Amos 1-3 / Revelation 2:1-17 / Psalm 129 / Proverbs 29:19-20
In your reading of scripture, have you ever noticed some words repeated over and over? In reading Revelation 2, I came across a phrase that I saw repeated three times in my reading, but I also realized I had heard this phrase many other times as I’ve read the Bible. In searching for this phrase in scripture, we will better understand who God is. What is the phrase?
The phrase is the One who. First, I wanted to confirm who the One is. As we read through Revelation 2:1-17, we discover that the One speaking is Jesus Christ. One clue to His identity is in verse four: “You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”
The first commandment tells us who we must love first: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.” See Deuteronomy 6:5.
I hope that one proof is enough to confirm to you that the One is Jesus Christ. In today’s reading, we see that He is the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands. He is the One who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive (further proof that we are speaking of Jesus Christ). He is also the One with the sharp two-edged sword in His mouth.
Let’s look at other verses that speak about the One and find out more about what He’s like!
Matthew 11:10 says, “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’” New International Version, (NIV).John the Baptizer is the messenger who was sent ahead, and the One he was sent ahead of, was his cousin Jesus who is the Messiah.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 reads, “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Again in the NIV.Here we learn that Jesus Christ is faithful, and He will do it (keep you blameless).
Revelation 1:8 states “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” Refer to the NIV. In this verse we discover that Jesus Christ is the Alpha (the First) and the Omega (the Last) and that He is eternal, always existing (was, is, and is to come).
And the final verse we will consider today (though there are many more) is Deuteronomy 31:8 in the New King James Version, (NKJV): “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” This verse tells us that He goes before us, is with us, and will not leave us. Because we have this promise we can live without fear.
I have a feeling that as you read this post, many more verses came to your mind. He is the One who… fill in the blank. There are so many promises in scripture that we could spend the rest of our days on earth finding and meditating on them. If you find another verse that goes along with today’s topic, please comment!
