THE ALPHA AND OMEGA
Read Revelation 1:8.
For those unfamiliar with the Greek alphabet, alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega the last. In essence, God is saying He is eternal, that is “who is, and who was, and who is to come.”
Let’s think about that for a moment…
God who is: God always is. He is never not is. There never was a time when He wasn’t. There will never be a time when He won’t be. God is. Whenever you go through tough times, remember that God always is. When you feel alone, remember that God always is. When you think He has disappeared from your life, remember that God always is. He is there every moment. Just as the present is always now, God is always now.
God who was: He is always faithful. Your past reflects that. When you thought things couldn’t get worse, He was there. When you thought He didn’t care, He was there. Even when you were far from Him, He was there. Remember that when you begin to doubt the God who is. Your past will tell you that God is also now.
God who is to come: He holds the future. He is sovereign over all events, people, and things. He is the hope that keeps us going because He is coming to do something about. Remember that when affliction strikes, that this is temporary because God is going to do something about it. He is coming to take us home, to a place where we best belong. That is a fact. Therefore, never give up hope.
And just in case you might doubt His ability, He calls Himself, “the Almighty” – literally, “the one who has his hand on everything.”
There will be some very difficult things taking place in the future as seen in this revelation, but none of them is beyond God’s knowledge and power. I believe God’s words here are given before the revelation is revealed because John (and we) might think these things are happening because God is weak or careless. Not so, says God. He knows what He is doing. And we can have that same confidence in our own lives as well.