VERSE 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

This verse is seemingly isolated from what has come before it or what follows it. But, if we BEHOLD, it is the important end of the greeting which has led up to it.

John has been speaking since verse 4. Suddenly, here, a new voice speaks. It speaks one powerful interjection before John begins (in verse 9) to introduce the seven Churches. Its placement is CRITICAL, although, at first (and even subsequent) reading, it seems hopelessly out of place. It is important to understand its meaning AND the reasoning behind arriving at its meaning. Therefore, we first state, in summary, what it seems to mean, and then we show the reasoning behind the conclusion.

THE MEANING

The meaning seems best shown by re-arranging (and even slightly re-wording) the sentence:

According to the LORD, The God, The Almighty, Who is, and who was, and who is to come, I (Jesus) am the Alpha and the Omega.

Or if you prefer: “I (Jesus) am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord (the Father), “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Thus, Jesus is speaking. He is stating that throughout this Book of Revelation (See 21:6 and 22:13 for the only other two uses) HE is the one who OWNS THIS NAME (the Alpha and the Omega). He carefully says that he owns this name BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF SAYS SO. Jesus is basing this claim on the prophecy in Zechariah 12 which has just been quoted in Verse 7. This will be detailed later.

The placement of this verse here is the height of the opening greeting. John has said that grace and peace are being sent from God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. He then praises Jesus and summarizes what he has done for us and will do for us and for the world. Then Jesus himself interrupts and concludes the greeting by saying: I am the authority behind all of the words which follow in this book. I am head of the church, to you all, I am the first word and the last word (the sole authority) on any subject herein. I am so because my father says so.

What a powerful way to end the opening greeting! After all, isn’t this book entitled the Revelation of Jesus Christ? (Which god gave unto him?) Verse 1

THE REASONING BEHIND THE MEANING

1)“Who is and was and is to come” has, in verse 4, already been used to describe YAHWEH in the three-part greeting which CLEARLY represents God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. This phrase, “is, was, and is to come,” IS ALWAYS USED exclusively in a description of the Father throughout the Book of Revelation.

2) In verse 8, the Greek clearly says THE Lord, THE God. It violates Bible students’ traditional arguments over the years to suggest that THE God is Jesus.

3) The word ALMIGHTY (pantokrator) is used ten times in the Bible (N.T.). In EVERY other case it seems a clear reference to the Father. To make an exception here seems faulty. (See 2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 16:14; 19:6; 19:15; 21:22.) The O.T. equivalent is EL SHADDAI. (See Exod. 6:3 as an example.) It ALWAYS applies to Yahweh.

4) Alpha and Omega, being the FIRST and LAST letters in the Greek alphabet, imply the FIRST and LAST of something. While some might claim Jesus as the first and last direct creation of Yahweh (which is true), this usage does not fit well here, nor does it explain that Yahweh uses the same words (first and last) for HIMSELF (Isa 44:6) by which He seems to say that there is none BEFORE HIM nor AFTER HIM. He is the total statement on any and every subject. His word is law. In Revelation, Yahweh gives Jesus this authority over his Church.

5) Finally, a wonderful ONE WORD PROPHECY (which just happens to be quoted in part in Rev. 1:7) exists in Zech 12:10. In this little verse is HIDDEN Jesus’ title of ALPHA and OMEGA! It is by a strange change of language from a first-person reference to a third-person reference that the meaning is both hidden and temptingly intriguing. Note the passage:

“…they will look on ME whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for HIM…”

This change of pronouns is linguistically galling! That is why it invites inspection. The word ME * just happens to be in Hebrew a two-letter word also. It is spelled Aleph and Tav —the FIRST and the LAST letters of the Hebrew alphabet! The fact that this prophecy is quoted in Rev. 1:7, and then, in Verse 8 Jesus gets this name, seems indisputable proof of the meaning of the passage. Jesus interrupts John and says, “I am the “ME” of the prophecy you just quoted. I am the Alpha and Omega. I am the FIRST and the LAST word on any and all subjects in this Book of Revelation. I have this authority BECAUSE THE GOD ALMIGHTY gave it to me. He gave it to me right there in Zech 12:10 which you just quoted.”

This is the first step in the REVELATION (the revealing) of Jesus to his Church. He shows his position and authority for all that is about to happen in the Gospel Age.

Thus ends the opening greeting of the Book of Revelation.

In our next post we would like to present a little more insight on Verse 8 as taken from “The Keys of Revelation”.

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*For a more thoroughly look at the word ME see “How to Study the book of Revelation”, “Words and Phrases” under the Alpha and Omega.