VERSE 8 (as taken from another perspective), “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.”

As previously stated,

“Verse 8 abruptly interrupts John’s narrative and the opening theme of the Book of Revelation. It is an interjection of thought by the Redeemer himself to personally confide some important truth; namely, that he is the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” and that he is declared to be such by no less an authority than the great Jehovah, the *Almighty God, the One “which is, and which was, and which is to come.”

Alpha and omega are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. The context signifies some unique office singularly occupied by the Savior, one that he was “the first” and one that he is to be “the last” to possess. Two such roles already exist in which Jesus meets these requirements. First, Jesus is “the beginning and the ending” in that he is God’s “only [directly] begotten Son,” “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (John 3:16; Col. 1:15).

“The beginning” in the text does not refer to the beginning of the existence of Jehovah, THE God (Ho Theos), THE FATHER HIMSELF, because He is “from everlasting to everlasting,” and NEVER HAD A BEGINNING (Psa. 90:2; 106:48). However, Jehovah’s work of creation did have a beginning.

 Jesus, “the faithful and true witness…the creation of God,” did not create himself but was begotten of his Father (Rev. 3:14).

“…These things say the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.”

Here the Lord himself emphatically proclaims that he was the beginning of the creation of God, that he had a beginning this contrary to what our Trinitarian friends would have us believe.

Since Jesus was the first (beginning) and only (ending or last) direct creation of God, all other sentient beings—human and angelic—were subsequently created “of” the Father but “by” or “through” the Son (John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Rev. 1:17; 2:8).

“Let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26).

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible” (Col. 1:16).

Second, the title “Alpha and Omega” refers to a position occupied solely by the Master among those who are called by God to joint-heirship upon the divine plane of glory, for God sent Jesus to be the everlasting head over the Church, his body. “He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead (the firstborn of the new creation); that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell” (Col. 1:18, 19).

Accordingly, Jesus issued a caution to his followers: “Be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your [spiritual] father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ” (Matt. 23:8–10). Indeed millions of professed followers of the Master unwittingly disobey this injunction whenever they address local parish priests as “Father.”

In the introductory remarks of Revelation, Christ calls himself the Alpha and the Omega in order to emphasize that the true Church of God is neither man-made nor man-ruled, that its members are enrolled not on earth but in heaven (Heb. 12:23). The Church has but one head: Jesus. His word is its law (the first and last say on all matters pertaining to the Church, the final authority). The Church is built upon the testimony of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being its chief cornerstone. Not only are Christians to be cut off from institutional heads, synods, and authorities; but they are to cease to have heads and wills of their own, and to accept instead the headship, the will, of the Lord Jesus. Although Jesus is meek and lowly of heart, he does not intend to shirk the honor and responsibility of office conferred upon him by the Father; rather, he intends to take complete charge in the fulfillment of his role as the spiritual guide and caretaker of the Church. The Lord’s people are to look to Jesus alone for direction in the present life because “thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Heb. 1:9).

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*Though Jesus is referred to as the “mighty God,” and although he himself declared that “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” it is not proper to refer to him as the “ALL mighty God” for the same reason it is not accurate to speak of him as the one “which is, and which was, and which is to come” (Isa. 9:6; Matt. 28:18). There were two periods of time when Jesus did not exist: prior to his original creation and later for a brief period from his death as a human on Calvary till he arose the third day.

Both of these terms (“mighty God” and “All mighty God”) properly describe and thoroughly apply to Jehovah, particularly since the latter one is consistently ascribed throughout Revelation to the Father Himself (Rev. 1:4; 4:8; 16:5). Apparently, the difficulty in understanding Verse 8 lies in a failure to discern that while Jesus is the speaker, he is merely referring to the origin and authority for his title “Alpha and Omega”; it was given to him by the Father. (Compare Psa. 2:7; 45:6, 7; Heb. 1:4–8.)

When used in the Old Testament, the expression “the first and the last” refers only to Jehovah. It applies to the dignity and the authority of the divine office itself, to the sole and everlasting supremacy of the great Creator as emperor of the universe. Under no circumstances does He intend to share or abdicate this office.

“I am the Lord [Jehovah]: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another” (Isa. 42:8; 48:11).

“Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me” (Isa. 43:10).

“I am the Lord [Jehovah]; and there is none else” (Isa. 45:18).

“I the Lord thy God am a jealous God” (Exod. 20:5).

“I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” (Isa. 41:4; 44:6).

However, when this expression (“mighty God”) applies to Jesus (see Rev. 1:11, 17), it refers to the signal honor and perpetual relationship that exists between the Father and the Son. This relationship is beautifully illustrated by Joseph’s career in Egypt and the confidence and power Pharaoh invested in Joseph. In this instance, Pharaoh is a prototype of God, and Joseph’s life typically parallels Jesus’ experience.

Note Pharaoh’s words to Joseph: “’Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. . . . See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.’ And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, ‘Bow the knee’; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt’” (Gen. 41:40–44).