My dissertation on Alpha and Omega
My dissertation on Alpha and Omega
I would like to discuss what is said here in "bold":
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev.1:7-8).
Is not the "Lord" spoken of in verse eight the Lord Jesus?
After all, from the context can we not conclude that the words "which is to come" are referring to this coming?:
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."
Besides that, verse eight is clearly a testimony from someone, and that someone can only be the Lord Jesus:
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw" (Rev.1:1-2).
I cannot see that Revelation 1:8 can be speaking of anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ. That being true, then we can conclude that the Lord Jesus is the Almighty God.
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Hi JS,
Would love to. Lets take a close look at these passages in chapter 1:1-8 (
using the NASB) - notice that the NASB in vs. 8 below
adds the word 'God' to 'Lord' (to render it as 'Lord God') and OMITS the title 'Beginning and End'. - this puts a greater emphasis IMO upon this first announcement coming from the Father who is the A to Z, the
Almighty. - who is, was and is ever coming.....a title that originally begins with the FATHER, since all processions of space-time creation originates out of the Father (Infinity) and is further carried out by his Word, by which he speaks all dispensations into being. Many more modern translations render this verse as the NASB does, because they rely more on the Alexandrian and Majory Text traditions. It seems to me that some manuscripts omitted the word 'God' and inserted the title 'Beginning and End' to maybe emphasize this passage to describing Jesus as 'God',....making him the Almighty
himself, but the title
Almighty is always formally ascribed to God the Father. This may seem minor, but is just something to note. There is the Lord God Almighty
and his Messiah, the Father
and his Word.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Message to the Seven Churches
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 AND from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins [d]by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God * , “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
* The Majority texts which the NASB uses as above are rendered 'Lord
God', while some later manuscripts such as the TR put only 'Lord'. 'The beginning and the end' is also ommitted in the Majority text as indicated above in the NASB .
The KJV which uses the TR manuscripts renders this verse as below, ommitting 'God' and the inserting the title 'the beginning and the end' -
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending (inserted in the minority texts), saith the Lord (the word 'God' after 'Lord' is ommitted in the minority texts), which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
This 'Lord God'(title) would appear to indicate it is the Father being referred to, while a clear distinction is made between the one who sits on the throne
and Jesus. Notice That 'he who is, who was and who is to come, is the one sitting on a throne, the Most High God bearing the description of 'the Almighty'. The Father is the
Alpha and Omega in the sense that He is the Originator of all dispensations, all generations of creation and redemption, all languages, information, light, knowledge....from
A to Z.
In the totality of infinity, all generations of space and time are born from within the Universal Father himself, outside of which nothing can exist. The Father ever holds eternal primacy, priority and originality of being,
yet shares his glory, power and inheritance with his Son, who is the Messiah (hence the Son can can/will naturally share in the Father's names and titles, because they are one. But in this first address of entitlement, the FATHER is being referred to, while later...the Son also who stands WITH the father as God's representative, also identifies as with the titles of God, because he is His very Agent.
7 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I [l]was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. - Rev. 1:17
Jesus above is obviously speaking here and distinctively introducing himself as the 'first and the last'. (only a man can die and be raised again).
The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: - Rev. 3:8
Jesus above again identifying as the 'first and the last'. (the Son of Man who died and was resurrected) -
Do note here that the title 'first and last' is notably assigned to Jesus the Man in these two references (perhaps as the last Adam who restores what the first Adam lost).
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. - Rev 21: 5-7
It appears that the Father in prominence is speaking above,
since He sits on the throne, has the unique title of 'Alpha & Omega' first metntioned in 1:8....identifying Him as the 'Almighty God'. He is also 'the beginning and end' since he is the originator of all dispensations. In this saying of course the Son is included since he is in the Father and the Father in him,...the
LORD God does all thru the agency of his Word and his Christ. The Father and the Son are One in spirit, will and purpose. But note that in this instance the Father is speaking as the prominent voice here. - Only God the Father could say He will be someone's 'God' and make them His son....and He does so by granting them 'sonship' into His family.
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” - Rev. 22:12-13.
This is both the Father and the Son speaking, Jesus being the living word of the Father. (Now note I affirm that BOTH the Father and the Son are speaking co-jointly here because all 3 significant 'titles' are included in the announcement. In this announcement, both are speaking even thought a singular "I" is indicated,.....after all 'God is One'. God is, was and is coming,.....God is ever working in space and time thru his Word. When God speaks, His Word speaks). Both God and Jesus judge all according to their works, since Jesus serves by God's appointment to judge the living and the dead. In this last address using the significant titles, 'God' claims all 3 titles of
'Alpha and Omega, first and last, beginning and end' as a culmination or completion of divine entitlement. The Son is the 'morphe' of God (in person and archetype) working within
humanity, in space and time, hence God acting thru his word is that which begins and ends all dispensations. God cannot be described, expressed or revealed apart from his logos by which his creative thoughts, plans and purposes are unfolded. God's creative word articulates all that God is and all that God wills to bring to pass (John 1:1). There is no problem here, whether you take a Unit-Arian or Trinitarian view, since its 'God' working thru the AGENCY of His Son.
Further clarification. - In the above quote, Rev. 22:12-13 ,....
all 3 titles appear as they all represent 'God' acting thru His 'Word'. The noteworthy title of 'First and Last' is tucked right inbetween the other titles more prominently belonging to the Father. So here, we have the
total voice of God speaking with his Word as the 'Center' of His creative and redemptive Agency
- I was just noticing the titles and how they are applied in the great 'announcement' passages, recognizing a pattern. I Hope this clarifies my notations. - I realize that all 3 titles have similar meaning which may appear redundant,.....but maybe there is something to each title by way of inflection, - I was exploring that.
Summary: The entire book of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus the Christ, the logos, lord and lamb....the revelation of 'God' in his various 'forms' (roles, modes, operations), yes. God and his word or his 'revelation' (the 'morphe' of himself) are
inseperable. Distinction between God and his Christ is maintained in their
relational order, as well as their intimate unity of spirit, mind and will. This can be seen within a Unitarian or Trinitarian context, but the text articulates itself, which shows distinction of personality between the Father and the Son, while being wholly one in spirit, mind and will. This unity of spirit, mind and will, within the indivisible Spirit-nature of the Father maintains a wholly mono-theistic Unitarian core, with 'God' working
thru the Agency of his 'word' and the entire company of heaven.
