JESUS: THE ETERNAL ALPHA AND OMEGA
In John’s Apocalypse, we find both God and the risen Christ declaring themselves to be the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End:
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’… When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:7-8, 17-18
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’” Revelation 2:8
“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.’” Revelation 21:6-7
“‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.’… He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20
These titles are intended communicate the fact that God is an uncreated Being who endures forever, and has therefore been there from the very start of creation and will remain with each subsequent generation till the end of age. To put it simply, these divine appellations describe God as the uncaused Cause of all creation who sovereignly guides and sustains everything that exists.
This is precisely how the book of Isaiah interprets the phrase “the First and Last”:
“Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.” Isaiah 41:4
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:6-8
“Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.” Isaiah 48:12-13
As such, that Christ refers to himself in this manner means that the risen Jesus is claiming to be the uncaused Cause of all created existence, the One who along with the Father is sovereignly overseeing and preserving the entire creation!
In other words, these divine ascriptions affirm that both the Father and the Son exist as the one true Almighty God who has no beginning and whose existence never ends!
Even the renowned agnostic/atheist textual critic of the New Testament and best-selling author Bart D. Ehrman admits that this is how God and Christ are being portrayed in the Apocalypse. He writes:
“In any event, John is on Patmos, where he has his first vision, of Christ himself. John indicates this happened while he was ‘in the Spirit’ on ‘the Lord’s Day’ (1:10). This is the first time in Christian literature that Sunday is called the Lord’s day–named that because it is the day the Lord was raised from the dead. Being in the Spirit may indicate that he was deep in prayer or had even gone into a kind of trance. John hears a voice of telling him to write letters to the seven churches and turns to ‘see the voice’–an odd expression (how do you see a voice?), but not unprecedented. On turning, he sees seven golden lampstands and ‘one like a son of man’ walking among them. This is a clear reference to Christ, who in the early Christian tradition was identified as the ‘Son of Man,’ in reference to a passage found in John’s visionary predecessor, Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14; see Daniel 10:5-9).
“The vision of Christ in 1:13-16 is quite stunning. Right off the bat we encounter an amazing array of images. He is clothed in a long robe with a large golden waistband; later in Revelation, this will be the attire of mighty angels who bring destruction on the earth (Revelation 15:6). His hair is white as wool or snow, showing he is ancient; his eyes are like a flame of fire, showing his piercing judgment. His feet like fine bronze, showing his magnificence. His voice is like a rushing river or waterfall, showing the power of his speech. In his hand are seven stars, which I will explain later. And from his mouth comes a two-edged sword, an image used elsewhere in early Christian literature to denote the word of God (see Hebrews 4:12). His face shines with the brilliance of the sun.
“John’s response to this startling vision is what you might expect. He faints. Christ restores him with a touch and tells him there is no reason to be afraid. He, Christ, is the “first and the last” (a phrase later used of God himself), the one who was alive even though he died, who now has the power over Death and Hades, the realm of the dead…” (Ehrman, Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End [Simon & Schuster, New York, NY 2003], pp. 29-33; bold emphasis mine)
First, Christ identifies himself by one of the images used elsewhere in the book, saying, for example, that he is the one who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven lampstands, or that he is the first and last, who came back to life from the dead. (Ibid., p. 33; bold emphasis mine)
Despite what is sometimes said, it is a mistake to think that Christ first appears in Revelation as the Lamb, as if this were the guiding image of the narrative. On the contrary, Christ first appears as the cosmic judge of the earth, the “one like a Son of Man” (1:13), whose coming in Scripture leads to the destruction of the enemies of God and their rule (Daniel 7:13-14). In John’s opening vision of Christ (1:12-16), he is dressed in a white robe and gold sash, just as the mighty angels who will later pour out the bowls of God’s wrath (15:6). But he is FAR MIGHTIER than these earth destroyers. His hair is white, not to show that he is old and decrepit, but to reveal that he is the One who has ruled FROM ETERNITY PAST (see Daniel 7:9), the “alpha and the omega” (22:13). Most important, he has a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth. I noted earlier that this may represent him as the one who speaks the Word of God, but for John this Word is not a peaceful, soothing communication to calm the souls of those on earth. It is the word “judgment.” Later Christ tells the Christians they should repent or “I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth” (2:16). (Ibid., pp. 160-161; bold and capital emphasis mine)
“And not only at the book’s end. The idea that God AND HIS CHRIST HOLD ABSOLUTE POWER permeates the book from the very beginning. In the opening lines, Christ is described as ‘the ruler of the kings of the earth’ (1:5), who by dying received the ‘glory and dominion forever and ever’ (1:6). With his own first words, God proclaims his universal dominance: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’ (1:8). The English word ‘Almighty’ is a bit weak for the Greek term used here: Pantokrator, a rare word, or at least it was before the book of Revelation. The word almost never appears in Greek before the New Testament and only once in all the other twenty-six books of the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:18). But John uses it nine times. It means something like ‘the one who exercises his power over all things.’ That is, of course, what ‘Almighty’ means, but that more common word gets used so often that its force has been tamed. The Pantokrator is more powerful than anything in existence… Thus, the book of Revelation is all about levels of domination. God the Father is Pantokrator (All-mighty). Christ who implements God’s will is the conqueror of earth, the Lord of lords and King of kings…” (Ibid., pp. 192-193; bold and capital emphasis mine)
answeringislamblog.wordpress.com
J.
In John’s Apocalypse, we find both God and the risen Christ declaring themselves to be the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End:
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’… When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:7-8, 17-18
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’” Revelation 2:8
“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.’” Revelation 21:6-7
“‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.’… He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20
These titles are intended communicate the fact that God is an uncreated Being who endures forever, and has therefore been there from the very start of creation and will remain with each subsequent generation till the end of age. To put it simply, these divine appellations describe God as the uncaused Cause of all creation who sovereignly guides and sustains everything that exists.
This is precisely how the book of Isaiah interprets the phrase “the First and Last”:
“Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.” Isaiah 41:4
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:6-8
“Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.” Isaiah 48:12-13
As such, that Christ refers to himself in this manner means that the risen Jesus is claiming to be the uncaused Cause of all created existence, the One who along with the Father is sovereignly overseeing and preserving the entire creation!
In other words, these divine ascriptions affirm that both the Father and the Son exist as the one true Almighty God who has no beginning and whose existence never ends!
Even the renowned agnostic/atheist textual critic of the New Testament and best-selling author Bart D. Ehrman admits that this is how God and Christ are being portrayed in the Apocalypse. He writes:
“In any event, John is on Patmos, where he has his first vision, of Christ himself. John indicates this happened while he was ‘in the Spirit’ on ‘the Lord’s Day’ (1:10). This is the first time in Christian literature that Sunday is called the Lord’s day–named that because it is the day the Lord was raised from the dead. Being in the Spirit may indicate that he was deep in prayer or had even gone into a kind of trance. John hears a voice of telling him to write letters to the seven churches and turns to ‘see the voice’–an odd expression (how do you see a voice?), but not unprecedented. On turning, he sees seven golden lampstands and ‘one like a son of man’ walking among them. This is a clear reference to Christ, who in the early Christian tradition was identified as the ‘Son of Man,’ in reference to a passage found in John’s visionary predecessor, Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14; see Daniel 10:5-9).
“The vision of Christ in 1:13-16 is quite stunning. Right off the bat we encounter an amazing array of images. He is clothed in a long robe with a large golden waistband; later in Revelation, this will be the attire of mighty angels who bring destruction on the earth (Revelation 15:6). His hair is white as wool or snow, showing he is ancient; his eyes are like a flame of fire, showing his piercing judgment. His feet like fine bronze, showing his magnificence. His voice is like a rushing river or waterfall, showing the power of his speech. In his hand are seven stars, which I will explain later. And from his mouth comes a two-edged sword, an image used elsewhere in early Christian literature to denote the word of God (see Hebrews 4:12). His face shines with the brilliance of the sun.
“John’s response to this startling vision is what you might expect. He faints. Christ restores him with a touch and tells him there is no reason to be afraid. He, Christ, is the “first and the last” (a phrase later used of God himself), the one who was alive even though he died, who now has the power over Death and Hades, the realm of the dead…” (Ehrman, Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End [Simon & Schuster, New York, NY 2003], pp. 29-33; bold emphasis mine)
First, Christ identifies himself by one of the images used elsewhere in the book, saying, for example, that he is the one who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven lampstands, or that he is the first and last, who came back to life from the dead. (Ibid., p. 33; bold emphasis mine)
Despite what is sometimes said, it is a mistake to think that Christ first appears in Revelation as the Lamb, as if this were the guiding image of the narrative. On the contrary, Christ first appears as the cosmic judge of the earth, the “one like a Son of Man” (1:13), whose coming in Scripture leads to the destruction of the enemies of God and their rule (Daniel 7:13-14). In John’s opening vision of Christ (1:12-16), he is dressed in a white robe and gold sash, just as the mighty angels who will later pour out the bowls of God’s wrath (15:6). But he is FAR MIGHTIER than these earth destroyers. His hair is white, not to show that he is old and decrepit, but to reveal that he is the One who has ruled FROM ETERNITY PAST (see Daniel 7:9), the “alpha and the omega” (22:13). Most important, he has a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth. I noted earlier that this may represent him as the one who speaks the Word of God, but for John this Word is not a peaceful, soothing communication to calm the souls of those on earth. It is the word “judgment.” Later Christ tells the Christians they should repent or “I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth” (2:16). (Ibid., pp. 160-161; bold and capital emphasis mine)
“And not only at the book’s end. The idea that God AND HIS CHRIST HOLD ABSOLUTE POWER permeates the book from the very beginning. In the opening lines, Christ is described as ‘the ruler of the kings of the earth’ (1:5), who by dying received the ‘glory and dominion forever and ever’ (1:6). With his own first words, God proclaims his universal dominance: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’ (1:8). The English word ‘Almighty’ is a bit weak for the Greek term used here: Pantokrator, a rare word, or at least it was before the book of Revelation. The word almost never appears in Greek before the New Testament and only once in all the other twenty-six books of the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:18). But John uses it nine times. It means something like ‘the one who exercises his power over all things.’ That is, of course, what ‘Almighty’ means, but that more common word gets used so often that its force has been tamed. The Pantokrator is more powerful than anything in existence… Thus, the book of Revelation is all about levels of domination. God the Father is Pantokrator (All-mighty). Christ who implements God’s will is the conqueror of earth, the Lord of lords and King of kings…” (Ibid., pp. 192-193; bold and capital emphasis mine)
JESUS: THE ETERNAL ALPHA AND OMEGA
In John’s Apocalypse, we find both God and the risen Christ declaring themselves to be the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End: “Behold, he is coming with the clo…
answeringislamblog.wordpress.com
J.
