DEVOTION – SECOND COMING
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.” (Revelation 1:7-8 ESV)
How many times has your life felt like a chaotic play in which the director doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing? Maybe a family member is suffering one financial or health setback after another. The sets seem to be falling apart, nobody knows his lines, and nobody is in the right place. Nothing seems to be going right and we wonder, “Who’s running this show?”
Jesus is. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. (These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.) He is the First and Last of all world history. Jesus “is, was, and is to come.”
Jesus WAS. The Alpha or beginning of the “script,” if you will, for this world was Jesus. “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:2-3 ESV)
As the Alpha, He is also the “founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2 ESV) Our faith is founded on His perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross. Having risen from the dead, Jesus is the Alpha of the resurrection. Because He has risen, we too shall rise. The “script” for our salvation has Jesus’ name all over it.
Jesus IS. Even though life may seem like a chaotic play to us right now, King Jesus is directing things from His throne. Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand in a position of power and authority. The Father “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.” (Ephesians 1:22 ESV) Evidence of Jesus’ active direction is seen throughout the world as the Gospel continues to spread, despite the evil schemes of the devil and powers of this world.
During the chaotic “scene” of Good Friday, the Sanhedrin thought they were running the show as they demanded that Pilate crucify Jesus. Pilate thought he was in control of the script for Jesus: “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” (John 19:10 ESV) When Jesus breathed His last on the cross and was buried in that sealed tomb, His enemies thought that it was the closing scene for Jesus.
Jesus IS TO COME. Jesus who died and was buried and rose from the dead,ascended into heaven with the promise that He is coming again. “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.”
Jesus is in control and everything in all of world history is leading up to His second coming. Jesus will return to earth, just as He left it–with the clouds. Every eye will see Him as He raises the dead, “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2 ESV) Even those who rejected and condemned Him will see Him in all His glory on the Last Day. Jesus is the Omega, who will close the curtain on this world of sin and death at His second coming.
When the sets of life seem to be falling apart, no one knows his lines, and everyone seems to be in the wrong spot, remember that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega of your salvation. He is directing everything in all of creation for your eternal good, even if you may not understand how (Romans 8:28). The cross proves that Jesus is directing things for your eternal salvation. The empty tomb of Easter proves that not even the worst of this world (death) can hold us. And Jesus is coming again to take us from this chaotic world of sin and death to live with Him forever in heaven.
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.
Nathan Pfeiffer is pastor of Berea Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.