April 16th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Remember how I go to sleep when I am afraid?  Well, I have another little neurotic quirk…

Out of fear of being disappointed, I will convince myself that what I really want to happen isn’t actually going to happen.

I hate the feeling of being disappointed… so I set those standards low!  I have had friends throw surprise parties or showers for me and it has been so painfully obvious what they’ve been up to… but I still will convince myself that what I perceive is not actually the case.  Who wants to think that someone is throwing a bash for their birthday and then be forgotten?  Um, not me!

Friends, we don’t have to set our standards low with the return of Christ.  There will be no disappointment here.  He will not abandon us, forget us, overlook us, or be unable to fulfill His word!

Yesterday we took at look at Revelation 1:4-8 and began to discuss the certainty of His coming – He is already on the way!  Today we’re going to continue that discussion by taking a closer look at verses 7 and 8.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.  Even so.  Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Apostle John here echoes the cry in so many of our hearts as He affirms the statement that Jesus’ return is imminent: Even so.  Amen. “Even so” is in Greek, and “Amen” is in Hebrew… and both are the strongest words of affirmation in each language.  John is pleading – “Yes!  I want that!  Let it be so!!”

Verse 8 is like an incredible stamp of assurance in response from our Lord.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega”

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.  In this statement God affirms that He has all knowledge – He is the beginning, the end – He is completely omniscient!  He sees the state of our world, the suffering of His people, the evil that has run rampant.  You never have to wonder, “does God see what is happening?”  He is the Alpha and Omega.

“Who is and who was and who is to come”

This reminds me of our discussion of Exodus 3, which the handful of you who have been on this crazy ride of a blog for a long time might remember – but remember, I have low expectations and don’t really expect you to. ;)

God is not simply a God of the past.  He is the eternal I AM – unbound by time, unbound by space, and Lord of it all.  Nothing can change His promised plan!

“the Almighty.”

Not only is God omniscient and eternal, but He is also omnipotent – He has all power, all authority!  Nothing can hinder Him from acting!

Is your heart crying out for His return as mine is?  Are we saying with the Apostle John, “even so.  Amen.”?

Friends, we will not be disappointed.  In His perfect timing, in His perfect plan, HE WILL RETURN.

Nothing will hinder His plan.

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Art used (with permission) by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site,  http://revelationillustrated.com.