The August Speaker declaring his Name from the throne.
One theme alone remains before we enter on the visions of this book. Ere we are told what is said, we have once more to be assured—Who says it? An all-important question, on the answer to which the value of what follows entirely depends, inasmuch as the Speaker declares himself, as if it were from him that the revelation proceeds, and as if it were from his lips that the words went forth. This being the case, since, according to the first verse, the Lord Jesus Christ is he who receives the revelation, and who, as the Mediator between God and man, is the channel through which it reaches us, we seem shut up to the conclusion that the words in the eighth verse are those of the Almighty Father himself (see Alford, in loc.). As such we now propose to study them. They set him before us in four aspects.
I. IN HIS SUBLIME SELF-EXISTENCE. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God." The α and the ω. These letters, being the first and last of the Greek alphabet, enclose, as it were, all the rest. These words should be compared with Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 44:6. Note also the ἐγώ εἰμι, the pronoun declaring the personality of the Speaker; and the verb being that which indicates being, not becoming. The precision of the Apostle John in the distinctive use of these two verbs is remarkable (see John 1:1-14). There is no "coming to be" in the Divine nature. He only "is." The I AM THAT I AM. Note: In these words is the standing and sufficient answer to the charge of anthropomorphism in Bible representations of God. But it will not be adequately profitable for us merely to admire the sublimity of the words; we must also set forth their vastness of meaning. What, then, do they import? The Most High is the α and the ω, enclosing all. Then:
1. All space is enclosed in his infinite presence. (Psalms 139:1-24.)
2. All time is included in his endless age. With him is no passing away. He but is. Events, as they move on, pass beneath his eye.
"All thou dost make lies like a lake
Beneath thine infinite eye.
Years on years, and all appears
Save God, to die."
3. All events are encompassed by his changeless, boundless Being. The
4. All created beings are supported in the holdings of his power. The "hollow of his hand" contains them.
5. All history, from the beginning of creation to the consummation of all things, is encircled by his Spirit. Scripture speaks of a beginning (Genesis 1:1). It also speaks of an end (1 Corinthians 15:24). With God is neither beginning nor end. The beginning and the ending which are enclosed within the limits of Divine revelation do but occupy, as it were, one instant of Jehovah's being! At a glance he surveys the whole.
II. IS HIS SUBLIME SELF-MANIFESTATION. "Which is to come." Here, it must be noted, is a verb, not of becoming, but of movement. Who is the Coming One? The Lord Jesus is, in both the Old and New Testaments, "he that cometh," and in the entire scope of Revelation his coming is regarded as a unity—a five-fold one: by the angel of his presence, to the patriarchs; by his Spirit, to the prophets; by his incarnation, to suffer; by Pentecostal gifts, to inaugurate his kingdom; and by his indwelling with the Church, to complete it; and hereafter by his reappearing, to consummate it. Yet in the text the Almighty Father speaks of himself as "the Coming One." It is even so. The Father is perpetually carrying on the process of a self-revelation to the world; and it is by the Lord Jesus Christ and his work that the Father is revealed. There is a ceaseless outgoing of the infinite energy. "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." In this the Father is:
1. Always moving and energizing.
2. Always advancing.
3. Always controlling events so as to ensure determined issues.
4. Always revealing himself more and more.
5. Always bringing things out to light; judging, administering, all in equity.
This—this is the sublime outlook for this and every age. Each as it rolls on will open up some new phase of the mysteries of Providence, and in so doing will disclose some new letter in the unfinished and unfinishable Name!
III. AS HE WHO IS NOW SPEAKING TO MAN. "Saith the Lord God ( λέγει)." This is one of those utterances which compel us to form some theory of the origin and authority of this Book of Revelation. An utterance of some well-known and self-evident truth, which is known to be true, whoever may say it, will allow of almost any theory of authorship without vitally affecting the value of the words themselves. But it is not so here. The words of this verse are distinctly declared to be Divine. And as such they must be regarded, until adequate reason to the contrary is shown. The claim they make cannot be too reverently treated, if it be valid; nor too sternly rejected, if it be otherwise. We are not left in uncertainty. The high and holy elevation of the words is utterly inconsistent with invalidity of claim. Their grandeur is like that of the words of the Lord Jesus, which create the faith they require, and sustain the faith they create. The words are of God. Then they are authoritative. The question of authority in religion is much disputed nowadays. But there are three kinds of authority which will be admitted—must be—as long as the world stands.
1. The authority of intrinsic and self-evident truth.
2. The authority of superior knowledge.
3. The authority of rightful supremacy.
It is the third kind which exists here. £ The Lord God speaks: then the words must be authoritative, beyond dispute.
IV. AS HE WHO, BY ANNOUNCING HIMSELF AS THE SPEAKER, CALLS FOR OUR ATTENTION. This attention and reverent regard should be shown in:
1. Listening.
2. Studying.
3. Obeying precept.
4. Trusting promise,
finding in the attribute of almightiness a Divine and infinite pledge that not one thing will fail of all that the Lord hath spoken. With a sense of holy awe, let us now await the visions which are to be opened up to us, and hearken to the words which the heavenly Speaker will address to the Churches.