REVELATION 1:8-9
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).
In describing His eternal nature, God declares that He is the Alpha and Omega. That is the Greek for A and Z - the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is the totality. He is the beginning and the ending.
It all started with God and it all ends with God.
He is, He was, He is to come.
He is eternal.
In Revelation 21:6 Jesus says the same thing. From this we conclude that Jesus also is eternal - co-eternal with the Father, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.
John describes the circumstances by which the vision first came to him. "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation" (Revelation 1:9). The beautiful humility of John. He is not coming on as a great leader demanding submission to his authority. He calls himself a brother."
God never intended a spiritual hierarchy to be established within the church.
We're all part of one body. That is so glorious! God has no favorites or specials.
"God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34), which means that God is as interested in you as He is in Billy Graham and as He was in Dwight Moody, Charles Finney, John Wesley, John Knox or Martin Luther.
God didn't love them any more than He loves you. God didn't listen to them any more readily than He
will listen to you.
will listen to you.
John said, "I'm a brother and a companion." Pray to God that men within the ministry today will have the same attitude as a brother and a companion. As Paul said, "We are laborers together with God" (I Corinthians 39).
We're all one in this body of Christ.
We all share together.
We're all just people.
When the crowd was going to worship Paul, he tore his clothes and said "Hey, I'm just a man like the rest of you! I'm no god!" (Acts 14:14-15).
We're all equal in the eyes of the Lord. God considers us as individuals and loves us as individuals. He is no respecter of persons. You can't buy God. You can't influence God. You can't con God. He is the same to everybody. You can't bully or pressure Him.
Looking at Him, what can you do for Him?
People are always trying to peddle influence in the world. You can't peddle any influence with God. He treats us all alike and loves us all the same.
"John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9).
The patience of Jesus Christ is the waiting for Jesus Christ to return.
James wrote, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious [perfect] fruit of the earth" (James 5:7). Peter encouraged us to have patience in waiting for the Lord (II Peter 38-15). Paul also encouraged us to have patience - waiting for the coming of the Lord (I Thessalonians 1:10, et al).
John "was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9).
Persecutions - The first major persecution under the Roman Empire took place as the result of Nero's reign. Thousands of Christians were crucified and executed. During Nero's persecution Paul and Peter were both killed.
Then under the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.) the second persecution took place. About forty thousand more Christians were put to death for their faith. It was during this time that John was exiled to the Island of Patmos. There, John received these visions from the Lord.
John, the overseer of the church in Ephesus, was exiled to the Island of Patmos because of the Word of God and his testimony of Jesus Christ. According to Eusebius, the church historian, John was boiled in oil. This, though, had no adverse effect on him, and he was sent to the small, craggy, rocky Island of Patmos off the coast of Asia Minor, about thirty-two miles from Ephesus in the Aegean Sea.
John was exiled to the Island of Patmos because God had a special message to give him. God had to get him in a quiet place, away from the disturbances and pressures of the church in Ephesus.
Whether or not he was still on the Island of Patmos when he actually wrote the letter is uncertain.
After his exile on Patmos (c. 96 A.D.), John returned to Ephesus where he eventually died.
of the New Testament canon of Scriptures.
