The Aye to the Zee

*The sermon manuscript below was generated from the recording by AI…

Uh, one of my daughters, when she was very young, she, she loved it when there was something exciting about to happen. However, when there was something good or something exciting about to happen, she would constantly need to come and sort of check. So we’d tell her we’re gonna go on holiday, or you’re gonna have a special visit, or you’re gonna have a sleepover, or—pick something fun, and we’d, we’d say it to her, and she would come to us and be like, “We’re going on holiday, right?” the next day, “We’re going on holiday, right?” And leading up to it, 3 times a day, “W- we’re going on holiday soon, hey?” “Yeah, yep, we’re going on holiday soon.” And over and over and over again, she would come back, and, and being loving parents, of course we never got exasperated at all. Maybe. And we would say to her, “What? Yes, we are. Just 3 more sleeps. It’s coming up. It’s coming up. Just be patient. Yes, it’s good to be excited, and it’s okay, it’s gonna happen, just trust me, just believe me.”

You know, we can be a little bit like that child. Jesus has given us a greeting. God, the triune God has greeted us. We remember, don’t we, that this letter is written to a battle-weary Asia, 7 churches in particular, but also to us as we are battle-weary, and as we struggle through life. God writes to us and sends us greeting, and that greeting is “Grace and peace to you.” And everything that he writes after that is rooted in this wonderful blessing of grace and peace.

However, like that little child, we can be tempted to what? To doubt. We can be tempted to look around at the darkness of this world, the struggles and afflictions of life, and we can start to shake like a leaf and wonder if really there is grace and peace for me, if really this is true, if really this is enough, and we can be tempted to sort of just ignore verse 4 through 7 because of the pressure of life and the doubts that assail us.

And so verse 8 sort of acts like, in one sense, an introduction to what’s coming, but it also acts as like a seal. You remember those old wax seals? I have one in my study. Uh, those old wax seals, and you melt the wax, and you pour it on, and then you get your seal, and you press it on, and it leaves an imprint. This sort of acts like a seal upon everything we’ve heard so far, a seal of truth, a seal of veracity that you can take and say it must be true.

And it’s striking, isn’t it, that in verse 7, we get this “Even so. Amen.” And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, we hear this voice. You gotta picture being in John’s situation, right? John’s, we’re gonna find out shortly, on Patmos Island. is writing this letter, and then he hears the voice declaring, “I am the alpha and the omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

And you have to ask yourself the question, “Who’s speaking?” And now, I know it’s obvious because it says the Lord God, but who’s intended by that? Is it the triune God speaking? Is it the Father speaking? Because you’ll notice back in verse 4, the descriptor, “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.” And when we looked at that section, we talked about the fa- fact that that was talking about the eternal Father, right? So is it him speaking again?

Well, what’s quite interesting is that it’s coming just after what we saw this morning, this description of the return of Christ, and then if you look at verse 17 of the chapter, we get this description of John before Jesus. He says, “I saw him,” Jesus, “I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his hand on me saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last.’” Very similar, isn’t it, to alpha and omega? “I am the first and the last.” And I wonder if you picked up in those 2 sections we read in Revelation 21 and 22, the speaker was Jesus, and repeated twice was what? “I am the alpha and the omega.”

Now everything in this verse 8 could rightly be attributed to God the Father. However, I think what John is showing us is the, the speaker is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus himself addresses his church and he says to them, “I am the alpha and the omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

And I want us to take these, these 3 statements that he makes and seek to understand why it’s so important for us to know what Christ says to his church. Uh, in the context of tribulation, persecution, affliction, sorrow, and the doubts that assail us, we need to grab hold of the truth that is declared about the Lord Jesus Christ in these passages.

And so firstly, Jesus says, “I am the alpha and the omega.”

Now, in case you don’t understand, alpha and omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, hence the sermon title today was, “I am the A to, and the Z.” “I am the alpha and the omega.”

Well, what’s meant by that? Well, rabbis, interesting, would often use something very similar. They would say, using Hebrew, which they taught in, “You must keep the aleph,” which is the first letter in Hebrew, “to the tau,” the last letter, “of the law.” In other words, everything, every aspect of it must be kept. Jews would often say something is alpha, and it’s not like the slang that kids use these days, but they would say, “This is the alpha of fine flour.” In other words, it is the absolute best of the best, the cream of the crop, as we would say.

What’s meant here by alpha and omega? Well, it’s this concept of everything that there can be is rooted and founded in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we’re gonna look briefly, unless we’re gonna be here for the next 2 hours, briefly at 12 things, there’s many more, but 12 very important things that we can rightly say Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is the one in whom it is started, he’s the one in whom it ends, and he’s the one who contains and holds together the entire thing.

So what are these 12 things?

Well, firstly, Jesus Christ is the alpha and the omega of creation. You don’t need to turn with me because we’re just going to flick very quickly through these. In Colossians 1:16, we’re told, **”By him”—**That is, Jesus. “By Jesus all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

So everything was made by him and through him and for him. I’m just—Hear that different category, right? And in him all things are sustained, all things are maintained. If it, if Christ—not possible, but if Christ ceased to exist, the universe would utterly implode. Th- the reason, this is another way of thinking about it, the reason your chair, which is just made up of what? Atoms. I mean, it’s a bit bizarre, right? Millions of moving atoms. The reason you don’t fall through the chair is because Christ sustains the chair by the word of his power so that it works just as he designed. And that’s a wonderful comfort when we have people running around telling us that the world is gonna end, that if we don’t act now by giving $8 million to 555 Creation, the world will just cook. But Jesus says no, because he sustains it.

Secondly, Jesus Christ is the alpha and omega of time. And, and so there’s a, there’s an argument between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8, and you remember that moment. They go to stone him, they want to kill him in response to this because he says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So Jesus is standing present in time with these people and he says, “You know, before Abraham even existed, before he was born, I am. I, I was present there just as much as I am today.” Why? Because Jesus himself is the author of creation, is the author of time, and so he’s the lord of time. And so you don’t need to worry about the days ahead of you and what they might bring, what tomorrow might bring, what next year might bring, because Christ has time in the palm of his hands.

But he’s also the author, the alpha and the omega of our afflictions, and we know this because he himself has suffered. And so we’re told in Hebrews 2, “We see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste des- death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

We have an afflicted Lord, one who has suffered immensely, more than you and I could ever fathom. Whatever your suffering is, his was greater and more intense, and so in that sense he is the beginning and the end of all suffering.

But he’s also the alpha and the omega of temptation. So the same writer in Hebrews will tell us, “We have a great high priest who has gone to heaven. We do n- do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with us in our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He’s been tempted in every way to the maximal amount, from the alpha to the omega, and he stood firm. And so whatever temptation besets you, you can run to Christ. No one need say, “Oh, there’s no help for me in my temptation,” because the Lord is there.

He’s the alpha and omega of death and life itself. And so we’re told in Revelation 1, “Fear not,” we read it earlier, “I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades.” You need not fear those who might take away your life. it’s true for us, just as it was for the churches of Asia. Though they were fed to animals, beaten, stoned, and yet alive. The Christ went before them.

But He’s also, we’re told in Hebrews, the author of our salvation, aren’t we? Look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Everything we believe in is, is rooted in Him. All of our hope, all of our salvation, from beginning to end, from the alpha to the omega, comes from Him, through Him, by Him, and is to Him. And so there’s no point in looking anywhere else. Why would you forsake Christ in a time of doubt and fear to turn to another god for ease and comfort when Christ is the one in whom salvation is found?

Or you can think of the promises. He’s the alpha and the omega of promises, because Paul says that, “All of the promises are yay and amen in Him.” second Corinthians 1. You see, without Christ, not a single promise stands. But with Christ, you can take every promise to the bank, as good as a signed and authorized will.

Every blessing finds its alpha and omega in Him. We’re told in Ephesians 1, aren’t we, that every spiritual blessing comes from God the Father in Jesus Christ. He elects us in love, He sanctifies us, He saves us, He richly blesses us in Christ. Everything we receive comes from Christ, beginning to end. There’s nothing spiritual that you can receive outside of Christ. So don’t look anywhere else.

All growth is alpha and omega in Christ. And so Paul says, “Well, I planted, Apollos watered,” but who gave the growth? Christ. And so our only hope here is not that Logan plants and waters, not that you plant or water. Our only hope is that Christ would cause growth within ourselves. And your only hope to grow in godliness and sanctification, and in your love for God, is in Christ.

He’s also the alpha and the omega of all fulfillments of the Old Testament. And so throughout the New Testament, to name just a few, Christ is called the rock from whom the people in the Old Testament drank. He’s called the ark from which people are saved. He’s called the Passover from which we are fed and saved. He’s called the bread of life, which we eat rather than manna in the wilderness. He is called our Sabbath. He is called the bronze serpent that is lifted up from which we look for salvation. He is called our high priest who has gone up ahead of us. And so everything in the Old Testament, Christ is the alpha and the omega who fulfills it all. And so every page points to Him, and every page finds its true meaning in Him.

He’s also the alpha and the omega of the church. And so Jesus Himself says, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will never overcome it.” He’s the king of the church. He began the church at the time of Abel, and he will close the church’s doors when every elect is saved, and he will rule over them and care for them in love from now through to all of eternity. The church finds its meaning in Christ. We’re wasting our time if we’re not centered upon the Lord Jesus Christ here, because he is our only meaning, and he is our only hope and our only strength.

One more. Jesus is the alpha and the omega of every principality that exists. And so in Corinthians, Paul tells us in chapter 2 that, **”He”—**By being nailed to a cross, “He has put them,” spiritual rulers, “to open shame.” He destroys and rules over every spiritual principality. There’s no spiritual principality that is greater or stronger or wiser or find its, finds its being outside of him.

And we could go on. But brothers and sisters, what this is pointing to for us is that in Christ, we have everything. Without Christ, we have nothing. That all of our lives, all of our existences are, are here for him. He is the purpose of your life. He is the purpose of this church. The, the reason you go to work is for that alpha and the omega. As you seek to love your family and as you seek to care for other people, you do it for Christ, who is the beginning and the end. Our hope in every aspect of our life win, win, win threats, assail us when temptations bear down upon us, when afflictions come near to us, when persecution rages, the only hope we have is the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we look up, what do we see? The first and the last. The beginning and the end. He who says, “I am the alpha and the omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the first and the last. In me is everything you need. I am sufficient.”

But he also says, “I am the one who is and who was and who is to come.”

It’s striking, isn’t it? Because this is the title that the Father is given in verse 4. We observed that earlier, didn’t we? That, that John says, “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.” It’s the exact same phraseology in the Greek. There’s no change. And that’s because everything that makes the Father God and divine can equally be attributed to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is equal with the Father. He is no less of a god than God the Father is. We reject the lies of the Jehovah’s Witness and of the Mormons and of Arius, all the way back to the beginning, who declared there was a time when the Son was not. There was the Father, and He made the Son. Yes, He’s great. Yes, He’s God. Yes, He’s wonderful, but He’s not the God. He’s different. He’s not quite as godish as God is. And we reject that, because that which is equally attributed to God the Father is now here applied to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is this important for us? Because we can be tempted sometimes to think to ourselves, “Okay, that’s fine. Jesus is the alpha and the omega, but what if He changes? What if He changes His mind? Or what if it’s a lie? What if He thought His decision was a bad one and actually he doesn’t want to save people anymore?” We can doubt the veracity and the truth of what’s being stated by Christ, and yet everything said of God can be said of Jesus Christ. And so, when you go into the Old Testament, what do you find? God says in Malachi 3:6, “I, the Lord, do not change.” He says in Numbers 23, “I, the Lord, do not lie.” And in 1 Samuel 15, “I, the Lord, do not regret.” In other words, anything declared by God, anything that is true of God will always be true of God. And so what was true for the churches of Asia in the first century, is true for you, and is true for me. And so when you fla- face difficulty, and when you face trial, and when you face trouble, your hope is exactly the same and find its fa- finds its complete fulfillment and finishing in Christ.

But maybe one of you says also, “Well, so he’s the beginning and the end. And so he doesn’t change. That’s wonderful. But what if, what if there’s a God or a being that’s mightier than him? What if the devil’s more powerful? I mean, I don’t know, I haven’t seen him. Have you? Maybe the devil’s more powerful.” Maybe Allah is more powerful. Maybe Buddha is more powerful. And you look around and you see all the different religions, and all the different religions claim that their god is the true god, and that their god is the almighty one.

And then Jesus declares, “I am the Almighty. I am the Almighty.”

This is a really interesting phrase, this word almighty. Outside of the Book of Revelation, it’s used once in the New Testament, which is in Corinthians, and it’s l- just literally a quote out of the Greek Old Testament. So outside of Revelation, effectively no writer uses it. However, in the Greek Old Testament, it is everywhere. It is a very rich title used for Yahweh in the Old Testament. You know when you read through the Old Testament and you get Yahweh, the Lord of Hosts? Especially in the Samuel and Kings books. That’s what this word is, hosts. And in the sort of latter part of the Old Testament, in the prophets, it’s the Lord, Yahweh, the Lord Almighty.

And then, and then you get to the Book of Revelation, which we know is steeped in Old Testament, right? And all of a sudden, after all the rest of the New Testament has been written, this title appears, and it doesn’t, doesn’t just appear once. It’s everywhere. Le- have, have a look with me. Just skim through this really fast.

• Chapter one, verse 8, we see the Almighty.
• Chapter 4, verse 8, the, the, the cherubim, the creatures cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”
• Then in chapter 11, verse 17, the 24 elders fall on their faces and they declare, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty.”
• And then in chapter 15, verse 3, we’re told that they sing to a song of the Lamb, “Great and amazing are your deeds, oh Lord God, the Almighty.”
• And then in chapter 16, verse 7, “I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and just are your ways.’”
• And then in verse 14, we’re told people rise up and they, they perform signs in order to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God, the Almighty.
• And then in 19, verse 6, the marriage supper of the Lamb, we’re told, “Hallelujah for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns.”
• And we saw it this morning that in verse 15, “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God, the Almighty.”
• And then in chapter 21, verse 22, we’re told, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb.”

And so over and over, echoing through the Book of Revelation is what? The Lord Almighty, Yahweh Almighty, the Lord Almighty. He’s almighty, he’s almighty.

Why? Because Revelation wants you to know that there is no one greater than our God. Now this was absolutely imperative for the early church. Do you know why? Because the Emperor cult declared that there was no God like the emperor. He is the one who can take your life away or give it to you. Remember Pontius Pilate to Jesus? “Do you not understand that I can sentence you to death or release you?” Jesus, we are told, is greater and more mighty every lord and every king and every god.

And the Old Testament, it just echoes with this. We haven’t got time to look at it all, but in Zechariah, 0 over and over and over again, we’re told that the Lord is mightier than everything. In Malachi, we’re told that he is mighty over the church. In Jeremiah, we’re shown that he’s mightier than the prophets, the false prophets. In Nahum, we’re told that he’s mightier than the enemies of God’s people. In Job, we see that he is mightier than the devil. And in Amos, we’re told he is mightier than creation.

Why? Because if you’re going to live this side of glory, you must understand that everything, every leaf, every branch, every breath, every heartbeat, every person is under the supremacy of Christ Jesus, our Lord. There is nothing that moves upon the face of the planet that is not under his authority.

And this is a wonderful comfort to a battle-weary, beleaguered church. Because we look around ourselves and we’re tempted to think, “We’re losing. We’re going backwards.” But when we look up to the one that says, “I am the Almighty,” we are reminded of the wonderful comfort that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The supremacy is declared nowhere better, I think, than in the Book of Colossians, where we’re told,

“He,” being Christ, “He is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all creation. By him, all things were created. In heaven, on earth, visible, invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities, all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

Brothers and sisters, this is our God. This is our Savior. This is our Lord. This is the servant King. And he is the one that comforts us. He is the one that brings us mercy and grace. He is the one that meets us in all of our sorrows and all of our pain. Why should we be afraid? Why would we doubt when Jesus Christ is seated upon the throne?

And, you know, I, I had a, I had a whole plethora of different applications of this to our lives. But really, I can think of no greater way to apply this than by looking at Romans 8. In Romans 8 Paul says:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’”

That’s the story of the early church, right? And that’s the story of much of the church. We are like sheep being slaughtered. And yet Paul can say,

“No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What falls outside that? Nothing.

So, don’t doubt, brothers and sisters, that the grace and peace that we find in Christ from our God is sufficient. It is enough for you to bank on for all of eternity. And no power of hell, nor scheme of man can ever pluck you from his hands. Be confident, and bold, and courageous in the word of your testimony, oh Church of Jesus Christ. Because if he is for us, who can be against us?

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