Living in Revelation: Understanding Jesus as the Alpha and Omega

All right. Well, I have been thinking so much about what God is doing in this hour. I know we are all doing the same. It’s hard not to be thinking about the world and what certainties remain or uncertainties exist. It’s a time where there is a lot of struggle, a time where there is maybe a lot to hope in, a time that just has so much happening.

You don’t always recognize what’s going on clearly, right? But God has been putting on our heart this message of the overcoming church. And we have been diving into this because of the direction of the Holy Spirit. And I believe that out of that, He brings understanding that we need for the now time that we operate. Last week, I spoke — or two weeks ago — a message, and the key tenets were to hear and heed the instruction.

There is something we see here in the study of the overcoming church, something that Jesus is careful to give to us this morning, as it were, this instruction to hear and heed His words. Today I’m looking at diving into Revelation 1. Today we’re going to be reading that. And in this book, we’re going to start to see some of the things that God is instructing for His church in this time and in this hour that we’re walking out.

Amen. There are two perspectives for the overcoming church that we’re going to be discussing over this series. The first is the church that learns to operate in the power and leading of the Holy Spirit right now. The second perspective for the overcoming church is the church that endures the Great Tribulation and arrives at the Day of Judgment at Jesus Christ’s second return.

I’ve been obviously studying this a lot of late. And you know, today’s worship was pretty remarkable. But it may not have been remarkable for everybody. It’s interesting that you can be in the same service encountering God and yet in another service, totally disconnected.

I believe that reality of our lives is actually something that we have to be aware of. John 16:33 says, “In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” Our lives are being tested, tried. We are experiencing struggle and challenge every single day in the world we operate today. There is trouble. It is going to be a norm until Jesus comes back. It is going to be a part of your life. But Jesus says, “I have overcome the world.”

And so, as we step into this series at greater depth, the challenge is to hear what God is saying. The challenge is to do what God shows you to do, and that’s going to take courage. But it’s going to take understanding what God is doing for us and how He makes a way for that to be possible.

So, if you guys want to join with me, we’re going to read Revelation 1 from start to finish. I’m going to read in the New King James Version: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it. For the time is near. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, saying…” (laughter) “…Yeah, I had to get a little laughter in there. But there is a point: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands, One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.’ Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.”

“The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

I just felt like the Holy Spirit wanted me to read the chapter to you guys, because I believe that in it, there is some incredible clarity. The voice, like the sound of a trumpet—what you get from a trumpet is a clear sound. What you get from a trumpet is an obvious moment of direction. It’s used for the clarifying of a battle; it’s used for the clarifying of a call. It is how John is being introduced to this vision of God. And I believe that when it says, “Blessed is the man who reads it, blessed is the man who hears and does what these words say,” he shall enjoy the fruit thereof.

It’s in my heart to speak what the Holy Spirit wants to say. And I just believe that what we have here is a book that is a prophecy. A prophecy is something that can give you a future, right? Help you understand the future. And if you were to even consider that in light of maybe looking at a map…knowing the future requires understanding a journey. And so, when you’re unfamiliar with the landscape and the terrain, sometimes you need a map to get you through it.

And so, what doesn’t change in the journey is the terrain. What remains the same are the obstacles that you are going to have to go over when you’re following the instruction of God or when you’re following the route on a map. The terrain is present. We’re just figuring out how to go through it. And when we can glean from the guidance of a map, you can start to see important markers. You can start to see important boundaries. You can recognize whether you’re on track or off track. And Jesus is providing us great leadership by preparing His followers with instructions for what is to come.He not only is personally addressing his second coming, but he had given prophets of old instruction about his second coming. This is consistent with how he prepared the world for his first coming. He gave plenty of prophetic instruction ahead of time that removes some of the mystery about his first coming. And with that instruction, there were ways to receive him, right? What we needed to do when we discovered who he was. There was a response that God helped us understand.

There’s something called the law of intentional selection, where the number of scriptures directed toward a topic elevates its importance for us to take notice of.

Three hundred scriptures delineate his first coming, and over seven hundred scriptures delineate his second coming. Churches across the country agree on the life of Jesus—how he came, died, and rose from the grave just like the scriptures foretold. Yet even more scripture is directing the second coming, and I would say the church is not as united in this understanding.

For his second coming, there is something for us to understand and something we need to be ready for. What our leadership team feels God is saying now is to be an overcomer who is ready for Jesus to return. Yes. First Corinthians 1:7 says, “Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God wants us to have a mindset that we can overcome, and he wants to help get us there.

It says he will keep us strong to the end, right? That is so important for us to grab hold of. You’ve got all that you need. The problem today is, if we are not careful, will we lose our way again? It’s like a map. God has given us a map. Our lives are going to have a final destination. That destination can be certain, or it can be uncertain.

But for those who are following Christ, he makes it certain. So John greets the seven churches. They’re referred to as the seven churches of Asia, which we read. And what I thought was so valuable about this is we see the personal nature of God. He sees the church at a local level, and his reference to the seven literal churches of John’s day.

These were actual churches that existed. These were churches along a trade route, so they had some significance in their location. But God sees his church at the local church level. We cannot be fooled with the idea that someone can reject a church family. The overcoming church requires the church, and it requires the church, in this context, coming together, meeting, being one with each other.

In verses 4 and 5, it says, “Grace to you, and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before the throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.” The presence of God—the fact that he is with us now, that he is God now—touches on this. But then three major descriptions are given of Jesus Christ. And it was in these descriptions that I was encountering something about worship today that was different. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead, and Jesus Christ, the ruler over the kings of the earth.

The book of Revelation is God unveiling the mysteries of his divine nature, of his divine will.

There is revelation needed today about who God is. There is revelation that is needed today about what he intends to do. And this is the heart of God in this first chapter of Revelation—to reveal his heart to the church. You see, our decision to be an overcomer must occur before we overcome. It’s a decision we make that we’re going to follow God with all our heart because we want to be counted in that number of overcomers that he meets in the air, right? There is a reward for those who overcome.

One of the journeys that we’ve been walking out over the last five years has been around the effect Covid had. I was coaching at senior high during that season.

And it had the most bizarre impact on youth, right? There was this false sense of achievement that was created. It was as if everybody thought they could win without doing anything. And it was created because you literally didn’t have to go to school, didn’t have to turn in your homework assignments, and didn’t have to really participate to pass.

But that showed up in the sport arena as well, because kids didn’t go to practice. Kids didn’t show up. It wasn’t required because of this Covid world. And the strangest part about that was…

No matter how much you think, it doesn’t matter. If you do not train for something like soccer, you are going to lose.

Something. If your competition is training, when you get out on the field, you’ve got one sprint in you, and then you’re watching, you know?

There is an enormous level of work that goes into being able to endure a full game—the demand on your body, the demand on the skill level to be able to intercept a pass or to execute a shot or to play defense. All of those things require work and growth and training.

But the understanding in the kids was they didn’t really care. Winning? Yes, they wanted to win. They would all tell you, yeah, we want to win. They just thought they could do it without showing up. And the result of that is you can’t hang. What we’re seeing in this context is the mindset of an overcomer. Do you want it?

You don’t want to wonder, standing before God. You don’t want to question your position today. Do you want to stand before him and be counted as an overcomer? You have to embrace it. You have to embrace it now.The good news is verse six and seven. It says to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You’re washed. You’re washed in his blood, right? Your reception of Jesus Christ has given you that cleansing.

But this judgment is not about sin. This judgment is about, did you partner with the Almighty God, with your life to follow and to do all that he’s calling you to do? The judgment is about your decision now. Will you be an overcomer?

We are being given this revelation of Jesus Christ. In verse seven it says, behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so. Amen. Now that’s an interesting statement. The announcement is, behold, he is coming. It’s probably the most important scripture that is written in this book.

Behold, he is coming. And he’s saying, even those who pierced him are going to mourn. Every tribe of the earth is going to mourn. That means every people group is going to mourn. Why? Why is mourning associated with his coming?

Because they didn’t partner. They didn’t partner with the Almighty God and say, I will follow you. I want what you have. I understand your way. I understand you are God. And so this revelation where we saw the Jesus being declared as the faithful witness—that’s a revelation of who he is. That means he is someone you can count on.

That means his word is true. That means when he says something, it will come to pass. It is something you can rely upon. A faithful witness. It’s your go-to person. The person you know will not lead you astray. Won’t let you down. When you’re in a rut, you can lean on them. The faithful witness is who Jesus Christ is revealed as.

We need a revelation on that. When we have a revelation on that, you can’t help but honor him. There is a place of honoring God that we are being called into in this next season, in this life you live. Let’s just take it out of seasons. Do you want to stand before God saying, Lord, I honored you when I needed to honor you?

I honored you when I didn’t need to honor you. I recognized that you were the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Do we have an understanding of that revelation that he is your beginning and he is your end? Or is your life your own?

This is the call and the warning and the invite of Revelation Chapter one. God is revealing himself. The very first scripture is this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation is when he comes the second time. There is nothing you can do at that moment. It is all made as real and clear as possible. That is why it came like a voice sounding like a trumpet.

Behold, I am coming again.

Will you have to mourn at that return?

First Peter 3:5 says, but in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. You’re treasuring up for yourself revelation of the righteous judgment of God. That means the longer we go ignoring who God is, the greater that treasure is.

Of how great that revelation will be. God, you are sovereign.

We need a revelation of who we serve.

Verse eight says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come. The Almighty. We’re going to get into the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We’re going to be spending some time understanding that, because this statement, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

It’s said multiple times in this chapter alone, but it is going to touch us at our most important area of life. Is he our beginning and is he our end? Are we seeing life in the proper perspective? Are we recognizing that we don’t have anything to offer except our obedience, except the reception of who he is?

We have to bury ego. Ego is the thing that will crush us. It’s the thing that prevents the revelation in.

Who are we? And.

Is the world in our hands? No. Can we calm the seas? No. Can we bring forth life? No. But he can. And he is causing his church to fall in line like never before. So in verse nine it says, I, John, both your brother and companion. In the ESV it says it this way, I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering, and in God’s kingdom, and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us.

This idea of being a partner is something we have to understand. The IRS defines a partnership as an agreement where each partner contributes money, property, labor, or skill in exchange for a portion of the profits. Collins Dictionary defines it as a contractual relationship between two or more persons carrying on a joint business venture with a view to profit, each incurring liability for losses and the right to share in the profits.

So John is saying, I am your brother and your partner in suffering, in God’s kingdom and in the patient endurance. You know, he’s saying this on the island of Patmos. He had been banished to this island. So he’s doing hard labor. But this was after sources reported that he had been dipped in boiling oil and untouched.

He’s walking out tribulation. He’s speaking from a place of tribulation. And he is having the time of his life encountering God and walking out the will of God. My sister suggested I read a book called The Insanity of God and it’s all about persecuted Christians. And, you know, in China, they don’t respect you as a leader until you’ve been in prison for at least three years.

And they want it. They consider themselves having nothing to offer until they have been in prison, until they’ve really been tested. Whether they would deny their faith or live it with honor, allowing whatever hardship and torture might come their way. In the Russian stories, these Christians were threatened, right? If they were found doing home groups, they were threatened with their jobs.They would lose their jobs, those sorts of things. There was a ramping up before they ended up in the Gulag, but it was a requirement for them to renounce their faith. They had to literally sign a document renouncing their faith. The story of this one man, he had been in prison for 17 years, and they had come to him with lies that his family had all walked away.

That his wife had died, all these things. And at that point, he had lost his heart, his willingness to stay the course—17 years. And they finally got to him. So they brought this document to him, and he saw it and said, “Okay, I’ll sign it tomorrow. I’ll sign it.” And they intended to bring it in the next day.

Well, that night, oh, Holy Spirit. Thank you. The Holy Spirit moved on his family.

They heard and they gathered together, and the family started praying. And then the Holy Spirit allowed him to see that. And he knew that he had been lied to. It gave him the resolve the next day to say, “No, I won’t sign that.” It was the closeness to God that gave these people what they needed to walk through any trial.

And that is part of the promise we read right here in Revelation 1, and what we read in 1 Corinthians—that you’ve got all that you need, every spiritual gift you need. God’s given it to you, and the strength you need, he’s going to give to you to the end.

That’s the mindset of an overcomer—that you know that no matter what, you will have what you need, but your confession will be that Jesus is Lord, and your faith will be that he is your beginning and he is your end. It is in this understanding of partnership that I believe the church is being called. Partnership, I believe, is a quality of the overcoming church—that we’re in this together, that we’re in this with him, and that we’re prepared for the tribulation that may come.

We’re not afraid of it. It’s the opportunity for you to see. How are you a believer? Or does everything bring doubt? Do the trials and tribulations bring you to a place of defeat? They make us stronger. I know that you’ll rise above the storm. I know that you’ll face the hardships in your life and come out with your hands lifted high.

Because we are following a good Father.

We’re going to move into communion here, I think.

The way worship service went today, it ended with an opportunity to just be thinking about, “God, what needs to change in my life?”

If there’s anything that I can stress with what I felt God put on my heart today, it is that the revelation of his second coming compels us to review our life right now.

Are we living for him? And are we ready? Are we ready to face him?

That’s the challenge of knowing ahead of time what is to come. And that day may be generations from now.

But I’m being challenged to live my life so that when I stand before him, I can be confident. We’re washed. We’re washed in the blood. Communion is all about remembering the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for our sins.

We eat the bread remembering his body.

And that he did it for us so we don’t have to.

But there’s an opportunity today to just continue to strengthen that resolve. Don’t give in to a tormentor.

He’s at work. There’s nobody in this room that doesn’t get tried in their brain.

You know, I just believe that’s what the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish today in people’s hearts and in their own lives.

My wife got me so agitated today.

Like, agitated.

And her intent was, you know, totally harmless. But it doesn’t change the terrain. I still had to walk through a difficult mindset.

Do I want to be an overcomer? Because if I do, I can’t really hold on to this. I can’t really stew on this reality. It’s interesting that it’s in context with this message today. But, I mean, that was a real grind for me this morning. And I’m sure some of you have a grind going on in your life.