Lesson 242: "Alpah and Omega"
The bible is one story that begins in the book of Genesis and ends in the book of Revelation; the last part of Revelation reads like the close of the story which indeed it is. In the beginning God created the heavens and earth and in the end John saw a new heaven and a new earth (Gen. 1:1, Rev. 21:1). The gathering together of the waters He called the sea but in Revelation we find no sea (Gen. 1:10, Rev. 21:1). The darkness He called night, the two great lights He called the moon and the sun, however there will no need for these lights in Revelation (Gen. 1:5, 1:16, Rev. 21:25, 21:23). When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit they were told they would surely die, but believers are promised life eternal (Gen. 2:17, Rev. 21:4). Because of the sin in the Garden mankind’s pain was greatly increased (Gen. 3:16); neither shall there be pain any more (Rev. 21:4). God cursed the ground in the beginning (Gen. 3:17) and He will take the curse away (Rev. 22:3). Satan appears in Genesis (3:1, 4) and then disappears forever in Revelation (20:10). Although Adam and Eve were driven from the Tree of Life (Gen. 3:22-24), believers will be welcome to partake of this Tree (Rev. 22:2). Though their sin took them out of God’s presence (Gen. 3:24) we will see Him face to face (Rev. 22:4). Man’s first home was by a river (Gen. 2:10) as will his final home be beside a River (Rev. 22:1).
The New Testament “Canon” literally means “cane” or rod of measurement which is ironic in the fact that the book of Revelation the angel who talked to John had a measuring rod of gold to measure that New City (Rev. 21:15-21). In Christian use the New Testament came to mean the written rule of faith which is something we cannot see (Heb. 11:1) but through which we are saved (Eph. 2:8). The righteous live by faith (Rom. 1:17), faith can move mountains (1 Cor. 13:2), we have faith to fight with (1 Tim. 6:12) and a shield of faith to protect us while we battle our way through life (Eph. 6:16). Jesus Christ is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2) and is the same Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth that revealed the end times to the apostle (Rev. 1:5). No one really knows who wrote the “creation hymn” used by Moses but for sure it was “dictated” by God Himself just as the revelation of end times was given to the old Apostle by Christ in Revelation.
In Genesis “the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him”; God’s name will be the “mark” on the believer’s head in Revelation and they will reign for ever and ever. In the beginning, Satan, who had been cast out of heaven because of rebellion, was in the Garden of Eden and guess who shows up, back in heaven in the end times? The great dragon, that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, however, he loses again and is cast out of heaven for the final time and the accuser of our brothers will be hurled down (Rev. 12:7-12). In the beginning God created everything and said; “it is good”! This earth and heaven will pass away when Christ comes again and He will say; “it is done”!
The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden may have been an actual food of immorality, indicating that immortality is dependent on something outside us. This Tree will again be accessible to those who have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb (Rev. 2:7, 22:2). From the beginning God designed man to live forever; the one condition being obedience to God. Man failed! Then began the long, slow process of redemption, by a Savior, through whom man may regain his lost estate and they will reign with Christ forever (Rev. 22:5). God created male and female in Genesis, ordaining the divine origin and sanctity of marriage. Scripture represents marriage as an earthly counterpart of the relation between Christ and The Church (Eph. 5:25-32); the bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7, 21:2). Adam’s bride was made from his side while he was asleep, this perhaps being the first picture of the Bride of Christ/Church being made out of “blood and water” that came from Christ’s side while He was “asleep” on the Cross.
We were not there to see the Alpha but we will be there to see the Omega because He is coming soon; “Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and may go through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:12-14). Don’t miss the end of the story!