Jesus Christ: from beginning to end

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22: 13). This was the Bible text that the Chief Apostle used for the divine service in Aneby in Sweden on 8 May 2016. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider expanded on this Bible text, going much further in his interpretation than he did in Rome (Italy) in November 2015, a service in which he treated the same subject.

First and Last initially means: God stands above time. “Everything is equally current to Him.” And that means: “When God, the Holy Spirit, talks to us about the day of the Lord, it is not a promise but the description of a fact that God already sees before His eyes.”

Deciding for Jesus Christ

“Jesus is the beginning and the end. That also applies to us on a personal level,” the Chief Apostle said. “It is His decision that we are children of God.” And Jesus will decide when we will enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus is to be the first and the last also in our lives, the Chief Apostle continued. “We have decided for Jesus Christ, not for an institution, not for a congregation, not for human beings. At our baptism and at Holy Sealing we said yes to the Lord.” And the goal is to become more and more like Jesus Christ.

Exploring the will of God

“This has consequences on the decisions we make,” the Chief Apostle said with reference to the title of the hymn “Let all things with God begin”. It means: “I want to occupy myself intensively with the will of God and make sure that my decisions correspond with the will of God.” This is a job that no one can do for us, he said. We can ask for advice and help, but in the end it is up to us to do it.

“I am not one to rely on signs all that much. I much prefer it if we occupy ourselves intensively with the will of God and follow it,” the Chief Apostle pointed the way, and added: “Try it. Pray fervently and then think. I tell you that nine out of ten times you will find out the will of God. If you ponder about the activity of God, think about His gospel and why you are a child of God, and think about what He expects of you—the answers will come! And then all we have to do is be honest with ourselves: does my decision fall within these bounds?”

Taking the first step toward our neighbour

The Lord is also to be the first and the last when it comes to our relationship with our neighbour. “We have been called upon to love our neighbour and to treat him as Jesus would treat him.” But there is even more to this: “We want to take the first step. We want to do good to our neighbour first.”

And Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of mine, you did for me. If we see one of the least of His, someone who enjoys no esteem and who has been marginalized by society, let us be aware: what you do for that person you do for the Lord.”

“Let us think about this and make sure that we are always aware how great the Lord Jesus is,” the Chief Apostle said in conclusion. “And let us make sure that the Lord Jesus becomes greater and greater in us.”