eternal one, who transcends time and space, for whom the present moment encompasses past, present and future.
I am in agreement with commentators who believe that the seven spirits before his throne is a reference to the Holy Spirit, although there are some commentators who argue that these seven spirits refer instead to angels. My conviction is strengthened by John’s elaborate descriptions of the heavenly throne room, when he says that:
In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God (Revelations 4:5).
A variant translation of seven spirits is the Sevenfold Spirit.
In the third place, John turns his attention to Jesus:
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Jesus is the faithful witness in his earthly ministry through his life and teaching. But we are also reminded that the Greek word for witness is the word we translate as martyr. That has the connotations of sacrificial death because the witnesses in the early church so often died for their faith. Jesus was the first witness and the first martyr.
But John also points to the resurrection of Jesus as the firstborn from the dead. This is language reminiscent of Colossians, where Jesus is called:
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)
and also
the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything (Colossians 1:18).
Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity, begotten not made from before time began; but he is also the Son of Man, whose physical suffering and death and subsequent resurrection opens the possibility of resurrection for all who die.
And John also reminds us that Jesus is King:
the ruler of the kings of the earth.
John elaborates on this as he begins to explore what this means for those who believe:
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
Jesus is our sacrifice, who liberates us from the slavery and bondage of sin. But he also exalts us to be citizens of his kingdom and to offer ministry to God in his eternal temple. We are reminded of 1 Peter 2:9:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
This is part of the inspiration for the Reformation doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers.
John makes clear that the arc of Jesus’ ministry as king takes him from the cross to the grave to the ascension and the reign at the right hand of the Father, and will be consummated with his return at the end of the age:
“Look, he is coming with the clouds”
Unfortunately, what is good news to those who believe may be bad news for those who do not:
“every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
Finally, The Lord defines his character yet again:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Alpha and Omega, of course, are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, indicating that God is the beginning and the end — from God all things begin, and in God all things find their consummation.
And he is the one who transcends all time, the all-powerful one.
APPLY:
In this text for Easter season, we are reminded that Christ is the one who has been pierced for our iniquities, and he is:
the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
This image of the firstborn has deep resonance in the Old Testament. The firstborn were consecrated to God as a representative offering, holy to the Lord — although of course human firstborns were redeemed by the sacrifice of a firstborn animal.
The Apostle Paul says:
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family (Romans 8:29).
As we identify with Christ, he becomes our firstborn older brother who opens the way for all of us to experience resurrection. Paul also says of Christ:
He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything (Colossians 1:18)
Our salvation is a process — first there is the forgiveness of sins, effected through Christ’s atoning death on the cross. Christ is he who:
loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…
And his ultimate goal is the restoration to our intended destiny:
to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father.
The crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ are all a part of a divine drama — or, Dante might say, a divine comedy — that will end with the final return of Christ in victory, when these words will be fulfilled:
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”.
RESPOND:
I am aware of a troubling reality. Though God’s love is all encompassing, and his victory is inevitable, not all will turn to God. For whatever reason — self-will, delusion, defiance — some will refuse the love, grace and mercy that Christ offers.
And when Christ returns, we are told that:
all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
This statement reminds me of what Paul says in Philippians 2:10-11.
at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
All will one day bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Some will bow and confess the Lordship of Jesus with willing gratitude and worship. Some will bow and confess unwillingly, because they don’t want to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus.
For those who bow the knee willingly, submission to God will be heaven. For those who bow the knee unwillingly, submission to God will be hell.
Similarly, perhaps even those who are saved and have bowed the knee to Christ will mourn their sins that made the death of Christ necessary. For them, the tears will be therapeutic and cathartic; but for those who have rejected Christ, the mourning will be profound and permanent.
John’s Revelation is a stark reminder to us that we are given the opportunity to choose to bow the knee to Christ as King, and that there are consequences to our choices.
Our Lord, you have been a faithful priest, and you have offered the perfect sacrifice on my behalf — your own life! You are the firstborn from the dead, so that I may be raised as your younger brother. Now, you are calling me to be a priest in your kingdom and to serve you as my King. You have forgiven me, and you empower me to serve you. Thank you. Amen.
PHOTO:
"Linzer Dom - Fenster Versehgang 3 Alpha Omega.jpg" by Wolfgang Sauber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Austria license.
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