“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”’ says the Lord God, “‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
– Revelation 1:8
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you looking forward to becoming as old as your dad and ma – or as old as your grandmaa and grandpaa? What do you think that it is like to be old? What are some things that could happen as a guy or gal becomes old. Can guys and gals when they become old still have the same physical agility that they had when they were younger? Can guys and gals when they become old still have the same mental acumen that they had when they were younger? Can guys and gals when they become old still have the same spiritual zeal that they had when they were younger? Even though your grandpaa is 33 years younger than your grandpaa’s Aunt Sus – who is now 100 years old, the pain in your grandpaa’s right shoulder – which was diagnosed years ago as being ‘shoulder impingement syndrome’, at times limits your grandpaa’s arm movement when he wants to use his right arm – such as when he wants to spike a volleyball. Your grandmaa had to have a right hip replacement procedure in September of 2001. Your grandmaa had gotten to the point – because of the pain in her right hip, where she was unable to sleep comfortably or walk straight. Both your grandmaa and grandpaa probably should be using hearing aids as . . . even though your grandmaa is a couple of years older than her sister Gail, your grandmaa’s sister Gail’s mental acuteness has deteriorated over the last several years because of having early onset Alzheimer’s. Even though your grandmaa and grandpaa both have reached ages when retirement from the missionary vocation that God has blessed them to be in for 33 years is an option, your grandmaa and grandpaa both want to continue to be proactively involved in the spiritual development of guys and gals, they want to read Biblically based books and be members of Christ-follower communities as a way to be constantly challenged in their pursuit of personal spiritual growth and they want to continue to ‘work/minister’ with a mission agency that recruits guys and gals to participate on short term ministry/missionary teams that are scheduled to go to various countries and to different sites in the United States. There should never be a reason why the faith of a Christ-follower’s desire to commune with God through persistently listening to and talking with Him, through daily meditating on God’s inspired, written Words that make up the Bible and through actions and words that always communicate having a reverent fear and a sincere gratitude to God for His magnificent creation and His unconditional love for every guy, gal and kid who He specially chose before He formed and positioned planet Earth in a perfect orbit around a blazing sun should ever wane but . . . in reality, too often the faith of a Christ-follower tends to wane instead of waxing in hunger, transparency and intensity.
Apostle John’s faith in his mentor and his Savior – who was God – as God the Son – Jesus Christ, even though he was challenged through all kinds of difficult life experiences, was never deterred; Apostle John’s faith and his intimate relationship with God in fact increased over the years of Apostle John’s long life. The Revelation Book is the last written communication that became part of an amassed canon of God – as God the Spirit, breathed letters, songs, poems, proverbs, journals, etc. that was given the name of Bible. The Revelation Book sums up in a way everything that the letters, songs, poems, proverbs, journals, etc. that make up the Bible say as well as projecting what the short term and long term future holds for guys, gals and kids who have, are and will live on the spinning and circling orb called planet Earth that God divinely created. An angel sent by God – as God the Father, along with God – as God the Spirit, helped and instructed Apostle John on what to write which is called the Revelation Book. When Apostle John wrote the Revelation Book – which Apostle John wrote about 65 years after his mentor and his Savior – who was God – as God the Son – Jesus Christ, was cruelly tied on and brutally nailed to a cross on which He died, Apostle John was on a rocky, barren atoll about eight miles long and four miles wide called Patmos Island. Patmos Island – an isolated place, was used by ruling Romans to banish guys who Roman courts determined were criminals. Patmos Island is located in the Aegean Sea about 50 miles southwest of the city of Ephesus – which today has Patmos Island off the coast of Turkey. There was not much that an old guy like Apostle John could have done while he was on Patmos Island other than just meander about while talking with and listening to God.
It was on the day of the week that Apostle John knew as being the Lord’s day and as he was in fellowship with God – as God the Spirit, God – as God the Spirit, told Apostle John to write a scroll and to courier the scroll to the churches in Asia Minor that were in the towns of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. These seven Asia Minor towns were settled in a circle – each town about 50 miles away from the next town. Revelation 1 has God – as God the Spirit, setting the stage for Apostle John to write the Revelation Book. Verse 8 has God – through God the Spirit – through Apostle John, informing the seven churches in Asia Minor that “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,”’ says the Lord God, “‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”’ Even though Apostle John was an old guy who had suffered terribly because of his faith, Apostle John was blessed at the end of his life to write about future mysteries. How would you like your lives to be like when you get old?
Revelation 1 (1007)