JESUS CHRIST! From Genesis to Revelation INCLUSIVE!
He is the Beginning and the End!
Have you come across these phrases? He is the beginning and the end? The Alpha and the Omega? The first and the Last?
" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d. He was with G-d in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. " John 1:
To explain this passage, it is first necessary to explain about the author of the above passage. The author's name was John (the apostle of Christ) however In verse 6 it mentions that John was sent by G-d and came as a witness to testify to the light. This is not the author, this passage refers to John the Baptist - whose function was to 'prepare the way for the Lord 'by speaking of HIs coming!
John the baptist was a prophet, he spoke of someone he knew was coming, he knew this because G-d had foretold him of the coming of the Son Of Man - The Savior of the World!
To continue the explanation of John's writings "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d. He was with G-d in the beginning...Through HIm all things were made" Why would John write that the Word was there in the beginning and made all things?To find the answer we need to enter a time machine to take us back in time -to the beginning!
Go To the book of Genesis, the first book in the bible, starting at the very first line.
" In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth". Genesis 1.
Sounds familiar?
Here we have the answer G-d created the heavens and the earth, And the Word was with G-d and through Him all things were made. There you have it! The Word is connected to G-d from the beginning of creation! But you ask, who is the Word?
The answer to that question can be found in the book of Isaiah Chapter 2 "In the last days....the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established...and all the nations will stream to it...Many peoples will come and say, 'come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord... He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths,' The Law will go out from Zion, the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations ..."
To return to the book of John Chapter 1, verse 10, it further hints to who this 'Word' might be.
" He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of G-d - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of G-d... Verse 14 And this is the key verse to the mystery! " The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
All of these previous verses tell a story:
- The Word refers to someone very special who came from G-d,
- He became flesh meaning he was not originally in the flesh but in some other form
- He dwelt among us
- He was not recognised
- he was rejected
- He tells the truth
- He gives us the right to be 'Born Again' into the spirit that joins us to the Father.
- He took part in the creation of the world in the beginning!
Now we also have the answer to the question, why is he called 'The Beginning'? And to answer the second part, 'He is the beginning and the End' we need to look at the verses above for the answer, " In the last days..."
- In the last days he will establish his temple (symbolic of his people but also the place where He will dwell)
- He will teach HIs word
- The Law (himself) will go out from Zion
- He will judge the nations.
Who is this person that we are talking about? Who was there in the beginning and is present now and is to come in the future? Take a look at the book of Revelation (last book of the bible)
" Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. " Verse 12.
Who was the author of these words? Look at the first line of the book of Revelation. " The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which G-d gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw - that is, the word of G-d and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophesy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
Jesus was the author of the book of Revelation, John was a 'ghost writer' he wrote everything down as Yeshua told him. Yeshua however, relayed everything as G-d told him to. In other words, G-d was the true author of the book of Revelation. In other words, just like in the beginning (Genesis) Yeshua assisted G-d in HIs work.
There are 66 different books that make up the bible. The author of the book of Genesis is so old that it has no date,this is understandable when it was the beginning of the first world (pre Noah and the flood) and we are now living on the second world (post Noah and the flood). Some say that we are in the third world, but that is another story.
The books after the period of the flood, were written between 2,500 years before Christ and 95 years after Christ. All through these books starting from Genesis in the first world through to the book of Revelation in this second world the testimonies and historical accounts have been preserved. All through these 66 books are references to G-d as Creator and the Heavenly Father, to Christ who was in the beginning partaker of creation, then became the Word who dwelt among us, and is soon to return as the King of this world. He will then be partaker of the next world to come- the promised place of peace and eternal life.
Christ (Yeshua - his true Hebrew name- meaning salvation) is seen throughout the different books. G-d revealed His Son Jesus to Moses, Abraham, Elijah, David and many others, they all testify to the coming savior of the world - the son of G-d. And in many cases they have prophesied events that were to happen to Yeshua in the future, that could never have been planned. How can you say hundreds of years before the event, that a man would die on a cross, be laid in a tomb and on the third day rise from that tomb.
How can you predict that this same man was rejected, despised and disfigured so badly that he was unrecognisable, how can you predict the tiniest of details such as 'no bones would be broken during the crucifixion. Let me demonstrate this in more detail.
We will take a journey of discovery, through the 66 books, you will be amazed at how everything links together through prophesy!
Psalm 22 David speaks of his trials in life but he is also symbolically a foreshadow of the savior to come, Yeshua (the Messiah). In parts of the Psalm it is as though Yeshua himself is speaking through the words of David, " My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?.. These are the exact words that Christ said on the cross!
I hear you skeptics saying, " But Jesus could have read this psalm and used it on the cross to MAKE the prophesy come true. My answer to this is, ' Would you remember during your agonising death, while you were starving, thirsty and in severe pain, during your last hours of breath think of words that were said around 1,044 years ago and dictate them just to prove a point? I think not!
But if you read on to verse 6,7 and 17 David prophesies and describes exactly what actually happened on that day when Yeshua hung on that cross, " But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads... I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." This last verse (17) evidences that the words relate to Christ Yeshua and not to David. Historically, David never had people divide his garments or cast lots over his clothes. But all of the above verse did happen to Yeshua at the time of his crucifixion. David's prophetic words were fulfilled approximately 1,495 years after it was written in psalm 22!
See actual crucifixion in Mark 15. from verse 22, " And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get... Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'so! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, Come down from the cross and save yourself!
Verse 34, " At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani (this is Hebrew/Aramaic) which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Psalm 45 was written by temple assistants, it was a poem to an unnamed king - it is a prophesy about Christ and the bride (Christ's followers). It's description is of a majestic king, whereby his arrows pierce the hearts of his enemies (cross ref in Revelation),
There are other psalms that prophesied future events seen in Yeshua's ministry. Psalm 146: 7, Psalm 147:2, Psalm 147: 19,.
Proverbs is full of descriptions of Christ and his life events. Proverbs chapter 1: 22- 33.
Proverbs 8 is particularly descriptive. Verse 12 describes Yeshua as Wisdom and verse 17 says: " I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. ..."
Verse 22, " The Lord (G-d) brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I (Yeshua) was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, ...then I was the craftsman at his side..."
Yeshua was revealed to Agur who wrote Proverbs 30:4 he says, " Who has gone up to heaven and come down?... What is His name and the name of His son?..."
Isaiah also prophesized about Yeshua. The following is a list of scripture references found in Isaiah:
He refers to Yeshua as:
- 'The Branch' Isaiah 4:2
- As a sign - in the virgin born and called Emmanuel, chap 7: 14.
- As the stone and rock that causes men to stumble or fall, Chap 8: 14.
- As a son given who will govern the world. Chap 9:6.
- As the root of Jesse that bears fruit and will be a righteous judge and will return again. Chap 11
- As the leader of His great end times army, to bring judgement on the nations. Chap 13.
- As one who will sit on the throne, whose descendency is through David. Chap 16:5
- He refers to G-d who called his son Yeshua to be the light for the gentiles that he may bring G-d's salvation to the ends of the earth. Chapt 49:5
- His suffering prior to his crucifixion, " I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Chap 50:6
- As the suffering servant, disfigured and unrecognised from his torturers. Chap 52: 13.
- As having no beauty, (he was not charismatic) , he was despised and rejected by men, He was like a lamb to the slaughter. Chap 53
Most of Isaiah is referenced to Yeshua or G-d's plan for the world, it prophesied future events including the new heaven and earth (which has nothing to do with the new world order mentioned every where- that is the antichrist and has nothing to do with Christ!
Other scriptures in other books:
Jeremiah 23: 5, " I will raise up to David (meaning to add to the descendants of David) a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness."
Jeremiah 31:31 & 33, " The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt... This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, ... I will put my Law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their G-d and they will be my people. This is a passage for the end times.
Daniel 9:25 refers to the anointed one who comes to Jerusalem (Christ's first visitation), that he will be 'cut off' (fulfilled through Yeshua's death on the cross)and continues to prophesy the end time when the lawless one, the antichrist, makes his entrance to Jerusalem to duplicate Yeshua's visitation.
These are just a few of the references to Yeshua, Christ the son of G-d.
To sum up: Scriptures from the bible have shown that Yeshua was there in the beginning, assisting G-d with creating the world. G-d had a plan from the very beginning and that plan was to send Yeshua into the world, (as his son) to become flesh (be as a human) to witness to the world of his Father in heaven and to offer the father's gift of salvation to all, including the Gentiles,who acknowledge and accept the son by faith.
Part of the plan was for the father to sacrifice his son - the ultimate demonstration to the whole world of G-d's loves for his people. G-d also knew that sacrificing his son was just a transformation period. Yeshua did not die -he suffered yes -but he did not die! He has returned to his father in heaven and this is evidence to us that G-d speaks the truth of an everlasting life, life after death for those who love and follow him.
It was necessary for Yeshua to die on that cross. He replaced those temple sacrifices, the lambs and the red heiffer's, he became the way for people to be purified and atoned for, so that they may receive forgiveness for their sins and set free from the guilt of sin!
G-d's plan also includes the refining of his people so that they are able to deal with his awesome holiness and worthy of entrance to his presence. Can you imagine how glorious His Majesty would be when face to face with Him? It would be unbearable and put us to utter shame! Therefore we need training in preparation for this moment because one day we will see him and stand before him, believers and non believers. Believers will be able to stand it ,as they will be purified and refined, so that they too will glow, just like the finest gold!
That is the purpose of life, that is the purpose of sufferings and trials and that is the purpose of prophesy ;to guide people to understanding G-d's plan, to forewarn people and allow them time to reflect on their lives. A time to change, a time to make serious decisions, a time to return to you first love - Your Heavenly Father!.
Lord, I pray that those who have ears will hear what your word is saying to them, lift the scales from their eyes and soften their hearts so that they may receive you and all that you have to offer. May the truth be revealed to them through these words and may you bless this message so that it reaches all those who seek the truth! Amen.
This and similar articles are found in my 'Last Chance' book series on Amazon Kindle including Book 1, entitled 'Christ Yeshua Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. Search forbook title or author M.A.Noble