He Was First, He’ll be Last

“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”  Revelation 1:17-18 (ESV)

Sometimes my wife sends me the Days of Praise e-devotionals she gets. When they hit the mark with her she passes them along to me with a one line zinger. She recently sent me something that struck a chord not so much with its content but with the how the end was summarized. It was based in Psalm 34:4, basically covered fear and that the Good News of the Gospel message can set us free from fear. I didn’t know that 19 times in the Bible we can find the words “fear not”.

The devotional ended with this. “Perhaps the greatest fear of all is the fear of death, but the Lord delivers us even from this fear, for He has conquered death. In His glorified body, He has said, “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” This got my wheels turning and I wondered what the nay-sayers of this time period would use this for.

I have a friend at work who is kinda in and out of Kingdom Hall these days. Pablo and I have many discussions on Kingdom principles and we both watch “Ancient Aliens” on the History Channel. He gives some of what is brought forth by that show as possibilities, I, on the other hand, compare the nonsense they talk about on how man was brought here by spacecraft’s and that it was really Duck Dodgers of the 21^st & ½ century as their pilot. I mean, if we’re going to get “Loony Tunes” with it might as well bring in Daffy Duck as comic relief.

But Pablo and I looked at what we read in Revelation 1:17-18 and we both said from the time John pen’s “I am the first and the last” that it would give the Ancient Alien theorists the wiggle room they need to have this discussion that Duck Dodgers brought us here and that he is coming back on 12-21-2012 to take us home…well maybe only 144,000 of us. But it’s the “fear not” part I that emphasis. Only the Tri-unity of loving and caring God could say these two words and have them bring true comfort.

To put this into perspective, Jesus was there at the beginning and we need to not just believe this because the Bible tells us so but to believe this by faith. As John Gill wrote, “He is the first and last in divine predestination (Isaiah 41:4), in the covenant of grace, in creation, in the business of salvation, and in His church, by whom, and for whom, are all things in it; He is the head of the body, the Son over His own house, and the firstborn among many brethren.” Jesus will be there at the end and we need to not just believe this because the Bible tells us so but to believe this because of the marvel of the common grace given to all just because He loves us, that in itself should reinforce your faith. If it doesn’t…fear not, neither be dismayed because if you want it to, it can. Amen? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular blogger for Freedom Fighter

Team YOU: Isaiah 57-58; Proverbs 16; 1 Thessalonians 4

Motivations: I am ready to meet God face to face tonight and look into those eyes of infinite holiness, for all my sins are covered by the atoning blood. (Reuben Archer) R. A. Torrey

Practice to Remember: Level 1:James 2:5; Level 2: James 2:1-5

Powered Up:  God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way a man looks at things. Oswald Chambers