Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.
What do you fear most? Well, I think I know. It is the future. It is either that what you fear is in the future or the future itself is what you fear. That is natural because the future is by definition unknown. Even though we anticipate the future, we do not know the future. It is an unknown quantity. For that reason, people come to the book of Revelation with great fear and trepidation; it is largely about the future. It is about the things that have been, are, and will be, and it is the “will be” that seems to absorb our attention because those are the things that we do not comprehend.
Yet, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is not just a revelation of future things. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ Himself. Verse 1 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.”
In verse 17 Jesus says an amazing thing. He says, “Fear not; I am.” How amazing that we find the words “fear not” in a book like Revelation, yet that is exactly what Jesus said. He said, “Fear not; I am.” You need not fear the future when you know the One Who owns it.
Maybe you have been to a new, unknown location and you were met by a familiar friend who gave you a tour. Your confidence was not in your knowledge of the place; your confidence was in that you knew the person who knew the place. The Lord Jesus is not bound by time. He is in the future. He owns the future. So, He says, “Fear not; I am.”
Who is He? Verse 5 says that He is “the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” In other words, Jesus is everything sufficient for your future and for your present. In verse 11 He says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” Who He is should give us comfort regarding the future, whether it is the future of time or the future of eternity.
We also see here what Jesus has. In verse 18 Jesus says, “I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.” Jesus is life. Jesus conquers death. Think about what Jesus has. He has control over past, present, and future.
Also, notice what He gives. In Verse 4, John says, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come.” The very last verse of Revelation says likewise, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
So, what does the future hold? I do not know. But, I know Who holds the future, and you need not fear the future when you know the One Who owns it.