"Serial position effect is the tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_position_effect
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)
"Who was and is and is to come..."
I was listening to a song on Christian radio the other day (can't remember which song, but I think this "mis-ordering" occurs in many of them) and heard the lyrics above: Who WAS and IS and IS TO COME. Somehow (and I also cannot recall how this leap happened) I was shown that this commonly-sung and recited verse from the Bible (Revelation 1:8, 11:17) is actually not announced that way. Now some may say that this is too fine of a line to lay out there...or that I am "splitting hairs"...but when it states that His Word is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), I take that seriously, meaning that God had and has a very critical and Love-enveloped reason for why He says everything He says, and (I believe) in what order He places it.
But because there is also some scientific-investigator in me, I recalled from the little brain research I have perused that the order in which things are observed and then processed matters. So in addition to the serial position effect mentioned above, there are also two related phenomena called the "primacy effect" and the "recency effect": the former revealing that our brains most potently remember those events and elements of a sequence that come first, and the latter stating that we also tend to best recall the last item presented to us. Here is a link that defines these and connects them with relationships. This is more about the primacy effect (though the recency effect and how it applies to this verse is also both thought-provoking and incredibly significant...).
So how DOES God proclaim, or order, his Amazing Existence...?
He begins with what He declared to Moses from the burning bush: "I AM" (Exodus 3:1-4, 14) and, in nearly all (or probably all; I just haven't looked in all) of the versions of His Word:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who IS, and who WAS, and who IS TO COME, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)
I don't know about you, but when I thoughtfully read that, it is true that whatever comes first is what "cries out" loudest in my mind. It's not that, according to the many extra-biblical writings and Christian songs that are out there, He WAS (and is and is to come). It is, according to God's inspiration to the writers, that He IS (and was and is to come). Is this really important...? I believe, in the heavenly/spiritual realm, it is. And if it dovetails with the natural-realm brain/memory/processing research - that whether we realize it or not, we tend to focus more powerfully on the first element or event in a sequence - then even more so is it something I believe we need to be made aware of. AND, if in the natural realm (and God knows what we are taught about sequence: past, present, future) it really "should" be "was, is, is to come," then why would He put it any other way...unless He had a reason...
And God said to Moses, “I AM...”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I AM!” (John 8:58; emphasis mine)
Immanuel: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, "God WITH us.” (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14; emphasis mine)
AND... "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3) - so how much more intimate it is to get to know the God who foremost in our minds IS than the God who first and foremost WAS...?
I believe not just to Moses, but to us all, God yearns to communicate to us that He IS, that He is STILL WITH US, and that He wants us to KNOW HIM NOW as our Creator; God; and for those who return to Him through Jesus, our Father (John 1:12-13, 10:3-4, 14:6).
Don't be deceived, the order does make a difference. His Word shows it and our brains know it.
The God Who IS...and who was, and who is to come...”
HE IS.
HE IS with us.
I AM.
Praise you God.
In His (Present) Love,
Terri
(Another ordering that is often mis-quoted and that I believe also matters tremendously is John 10:10, this time applied to satan, our ultimate enemy. Many state that he comes to "kill, steal, and destroy," whereas God's Word tells us that he comes to "STEAL, kill, and DESTROY". I believe that if we were more strategically [and correctly] focused on satan's goal to first steal from us, then we might then be oh-so-much better informed about what he comes to steal [steal peace, steal joy, steal health, steal rationality, steal morality, steal sanity...]; thereby made better aware of what was going on when we experience some of the "fiery trials" we do; and as a result be better equipped to fight the battles we, as Christians, are meant to fight against him [and to warn others of the same]. This all so that we can more powerfully overcome here on earth, so that we can then more freely and victoriously proclaim the Victory and Presence of Jesus Christ...here) (1 Peter 4:12-14; James 1:2-4; Luke 22:31-32).
Thank you God. Amen...
