The Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 19-22)

I just took my first Greek test today, so I'm very familiar with "alpha" and "omega" – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  In Revelation Jesus refers to Himself as "the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."  That statement says a lot about Him.  It all goes back to what John originally recorded in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word…" (in case you are curious, the Greek word for "Word" is logos).  Jesus, since He is part of the Holy Trinity (the three parts of God) was in the beginning, and nothing came into existence in this world except as a result of Him.  Later on in John 1, the beloved apostle records that "the darkness has not overcome [the light… Jesus]," (John 1:5).  What Jesus tells us in Revelation is that the darkness never will overcome the light because He is the beginning and the end.  He was and is and is to come – Jesus reigns victoriously through eternity.  We can cling to Him and Him alone for that hope.  On NBC News Monday Night they revealed results of a new Pew Research Poll on Americans and faith (you can view the results of the poll here).  As it turns out, 57% of Evangelical Christians believe that Jesus is only one way to eternal life.  When it comes to Catholics, 79% believe that their "religion" is only one way to eternal life and 82% of Jewish people believe the same.  The problem is that this isn't a Biblical belief!  Jesus is the only way to eternal life – He's the beginning and the end – no one makes it except through Him.  That's not a popular view, but it's a Biblical view.  If Jesus' death was not necessary for eternal life, then why did He die on the cross?  If there was some other way for us to be made right with God, then He certainly wouldn't have taken that difficult journey.  But He willingly took it for us so we could be with Him forever.  Do you know the Alpha and the Omega?  Are you trusting Him alone?  No one else can help you reach eternal life.