“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:13).
Jesus makes use of a familiar, self-descriptive term here in Revelation 22:13: “Alpha and the Omega…” An identical self-description appears in Revelation chapter one in advance of Jesus’ letters to the seven churches of chapters two and three. So, this passage reminds us that Jesus is the A to Z, the beginning and end, and the First and Last of everything that encompasses our lives. As such, it is fitting that this self-identification appears in the first and last chapters of this book.
“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Revelation 22:14-15).
Although people in the New Testament era sometimes kept dogs as household pets, society commonly viewed them as scavengers and pests. As such, people did not regard dogs as “man’s best friend” during that period. This led to the use of the word “dog” as a derogatory term to describe an offensive individual. It also recalls the cautionary message regarding the city of God that appeared earlier in Revelation chapter twenty-one: “…nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of the living will enter the city” (Revelation 21:27 GNT).
Several other practices that appeared in the previous chapter of Revelation are reiterated here as well…
- Sorcerers. This involves those who engage in occultic practices or the ritualistic use of drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness.
- The sexually immoral. The Biblical model for marital unions involves a monogamous relationship between a genetic male and a genetic female. Relationships that fall outside that standard are broadly associated with the term “sexual immorality.”
- Murderers. Murder refers to the unlawful taking of another person’s life, an act that violates the sixth Commandment.
- Idolaters. We can define an idol as anything that supplants God’s place in our lives.
- Whoever loves and practices a lie. “Lying” involves an attempt to deceive by falsehood. Since “truth” can be defined as “that which corresponds to reality,” lying is incompatible with the God of truth. Those who engage in such practices exclude themselves from an eternal home with Christ, who is “…the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
It is no accident that this list of sinful behaviors appears in each of the last two chapters of the final book of the Bible. With this in mind, we should prayerfully ensure that none of these practices enter our lives.
Image Attributions: Trlkly, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons / Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons