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The Alpha and Omega Revelations 2 1:1 -8
A. Introduction Christmas is about - expectations, excitement, Joy and consummation. Christmas has always been exciting and joyous. For many of us, Christmas as a festival has lost its meaning. The reason is because we do not see it as something exciting. However in order for us to recapture Christmas let me suggest to you that there are three elements in Christmas that should make us exalted. These elements are expectation, gratitude and consummation.
What is the element in Christmas that would help us to be expectant? For the people in the days prior to Jesus birth, it was the coming King and Messiah. For us, it is also the coming King and Messiah. Here there is a fundamental change. Our expectation of a Messiah King is not the baby Jesus; it is truly the King and the Messiah who has promised he will come again. In other words, it is the second coming of Jesus that must kindle our Christmas spirit.
What is the element in Christmas that would help us to be grateful? The answer is in the gift of eternal life. For many of us, eternal life is rooted in the idea that it is in the future and that we are still living in the old mortal life. The Bible teaches to the contrary. Eternal life begins when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. This means it begins now. We are already beginning to live the eternal life that God wants to give to us., Hence as we wait for the coming Christmas, we are grateful for the gift of eternal life. Christmas should be a time where we reflect how far we have appropriated this eternal life so that we are living more of the eternal life and less of the life of the flesh and of the world.
What is the element in Christmas that would help us to be excited and expectant? It is the consummation. Just as a bride and bridegroom await the day when they are married, so should the Christian await Christmas because it is the day of consummation for us. Consummation is the final revelation of the truth in Christian terms and should make everybody wait with bated breath for the coming of the son of man.
There are three expectations when we wait for the coming One. These are firstly the expectation of a new place. Christmas is our signpost to the ushering of a new place. Secondly it is the expectation of a satisfying place. Christmas points to the time when we will be fully satisfied. And thirdly there is the expectation that it will be a safe place. Christmas points to the fact that in him we are safe. The dangerous would be made safe and the evil would be banished forever from our sight.
This is the reason for celebrating Christmas. It is as much as looking backward to the Christmas event as well as the looking forward of the coming event.
B. First expectation- The expectation of a new place Christmas is about a new place. The Lord said that He would prepare a place for us because in the Father's place there are many mansions. When we celebrate Christmas we are looking forward to a new place where we can all live. Where is this new place? Let me read Revelation 21:1 and 2…”Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. l saw the Holy City the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And l heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "'Now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away “
In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. This is the verse in the opening verse in the book of Genesis. This for us is the old heaven and earth. This old heaven and earth will pass away and the new heaven and earth will come. The old heaven and earth had the sea. But in this new heaven there will be no sea. Some commentators interpret the sea as the representation of evil since the beast which is the very epitome of evil arose out of the sea. So if there is no sea it means that evil will be banished away. Hence the new Heaven and the new earth will have no evil in it.
Three key words characterize this beautiful passage. They are ‘new’ in Verse 1, ‘Now’ in verse 3 and ‘No more’ in Verse 4. What a wonderful way to remember Christmas. Jesus will usher for us something new, in that it is a present reality. Suffering evil and wickedness shall be no more.
Let us take each in turn. First the place prepared for us will be a ‘new’ place. Christ makes everything new for us. The old, which is evil and corrupted will pass away. Would we believe that our old corrupted bodies which is open to earth and decay would be changed in an instance to a glorified one? Relationships that seem impossible to mend, will be made new and lovely That is the final meaning of Christmas.
Secondly, it is a ‘now’ event. In the old testament, God promised us a sign of Christmas. And this sign was in the coming of Emmanuel, meaning ‘God with us’. The promise of God coming and living with us has become a reality now. In the new testament we read of the command to the disciples to “stay in Jerusalem to await the Holy Spirit”. They waited and received the Holy Spirit. With that event God promises that whoever receives him will have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him forever. Truly the Emmanuel has arrived in our midst and is with us and in us.
Do we believe that God is in us and dwells with us? If we do not, may the word remind us that now we have him. He has promised and now he will fulfill. Let us pause for a few short moments to ask for his presence to come into our lives.
Thirdly, evil will be ‘no more’. Many of us have seen evil first hand and we abhor it. l remember evil in the raw and its consequences many years ago Some one had committed adultery and the consequence of that evil was to sully the relationship between the husband and wife for over twenty years. During this time the adulterer and the wronged one (both related) had scrupulously avoided one another and the avoidance had caused difficult relationships between siblings and relatives. When at last these two men met because someone close to them had died they started quarrelling as if the event had happened yesterday. It is a terrible thing to see the pain caused by this evil. May the Lord deliver us from such evil and wickedness.
Application : So as we look forward to Christmas let us remember that Christmas is about new beginnings and changes. It is about God coming and living with us. It is about Jesus the alpha and omega. Let us remember that there is something exciting coming our way.
C. Second expectation-The expectation of a satisfying place Christmas is also about expecting a satisfying place. Three key inheritances makes remembering Christmas particularly satisfying. Let me read verses 6 and 7 ... He said to me: It is done. l am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To him who is thirsty l will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and l will be his God and he will be my son.
Here in these verses the Lord promises three key inheritances. These are i) v 6 a place with satisfying resources ii) v 7a a place with satisfying responsibilities iii) v 7b a place with satisfying relationships
Let us take each in its turn. First inheritance There is promised a sweet inheritance of a satisfying resources. What are these resources that the Lord will give to those who are His? "To him who is thirsty l will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life” The resource that satisfies is the water of life. Note a number of characteristics of this water of life. It is supremely free. There is no cost attached. If any were to come to our Lord, he promises a free gift of the water of life. The next noticeable characteristic is its presence at the point of need. "To him who is thirsty l will give”. Here the Lord repeats again and again, that he will be there to refresh us when we need him. As we remember Christmas let us remember that God is there to give to us what we truly need. We also notice that this satisfying resource is a spring of the water of life. Springs give us a picture of refreshing renewal and unending resource. Spring comes from deep down the earth and refreshes those who drink from it. The particular spring that the Lord promises is the spring of the water of life. Those who drink from the water of life renews his life.
Second inheritance There is promised the resource of satisfying responsibilities Let me read verse 7 ... He who overcomes will inherit all this”. God gave Adam a wonderful occupation in Eden. He was to name the animals. Satisfying work is rewarding, challenging and worthwhile. In the coming days, we shall will inherit all things and we will administer this inheritance for the glory of God. What a challenge to us. God allows circumstances of life to test us and to put us on our mettle in order to enlarge us and increase our capacity and our ability to handle responsibilities. If we allow the Holy Spirit to make us overcomers here, we shall enter into an enlarged responsibility over there for we are to inherit all things.
Third inheritance There is promised the resource of satisfying relationships. He says, "I will be His God and he will be my son". How wonderful is God! First, He gives us His son, 'for God so loved the world that he gave his begotten son,". Then he gives us his Spirit. He says, "If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Now in this verse He gives himself to us. We are to be inheritors of this final relationship. God gives to us himself and makes a covenant with us that he will be our God.
Application: Christmas heralds these three inheritances. If we were to see with faith that the Lord is readying for us these inheritances when He comes, then the celebration of Christmas would be particularly satisfying.
D. Third expectation-The expectation that it will be a safe place Finally, in the third expectation, we would expect the new Jerusalem and the new heaven and the new earth to be a safe place. God promises us safety. Living in this place this old earth is not safe. Gerald Sittser in his article in the ‘Discipleship Journal’ this month has an article about the meaning of grace. When his wife, mother and daughter was taken away from him, someone wrote to him and said these words…”Judging by your life, God should protect and guard your life. But this is not to be. What has happened to you makes this world an unsafe place to be." l believe this is true. This is not a safe place to be. We live in a dangerous world where evil abound and evil acts abound because of the presence of evil people. If God allows these things to us, it means that there is a purpose. Other than that we live in a dangerous world. When we view this fact and take it in what is our response. Either we move on to safety providers or do we cling to God even tighter?
Verse 8 speaks of the removal of all things dangerous ... But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery take of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Here we see people who make the world a dangerous place for us are finally kept away from the new heaven and earth. These are the people who have made the cities of the earth centers of wickedness; all such will be banned from the new world. Sin has wrecked and ruined this world and God is determined it will not ruin the world to come. Note that the idolaters ...those who do not believe in God, that is the unbelievers will also be in the lake of fire. Men may concede the abominable to deserve such a fate but the unbelievers will also be part of the crowd.
E. Conclusion and challenge What does all this mean for us as we approach Christmas. Let us be waiting like the bride and bridegroom who wait the day of consummation with expectation. Let us live lives that are wholly his so that we will be people who would celebrate Christmas with joy.
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