"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
REVELATION 22:13 NIV
Here at last, we arrive at the crux of it all. We come to fully face the Son of God, the man named Jesus Christ, the most supremely important piece of the puzzle, the beginning and the end of everything.
Knowledge of Jesus Christ is necessary to perceive our place in history, but that knowledge in and of itself is only the surface, nothing more than the superficial beginning. What I will share with you in this simple chapter, a mere thousand words or so, carries within its words a seed. Though unseen, this seed is the key to the germination within yourself of the life I have explained in this book. This seed has the capacity to open your eyes, not to see my crude descriptions, but to see the truth of them, the reality of an invisible Kingdom.
It is by this seed that you are born of the Holy Spirit.
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
JOHN 3:3 NLT
At the end of it all, an intimate and personal trust in Jesus Christ is the key to unlocking a wild transformation within every human being. It confers to the person an ability to pass from death to life, from being spirit-dead to being Spiritkind.
Who then is Jesus Christ the Messiah?
He was not always known as Jesus Christ. Before he descended to the dust to join the ranks of Mankind, he was known as the Son or the Word, one third of the Godhead, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
JOHN 1:1-4 NLT
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
HEBREWS 1:1-3 NIV
The Son of God is and has always been.
He is the one through whom the universe was made.
He is the origin, the substance, and sustainer of Versal, and through Versal, he caused all things that are to take form in the first.
He is not just the substance and exact representation of God, he is the firstborn among the dead.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
COLOSSIANS 1:15-18 NIV
And so here begins his story.
In the beginning, the Son was the same in nature as God: omnipresent, everywhere all at once, and omnipotent, all-powerful. The Son was the Word of God. To put it another way, he was the radiance of God. Everything of God was transmitted via the Son.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
JOHN 1:1-4 NIV
Through this radiance, this transmission, this Word, everything in both heaven and earth was given form and function. All things that are alive have life from God through the Son. It is for this reason he is known as the Word of God.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
HEBREWS 1:2-3 NIV
… hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass.
DEUTERONOMY 32:1 NKJV
Begotten of God, Mankind was as a second-born son, and had complete and intimate fellowship with God the Father. But Mankind fell.
The fall of man and then the subsequent introduction of the written law put Mankind into a form of stasis. Incapable of putting down the rebellion within them and insatiably in love with death, their intended destiny was put on hold. Indefinitely. They would have to wait until the rebellion, Version and the power that undergirds it, had been dealt with.
By their own doing, and for this reason, Mankind was put under the care of ‘guardians and trustees'.
The Son was not among these guardians and trustees, but instead, angels were appointed along with God's law. Among those given this assignment were angels who remained pure, those who had fallen, and those who had yet to fall.
But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a bondservant, though he is lord of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father. So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.
And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?
GALATIANS 4:1-9 WEB
Mankind then was under the law, and by the law their love of death was illuminated. Its black stain like a leprous decay, they were shown as dead; even that which was alive was being eaten. By the law of God the sin of rebellion among fallen Mankind was shown for the depravity it was. God had then a seemingly impossible task on his hands: to put down evil with finality and yet uphold the gift of freewill. It was a task beyond the minds and means of all powers and authorities that had been created.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
REVELATION 5:1-5 NIV
I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
1 CORINTHIANS 2:6-9 NLT
The Son would be the fulcrum and the pivot on which the fate of Mankind would turn. But to put God's plan into effect required the Son to lay down everything. It was a journey from which there would be no return.
Forfeiting his omnipresence, laying down his omnipotence and shedding his royal radiance to be naked like mankind, the Son humbled himself and was born into the human race.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8 NIV
It was here in the dust of earth, the Son was born in blood by a fallen and spirit-dead human, Mary. Together with her betrothed husband, they gave him the name Jesus, son of Joseph. He was born into the family line of King David. He was born of the promise of God.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
ISAIAH 9:6-7 NIV
For God, the Son was now more than his first born, he was to become the first born among the dead. His Son, now named Jesus the Christ, was the beginning and the pathway to resurrection for mankind. From this small beginning, through him, every vestige of evil would be destroyed. Through him all things would be reconciled to God.
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
COLOSSIANS 1:18-20 NIV
And so the task for which he was born began.
Here, in the dust, the Son of God now called Jesus Christ, began to deal with the rebellion within Mankind from the inside, learning obedience to God as a part of dead Mankind in a mortal body.
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
HEBREWS 5:7-10 NIV
This pathway, the journey Jesus Christ undertook, was shocking to the core. Even being foretold and forewarned, all heaven and earth were transfixed as he put his life into the jaws of the devil.
Who has believed our message?
To whom has Yahweh’s arm been revealed?
For he grew up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no good looks or majesty.
When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised
and rejected by men,
a man of suffering
and acquainted with disease.
He was despised as one from whom men hide their face;
and we didn’t respect him.
Surely he has borne our sickness
and carried our suffering;
yet we considered him plagued,
struck by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought our peace was on him;
and by his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray.
Everyone has turned to his own way;
and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
ISAIAH 53:1-6 WEB
Jesus Christ held no expectation that Mankind at large would recognize him for who he was. Even when given permission by the Father to give sight to the blind and raise the dead, he knew their condition for what it was.
Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”
JOHN 8:23-24 NIV
Clothed in dusty meekness and drab humility, a cloak contemptible for his rank, he was unrecognizable as the Lord of Glory. Penniless and poor, he walked a path unfamiliar to all others great and powerful before him. A path towards baptism into the depths of death itself. It was here in the dust that the once ultimate Son subjected himself to the ultimate shame: naked crucifixion at the hands of God's own beloved - Mankind - people willingly giving themselves over as puppets to the murderous wishes of the devil.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
MATTHEW 16:21 NIV
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!
LUKE 12:49-50 NIV
See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
ISAIAH 52:13-15 NIV
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.”
JOHN 3:14-21 WEB
And so as prophesied, Jesus the Christ was crucified. He walked into the executioners’ hands. He was flogged and flailed, the skin ripped from his back and legs. Beaten and battered, he was nailed to a wooden beam and hung till dead.
It was the devil's finest hour.
Raucous shouting of celebration surely rocked the foundations of hell itself. The devil, the self-proclaimed god of the fallen empire, had cast down his foe.
But now, what to do with this man Jesus in shackles before them? It must have been here, in the heart of the devil-god’s kingdom, their fatal mistake was discovered. To the horror of those assigned to bind him, no chain would remain in place, no yoke would hold him down. The Law of God, upon which such restraints draw their power, would not hold the innocent. Springing to life in their place were dormant words, words spoken by God of resurrection since the fall of man, now activated and alive by the sacrifice of Christ. The power of God pierced the darkness, and the Spirit found Jesus in the depths. A once impenetrable fortress, death itself crumbled around him, and amidst the screams of the demon guards, the captive within walked free. Jesus, now returning to his mortal body, passed right through the Gates of Hades. Upon his passing they turned to ash, like a spider’s web in the face of an inferno; from this point on even the weakest prisoner will walk through them as if they are not even there.
These were the very same gates that for almost the entire Second Age, had held the Spirit Dead as dead. Jesus Christ was resurrected. Jesus Christ was now the First Born among the dead.
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
ACTS 2:24 NIV
“
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:54-57 NLT
The devil had been played. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even though now no longer omnipresent and forever bound to his human body, was made supreme in every way. He had become God's perfect Son, the key to enacting God's plan for the eradication of evil and the reconciliation of all things.
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
COLOSSIANS 2:14 NLT
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11 NIV
Jesus Christ, now and forevermore of Mankind, was the head of all who would be resurrected. He would bring the rest of his Church, his Spiritkind brothers and sisters, to life through his death.
Spiritkind then is the race Jesus Christ brought to life. These are those who, through faith, cross from being dead to being alive. Through faith, they participate in his death and are granted resurrection - God's breath bringing their previously dead spirit to life. Though they still walk among those dead, they are separate from them: through Jesus Christ they are alive and continually being made alive.
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
COLOSSIANS 1:18 NIV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 PETER 1:3-5 NIV
Though Spiritkind and the Spirit Dead still walk the earth side by side, they do not share the same destiny. Jesus Christ, the head of his Church, is perfecting Spiritkind, preparing them to rule alongside him in this age and the age to come.
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
..
And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
REVELATION 4:6 & 9-10 NIV
Excerpt From: Geoffrey Young. “Guardian Universe: The Gospel in Unexpected Terms.”
Chapter 67 JESUS CHRIST, HIS CHURCH, AND THE END OF THE AGE
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