JESUS WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME

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JESUS WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME

Revelation 1:4–6 (ESV)
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the Bible. It is a book of instructions, promises, and prophetic words given by Jesus to the church under the pressures of temptation, compromise, syncretism, and persecution, so that the church awaiting Jesus' return would remain faithful and victorious to the end. At the beginning of the book, Jesus is introduced: “He who is and who was and who is to come." Jesus himself was a faithful witness; he died preaching the truth regardless of people's reactions. He is the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
This description of Jesus is reminiscent of Moses' first encounter with God.
Exodus 3:1–3 (ESV)
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
Exodus 3:4–6 (ESV)
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 3:7–8 ESV
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Exodus 3:9–11 (ESV)
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Exodus 3:12–13 (ESV)
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?
Exodus 3:14–15 (ESV)
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Everything in this world exists because God commanded it to exist. Nothing exists on its own. Naturalism says that this universe is self-created. But self-creation is an oxymoron. But God is eternally self-existent. His name is “I AM." He is eternally self-existent. This is why God's name is Yahweh. In English, it is capitalized as “the LORD.” This is how this name was later quoted: “The prophet Isaiah, writing some 800 years later, said.
Isaiah 41:4 (ESV)
Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 44:6 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Let’s go back to Revelation.
Revelation 1:7–8 (ESV)
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of 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.”
Behold, he is coming with the clouds. I am the Alpha and the Omega.
Apostle John wrote in John 1:1.
John 1:1–3 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In modern physics, time, space, and matter are inseparable from each other. When matter and space began to exist, so did time. The Bible refers to this point as “in the beginning.” The Apostle John testifies that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the Apostle John testifies that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Not only that, but he testifies that all things were made through him, and that nothing came into existence that was made that was not made through him. From the very beginning, John's Gospel presents Jesus as God and Creator, as being present from the beginning.
The Book of Revelation (John Communicates Grace and Peace to the Churches from the Eternal Father, the Spirit, and the Faithful Son, Who Conquered Death, Has Begun to Reign as King, and Has Redeemed Believers as Kings and Priests, All for God’s Glory (1:4–6))
The name in Exod. 3:14 was also expanded in twofold and threefold manners in later Jewish tradition: “I am he who is and who will be” (Targ. Ps.-J. Exod. 3:14); “I am now what I always was and always will be” (Midr. Rab. Exod. 3.6; Alphabet of Rabbi Akiba; likewise Midr. Ps. 72.1); “I am he who is and who was, and I am he who will be”
Isaiah, a prophet writing about 800 years after Moses, testifies.
Isaiah 41:4 (ESV)
Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 43:10 (ESV)
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
Isaiah 44:6 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Jesus is he who is and who was and who is to come. He is the creator, redeemer, the king of the kingdom of God, and he will judge all souls in the last day.
Revelation 1:4–6 (ESV)
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Right now, most Jews do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah and are still waiting for the Messiah. This time when they do not believe in Jesus is the time of the Gentiles. But the Lord says that in the last days, the Jews will return en masse and repent. At that time, the door that was open to the Gentiles will be closed. Believe in him and be saved before that door is closed, for he will return soon.
Prayer: O Lord, give us true saving faith so that we may have eternal life, be citizens of your kingdom. Make us know you more and more everyday. Do not close the door of your kingdom. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
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