“The Revelation of Jesus Christ…” Revelation 1:1a. Here, in the very first verse of the book of Revelation we’re told whose revelation it is. The Geek word “apokalypsis” means a disclosure of truth. Jesus Himself is revealing the truth to us. Almost immediately he explains to the reader the truth of just exactly who He is:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

There are many Scripture verses throughout the Bible which proclaim Jesus’ deity. Why then do so many of His professed followers dismiss the fact that He is God? For the most part, professing Christians have no problem with Jesus being the Son of God, but when the Son of God says He’s God Almighty (as the verse above plainly states) why is that so hard to believe? We are admonished over and over again to believe on the Son of God for everlasting life.

“I and my Father are one” John 10:30.

Jesus is not speaking metaphorically here; Jesus and the Father are one and the same God. In a moment you’ll understand why I declare this truth, and why we must believe it.

When we first say yes to the Son of God we are, for all intents and purposes, saying “Lord Jesus, I believe every single word of Yours.” The Bible is His word. He is God. He is telling us that He is the beginning and the end of all things. The fact is we must believe everything Jesus says, including all His claims of being God “…that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b)

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

This Bible verse, as awesome as it is to read, has a buried meaning. Only by digging into the Hebrew language can that meaning be brought forth into the light of day. In the very first verse of our English translated Bibles we get a glimpse of how the English translation obfuscates the true meaning “…God created the heaven and the earth.”

In my heart, soul, and mind there is nothing to dispute concerning the fact that God did create the Heavens and the earth. When we read our English translated Bibles that verse represents a flowering bud, but when we seek the depth of the meaning of the Hebrew words being used, that same verse grows and becomes as a beautiful spring morning after God has sent the sun’s rays and that bud has opened into an awesome flowering display revealing God’s glory. There is so much more to grasp in that verse when we study the Hebrew words.

There’s one word in that verse that stands out above all others, and when fully grasped it will enlighten the reader leading him/her to a new depth of understanding. To me it was one of the highlights of my study of the scriptures when God taught me His deeper meaning of that verse. The Hebrew word for “God” is ‘elohiym. Elohiym is a plural masculine noun; pay attention now, “a disclosure of truth” is about to occur.

As we move through the Old Testament we find the word “Elohiym” repeated many times. In the book of Genesis alone the Hebrew word “Elohiym” is used 189 times. In the first chapter of Genesis, God refers to Himself in the plural so that there would be no mistake about the fact that

He is a Triune God. In the book of Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, God appears to be speaking to others. Many believe He’s speaking to angels who had already been created in some past era.
But that is simply an erroneous interpretation of the Hebrew language. Here’s the conversation

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” Genesis 1:26a.

Again the word used here for God is “Elohiym.” We won’t find in the scriptures where God proclaims that He made the angels in His image nor after His likeness. That being the case, who is God speaking to? It becomes obvious that God is speaking to the other two personages who make up the Trinity.

In chapter 46 of Isaiah there is a very interesting statement made by our Triune God. “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,” Isaiah 46:9. In English we see nothing significantly different in those two uses of the word God. The Hebrew word used in the first part of that verse translated into our English word God is “El” and it is a singular masculine noun.

God is telling us that He is only one God. Nothing confusing there. Then God goes on to say “I am God and there is none like me.” This time the Hebrew word for God is the same as in Genesis chapter 1 which is “Elohyim” and, as we’ve already learned, its meaning is plural.

So what is God telling us about Himself here in Isaiah? Just this, He is one God “El” who has an ability that no human being can comprehend, that He (Elohyim) can manifest Himself in three different personages. When God says “I am God and there is none like me,” He’s putting out a challenge to all the false gods of this world.

He and He alone has the ability to manifest Himself as a Triune God—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You will encounter many who will dispute this truth because they refuse to believe our Creator God is a triune God.

“I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry:” Isaiah 46:13.

Jesus Christ is our Salvation and He is not far off. Within the pages of the Apostle John’s gospel, we’re told much more about who Jesus is.

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39.

The entire Bible is speaking of Jesus and His deity. From the Hebrew “Elohiym” in Genesis to the “Alpha and Omega” of the book of Revelation Jesus’ deity is declared. Jesus’ own words in chapter 8 of John’s Gospel affirm His Godhood.

As He was addressing the people and Pharisees He made a bold statement, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58. Jesus was laying claim to the fact that He was that voice that spoke to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). Jesus is the Great “I AM”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1-3.

Here the Apostle John declares that the “Word” (Jesus the Christ) is God Almighty. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the ending. He was with God in the beginning because He is God. All things were made (created) through Him. Jesus Christ is our Creator God. These verses which indicate the attributes belonging to Jesus the Christ are not to be taken lightly, nor should they ever be dismissed as nonessential. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14a)

Anyone who desires to know Christ must believe in who He is as well as what He did for them. But many people have allowed themselves to be led astray; most of the time it’s our own foolish inclination that keeps us from learning the truth. Many simply sit and listen to a pastor’s sermon every Sunday with their Bibles open on their laps, and to many folks this is more than enough Bible study.

Others never even crack open their Bibles; to them seeking the truth for themselves is nonproductive, thus they convince themselves that they have enough biblical knowledge while remaining as ignorant as sheep being led to the slaughter. Anyone who thinks they’ve secured a place in Heaven while ignoring or dismissing the truth of who Jesus is has fallen for a widespread satanic deception which will only lead them into hell.

The enemy’s lies are abundant and Jesus tells us to be ever vigilant so that we are not deceived.

“…Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Matthew 24:4b)

Deceived by men? Yes, in many cases the deceptions are propagated by men. This same admonishment is presented throughout the New Testament scriptures. Many Bible teachers neglect teaching that Jesus is God, and others simply don’t believe that He is God Almighty; therefore their teaching is horribly flawed.

The apostle Paul exclaims to the Ephesians:

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:6)

It must be understood that our Lord Jesus, as well as Paul and the other Apostles, knew that false teachers would arise, and with deceptive techniques they would adversely influence folks. They knew that people are easily swayed and led astray. The Bible teachings of today are, in many cases, grossly replete with errors, and many teach out and out lies. Satan has many willing emissaries among man, especially in these, the last days.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…” (Revelation 1:10-11a)

John heard Jesus speaking to him and what did he hear first? Jesus declaring His Godhood. The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. They are significant in that Jesus is using them as a beginning point and an ending point to embody who He is (He’s the first and the last).

What He’s saying is that nothing existed before Him and there will be nothing after Him. Jesus Christ has always existed and He will always exist – He is God, and there is only one God.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22:13) Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega and He alone holds this title.

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

There was no doubt in the Apostle Paul’s mind as to just exactly who Jesus was. Nor should there be any doubt in the mind of a born again believer in Christ as to who Jesus is.

One last verse “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

There are many ways in which this current and last generation will reject the Son of God. One way is by attempting to void His deity. Jesus said that He is God; the Pharisees hated Him for who He claimed to be and they continually tried to stone Him.

Finally they saw to it that He would die on a cross. God Almighty died for His creation, yet HE IS ALIVE! HE IS RISEN! We’d all do well to believe that truth, as He’s returning soon but for only those of His “ekklesia.”

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [Gentile].” (Romans 1:16)

When a believer becomes ashamed of the gospel he/she will display definite signs that they are embarrassment by what the Bible says. When this embarrassment becomes public the believer then feels it necessary to change, re-interpret, and corrupt the word of God.

Many Christians do this so that they might remain a friend to the various religions of this world. In addition, many Christians continually attempt to fit themselves into a posture of political correctness (tolerance); in such a case the Gospel of Christ becomes an even bigger liability. There’s a new breed of Christian emerging and roaming earth who has found it convenient to line item veto the scriptures that don’t fit in with their preconceptions.

When we say yes to Jesus Christ we’re saying, “Yes I believe You, I believe Your word, I believe in what You did for me”. Contrary to popular teaching, we aren’t given the option to believe one Scripture verse while we dismiss others. If we are to stand up for Jesus we must have a solid and sound foundation to stand on. If we poke holes in the Bible then we are only destroying our own footing. Make no mistake, if your biblical foundation is wrought with holes, sooner or later you will fall for any deception.

As Christians attempt to appease those who are of a different faith by rejecting portions of God’s word, they are virtually thumbing their noses at God. We become compromisers of our faith when we publically proclaim that the God of the Bible is the same God of all faiths. This disobedience to God is reflected in the vocabularies of many who claim to be Christians. How can we claim a relationship with the Son of God when we stand opposed to His written word?

I submit that there is no discernible difference between the Christian that corrupts, ignores, or refuses to believe God’s word and those Pharisees who referred to our Lord as Satan “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Matthew 12:24.

At that point Israel as a nation was in full rejection of her Messiah. When we claim a relationship with that same Messiah but dismiss His word as obscure, unnecessary, or as having little or no remaining authority over us, then be assured, Lucifer has taken over and Jesus has been dismissed.

When Christians become hostile to the word of God by voiding various truths, these folks can be guaranteed that our God will not take that abuse of His word lightly. God is longsuffering, but still He’s God. He’s not to be mocked. God’s word will stand and those who reject it, or change it, or even minimize its authority as something that should be relegated to past generations will be greatly surprised at the end result of their foolishness.

Man creates his very own god; all he need do to conjure up a god is to focus his mind on that goal. Oh wait a minute; wouldn’t that be demonic? This is a perfect example of how demonic entities wind up masquerading as a god. They are invited to take the throne man has created for them and they are more than happy to facilitate man’s desires.

“To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” Isaiah 46:5.

God is asking those who insist on creating their own god out of some nonliving material, to whom are they comparing Him?

These false gods consist of the god of Islam, the god of the Mormons, the god of the Jehovah Witnesses, and any other man-created god. Have you ever noticed that all manmade gods deny the deity of Jesus Christ? I can’t speak for every born again believer in Christ, but these religions all sounds demonic to me. God makes the following statement which should put all people who worship false gods in their place.

“Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!” Isaiah 46:6.

Are we beginning to see the absurdity of such folly? To compromise our faith so we can be more presentable to the other faiths of this world is absurd. It’s blatant disrespect for the Creator of the universe. God, the God of the Holy Bible, makes it plain as day that there is no other God but Him.

Is there any difference between those people in Isaiah’s day and the purveyors of falsehoods who are bent on creating their own god and establishing their own religion from nothing? Satan takes control over the minds of the rebellious who find it necessary to negate the God of the Bible. Then with control over their minds he plants the seed that they are worshiping the same god as the Christians and Jews. Take Islam for instance.

George Bush claimed everyone, even Muslims, worshiped the same God, the God of the Bible. Barack Obama declares this same lie, and many evangelical Christians agree. But all it takes is a minimal amount of research to discover that the religion of Islam established its foundation based on a manmade lie. God authenticates His word by giving us history lessons in advance. What religion can boast of that? For a Christian to agree with the two individuals above something must be compromised – that would be their faith.

God declares that He alone is God:

“Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, …remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me…declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:8-10). If we take God at His word then how can we neglect these passages? Standing firm on God’s precepts is the exact opposite of a faith-compromising Christian.

There is a huge difference between “religion” and Jesus our Messiah. All who practice a religion must find a way to come before God through their own good works. Religions are all works based. But Jesus requires zero works as a prerequisite to obtaining salvation, and since Jesus is God Almighty, He won’t have anything to do with false religions.

He’s not a part of the “bridge builders” whose pursuit it is to connect all of earth’s religions together by insisting everyone worships the same God. Our Creator God says otherwise. All attempts to unite the world under one ecumenical system are satanic. The only Name that will secure us our own personal Heavenly inheritance is Jesus Christ, the one and only God of all creation.

“…it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” Acts 9:5b. All of earth’s “religions” are the same in that they are all kicking against the pricks. Let me put it in simple terms everyone can understand. Religion is akin to paddling a canoe up a 1000 ft waterfall. These adherents to false religions paddling their canoes must reach the top of the waterfall to keep from drowning. Impossible you say?

Think about it, these foolish people have nothing to rely on save a paddle and their own strength. All religions are in this same predicament. All of their efforts to reach God are impossible without Jesus Christ. For those of us who’ve placed our faith and trust in Him we become Christ like, taking on the characteristics of Christ. Jesus then becomes our strength; “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13.

We, those who are born again, didn’t have to prove ourselves worthy before we were allotted salvation. We didn’t need to knock on doors or become righteous first, we don’t need to die in jihad to enter Heaven – Jesus did the dying – we’re given life everlasting. All we had to do was believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and God immediately justified us. All we did to get to the Father was believe on the One He sent:

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:28-29)

The Christian who compromises his/her faith by promoting the false assumption that the God of the Bible is the same God of all religions is not only calling God a liar, but they are also giving false hope to those false religions. Look at it this way; picture a cheerleader standing on the shore of the river where those in the canoe are trying to ascend that 1,000 ft waterfall.

The cheerleader is calling for them to paddle harder, paddle harder, faster, faster, but it’s all to no avail. The people in the canoe can’t get anywhere – and they’re drowning. The impossibility of ascending that waterfall is the same as believing we can get to heaven without Jesus as our Savior. We can do nothing by our own merit to earn our way into heaven – Jesus already did it.

If you want to strike up a friendship with a person who is following after the enemy’s lie that everyone worships that same god, that’s fine; but there should be no misunderstanding on that person’s part as to just where you stand concerning false religions. If you stand on God’s inerrant word then you must be honest with those folks about where God sees them and their religion.

“…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

By the words of that verse we must conclude that if we don’t know Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life, that He alone is the only possible way to the Father, then we are in the same canoe as those folks who are attempting to get to God by some other means than through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. In the canoe or cheerleading on the shore, we are wallowing in hopelessness.

If we say we follow Jesus Christ but we deny He’s the only way to the Father then we’ve diminished Christ’s deity and made void His work on the cross and His resurrection. This would mean our faith is in vain.

“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. …if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17b)

These people who adhere to false religions remain in their sins.

The idea that all faiths worship the same God originates in the deepest darkest depths of hell and is a blatant attempt to create a vacuum that will suck every adherent of every false religion straight down to the abyss. A Christian who promotes this satanic lie is nothing more than a willing advocate of the devil.

Only Satan could have come up with such a deception. As this malevolent supernatural being continues his opposition to God we see his focus is on the Church to create confusion while establishing friction among the followers of Jesus Christ; all to facilitate his agenda of death and destruction.

When a Christian compromises his/her faith they are walking with the devil. Help us Father to see the truth. Think about it: Do you really think Jesus, the “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 is apt to share His Throne with any man-invented god?

God bless you all,

Ron Graham