Day 15 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev 1:8 NASB

CF v8 with v17. In our text, God is the Alpha and Omega (beginning and ending of the Greek alphabet). In v17 Jesus is identified as the “First & the Last.” He is the One who is, was, and is to come (the One in control of the past, the present, and the future), and the Almighty. Jesus and the father are one, equal from eternity. God is the Lord of history. No situation that we encounter could possibly take Him by surprise. He is outside time. Everything that happens to us is part of a larger plan. Jesus was the eternal God walking within the bounds of time. 

Revelation is filled with God’s judgments on wicked nations and systems. But God’s true people can be found in those same nations and systems. They experience the “side effects” of God’s judgments. Because of the mixed nature of human systems, God’s faithful people should never expect perfect security in this life. Faithfulness is not always rewarded immediately. 

“ I, John, YOUR BROTHER AND COMPANION IN THE AFFLICTION AND KINGDOM AND PATIENT ENDURANCE WHICH IS IN JESUS came to be on the island which is called Patmos, on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Rev 1:9. 

It is all too easy to pontificate about the sufferings of others when you haven’t experienced what they have gone through. John had been through hard times and now he was in a “dry” place for convicts. 

Only those who have truly suffered know how to comfort the suffering. John knows what they are going through from experience. Those who share in suffering or persecution are often unified in ways that transcend all other barriers. Race, culture, and denominational differences matter little when experiencing the consequences of opposition to the gospel. No pain is wasted. Knowing that others have felt what we feel has healing power for our own pain. And through suffering, we learn how to minister to those who suffer.