Title: Revelation 01:8 Almighty God
Content Almighty God, Revelation 1:8
It is one of the songs that were sung without missing a song during the demos in the 70's and 80's, when there was a chaos in the past. Let's not be shaken until we come... We go ahead and follow, living, follow me.." There was such an activist. Like most of these songs, this song is a song that burns the will to fight. Struggle is not the only reason why our country has achieved this level of democratization, but it is also true that the history of such struggles has had a huge impact.
What we need to remember is that the salvation that God gives us is not just given as if we were picking up money on the road, but rather a history of struggle. The book of Revelation is a book that records the scenes in which God's salvation is completed through the struggle with the forces that are obstructing God's salvation plan. It's kind of a power game. When we read the book of Revelation, we should read it with this background in mind.
Today's text is a message proclaimed by God the Father, introducing his omnipotence and uniqueness. If you just read it, it's a passage that you can skip without thinking that it's meaningless. However, if you keep in mind that the book of Revelation is written from the point of view of the struggle, it comes with a slightly different impression. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who has been and has been, and is to come, the Almighty" (verse 8).
Just as we introduce ourselves according to the circumstances and circumstances, when God introduces Himself, He reveals Himself in various ways according to the circumstances. God does not always introduce himself in this way. This is because it is absolutely necessary when God introduces Himself while emphasizing His omnipotence and uniqueness. For example, during the Exodus from Egypt in the Old Testament, when Pharaoh the king of Egypt exalted himself as if he was a god and resisted God and prevented Israel from leaving Egypt, God introduced himself like this. “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14), which means that God is different from anything else in this world. Pharaoh of Egypt, who rules the world, has a beginning and an end, but God is the only God that exists without a beginning or an end. No matter how loudly Egypt screams, it wields power like a god, and is proud, but if it is only a creature with an end, then God is the eternal God who exists.
The fact that God introduced Himself as Alpha and Omega in today's text was also proclaimed in a situation where the church and believers were suffering in the face of the power of the Roman emperor. It seems that the Roman emperor will reign forever and ever. He is the one who rules the world like the Almighty God. The great Roman Empire, ruled by such a person, is persecuting the church. And the persecution is fierce as if there is no end. The Lord's Church and Saints are shaking. It's bound to vibrate. They are brutally decapitated, killed, deprived of their livelihood, and suffering hardships. Your loved ones will be caught right in front of you. suffer a disadvantage. tortured. Now, the Roman emperors are ruling the world like a god, and the power of God they believe in doesn't seem to mean anything to them. This is what God said through a letter sent from John at this time. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and was, and is to come, the Almighty.'
Dear all! This declaration of God is not meaningless.
This proclamation is not a declaration of incompetence. God is not a God who speaks only loudly and throws his people away as if nothing had happened. When God introduces Himself as the Almighty and the only One, He is always planning and doing something. You watched and decided not to do it any more, and when you intervened, you introduced yourself like this: What did God do after he declared to Pharaoh of Egypt, 'I am who I am'? By causing ten plagues in Egypt, he showed how insignificant Pharaoh of Egypt was before God. So, when God introduces himself in this way, he is preparing to do something. He is making fun of those who are created, but who have become arrogant and exalted without end.
Everyone! It is the same today.
Even today, God will express Himself in this way to those who are proudly wasting their lives while taking control of their lives as if they were the absolutes. If he says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega...I am, I was, and I am to come..." He can no longer exist. God had decided to humiliate him to dust. Recently, a big star in the business world, Kim Woo-jung, has fallen. People who say that the world is wide and that there are many things to do will fall in an instant. Who are the alpha and omega in our life? Who are the alpha and omega of history? He is the Almighty God who is, was, and will come. A nation, community, or individual who is not humble before Him must realize that there will come a time when they will be put to shame before God who claims first and last.
Then, why is God giving this proclamation to the church instead of just listening to the Roman emperor? How fearful would they turn away if they were to hear it? But why are you giving these words to the church, rather than just giving these words to Rome to make them fear?
That is, churches and believers should not be afraid of the visible power of this world and the power it attacks. God's people should only fear God. Now, God is demanding that we not be afraid of the authority of the Roman emperor who reigns over the world as if it were an absolute, but that we should fear only the Almighty God, who is the only God. When churches and believers begin to fear people, the community and individuals are already losing their essential power. When is the church most glorious and full of spiritual power? It is when we fear only God and fear nothing. At that time, the individual and the community have a spiritual power that the world does not know, and there is a sense of majesty, emotion, and tension. And in the midst of that tension, power, and majesty, there is room, joy, song, and confidence.
What we must remember is that once the believers and churches kneel down to the world, they will never have power again. During the Japanese colonial era, we know the miserable state of the Korean church when the Korean church worshiped the shrine in advance and knelt before its authority because of the threat of Japanese colonial rule. Have you not become miserable like a woman deprived of chastity?
The reason that God introduces Himself to the church first without revealing Himself to Rome today is because the attitude of the church and believers is more important. Destroying Rome is nothing to God. And it's not urgent. God can destroy Rome at any time. What is important is the attitude of God's people and churches in the face of this threat from Rome. Do you surrender to the Roman authority and lose your chastity, or do you believe in God's uniqueness and omnipotence and keep your conscience, keep your faith and insist on its purity?
That's right. God's people are people who fear only God.
The human reaction is a reference point. The absolute is what God commands my conscience now. As he continues to annihilate it due to the high wall of reality, when he observes the world and people, he is already kneeling to Baal and bowing his head. The people God wants are pure believers who do not bow their heads to Baal. And that's the church community. God will show the glory of God to such churches and believers.
If you look at our society today, the power of the world is too great.
The power of the owner of a company or the person in power is absolute. In the face of that authority, we all too often show a self-help attitude about the power of our faith and conscience. But we are believers in the oneness and omnipotence of God. Those who believe that God is in control of the beginning and the end of the world. So, even if the world oppresses us while wielding unfailing power, we are determined not to fear anything but God.
Dear all! Don't be afraid of money. If you are afraid of money, you become a slave to it. Don't be afraid of businesses. Do not allow any authority other than God to have an absolute influence on me. Remember, once you get down on your knees, you will continue to be dominated by them. Be sincere at work, but don't risk your life at work. Loyalty must be dedicated to only one God.
We live in this world, but at the same time we are citizens of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is a monarchy. All the saints must give their allegiance to this one king and give their lives. In the end, the king will settle our lives. We must live for this invisible king, not the king of the world now. It is foolish to live for your children. It is foolish to live for a company. Buy for the Lord. Live a life that gives all glory to Him. You live by the power of the Lord. The power is not in Rome, but in our Lord. Almighty God, Alpha and Omega. Pray for that power every day. And I earnestly pray that you and I will not be afraid of this world with that power and live victoriously.