Jesus uses this phrase 4 times in the book of Revelation to describe himself, 1:11,17; 2:8; 22:13. It is combined with other phrases like “Alpha and Omega” and “the beginning and the end” as well as two times mentioning that he had been dead but was now alive. This last may have reference to him being the first fruits of the resurrection in addition to the idea of beginning and end. Of course all of these symbolic descriptions point to his deity and his position of being before time was created and existing after time as we know it ends, in other words being eternal.

You probably knew this phrase was associated with Jesus and maybe that it was used in Revelation, but did you know that the Lord uses this same description of himself in the Old Testament? Employing a similar phrase to explain the actions of a king is used 9 times in the Chronicles. The image of first and last is used throughout the Bible for other reasons as well, like when Jesus says “the first shall be last” and he fulfilled this idea in a sense as well by being first (God) and becoming the least or last by dying a criminals death on the cross. 

In Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12 the Lord proclaims to Israel that he is the first and he is the last. It is no accident that Jesus pulls this same moniker from the book of Isaiah and applies it to himself in Revelation to let his people know that he is the same God that Isaiah prophesied for. And of course the idea of him being first in the sense of being before all things and first in the since of being greatest are taught other places also.

Will you put your trust in and serve the one who was before the world existed and who will remain after all is said and done?

​In Revelation 19:11-16 there is a vision of Christ riding out on a white horse to make war and conquer Satan’s forces. Of course, it is all just a formality, really, since Jesus defeated Satan through his death and resurrection. It seems odd to think of someone winning by dying, but that was the way God had it planned.

In conquering Satan, Christ saved us from the fear of death and from enslavement to sin. As we remember our country’s military sacrifice on Memorial Day, it seems appropriate to think about how they made it possible for us to live in safety without fear of death or capture at the hands of a human enemy. Of course Christ’s conquering goes far beyond human war and human enemies, to our greatest foe, Satan and his desire to have us spend eternity in Hell with him.

In addition to conquering Jesus does something no human military can do for others. He makes us conquerors as well. Romans 8:37 says that we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Jesus also makes a promise for us if we conquer as he has. In Revelation 3:21 he will allow those who conquer to sit with him on his throne, just like he conquered and sat on the throne of his Father.

Many throughout history have died so that others might live, but only Jesus died so that we can live forever. The battle is not over for us, even though Jesus has already conquered, we are still at war. Revelation 17 paints an image of a battle that had not taken place in John’s day, but is now in the past. The same kind of battle is fought again and again by Satan’s forces against the Lamb of God and his people. Revelation 17:14 says, “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

​Those on the Lord’s side will conquer with him. Whose side are you fighting on? Have you allowed Jesus to conquer your will? Are you conquering Satan with Jesus’ help?

Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 both say that Christ is the beginning and the end. Of course this is equivalent to what is said in the song, “He Is My Everything”. There is no doubt that Jesus is the beginning of all things. In Hebrews 1:8-12 the Father says of Jesus, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;” We know Jesus created all things and in the physical world he is certainly the beginning of all things. 

1 John 2:13-14 John refers to Jesus twice as the one who is from the beginning. And in John 1:1-3 he makes it clear that Jesus, the Word is God and has been from eternity.

Paul tells the Colossians in 1:18 that he is our beginning in a spiritual sense because he is the firstborn from the dead, in other words, his resurrection will make ours possible. 

In so many ways he is the beginning. He is the beginning for the church and the new law. He is the beginning of all physical life and all spiritual life and hope for eternal life.

On the other hand, he is the end in so many ways. He brought an end to the power of death. He brought an end to Satan’s power. Romans 10:4 tells us Christ is the end of the law (the Law of Moses) for all who believe. He is or will be the end to this world as well when the time comes according to 1 Corinthians 15:24 at that time Christ will end his reign and return the kingdom to the Father.

​Christ is without a doubt both beginning and end in these ways and many other ways that we don’t understand or know about. He can end your old way of life and give you a new life of righteousness. Is Christ your beginning? Is Christ your end?

There is some confusion among those who claim to follow Christ and one point of disagreement is his eternal nature. The title above quoted from Revelation 3:14  “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.’” Is one of the verses that some misunderstand. 

As we read this phrase it sounds like Christ was the first thing that God created and some think because of this that Christ is a created being and don’t recognize him as God because of this verse and others like it. Is that what this verse means? Absolutely not! There are too many verses that clearly state that Jesus was born of a woman, but that before that he was known as the Word who was with God and was God and that he has no beginning nor any ending.

If it doesn’t mean that what does it mean? It is similar to what is taught in Colossians 1:16-17 and John 1:3 That Christ began the creation. In fact, “Plummer and many other able scholars declare the second meaning to be the one intended here. ‘The words mean, the one from whom creation took its beginning.’”(Coffman Commentary) So rather than proclaiming him to be a created being himself this verse indicates that he is the source of all created things. We should find the harmony of scriptures with English translations that appear to contradict. God doesn’t contradict himself. When we think there is a contradiction it is our lack of understanding or poor translation or some other problem that has caused it. 

Christ is not only the beginning of the physical creation, but also of the spiritual creation of his kingdom and all of its citizens. Christ created us twice once physically and once spiritually. We await his final creation when we are recreated to live in Heaven with him. 
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Contrary to what some might believe, “amen” doesn’t mean “the end”, even though we most often hear it at the end of a prayer or at the end of one of the Bible books. Wayne Jackson explains: “The Hebrew word, amen, means “surely, indeed, truly.” It derives from a root form, aman, which signifies “to be firm, steady, trustworthy, faithful” (again, the context can suggest which of these shades of meaning is most appropriate in a particular setting).”  (https://www.christian courier.com/articles/ 376-what-does-amen-mean)

In Revelation 3:14 Jesus calls Himself by this epithet,  “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;” Many of us don’t know the meaning and significance of our names, but many other cultures are very careful about naming babies and know the meaning of those names. Jesus does not claim names for no reason. Every name or description that we see given to Him is for a reason and Amen is no exception.

Let us look to Jesus the one who is surely firm, indeed steady, and truly trustworthy and faithful. Many could be said to be trustworthy or faithful, but Christ is the definition of trustworthiness and faithfulness. We can depend upon Him and He will never fail us. On the other hand, we are not as trustworthy, but He is our example and we should all make every effort to be more like Him. Are you faithful to the Faithful One, the Amen?

JP

Most of the time when we hear “The Almighty” used as a description we think of it as a description of the Father, and most of the time it does seem to be referring to Him or to the Godhead as a whole, but on at least one occasion in Revelation 1:8 it is clearly Jesus who describes himself as “the Almighty”.

It certainly shouldn’t surprise us. We are told that the Son was involved in making everything that was made (Col. 1:16). That surely would have involved being almighty. Jesus also tells us that He had power to lay His life down and power to take it up again. There are other references to the power and authority that He has over the church, His powerful victory over Satan, His power to save us from sin, and other power as well.

Perhaps we are familiar with the term omnipotent which is one of the attributes of God. That really is just a fancy way of saying all-powerful or almighty. Since Jesus is God it should be expected that He would have this godly characteristic as much as any other characteristic of Deity, but the knowledge is not enough. 

Understanding that we have someone on our side that is all-powerful should give us confidence. We should feel courage to face the devil and the world knowing that the One who has our back cannot be beaten. Do you have Christ the Almighty on your side? Christ can do all things and because of that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

JP