Bookends

Rev 22:13 ""I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

Bookends are great things. Really. I can't stand it when there is a bunch of books that sit on the shelf and they keep falling over. It is kind of irritating. I always want a bookend, or those metal library things to keep the books up so that they are orderly. I guess I am kind of weird.

Do you ever get the feeling that something is really important? I know that when my wife wants me to remember to do something, she usually has to remind me a few times. She has to repeat herself in order for it to sink into this thick skull of mine. She has to use mental bookends to keep me orderly.

I get the idea that God wants us to get something in the book of Revelation. He wants us to see that this book is held up. It is held up by bookends that He put in the first and last chapter of Revelation. He does not just want us to see that this earth is going to be in a world of hurt. Not just the fact that He is coming back to rule and reign in a new heaven and a new earth. I think He wants us to get this: Bookend at the beginning: Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Rev 1:11 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," Bookend at the end: Rev 21:6 "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts." And now this: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

The thing that I think God wants us to get is that it is all God. He is the Bookends. He is the One who holds it all together. He is the One who keeps everything standing. The future is God's. The past is God's. The Present is God's. It is all God. In fact, it is all Jesus because a few verses down we read: "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches." v16 If there is any question whether the Father and the Son are One, this should put that question to rest. God the Father and Jesus the Son are the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Eternal. Forever.

And the massiveness of this should just blow me away. There is no way that I can get my feeble brain around the fact that this Triune God has always been in existence. This Triune God has no maker. This Triune God has always been in control. This Triune God is the only One I should worship. This Triune God is the only One that I should obey. This Triune God is in all, above all, and through all. This God is God. Oh, I can be drawn to many other things. My allegiance can be divided. But God is saying: "It is Me and Me only. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the Beginning and the End. I am the First and the Last. I am the One…the only One. Listen to Me. Obey Me. Be committed to Me. Pursue Me. Spend time with Me. Have a relationship with Me."

Only Jesus. That is what Revelation is all about. He is what holds me up. He is what will hold everything together. We can trust Him simply because of who He is.