When I was 19, I had one foot in the church and one foot in the world. One evening, when I was sitting with my fellow rock-band friends in a pub, God spoke into my heart with this question: "If Jesus Christ is who he claims to be, how are you going to live your life; for Him or for yourself?" That night I asked Jesus to become the centre of my life and to sit on the throne of my heart. I am so grateful I did. My decision was made on the basis of his identity, as I understood it then. But it is Rev 1:12-18 (plus v. 8) that gives us the most clear and emphatic declaration of the true and complete identity of the Jesus. He is …

• THE ALPHA & THE OMEGA

• THE FIRST & THE LAST – YAHWEH HIMSELF

• THE BEGINNING & THE END

• THE ONE WHO IS, WHO ALWAYS WAS & IS STILL TO COME

• THE ALMIGHTY

"When I, John, turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance."

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, 'Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last; the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End; the One who is, who always was, and is still to come; the Almighty. I am the Living One. I died, but look – I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."

What was the precise situation of the church to which Revelation was written? There was confusion and discouragement as well as persecution. Jesus rose triumphant, went back to heaven, and would very soon return. He would then destroy the kingdoms of this world and set up God's perfect kingdom. But 60 years later nothing significant had changed in the secular and political spheres. The church continued to be a very small entity; not becoming a mighty force strong enough to take over the Roman Empire. Evil people prospered. Idolatry persisted. Emperor worship flourished. And because they would not conform, the Christians became the objects of suspicion and cruel persecution.

Phil Moore writes: "The early Christians were not persecuted because they believed that Jesus was King of their private lives, their families and their churches, but because they refused to state that 'Caesar is Lord' and insisted that Jesus was the true King, whom Caesar, his empire, and every nation, tribe and tongue needed to bow the knee". 2022 is not so very different from the first century. They needed an awe-inspiring revelation of the true identity of Jesus and to know that he reigns over all earthly and heavenly powers. So do we; despite events in Ukraine, climate change, the fuel crisis and rampant inflation.