The Beginning of the End

Scripture:
Revelation 1:1-8 (NASB)

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

John to the seven churches that 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 of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Devotional:

Revelation, whose revelation and what is revelation?  Who is this letter for anyway?  Surely not me and not today.  Revelation is to take something hidden or unknown and to make it known.  It is to enlighten those who otherwise have no knowledge of.  So we can start by understanding that John received a vision or prophesy about things to come.  This letter was written for all believers.  Revelations is not for a select or elite group.  Luke 11:28 states “But He said, On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’” 

The next question to ask ourselves is who is giving John these visions of the future.  The direct and simple answer is God.  God revealed these things to Jesus who passed them on to John through an angel.  What authority does the revealer have?  Revelations 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.’” God who is Jehovah our redeemer is the one with ultimate authority.  God is the creator of all things.  Genesis 1:1 (NIV), “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

 You might be wondering what does this have to do with me today.  You might be asking why and does it really apply to me.  I have heard it said that we are in the beginning of the end times.  People believe that Jesus’s return is near.  Certainly there is evidence to support this.  Signs are everywhere.  However, in the Bible there are scriptures to support that the beginning of the end started over two thousand years ago. 1 John 2:18 (NASB), “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”  Also Acts 2:16-17 (NASB) states the following.

but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;  

After Christ ascended into Heaven He sent a “suitable helper” to all believers starting with the Apostles.  God the Holy Spirit is among us and has been since the Apostles first received the Holy Spirit so many years ago.  I do not necessarily believe we are close to the end.  I think it will be several generations at least before Jesus returns and the end times are in full force.  I have several different reasons for believing this and can elaborate on them in a later.  

Regardless of which of these stages we are in we must be prepared.  That makes this passage and the entire book of Revelations relevant to each one of us.  Jesus said in Mark 13:21-33 (NIV), “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”  Jesus also says His return will be like a thief in the night.  No one knows.  All we can do is wait, watch, and be ready.  We are told what signs to look for.  Certainly those signs seem to be evident, but then they have always been there since the beginning.  

I urge you not to be caught off guard.  Be ready, reach out to everyone you can so that they too will be ready.  OK how do we become ready?  Grow in your relationship with Jesus…