“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13
In the first sentence of the Bible, we read, “In the beginning, God…” And in the first chapter of the last book, Revelation 1:7-8, we find, “Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. Everyone will see Him, even those who pierced Him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for Him. Yes! Amen! ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,’ says the Lord God. ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.’”
In the beginning, God, and in the end, God. God created everything, and it was very good. But then sin entered the world, bringing evil, corruption, pain, suffering, tragedy, and both spiritual and physical death.
However, God did not abandon His creation, even though He had every right to do so. Instead, God chose to implement His plan of redemption, a plan to restore His creation to the way it was meant to be before the entrance of sin and humanity’s rebellion against Him.
From Genesis to Revelation, we see God’s plan of redemption unfolding. We witness His love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control in the face of humanity’s repeated rejection of Him. The Bible assures us that there is hope, no matter how badly we sin or how terribly we treat God and disobey Him. God has not abandoned us, despite what we deserve. God loves us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to come and die for us; He took our sin upon Himself and suffered God’s just punishment in our place.
As Romans 5:8 tells us, God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Our hope is found in God’s special anointed One, Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, God in the flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity.
With Jesus, there is always hope that leads to a changed heart toward God. This transformation encourages us to turn back to Him, the Almighty God, who has always been there, working His plan of redemption on our behalf. He wants us to find hope, to awaken to our sin, to stop deceiving ourselves, and to open our eyes and ears to His loving offer of salvation. This transformation leads us to cry out to Him, to sincerely seek Him, to surrender our lives to Him, to submit ourselves to Him, and to place our trust in Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, our only hope of salvation.
This is God’s message to us from Genesis to Revelation. In the beginning, God so loved us; in the end, God so loved us. The Bible offers us hope, while also warning us that we must make a choice: Will we accept God’s gracious offer of salvation through Christ, or will we reject Him?
The book of Revelation makes it clear that if you turn to Jesus, there is forgiveness, even in the last days before the Day of Judgment. It also clarifies that Jesus, the King of Kings and rightful ruler of all creation, will judge and condemn sin and evil, along with all who reject Him. In the beginning, God provided us with both hope and a warning. In the end, God continues to offer hope and a warning. He has granted humanity the freedom to make our own choices. This journey is outlined from Genesis to Revelation, which can be thought of as God’s Route 66.
Randy Adams