God bless you in the exalted name of Jesus Christ, the first and the last (Revelation 1:17).
We read earlier in Revelation1:11 where Jesus Christ was addressed as “the alpha and omega” and “the first and the last” (i.e. the one and only). Revelation 1:17 repeated the later.
Revelation 1:17, 18a:
And when I [John] 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: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen. . . .
“I am he that liveth, and was dead.” Jesus Christ is “the first and the last,” who lives and was dead. Notice that the “I am” in verse 18 is in italics; the Greek texts reads, “and the Living One.” He not only lives now, but he lives forevermore because God raised him from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one God ever raised from the dead who never died again. That is why he is “the first and the last.” That’s what sets Christianity apart from every religion that man has ever made, because nobody else but Jesus Christ was ever raised from the dead to the end that he is still alive. It is true that other people have been raised from the dead, but it was only temporary. Death was not completely defeated when they were brought back to life. Death still had dominion over them, and they all died again — all except Jesus.
Romans 6:9:
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
In his resurrection, Jesus Christ is as much alive today as he was the day that God raised him from the dead almost 2,000 years ago. It is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ which sets Christianity apart from everything that man has ever thought about doing. It is what makes him so special. It is what God did that really made all the difference in the world.
Through the ages there have been other men who taught some wonderful things, other men who stood for God; but God did not raise any of these others from the dead. The prophets of old were great men. Even though they stood with God, even though they believed God and spoke His Word, God did not raise any of them from the dead. John the Baptist was the greatest of them all before Jesus Christ, yet God did not raise him from the dead. There’s only one God raised — and that’s the Lord Jesus Christ. This sets Christianity apart.
When God raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, death was defeated. If God could defeat death through raising the Lord Jesus Christ, then you and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt we have eternal life. If God had not done this, we wouldn’t have any guarantee. And the guarantee that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and that we have eternal life is that we have and can operate holy spirit. Have you spoken in tongues recently? [There is help available if you haven’t and would like to.]
We can enjoy fellowship with both God and he who fully declared God by his life, the monogenēs, the only begotten Son of God, our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only one that God has ever raised from the dead. God raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and that is our guarantee, our proof that God has complete power over the Devil and over death. There is nothing the Devil can do to stop the power of God and the power of God’s Word.