Jesus as First and Last

In the book of Revelation, Jesus calls himself the First and the Last, four separate times; three of those he told John to write this down, pay attention, make sure this truth gets to the church. Yet I would say the majority of the body of Christ has no idea what that title means. 

Rev. 1-8;17 "I am the Alpha and Omega (speaks of Jesus' deity); I am the First and the Last (speaks of Jesus in his humanity)." 

This title emphasizes his sovereignty (supreme power and authority) and preeminence (someone who surpasses all others) as a man, and His ultimate and total victory over death. We know who Jesus is as God, but the most mysterious truth is who He is as a man. This title relates to Jesus' resurrection; the reality of Jesus as a man.

Jesus is First. What does that mean?
He's the source of all blessing 
- what he did as a human high priest
- as a human taking our place and exalted 
- and as a human He shares the fruit of that work with other humans
- as a man who paid the debt for us
- and as a man who loves humans 

He is the first cause or source of blessing in our life. 
Most of us look to people as our source for blessing, so when people are happy, we're excited. When they give us opportunities, finance, promotion; things are well - but Jesus says I am the source. I may use them, but I am your source. I gave it to you originally, therefore I can return it to you a thousand fold as I see fit. We can lose in our lives because of obedience to God (through persecution from the enemy), a changing season, through the actions of others (some through the hand of the enemy), or through pruning. Jesus says, I am the well of blessing; I am the first, lock into me. I thought of blessing you before you were even born. I have the final word on what you possess and what you lose. Neither the devil nor man has the final word on that. 

Why is this so important? 
When we get hold of this in our spirit - it changes how we perceive everything. Knowing that Jesus has the power to give back anything taken from us by man or by the devil, positions us in a place of wholehearted obedience to God. I am loved and protected by God; no one can take away from me what can be restored to me by God - then my focus shifts from worrying about what others can do to me to focusing on Jesus. This reality brings with it more than just the words but a heart conviction that if I always look to Jesus in every crisis, every circumstance, whatever has been taken away will be justified and rectified by Jesus. 

Now, he doesn't say that we will always have a correct understanding of why certain things or blessings are taken; but we can hold fast to the reality that He is the source for our blessing and He has the last word on what blessings we receive. Some believers looks to Jesus as their source, but then are offended by Him when the result to that situation or experience doesn't look the way we think it should look. This is entitlement. Trusting Jesus as first means He's not only the first source of blessing but He has your best interest in mind first. He planned a future for you before you were formed in your mother's womb; He had plans to bless you long before you existed. If every situation or outcome ended as you wanted and expected, you'd have absolutely no reason to trust in Him first. But really believing He wants the best for us (as He sees it; and He already knows the beginning and the end so His view is more informed than our own) will free us to trust His leadership regardless of how it looks or what's happening in front of us. 

He was the first one to come after you. You might say, well, I sought after God and found him. Not exactly. The Lord says, "You weren't thinking about me, I trapped you in a corner, ambushed you, took away all your options, and you said 'I want you, Lord', and now you think you sought me and found me; I'm the first reason you were saved. You didn't have any interest in me for a long time and I stirred you and blessed you and courted you in. I'm the first cause of why you even have a destiny in the first place". So when the enemy traps you or a change in season comes or you endure persecution, you don't have to worry, because the one who thought of you originally, is still thinking of you - and He's a man and he understand everything humans go through. Not from a distance or from His omniscience, but because he experienced it; He felt it, so He has sympathy. 

He has the first place of authority as a man 
- over all nations - and when he returns, all nations will give their allegiance willingly to Him, as a man, as a Jewish man. With a physical flesh body. When we get who He is - the inevitability of who He is, we don't try to get away with compromise in our spiritual life, the glory and worthiness of that - He's the first. Because He's worthy and His place is inevitable. Jesus was fully God AND fully man; but the reality that often escapes us is that when He took on the form of flesh and came to serve on this earth, He didn't use the God card; He didn't use any special power, authority or privilege of His deity to accomplish His task on earth. He did it as a man to show us as men (women) how to tap into the power of heaven available to us through Christ as adopted sons and daughters of His kingdom. 

He's the first to receive a resurrected body. 
Jesus is the first man to connect with the realm of death and lived in light of it. He is the first and only man, right now, in heaven, with a resurrected body; and that is a precursor for us to know and believe that we will also have a resurrected body, just like him, as he promised. He's called the firstborn from the dead - the guarantee everyone connected to him will have one. He's also the first place of authority over the realm of the resurrected. He is the first one in charge; God has given all dominion, all power, all glory - into the hand of the Son. 


Jesus is the last.
As the last, He's the ultimate purpose; the highest goal; the reason for our life. Our lives only make sense in a growing understanding and relationship with him. All other agendas - for real - must be secondary. If they are, we'll have a vibrant spirit. The problem is, we have the language that He's first, but really other things are, and our spirits are dull as a result. We're still saved, but we live with a dull spirit. 

He's the last word on everything.  
He declares the end from the beginning. He says I can tell you where everything is going - my council, my plan will stand if you say yes to me. He will bring His purpose to completion, if you come into agreement with Him. Doesn't matter how much persecution is after you; Jesus has the last word regarding the will of God in your life. Leaders can't cancel out blessings intended for you. You might experience a momentary hiccup as a result of someone's decision, but no one can override Jesus' authority as the last word in your life. 

He's the last word of judgement/evaluation in your life 
Your pastor isn't; your pastor might tell you your awesome but he might have a man-pleasing spirit because your walking in the flesh serves his purposes - the Lord says. "don't believe that; you're not awesome; I love you, but you're living full of compromise". Well the man of God says I'm awesome; well he's lying, he's seducing you with his flattery. Let's go the other way; the man of God says, you're a rebel - Jesus says you're not, you're obeying me. No man has the last word; Jesus does. Regardless of what it costs you, stay loyal to that man - He is the last. 

Jesus brings this title up again in Rev. 2:8-11; writing to the persecuted church in Smyrna, He calls himself the First and Last...  breaks it down again and connects it to human suffering, just like before; but this time He connects it with the confidence and the expectation that there's a resurrection and eternal reward that would far exceed the loss of human suffering related to our obedience. He said, I was dead, I had the ultimate experience of human cruelty; I get it. They beat me, not just physical - before the cruelty of his torment related to the cross, He was rejected ridiculed by his disciples - they fled in their fear. The leadership of the nations rejected Him; His own family did not believe Him.

Rev. Vs. 9: I know your works, trouble, poverty - I get your works, I get it; I worked my whole life hard and mostly nobody appreciated it. I take note of it all, your faithfulness. v.10 some of you are going to suffer - some will go to prison for me, you'll be killed - you'll be tested - be faithful unto death and I'll give you the crown of life - Jesus won't promise breakthrough in every area - some preachers will. We should have the vision of breakthrough and blessing and in believing God to double everything; if He does, believe Him for another double; if not, keep loving Him and believe anyway. Not in a woe is me, groveling sort of way - but stay steady when the seasons don't work out the way we think they should. 

There's a man that has the last word on the works of your life - your weak reachings - when you obey Him with your attitude and no one sees it, that's a work; when you serve in the most unnoticed way because you love Him, He sees that and it moves Him. We can overcome fear with revelation of Him as First and Last. We won't see the fullness of who we are to Him until the end of this age - He has last word on our value of our works and obedience, on our desire to walk in humility because we love Him that people may or may not see, the last word is down the road, and it's in His mouth and His heart. And I want to live with that hope anchored in my spirit. Jesus, as Last, has final vindication forever of how I spent my time and how I loved Him. 

- inspired by teaching from Mike Bickle - IHOP-KC