Alpha and Omega: The Omega Man | Mac Hammond
Recap
Christmas is a celebration of the coming of God’s redemption during the darkest of human times. And, of course, the light of His love and salvation is through the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus came to earth, the whole world was under the heel of Roman oppression. The Lord chose to send our Savior into the world during a very dark time. This truth of the Savior coming in dark times can be applied to each of us individually. It demonstrates the universal truth that God will always penetrate the darkest days in your life… if you understand that’s His purpose and are receptive to Him. Thus began Pastor Mac’s two-part series entitled, “Alpha and Omega.”
Dive Deeper
The best way to understand what we should be celebrating at Christmas is by letting Jesus tell us Himself; He succinctly identifies who He is and what He came to do in Revelation 1:8. The Lord says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”
We would think that Alpha and Omega is simply identifying Himself as the beginning and the ending. He was here before the beginning, and He’ll be here after the ending. This is referring to His timeless nature… eternity.
But Pastor Mac said he thinks there is more to this statement other than a reference to the timeless dimension of the Lord.
Verse 11 says, “I’m the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” Here He calls Himself “the first and the last,” which is similar to “the beginning and the ending.”
Then in verse 18, Jesus says about Himself, “I am he that liveth and was dead.” This refers to the Savior coming to earth in human form in order to die for us. Jesus died on the cross and then He says, “Behold, I am alive forevermore.” This phrase is a reference to His death and resurrection.
So through the process of His coming to this earth in human flesh, suffering and dying, and being raised from the dead, He says, “I have the keys of hell and death.”
What does Alpha and Omega really mean? Alpha means “the beginning.” Omega means “the ending.” But the ending of what? He is the beginning of life and the ending of death.
In the first part of Pastor Mac’s two-part series, he began to talk about Jesus being our “Omega Man.” Jesus ended the dominion of death over every human being that names Him as his Lord.
We are celebrating Christmas: His coming to earth for the purpose of redemption… to put an end to death.
Redemption involves being redeemed from something unto something. So when Jesus says He’s the Alpha and Omega, He’s telling us He’s redeemed us from death unto life.
In this message, Pastor Mac talked about the “death part” of being redeemed from the dominion of death.
He said, “Death is all around us and will be through the balance of this dispensation, the balance of this age.”
First Corinthians 15 tells us that death will be the last enemy to be put underfoot. When the church gets taken out of the earth by way of rapture, the tribulation will occur. After which there will be death no more.
Read About It
Rev. 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
1st Cor. 15:26, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
Heb. 2:14, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Discussion Questions
Jesus said He was the beginning and the end, the first and the last. What do you think He was trying to say with this description?
When you celebrate Christmas, how would you explain to someone that Jesus is our Omega Man?