Beginning and End...the Wayfarer
Beginning and End
Revelation 22:12-13
King James Version (KJV)
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
First AND last, beginning AND end! This statement is all encompassing, incontrovertible, unchanged, and unchanging no matter how "times have changed", no matter how "people have changed", no matter how "morals and laws have changed", no matter how much "the church has changed"!
The promise contained within the 12th verse remains unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable, as does the implicit warning contained within the 13th verse of this scripture given John by Christ himself, and is a continuation of the gospel given us by that same apostle.
John 1 King James Version (KJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
In the beginning, was the word!
The Word was with God, and the Word was God!
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Power, Majesty, Omnipotence, Omniscience, indescribable in nature, yet all contained within the embodiment of Christ Jesus, sent to provide both warning and promise to a creature that continued and continues to deny their own subservience to their very creator.
That Savior was recognized by both John the Baptist, sent to prepare the way for him, and John the Apostle who bore, and bears witness to Him through the gospel given, and through the Revelation given him by that same Son of God.
That witness, too, remains unchanged and unchanging.
The message preached by Christ Jesus, begun that day of His baptism, both promise and warning continues unchanged and unchanging.
Why then do so many accept the "change" demanded by men that denies the unchagability of both the promise and the warning delivered by Christ that stands immutable despite the demands of their own "change"?
John summed it up well in the opening verses of this scripture, as he described the rejection that was found among those attempting to refute the very purpose of Christ then, and those who continue to attempt to refute His existence now as well.
Despite all refusal to accept both promise and warning, both continue to exist and will never be negated by the blind denial of their efficacy!
Despite all attempts to "change" the facts delivered by Him, those facts remain, both promise and warning, uninfluenced by any "change" instituted by men for their own apathetic, ineffectual, and miscreant purposes that only lead farther from the promise and closer to the delivery of the facts that came and come with the warning.
Christ came to provide a reconciliation between God and man on GOD's terms.
He bore the rejection and suffered the necessity of death to prove the resurrection that provided and provides the truth of the message He came to deliver.
He lives still, despite all attempts to deny the LIFE he brought and brings those few willing to accept those terms, unchanged and unchanging until acceptance or denial is final for each having heard warning and promise.
He remains the beginning and end for all... whether accepted by those hearing warning and promise, or denied by those demanding the terms of "change" that can never and will never be accepted by HIM.
2 Timothy 1:12
King James Version (KJV)
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer
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