Fear not, I am the first and the last, (Revelation 1:17.)
I am mildly afraid of spiders, but I am not afraid of coyotes. Fish make me uncomfortable when swimming, but I relax around boats. A dark room makes me nervous until I see a light.
I deduce that the unknown is a scary thing. Spiders, fish, and the dark are hidden, probably sneaky, and therefore dangerous. But coyotes are loud and full of motion, boats are on the TOP of the water, and the light lets me see.
Jesus commands John to, “fear not.” And he tells John why. While we usually interpret Jesus’ “First” and “Last” as being related to time, those words also have reference to place… to geography… to travel. They might be translated, “Nearest,” and “Farthest.” Jesus is saying that He is everywhere. Somehow, at the same time. There is nothing to fear around Jesus, because through Him there is no unknown place. Nowhere for danger to lurk, or creep, or crouch. When my mind is focused on Jesus, there are no unknown places to fear.
Further, danger has nowhere to hide from HIM. There are no shadows around Jesus, from His perspective… and He is everywhere! No enemy is hidden from Him. No evil has a place to lurk. No danger is sneaking around the next corner. Because He is there, too! If anything could hide from His attention, maybe THAT could be worth fearing. But He is the nearest and the farthest!
Fear not, Jesus is everywhere!