Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Revelation 1:8
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.
8. Alpha and Omega ] The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet used, as in Rabbinical proverbs the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet were, as symbols of “the beginning and the end.” These latter words are not here a part of the genuine text; they come from Rev 22:13.
Lord ] Should be followed by “God;” the group of titles represents “the Lord, Jehovah the God of Hosts” of the O. T. The word we render “Almighty” perhaps rather meaning “of all might” is the usual representative in the LXX. of the word [Lord of] Sabaoth. So in the Athanasian Creed, “Almighty” is coupled with the divine names “God” and “Lord,” not with the divine attributes “eternal, incomprehensible, uncreated.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I am Alpha and Omega – These are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, and denote properly the first and the last. So in Rev 22:13, where the two expressions are united, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. So in Rev 1:17, the speaker says of himself, I am the first and the last. Among the Jewish rabbis it was common to use the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to denote the whole of anything, from beginning to end. Thus, it is said, Adam transgressed the whole law, from Aleph () to Taw (). Abraham kept the whole law, from Aleph () to Taw (). The language here is what would properly denote eternity in the being to whom it is applied, and could be used in reference to no one but the true God. It means that he is the beginning and the end of all things; that he was at the commencement, and will be at the close; and it is thus equivalent to saying that he has always existed, and that he will always exist. Compare Isa 41:4, I the Lord, the first, and with the last; Isa 44:6, I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God; Isa 48:12, I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. There can be no doubt that the language here would be naturally understood as implying divinity, and it could be properly applied to no one but the true God. The obvious interpretation here would be to apply this to the Lord Jesus; for:
(a)It is he who is spoken of in the verses preceding, and
(b)There can be no doubt that the same language is applied to him in Rev 1:11.
As there is, however, a difference of reading in this place in the Greek text, and as it can. not be absolutely certain that the writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus specifically here, this cannot be adduced with propriety as a proof-text to demonstrate his divinity. Many mss., instead of Lord, kurios, read God, Theos and this reading is adopted by Griesbach, Tittman, and Hahn, and is now regarded as the correct reading. There is no real incongruity in supposing, also, that the writer here meant to refer to God as such, since the introduction of a reference to him would not be inappropriate to his manifest design. Besides, a portion of the language used here, which is, and was, and is to come, is what would more naturally suggest a reference to God as such, than to the Lord Jesus Christ. See Rev 1:4. The object for which this passage referring to the first and the last – to him who was, and is, and is to come, is introduced here evidently is, to show that as he was clothed with omnipotence, and would continue to exist through all ages to come as he had existed in all ages past, there could be no doubt about his ability to execute all which it is said he would execute.
Saith the Lord – Or, saith God, according to what is now regarded as the correct reading.
Which is, and which was, … – See the notes on Rev 1:4.
The Almighty – An appellation often applied to God, meaning that he has all power, and used here to denote that he is able to accomplish what is disclosed in this book.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 1:8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.
Christ all in all
I. Of creation.
II. Of history.
III. Of Scripture.
IV. Of salvation.
V. In the life of the believer.
VI. In the Christian Church. (D. R. Key, M. A.)
Alpha and Omega
I. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of human aspirations. He meets mens strongest yearnings.
1. It is so in reference to theological aspirations.
2. Immortal aspirations are likewise met in Jesus. Men believe in a hereafter. On the last page of lifes book we do not write Finis, but To be continued in our next. Christ ministers to this yearning for immortality. I go to prepare a place for you; This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise; Where I am there also shall My servant be.
II. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of human character. Christ comprehended in Himself every form of excellence. No virtue was lacking; each grace was present. A visitor in Spain, delighted with the paintings of Rubens, asked where his bad pictures were? He failed to discover them. Inquire for the defects of Christ, and you cannot get an answer.
III. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of human privilege. What is true of the Bible is true also of Christ. It meets all moral needs. There is a bridge in a certain Austrian city on whose parapets stand twelve statues of the Saviour. He is represented in various relationships, as, for instance, prophet, priest, king, physician, pilot, shepherd, sower, carpenter. The country people, coming into town soon after dawn with produce for the market, pause before the sower or the shepherd Christ, and offer their prayers through Him. The artisans, two hours later, repairing to the workshop, bend before the carpenter Christ. Later on the sailor kneels at the feet of the pilot Christ. And in the warm sunlight of the forenoon invalids, creeping out to enjoy the fresh air, rest under the shadow of the Great Physician. Apt symbol of our Lords adaptation to universal necessities! He is all and in all. (T. R. Stevenson.)
Christ the Alpha and Omega
I. As it respects the relation in which He stands to the covenant of grace.
II. As it relates to the personal enjoyments and salvation of the true believer.
III. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the great works of nature and providence. (T. Hutchings.)
The first and the last
I. First, consider the title as expressive of the eternal duration of our Saviours existence. I am the first, He says, and thereby claims precedence of all created beings and things. He is before all things, and by Him are all things. I am the first, He says, and thereby claims to be coeval with the Father; for if the Father existed prior to Himself He could not be said to be the first. It is a most direct and unequivocal assertion of His divinity. He, as the God-man, the Divine taking upon Him the human, is the Centre and the Sun, the Alpha and Omega, of His own world. This statement is supported by the second part of His title. It points us to an impenetrable future, as the first does to an illimitable past. He is the Omega no less than the Alpha; the end even as He is the beginning. His existence bounds all being. As no one preceded Him, so no one can outlive Him. The Father does not live longer than the Son. What could show more clearly that He is dependent on none; that all are dependent on Him. It is of no small importance that you should practically realise this truth. It bears on our conduct, for if the Saviour be what this title claims, He is not to be regarded as a mere man, however holy and divinely endowed, but to be worshipped even as the Father is worshipped. It is conducive to our comfort, for, to say nothing of the efficacy which His dignity imparts to His atoning work, it is a blessed thing to know, amid the trials and the vicissitudes of this changing scene, that there is a Friend who ever lives and who is ever the same.
II. Then we consider the title as expressive of our Saviours action in all the movements of the universe. The self-existent and independent one must necessarily be the author and upholder of all created existence. Observe
1. How unlimited is the power which is thus attributed to our Lord. The fact of creation is in one point of view the most stupendous of which we have any knowledge. While all this is awful, is it not delightful to reflect how that power is wielded by our best Friend, by One whose heart is as tender as His arm is strong, and wielded for the welfare of those who put their trust in Him?
2. He carries all things forward to their consummation. He terminates as well as originates all the processes of the universe–all beings, all things, all existence. We are not to think of Him as severed from Bib works, but as pervading and upholding them, and still conducting them all. He is the centre of all forces, the fountain of all law, the sustainer of all existence. Look around you in your own world; in the multitude of the activities that you witness you behold the exercise of His power. It is seen in the flowing river, in the restless ocean, in the rising and setting sun, in the still or stormy atmosphere, in all activities of organic substance, in animal and vegetable life. It is His power that bursts in the budding of the plant; His beauty which is unfolded in the opening flower; it is His providence which shapes the life of the buzzing insect, His will that determines the mode and manner of its death. Even the smallest grain of dust takes its shape from His hands; He directs the course of every particle of spray, every feather and every snowflake in the breeze. There is nothing too minute for His care, as there is nothing too great for His might. Look into the inner world of the soul, and with equal certainty you can discern His movements there. Not only did He lay down His life to provide redemption for us, but by His Spirit He applies that redemption to the individual soul. The work of grace in its beginning, its continuance, its consummation, is all of Him. There is human instrumentality, but the efficiency is all Divine.
III. Again, consider the title as intimating that all things exist on our Saviours account, and actually and ultimately tend to the promotion of His glory. It is not a subject for dogmatism, scarcely for speculation, when we say that the purpose of creation was the manifestation of the Divine attributes, to give expression and embodiment to the truth, the purity, the beauty, the wisdom, the goodness, and the perfection of the attributes which exist in the Divine mind, that God might complacently behold and rest in His works, and that His intelligent creatures, beholding these perfections in the visible universe, might respond to those expressions of the Divine with devout and joyful adoration. Christ came to restore the Divine order which sin had interrupted, and all creation, true to the purpose of its existence, co-operates with Him for this end. His Incarnation is not an isolated fact; it is the centre of the universe, pointing to the past order which has been broken and is yet to be restored. (W. Landels.)
The A and the Z
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last; so that Christ in this text represents Himself as the A and the Z. That is one reason why I like the Bible; its illustrations are so easy to understand. When it represents the gospel as a hammer, everybody knows it is to knock something to pieces; or as salt, everybody who has put down meat in barrels knows it is to keep things from spoiling; or as a salve, that is to cure the old sores of the heart. Anybody who knows the a b c understands that the text means that Christ is the Beginning and the End in everything good.
I. He is the A and the Z of the physical universe. By Him were all things made that are made. It is exciting to see a ship launched. The people gather in a temporary gallery erected for their accommodation. The spectators are breathless, waiting for the impediments to be removed, when down the ship rushes with terrific velocity, the planks smoking, the water tossing, the flags flying, the people huzzaing, bands of music playing. But my Lord Jesus saw this ship of a world launched with its furnaces of volcano, and flags of cloud, and masts of mountain, and beams of thunderbolt, while the morning stars shouted, and the orchestras of heaven played, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty! The same hand that put up this universe will pull it down.
II. Christ is the A and the Z of the Bible. Here is a long lane, overshadowed by fine trees, leading up to a mansion. What is the use of the lane if there were no mansion at the end? There is no use in the Old Testament, except as a grand avenue to lead us up to the Gospel Dispensation. You may go early to a concert. Before the curtain is hoisted, you hear the musicians tuning up the violins, and getting ready all the instruments. After a while the curtain is hoisted, and the concert begins. All the statements, parables, orations, and miracles of the Old Testament were merely preparatory, and when all was ready, in the time of Christ, the curtain hoists, and there pours forth the Oratorio of the Messiah–all nations joining in the Hallelujah Chorus.
III. Christ is the A and the Z of the Christian ministry. A sermon that has no Christ in it is a dead failure. The minister who devotes his pulpit to anything but Christ is an impostor. What the world wants now is to be told in the most direct way of Jesus Christ, who comes to save men from eternal damnation. Christ the Light, Christ the Sacrifice, Christ the Rock, Christ the Star, Christ the Balm, Christ the Guide.
IV. Christ is the A and the Z in the worlds rescue. When the world broke loose, the only hand swung out to catch it was that of Jesus.
V. Christ is the A and the Z in Heaven. He is the most honoured personage in all the land. He is known as a World-Liberator. The first one that a soul entering heaven looks for is Jesus. At His feet break the doxologies. Around His throne circle the chief glories. At heavens beginning–Christ, the Alpha. Then travel far on down the years of eternity, and stop at the end of the remotest age, and see if the song has not taken up some other burthen, and some other throne has not become the centre of heavens chief attractions. But no; you hear it thrummed on the harps and poured from the trumpets and shouted in universal acclaim, Christ, the Omega! (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The Alpha and Omega
I. The Lord Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, because he is the manifestation of God. The use of the various letters is just to articulate your truest self–to render intelligible to others your thoughts and wishes, your feelings and your purposes. And in this sense Immanuel is the Alpha and Omega of the ever-blessed Godhead. He is the articulation of Jehovahs mind. He is the Word of God. He is the visible embodiment of all that is in the invisible Three-One. Whatever the mind of the Lord Jesus is, the same is the mind of God; whatever the dispositions of the Lord Jesus are known to be, the same are the dispositions of Him whom no man can see; and whatever perfections were seen in the person of Christ, the same perfections reside in the great I Am.
II. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, because of His All-Sufficiency. Like the literal Alpha and Omega, He includes everything within Himself. He is the beginning and the ending, which is, and was, and is to come–the Almighty–the All-sufficient. There is nothing which a believer needs but he will find it in the Lord Jesus.
1. A sufficient Saviour. His name was called Jesus, because He saves His people from their sins. You can do nothing which more truly honours Him, than to trust your salvation entirely to Him.
2. A most attractive and assimilating pattern of all moral excellence. In His direct operations on the mind, the Holy Spirit is the immediate sanctifier of Gods people; but it is by revealing the great model of all excellence in the person of the Lord Jesus, that the Holy Spirit changes them into the same likeness.
2. A wise Counsellor and unerring Guide. He knows the end from the beginning; He sees the issue of every undertaking, not only in time, but in eternity. His counsel is wonderful, for it meets the very case; and–what cannot be said of much good advice–He can not only give the best counsel, but He can make you willing to take it. In His ever-living Word, He has left principles available in all the casuistry which ever can occur in your experience–formulae which only need to be filled up with your particular case, and the doubt is at once dispelled–the path is at once made plain.
III. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, because all things that concern the Church are in Him summed up or recapitulated. In His person the Church on earth finds its access to God, and the earnest of its everlasting life; and in that same person the Church of the glorified finds the guarantee of permanent joy–the stability of its bliss secured. All that belong to Him are safe within the circle of the changeless love and all-embracing might of Him who filleth all in all.
IV. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, because He is the first and the last, the beginning and the ending–He that liveth and is alive for evermore. There is a power which bade Lebanon rise, and a power which can bid Lebanon and his continental roots subside in fiat chaos again. The day will come when that hoary deep must die–when old Ocean will lift up his waves and clap his cymbal hands no more. Yes, old apparatus of the universe, obsolete version of a system fast verging to decay, ye soon must vanish, and make room for a world where there is no more sea, and for cities which dont need the sun. But when ye are gone the Fountain of Life will still include in His all-encircling fulness everything that lives. (Jas. Hamilton.)
The security of the Church amid the vicissitudes of time
I. This important information the Saviour is pleased to communicate in this passage.
1. The figurative mode of expression He employs.
2. The evident sense of His communication. Christ precedes all things by the eternity of His nature; He pervades all things by the omnipresence of His Spirit; He survives all things by the immortality of His nature.
II. The solemn confirmation Christ deigns to afford. He announces–
1. The eternity of His duration.
2. The omnipotency in His possession. Christ says that He is the Almighty.
III. The blessed consolation the Saviour designs to bestow.
1. The security it affords to the believer amid the calamitous changes of life.
2. The stability of the Church amid the overthrow of empires.
3. The immortality of the Christian amid the ravages of death. (J. Blackburn.)
Christ–the Alpha
Take Christ first, before you think of doing anything else. Did He not say, Without Me you can do nothing? So, then, all you do without Him is sheer nothing, however pious and noble it may appear in the eyes of men. Is Ha not the Alpha, and is not the Alpha the first letter? Then do not try to put a letter before it; do not say to yourself, I will try to obtain a true recognition of my sins, and then I will go to Jesus and obtain salvation. This is beginning with the Z instead of with the Alpha. By doing so you make yourself like that fool who said, I will learn to swim first, and then I will go into the water. Do you want to know your sins truly? Who is to give you that knowledge but Christ? Do you want to become better and more heavenly minded? Who can give you that godly disposition of heart but Christ? (T. Guthrie.)
The Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.—
The eternity of God
I. The different senses in which the words eternal, immortal, and everlasting, are used by the sacred writers.
1. Sometimes they signify nothing more but only a long duration (Gen 17:8; Num 10:8; Gen 49:26; Hab 3:6; 1Sa 3:13; Exo 21:6).
2. The next sense they are used in is to denote a duration continuing as long as the subject exists, and then putting it in a state out of which it shall never be restored (Num 24:20; Deu 13:16; Jud 1:7).
3. In other places of Scripture the words eternal and for ever signify in a higher sense a duration, not figuratively, but properly and literally everlasting, without end, though not without beginning. Thus angels and the souls of men are eternal, or immortal.
4. The last and highest and most absolutely perfect sense of the words eternal and everlasting, is when they signify a duration of inexhaustible and never-falling permanency, both without beginning and without end. And not only so, but including also necessary and independent existence, so as in no manner whatsoever to derive from any other.
II. Some observations concerning this doctrine of the eternity of God in particular.
1. This eternity is a perfection, an attribute, by which God is very frequently described in Scripture, in order to raise in our minds a just veneration of His Divine majesty (Deu 33:27; Rom 16:26; Isa 57:15; 1Sa 15:29; 1Ti 1:17; 1Ti 6:16; Psa 102:24).
2. Not only in Scripture is God frequently described by this attribute of eternity, but even under the light of nature also is He represented to us after the same manner. For since it is in some degree a perfection to be, and a greater degree of that perfection, to continue in being, it is evident, when we conceive of God the most perfect being, we must conceive Him to be infinite in this perfection also, as well as in others. Again, it is evident even to the meanest capacity which considers things at all, that He who first gave being to all other things could not possibly have any beginning Himself, and that He who hath already existed from all eternity, independently and of Himself, cannot possibly be liable to be deprived of His being, and must therefore necessarily exist for an eternity to come.
3. The true notion of the Divine eternity does not consist in making past things to be still present, and things future to be already come, which is an express contradiction. The eternal, supreme cause has such a perfect, independent, and unchangeable comprehension of all things, that in every point or instance of His eternal duration, all things past, present, and to come, must be, not indeed themselves present at once, but they must be as entirely known and represented to Him in one single thought or view, and all things present and future be as absolutely under His power and direction (Psa 90:4; 2Pe 3:8).
III. What use this meditation may be to us in practice.
1. This attribute of eternity, absolute, necessary, and independent, is one of the principal characters by which the true God of the universe is distinguished from false Gods.
2. The consideration of the eternity of God is an argument why His providence ought not to be cavilled at, nor His promises doubted of, even though there be no present appearance of the performances of His promises, and no present way of explaining the methods of His providence.
3. The consideration of Gods eternity is a sure ground of trust and confidence, of hope and cheerfulness, to good men at all times, seeing His protection may be relied on and depended upon for ever.
4. The consideration of this Divine perfection, the eternity of God, is a ground for frail and mortal man to hope for pity and compassion from Him.
5. The consideration of Gods being eternal leads us to a right knowledge and just sense of the excellency of that reward, wherewith He will finally crown those who obey His commandments.
6. If God is eternal this consideration ought to be matter of infinite terror to all impenitent sinners; that He who liveth for ever, as He will reward His servants eternally, so He can punish His enemies as long as He pleases, for there is no end of His power. (S. Clarke, D. D.)
The eternity of God the Son
Contemplate God our Saviour–
I. As He was.
1. He was–in the bosom of the Father from all eternity.
2. He was–a little helpless babe, born in a stable, cradled in a manger.
3. He was–a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
4. He was–a sacrifice for sin.
5. He was–again on earth forty days (Act 1:3).
II. He is–His present state and circumstances.
1. He is–glorified.
2. He is–the head of His Church.
3. He is–preparing a place for us.
4. He is–in a state of expectation.
III. He is to come.
1. His second advent is as certain as His first, and depends upon it.
2. He is to come–suddenly and unexpectedly.
3. He is to come–with power and great glory.
4. He is to come–for the final consummation of all things. (Dean Close.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. I am Alpha and Omega] I am from eternity to eternity. This mode of speech is borrowed from the Jews, who express the whole compass of things by aleph and tau, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet; but as St. John was writing in Greek, he accommodates the whole to the Greek alphabet, of which alpha and omega are the first and last letters. With the rabbins meeleph vead tau, “from aleph to tau,” expressed the whole of a matter, from the beginning to the end. So in Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 17, 4: Adam transgressed the whole law from aleph to tau; i.e., from the beginning to the end.
Ibid., fol. 48, 4: Abraham observed the law, from aleph to tau; i.e., he kept it entirely, from beginning to end.
Ibid., fol. 128, 3: When the holy blessed God pronounced a blessing on the Israelites, he did it from aleph to tau; i.e., he did it perfectly.
The beginning and the ending] That is, as aleph or alpha is the beginning of the alphabet, so am I the author and cause of all things; as tau or omega is the end or last letter of the alphabet, so am I the end of all thinks, the destroyer as well as the establisher of all things. This clause is wanting in almost every MS. and version of importance. It appears to have been added first as an explanatory note, and in process of time crept into the text. Griesbach has left it out of the text. It is worthy of remark, that as the union of aleph and tau in Hebrew make eth, which the rabbins interpret of the first matter out of which all things were formed, (See Clarke on Ge 1:1😉 so the union of alpha and omega, in Greek, makes the verb , I breathe, and may very properly, in such a symbolical book, point out Him in whom we live, and move, and have our being; for, having formed man out of the dust of the earth, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul; and it is by the inspiration or inbreathing of his Spirit that the souls of men are quickened, made alive from the dead, and fitted for life eternal. He adds also that he is the Almighty, the all-powerful framer of the universe, and the inspirer of men.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, as Aleph and Tau are in the Hebrew alphabet: the meaning of these is expounded,
the beginning and the ending; he who was before all, and shall continue to exist when all creatures shall cease to be; the first and the last, as the same terms are expounded, Rev 22:13; so Isa 41:4; 43:13.
Which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty: see Rev 1:4; He addeth the Almighty, to show that he was able to make his words good. Thus in this verse, omnipotency, eternity, and immutability, are all applied to God, and particularly predicated of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Greek, “I am theAlpha and the Omega.” The first and last letters of thealphabet. God in Christ comprises all that goes between, as well asthe first and last.
the beginning and theendingomitted in the oldest manuscripts, though found inVulgate and Coptic. Transcribers probably inserted theclause from Re 21:6. In Christ,Genesis, the Alpha of the Old Testament, and Revelation, the Omega ofthe New Testament, meet together: the last book presenting to us manand God reconciled in Paradise, as the first book presented man atthe beginning innocent and in God’s favor in Paradise. Accomplishingfinally what I begin. Always the same; before thedragon, the beast, false prophet, and all foes. An anticipatoryconsolation to the saints under the coming trials of the Church.
the LordThe oldestmanuscripts read “the Lord God.”
AlmightyHebrew,“Shaddai,” and “Jehovah Sabaoth,“that is, “of hosts”; commanding all the hosts or powers inheaven and earth, so able to overcome all His Church’s foes. Itoccurs often in Revelation, but nowhere else in the New Testamentsave 2Co 6:18, a quotation fromIsaiah.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I am Alpha and Omega,…. These are the words of Christ himself, appearing at once, and confirming what John had said of him, concerning his person, offices, and future coming: Alpha is the first letter, and Omega the last in the Greek alphabet, and signifies that Christ is the first and the last, as it is interpreted in Re 1:11, and is a character often given to the divine Being in prophetic writings; see Isa 41:4; and is no small proof of the proper deity of Christ. Alpha is used by the Jews for the chief of persons or things;
“Macmas and Mezonicha (names of places) are , “Alpha for fine flour”;”
that is, the best fine flour is there, they are the chief places for it: and again,
“Tekoah is , “Alpha for oil”,”
or the chief place for oil; the best oil was to be had there s: so Christ, he is the Alpha, the chief as to his divine nature, being God over all, blessed for ever; and in his divine sonship, none, angels or men, are in such sense the Son of God as he is; and in all his offices, of prophet, priest, and King; he is the prophet, the great prophet of the church, never man spake like him, or taught as he did; he is the most excellent priest, that exceeds Aaron and all his sons, having an unchangeable priesthood; and he is the King of kings, and Lord of lords; he has the chief place in the church, he is the head of it, and has in all things the preeminence; he is the chief in honour and dignity, is at the right hand of God, and has a name above every name: he also in some sense may be said to be the Omega, the last and the lowest; as in his state of humiliation, he was not only made lower than the angels, but than man; he was despised and rejected of men, and scarcely reckoned a man, a worm, and no man; and he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Moreover, these letters, Alpha and Omega, being the first and the last in the alphabet, may stand for the whole; and it seems to be a proverbial expression taken from the Jews, who use the phrase, from Aleph to Tau, for the whole of any thing, which two letters in the Hebrew alphabet stand in the same place as these; accordingly the Syriac version renders it Olaph and Tau; and the Arabic version Aleph and Ye. It is said in Eze 9:6, “begin at my sanctuary”;
“R. Joseph taught, do not read “my sanctuary”, but “sanctified ones”, these are the children of men who confirm “the whole law”, , “from Aleph to Tau”;”
the same as from Alpha to Omega, or from one end to the other: and a little after,
“says R. Levi, Tau is the end of the seal of the holy blessed God, for says R. Chanina, the seal of the holy blessed God is , “truth”: says R. Samuel bar Nachmani, these are the children of men who confirm the whole law “from Aleph to Tau” t.”
So Christ, he is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the chief, the whole of things; as of the covenant of grace, he is the first and last of it, he is the Mediator, surety, and messenger of it, and the ratifier and confirmer of it, he is the covenant itself, all its blessings and promises are in him; he is the sum and substance of the Scriptures, both of the law and of the Gospel; he is the fulfilling end of the law, and he is the subject matter of the Gospel; he stands in the first verse in Genesis, and in the last of the Revelation; he is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the whole and all in the business of salvation, in the affair of justification before God, in the sanctification of his people, in their adoption, and eternal glorification; he stands first and last in the book of God’s purposes and decrees, in the book of the covenant, in the book of the creatures, or creation, being the first cause, and last end of all things, in the book of Providence, and in the book of the Scriptures: likewise, as these two letters include all the rest, this phrase may be expressive of the perfection of Christ, who as God has the fulness of the Godhead, all the perfections of the divine nature in him; and, as man, is in all things made like unto his brethren; and, as Mediator, has all fulness of power, wisdom, grace, and righteousness in him, in whom all the saints are complete; and this may also denote his eternity, he having none before him, nor any after him; and which also is signified by some other following expressions:
the beginning and the ending; the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, leave out this; which seems to be explanative of the former clause, Alpha being the beginning of the alphabet, and Omega the ending of it; and properly belongs to Christ, who knows no beginning, nor will he have any end with respect to time, being from everlasting to everlasting; and agrees with him as the first cause of all things, both of the old and new creation, and the last end to which they are all referred, being made for his pleasure, honour, and glory: these things now
saith the Lord; that is, the Lord Jesus Christ; the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read, “the Lord God”; and the Ethiopic version only God:
which is, and which was, and which is to come; who is God over all, “was” God from all eternity, and is to come as such; which he will show by: his omniscience and omnipotence, displayed in the judgment of the world: who “is” now a Saviour of all that come to God by him; “was” so under the Old Testament dispensation, being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; and “is to come”, as such, and shall appear a second time unto salvation to them that look for him: particularly this phrase is expressive of the eternity of Christ, who is, was, and ever will be; and of his immutability, who is the same he was, and will be for ever the same he is, and was, unchangeable in his person, in his love, and in the virtue of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; he is the same today, yesterday, and for ever. This same phrase is used of God the Father in Re 1:4; and is a further proof of the deity of Christ; and which is still more confirmed by the following character,
the Almighty; as he appears to be, by creating all things but of nothing; by upholding all creatures in their beings; by the miracles he wrought on earth; by the resurrection of himself from the dead; by obtaining eternal redemption for his people; and by his having the care and government of them upon him, whom he keeps, upholds, bears, and carries to the end, through all their infirmities, afflictions, temptations, and trials.
s Misn. Menachot, c. 8. sect. 1. 3. & Bartenora in ib. So Alpha penulatorum, “the chief of beggars”, in Martial, l. 50. 2. Ep. 57. t T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1. & Avoda Zara, fol. 4. 1. Echa Rabbati, fol. 52. 1. Baal Hatturim in Deut. xxxiii. 21. & Raziel, fol. 9. & 12. & Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 70. 1, 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Alpha and the Omega ( ). The first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, each with its own neuter (grammatical gender) article. This description of the eternity of God recurs in 21:6 with the added explanation (the Beginning and the End) and of Christ in 22:13 with the still further explanation (the First and the Last). This last phrase appears also in Rev 1:17; Rev 2:8 without . The change of speaker here is unannounced, as in Rev 16:15; Rev 18:20. Only here and 21:5f. is God introduced as the speaker. The eternity of God guarantees the prophecy just made.
The Lord God ( ). “The Lord the God.” Common phrase in Ezekiel (Ezek 6:3; Ezek 6:11; Ezek 7:2, etc.) and in this book (Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:6; Rev 21:22). See Rev 1:4; Rev 4:8 for the triple use of , etc. to express the eternity of God.
The Almighty ( ). Late compound ( and ), in Cretan inscription and a legal papyrus, common in LXX and Christian papyri, in N.T. only in 2Co 6:18 (from Jer 38:35) and Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:6; Rev 19:15; Rev 21:22.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Alpha and Omega [ ] . Rev., rightly, gives the article, “the Alpha,” etc. The words are explained by the gloss, properly omitted from the text, the beginning and the ending. The Rabbinical writers used the phrase from Aleph to Tav, to signify completely, from beginning to end. Thus one says, “Adam transgressed the whole law from Aleph even to Tav.” Compare Isa 41:4; Isa 43:10; Isa 44:6.
The Lord [ ] . See on Mt 21:3. The best texts read Kuriov oJ Qeov the Lord the God. Rev., the Lord God.
Which is, etc. See on verse 4. “God, as the old tradition declares, holding in His hand the beginning, middle, and end of all that is” (Plato, “Laws,” 715).
The Almighty [ ] . Used only once outside of Revelation, in 2Co 6:18, where it is a quotation. Constantly in the Septuagint.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Comment:
1) “I am Alpha and Omega,” (ego eimi to Alfa kai to Oo) “I am the Alpha (beginning) and the Omega, (end); the A to Z, the originator and terminator, the beginning and the end, by whom all things exist and are sustained, La 3:22, 23; Act 17:28; Jas 4:15.
2) “The beginning and the end, saith the Lord,” (legei Kurios ho theos) “Says, or affirms the Lord God”; in the Revelation of himself, of his nature and existent being, without end or cessation of being. He is alive forevermore, Rev 1:18; Heb 7:25.
3) “Which is,” (ho hon) “The one (Lord God) who exists,” or the one God which really is or exists, Exo 20:1; Psa 115:4-9; 1Co 8:6. Only here and in Rev 21:5 is God Almighty identified as the direct speaker in this book.
4) “And which was,” (kai ho hen) “And the one Lord God who self-existed, who was, has always been,” Joh 1:1-3.
5) “And which is to come,” (kai ho erchomenos) “And the one Lord God who is to come, of his own will, accord, or pledge,” 1Th 4:13-18; 2Th 1:6-12. He comes to be glorified in his saints and to execute everlasting punishment upon the unsaved.
6) “The Almighty,” (ho pantokrator) “The one Lord God, almighty or all powerful,” omnipotent; Isa 9:6, the God of might, dynamic power. In this manner John and Jesus are identified as testator and recorder of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Rev. 1:8. Alpha and Omega.First and last letters of the Greek alphabet, regarded as including all the letters between. So Christ bears relation to the whole story of humanity, from its beginning to its close. Recalling Rev. 1:4, we incline to refer this verse to God rather than to Jesus. R.V. has, saith the Lord God.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rev. 1:8
The Eternity of God.It is thought by many that this must be a description of the Lord Jesus, and a distinct assertion of His divinity. But it would appear more simple and natural to regard it as a solemn repetition of Rev. 1:4, especially as the words the beginning and the ending are of doubtful authority. Among the Rabbins the expression from to is a common one, employed to designate the whole of anything, from the beginning to the end. Stuart regards God as the speaker. But elsewhere (Rev. 1:17; Rev. 22:13) the same thing is directly asserted of Christ, whom we believe to be one with the Father in nature, but other than the Father in manifestation. We can form no proper conception of beings that had no beginning. We had; everybody with whom we have to do had; everything around us had. And it is almost as impossible for us to conceive of beings that have no ending. Everybody and everything seems to have a limited existence, and the apparently simple idea of the continuity of life our minds seem unable really to grasp. At least so far as the earth-life is concerned, everything has a beginning and an ending. See, then, what a sublime assertion of Divine superiority is made when we are required to form three conceptions of God.
1. He exists. It is all that can be said about Him. He is the I am, dependent on nobody and nothing, adversely affected by nobody and nothing.
2. He always did exist. Carry the story of the world back, if you will, through millions of ages, God was before the first age begun. What changes He must have seen! How little He is affected by changes that seem overwhelming to us!
3. He always will exist. To say nothing of the little story of that Christian age, the whole story of the worlds ages is as nothing in His sight. Egypt gone, Babylon gone, Rome gone, but God abides. The seemingly long history of the worldof humanity in the worldis but an episode in His eternity, and readily grasped in one vision by Him. What grounds of fear can that Church have which is His Church in the World?
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Rev. 1:8. The Eternal Life of Christ in Heaven.One fact confers peculiar interest on the book of Revelation. Christ speaks by His Spirit in all Scripture, but here we have Him speaking in His own person to the mortal followers He left behind Him. But a change has passed over Him since the times of Capernaum and Bethany. Yet, notwithstanding all the pomp of celestial grandeur, how remarkable is the minuteness of anxiety which the messages of this wonderful Being manifest! He is represented as walking in the midst of seven golden lamps, which are Churches, to typify His indwelling presence and pervading care; and each Church is warned with a precision and particularity that evince how impossible it is to evade His scrutiny or defeat His purposes of retribution. What His present relation may be to other worlds we know not, but we do know that His relation to us is as intimate and incessant as if no other object existed to occupy His thoughts. In His highest glory we are all personally interested. All His powers and privileges of being our eternal Governor, Guide, and Friend, are founded on the great declaration, I am alive for evermore. Christ, who liveth for evermore, is set forth in two great characters, in both of which His eternal life in glory is momentous to our interests. In relation to sin He is a mediator of justification and holiness; in relation to death and pain, He is the author of endless life and glory.
1. As regards the conflict with sin, He justifies and sanctifies. Both are based upon the redemption through blood: it is the sacrifice that gives our Mediator the right, either to vindicate or purify His faithful.
(1) How, then, is the perpetuity of Christ in heaven connected with the work of our justication? In the epistle to the Hebrews we are shown the immeasurable superiority of the dispensation of Christ to the typical dispensation of Aaron. It shows us that the covenant of Christ is better, for it is a covenant of grace; the consecration of Christ better, for it was attested with the solemnity of a Divine oath; the tabernacle of Christ better, for it is the eternal heaven; the sacrifice of Christ better, for it alone can truly take away sins; the priesthood of Christ better, for it is everlasting, after the order of Melchizedek. The writer establishes the pre-eminence of the sacrifice and the priesthood, by insisting on the singleness of the sacrifice and the perpetuity of the priesthood. This priesthood of Christ, then, being perpetual, yet employing but a single sacrificial act, it must consist in a constant reference to that sacrifice of which His own blessed person stands in heaven as the undying memorial. He became human that He might save; His perpetuated humanity is, in heaven, the token and warrant of salvation, the vestment of the Divine priesthood; that we should be there recognised as blessed, it is enough that the Son of God be there recognised as a man.
(2) The eternal life of Christ in heaven is yet more directly the fountain of blessing to us, in being the immediate source, not only of justification, but also of holiness; not only of gracious acceptance into the favour of God, but of all the bright train of inward graces by which that favour effectuates itself in us. It is the perpetual lesson of Scripture that we should fix our hearts in entire dependence on Christ Jesus. He suspends us on Himself for our whole spiritual existence; He will have us trace every emotion of faith, hope, and love, to His bounty. This communication of Himself is no less necessary in heaven than on earth. If the holiness be everlasting, the source that supplies it must be everlasting too. We have no reason to suppose that the dependence on Christ shall ever cease; our very exaltation shall be but to feel that dependence more nearly, to lean on that Arm more trustingly, to look up to those Divine Eyes with more affectionate confidence. He is alive for evermore, that He may be to us the everlasting fountain of our holiness. The abiding sanctity of His nature is the condition of ours. In the eternal laws of the Divine reason, it is decreed that Christ shall be the authorised dispenser of spiritual blessedness to His redeemed, that every grace shall flow through this channel, or cease to flow. II. Christ is alive for evermore as the eternal antagonist and conqueror of physical evil, pain, and death. He is the radiant centre of life itself, and happiness, to all that truly lives. He has the keys of death and of Hades, that is, He possesses the power of liberating from the bonds of death those confined in the intermediate state. Human death is the result of human sin. The eternal overthrow of sin, by the eternal life of Christ, involves the overthrow of that which is but a consequence of sin, and the conquest of death is the conquest of allpain, disquietude, diseasethat disposes to it, and in it ultimately terminates. First and second death are spoken of. Christ is the destroyer of one, the ruler and restricter of the other. The first form of death results on the sin of nature, and is therefore universal as it is; the second form, which perhaps is naturally the sequel or maturity of the former, is, by the mercy of God, restricted to unpardoned guilt. There is an eternal alliance, in the primitive counsel of God, between life and happiness. Even on earth, beings are made alive in order to be happy; this is the original law, and general rule. Scripture uses the word life to imply felicity, and eternal life to imply eternal felicity. Glorious alliance. It shall be bound eternally in heaven, when He who is alive for evermore, shall, in the power and diffusion of that life, spread around Him happiness with it coextensive and commingled. Every blessing that belongs to our inheritance centres in this great truth, that He who was dead is now alive for evermore. In Him newly born, we in Him die, rise, and ascend; our life is the reflection of His, if, spiritually quickened by Him, we too, like Him, are even now, and hereafter are destined yet more gloriously to be, alive for evermore.W. Archer Butler, M.A.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
Rev. 1:8. Alpha and Omega.It would be both more correct and expressive to render this sentence, I am the Alpha and the Omega. In the Early Church these two letters came to be frequently used as symbols of Christ. Sometimes the letters were suspended from the upper arms of St. Andrews cross. Very many works of Christian antiquity were adorned with them. They were also worn on rings and seals, frequently in the form of a monogram. Shortly after the death of Constantine (A.D. 337) the letters were stamped on the current coin of the Roman Empire. The use of the symbol in the primitive Church amounted to a quotation of Rev. 22:13, and was regarded as a confession of faith in Christs own assertion of His infinite and Divine nature. The Arians, who denied the divinity of Christ, avoided the employment of the symbol, but after the outbreak of that heresy its use became almost universal among the orthodox. It is worthy of remark that Alpha is once used by an ancient writer in the same sense as our A1.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(8) The beginning and the ending.These words are of doubtful authority; they are in all probability taken from Rev. 22:13, and interpolated here. The description of the verse applies, with little doubt, to our Lord, and the words are a strong declaration of His divinity.
The Almighty.The word thus rendered is, with one exception (2Co. 6:18), peculiar to this book in the New Testament.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. I the Lord God should be added as the true reading.
The Almighty Who speaks here, God or Christ? The words seem to mean the former, the close connexion with the preceding verse suggests the latter. Most certainly there is no other utterer than he that cometh, in Rev 1:7. We must, therefore, find that it is Christ who speaks: yet Christ reinforced by, identified with, and speaking for, the whole Trinity. See note on Rev 20:12. Stuart cautions us against adducing this as a proof text in favour of the divinity of Christ. We think it one of the most trinitarian texts in the New Testament.
Alpha and Omega The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and so expressing the literal thought “the beginning and the ending,” which by a false reading is wrongly found in this verse, transferred from Rev 21:6, where it rightly belongs.
So the rabbinical Jalkut Rub., fol. 147, says, “Adam transgressed the whole law, from Aleph to Tov.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’
At this point God is seen as dramatically stepping in to make His declaration over the whole revelation, reinforcing John’s words in Rev 1:4.
Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Thus He is declaring Himself to be the beginning and the ending, the One Who sums up everything in Himself from start to finish. But there may also be the idea that every letter in this revelation comes directly from Him. That each letter is rooted in Him (compare Rev 22:18-19), as is all that happens.
He is ‘the Almighty’. The word means the all-powerful One, the Omnipotent One. In the Septuagint it translates ‘the God of hosts’, the One Who is over all that is ( Hos 12:5; Amo 3:13; Amo 4:13; Amo 5:14). He is the One Who ‘forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of hosts is his name’ (Amo 4:13).
He is also the ever existing One Who is there with His people, the One Who always was, the One Who always will be. As ‘the One Who is’ He controls history and destinies, as ‘the One Who was’ He created all things and fashioned history, as the One Who ‘is coming’ He sums up the future. And He is the Almighty (compare 2Co 6:18). All things are in His hands. So as the people of God face up to what is to come they can rest in the confidence of the overall power of their protector, the ruler of time and of history and of all that is and will be.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, “I was before all worlds, and shall continue the same, when all the revolutions of this world are over, and the final scenes relating to it shall be concluded.” This verse affords us a glorious attestation to the Divinity of our great Lord and Saviour; and, though some have endeavoured to weaken its force by interpreting the words as spoken by the Father, every unprejudiced reader must discern that nothing can be more inconsistent with the context. Besides, most of the phrases which are here used, are afterwards applied to our Lord Jesus Christ. See Col 1:17. Heb 1:3.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(8) 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.
What a blessed verse is here! It should seem, that no sooner had the beloved Apostle ended, as in the verse before, his rapturous expressions, in contemplating the Person of his Lord; but Jesus instantly appeared, and delivered himself in these most precious words, as if confirming all that his servant had said of him. I am Alpha and Omega. Thrice in this Chapter, here, and again at Rev 1:17Rev 1:17 , the Lord Jesus takes to himself these characters of distinction. And, to confirm it yet more finally, and fully, in the last Chapter of this book of the Revelation, as if to leave the impression in full force upon the minds of his people through all ages of his Church, he repeats those names, and puts the whole together: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, Rev 22:13 .
Now let us pause, and consider these solemn words as they are. And then say, what can be stronger, in proof of eternity, and all divine perfections? Alpha is the first letter in the Greek Alphabet, and Omega the last. There is none that comes before, neither any that comes after. Now, these are the distinguishing characters of Jehovah. None is before, none after. Hence we find the Lord taking to himself these attributes, as so many standards of character, in confirmation of his Godhead. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any! And this is said at a time when the Lord had been using the same language as is here used saying: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Let the Reader compare the scriptures, and he must be led to see, that the language is one and the same, and from the same Almighty speaker, Isa 44:6-8 ; see also Isa 41:4 and Isa 48:12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8 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.
Ver. 8. Which is, and which was ] The Father is called “He that is,” Exo 3:14 . The Son “He that was,” Joh 1:1 . The Holy Ghost, “He that cometh,” Joh 16:8-13 , as Aretius observeth. Or, by this periphrasis may be understood the indeterminable eternity of the Son of God. Much like whereunto both in sound and sense is that which the heathens ascribed to their Jupiter in that solemn hymn of theirs. (Pausan.)
, , , .
“God was, and God is, God shall be for ever a great God.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 1:8 . Only here and in Rev 21:5 f. is God introduced as the speaker, in the Apocalypse. The advent of the Christ, which marks the end of the age, is brought about by God, who overrules ( always of God in Apocalypse, otherwise the first part of the title might have suggested Christ) even the anomalies and contradictions of history for this providential climax. By the opening of the second century had become the first title of God in the Roman creed; the Apocalypse, indifferent to the former epithet, reproduces the latter owing to its Hebraic sympathies, : Coleridge used to declare that one chief defect in Spinoza was that the Jewish philosopher started with It is instead of with I am . : not the finality (Oesterley, Encycl. Relig. and Ethics , i. 1, 2), but the all-inclusive power of God, which comes fully into play in the new order of things inaugurated by the second advent. The symbolism which is here put in a Greek form had been developed in rabbinic speculation upon . With this and the following passage, cf. the papyrus of Ani ( E. B. D. 12): “He leadeth in his train that which is and that which is not yet. Homage to thee, King of kings, and Lord of lords, who from the womb of Nut hast ruled the world and Akert [the Egyptian Hades]. Thy body is of bright and shining metal, thy head is of azure blue, and the brilliance of the turquoise encircleth thee.” For the connexion of a presentiment of the end (Rev 1:7-8 ) with an impulse to warn contemporaries (9 f.) see 4 Esd. 14:10 f., where the warning of the world’s near close is followed by an injunction to the prophet to “set thine house in order, reprove thy people, console the humble among them”; whereupon the commission to write under inspiration is given.
Rev 1:9 to Rev 3:22 , an address to Asiatic Christendom (as represented by seven churches) which in high prophetic and oracular style rallies Christians to their genuine oracle of revelation in Jesus and his prophetic spirit. At a time when local oracles (for the famous one of Apollo near Miletus, see Friedlander, iii, 561 f.), besides those in Greece and Syria and Egypt, were eagerly frequented, it was of moment to lay stress on what had superseded all such media for the faithful. Cf. Minuc. Felix, Oct. 7, “pleni et mixti deo uates futura praecerpunt, dant cautelam periculis, morbis medelam, spem afflictis, operam miseris, solacium calamitatibus, laboribus leuamentum”.
Rev 1:9-20 , introductory vision.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 1:8
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Rev 1:8 YHWH Himself speaks this verse, affirming the truth of the previous statements about Jesus. It combines four titles for Him with an allusion to a fifth and possibly a sixth. Apparently, Rev 1:8 was God adding His personal affirmation to the above statement by the use of these magnificent names.
1. “I Am,” which is an allusion to the Covenant name YHWH (cf. Exo 3:14), a form of the verb “to be.” Jesus used this of Himself (cf. Joh 8:56-59). The title “Lord” (kurios) in the NT reflects this OT title.
2. “Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet which assume that God is the beginning and the ending, the controller of history (cf. Isa 44:6; Rev 21:6); this title is also used of Jesus in Rev 1:17; Rev 22:13.
3. “The Lord” is the modern way of translating YHWH (se Special Topic following).
4. “God” in Gen 2:4, YHWH, and Elohim are combined (the LORD God) as a name for deity. El is the general name for god in the Near East, from the root “to be strong.”
5. “The One who is the One who was, the One coming” is the phrase used earlier in Rev 1:4, which speaks of the unchanging, ever-living God (cf. Psa 102:27; Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17). This phrase is used of God the Father, YHWH, in Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8 and of Jesus, God the Son, in Rev 1:17-18; Rev 22:13 (cf. Heb 13:8).
6. “The Almighty” which was the OT term, (1) “El-Shaddai,” the patriarchal name for God (cf. Exo 6:3) or (2) “YHWH Sabaoth,” from the LXX’s “The Lord God Almighty. It is found often in this book (i.e., pantokratr, cf. Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:6; Rev 19:11; Rev 21:22), but only once in the other NT books (i.e., 2Co 6:18).
One early Greek manuscript, aleph (*), and several later manuscripts add the phrase “the beginning and the end” after “the Alpha and the Omega.” Scribes inserted it from Rev 21:6, but it is probably not an original part of the inspired original Greek text. The UBS4 rates its exclusion as “certain.” See Special Topic below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Alpha and Omega = The Alpha and the Omega. See Rev 1:17; Rev 22:13.
the . . . ending. The texts omit.
LORD. The texts read “LORD God” (see App-4).
LORD. App-98.
Almighty App-98. The Greek word occurs nine (App-10) times in Rev. Only once elsewhere (2Co 6:18) in N.T.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 1:8. ) We ought not here to read and pronounce as ; for is opposed to . , as the last letter of the Greek alphabet, is here opposed to the alpha. John wrote in Greek. This passage is one of great solemnity: in which a few, with Apringius, add ,[15] for the sake of explanation, as is thought, in the Notes assigned to Vatablus, namely, from the parallel passages. But let us look to the parallel passages. They are four (not reckoning the 11th verse, on which we shall speak below).
[15] ABC omit these words. Rec. Text adds them, with Vulg. and Memph.-E.
I.) , Alpha and O: ch. Rev 1:8.
II.) , The First and the Last: ch. Rev 1:17, Rev 2:8.
III.) , , Alpha and O, The Beginning and the End: ch. Rev 21:6.
IV.) , , , Alpha and O, The First and the Last, The Beginning and the End: ch. Rev 22:13.
Therefore, in the beginning of the book, one clause is used, first concerning the Father, ch. Rev 1:8, comp. with ch. Rev 4:8, then concerning Christ, ch. Rev 1:17. At the end of the book the language becomes more copious, and two clauses are used concerning the Father, sitting upon the throne, ch. Rev 21:6, and three concerning Christ, as coming, ch. Rev 22:13. We shall presently see, that one sentiment is frequently expressed in this book in Greek and Hebrew. And that is the case here also. The Father is called , in Greek. He also, in the mind of John, who thinks, as we shall presently see, in Hebrew, is The Beginning and The End, which is expressed in Hebrew by and , the first and the last letter of the Hebrews. And the same takes place with respect to Christ.
The fourth passage, consisting of three clauses, affords us a remarkable handle [argument]. Its third clause is never used without the first; therefore its use is to explain the first. The second is sometimes used without the first; therefore, as in Isaiah, so in the Apocalypse, it has its own signification by itself. The first and the third are applied to the Father also, ch. 21; the second, to Christ alone, ch. Rev 1:17. Alpha and the Beginning is God; as He Himself, the Creator and Author of all things, proposes, declares, and promises such great things. and the End is the Same; as He brings the Apocalypse, especially in the trumpet of the seventh angel, to its accomplishment, completion, and most desired and glorious end. And thus also is Christ. The first and last of anything, in Scripture phraseology, is the thing itself, or the very whole. See 1Sa 3:12; Ecc 10:13; 2Ch 35:27. The Greeks say in a proverb, prow and stern. Therefore Alpha and , the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, is One and all, and always the Same. Comp. Psalms 8 at the beginning and the end, where the Design and the Accomplishment are described. Thus, in a grand sense, the end depends upon the origin. Under this majestic title, Alpha and , etc., the Apocalypse contains in the beginning the Protest of God against the dragon, and of Christ against the beast and other enemies; and in the end, the triumph gained over the enemies. For, as the book advances, the enemies arise to assail, but are utterly destroyed, so that they nowhere appear. It is also a Protest against all false gods and false christs, who are about to come to nothing. For before the first revelation of God in creation, and after the last revelation of Him in the final consummation, there is no other God; all false gods have both been set up and removed in the intermediate time: and so, before the coming of Christ in the flesh, and after His coming to judgment, there is no other Christ; all false christs have had their being in the intermediate time. And when all things shall be made subject unto the Son of God, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that made all things subject unto Him, that God may be all in all: 1Co 15:28.-, the Lord) The whole of this passage is majestic; and the magnificent and full title of God here employed, requires fuller consideration.
1. We will only lay down the rudimentary principle: and in this, many observations will flow together, which may neither entirely please any one (for I do not even satisfy myself), nor entirely displease; and therefore they are subjoined for the selection and more mature examination of any one who pleases.
2. The title has four parts [members]:
1), the Lord.
2) , God.
3) , Who is, and who was, and who is to come.
4) , the Almighty. It will be convenient to examine these parts in inverted order.
3. The fourth, , the Almighty, in the old Testament answers to two Hebrew words: for in Job it is often put for , but absolutely, not in apposition with other Divine names: therefore a parallelism is not to be fixed there. See below, 24, respecting the passage in Exodus 6. The other word, which the title comprises in the other passages, is Sabaoth.
4. Sabaoth is not a Divine name in the nominative case, but it enters into the nomenclature of God, when He is called Jehovah of Sabaoth, God of Sabaoth, Jehovah God of Sabaoth, that is, of hosts.
5. This title does not occur in Genesis: its first beginnings are found in Exo 7:4, I will bring forth Mine armies, My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt; and ch. Exo 12:41, All the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. There appeared to Joshua, when he had passed over the Jordan, One who called Himself by this title, the Captain of Jehovahs army: Jos 5:14-15. Thence, in the books of Samuel and Kings, in the Chronicles, in the Psalms, in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and most of the minor prophets, before the Babylonish captivity and after it, this expression concerning the Lord God of Sabaoth is of very frequent occurrence. The LXX. translators rendered it in various ways; but they chiefly employ the epithet , and say, , . This word is nowhere found in the other books of the New Testament, except at 2Co 6:18, and that in an express quotation of a passage in Isaiah. In the Apocalypse alone it is of frequent occurrence.
6. The word Sabaoth denotes armies or great forces, and particularly indeed those of the Israelites; but generally all in heaven and in earth, because Jehovah is the God of all: and thence expresses the Almighty [All-swaying]. To Him alone all warfare is subservient; and the whole agency of that warfare is stirred up and comes to its height in the Apocalypse.
7. Since these things are so, the Third part, , cannot but answer to the Hebrew : for the epithet, , is never used, unless either or immediately precede. The former precedes, with an interval between, in the present: therefore is immediately preceding. Moreover either the three clauses taken together, , , , answer to the name , or the third, , undoubtedly does so.
8. He who , shall be, is called ; and yet He is not called , but with great skill, , lest there should appear to be any detraction from His present being, and that His coming may be more clearly expressed. About to be, in Hebrew , coming; comp. Joh 16:13; and so other languages.
9. There is great dispute as to the manner in which the name is to be read, and how widely its signification extends. Some, because the points of the name frequently, and of the name very frequently, are added to it, introduce other vowels, and, for instance, read it as Iihvaeh.
10. But even if the name always had vowels belonging to the other names of God, and never its own, attributed to it in our copies, yet it might be read Jehovah, equally with Iihvaeh. But many things prove that Jehovah even must be the reading.
11. The Hebrews were careful never to pronounce the name , except with the greatest purity; wherefore, where the prefixes introduced a change of vowels, they very frequently substituted the name , having vowels approaching very closely to . But wherever is written, it is evidently to be read Jehovah. On this one account alone they retained Scheva under Jod: as also the Chaldean paraphrasers do, in that very contraction in their writing, which represents the name Jehovah and Adonai. As is written by means of the points of the name , so by means of the points of the name it might be written , unless it were of itself to be pronounced . Proper names, as Jehojakim, and many others, which are formed from the name , and Greek forms of writing this name, being spread abroad among those of foreign lands, have been long ago collected by the learned.
12. There is an incomparable and admirable compounding of the name from Shall be, and Being, and Was. This paraphrase of the Divine Name by three tenses flowed on to the most ancient Greek poets and to the Talmudical writers. Passages are given in Wolf, T. iv. Curar. in N. T. p. 436. But the Apocalypse has the greatest strength.
13. The second part, , presents no difficulty. The name , derived from , I place, bespeaks the Author of all things. But the first, , requires some mention.
14. Jo. Pearson, in his Exposition of the Apostles Creed, p. 261, endeavours to bring the matter to this, that the word , inasmuch as it answers to , is derived from , I am. But the instances which he brings forward from the Tragic writers in particular, all imply a kind of fortuitous being; so that , or rather , answers to the verb , no more than it does to the verb in meaning, and to the verb in its very sound. He who shall thoroughly perceive the force of the noun , by which it not only denotes moral influence, but also natural stability and firmness, will readily acknowledge that the noun is a suitable word for translating the noun , the threefold expression of time being set aside; and that it certainly denotes Him who is.
15. As often as the noun is appended to the noun , the latter answers to the proper noun ; and this is its meaning in the present passage also.
16. Now, since mention is so often made of God in the Old Testament, and in all the instances which occur, these titles only, amounting to three at the most, Jehovah, God, Almighty, are accustomed to be used in one place, what reason is there for the use of four here in the Apocalypse, the word being prefixed to the other three?
17. The Apocalypse often expresses a thing in a twofold manner, in Hebrew and in Greek, as , , , , . The names of enemies are expressed in the twofold idiom: and previously the name of the Lord God Himself is expressed in a twofold manner.
18. In the Divine title which we are considering, the first and second members are put by themselves in Greek; but the third and fourth members, which have the same meaning as the two former, are only used for this purpose, that they may bring to the memory of the reader the Hebrew . For although the noun itself might be expressed by Greek letters, yet it never was so expressed among the people of God. The God of the Jews and Gentiles is described by a Greek and Hebrew name.
19. The first and third members are parallel, each having the force of a proper name; to the first is added , to the third , each of them being an appellative.
20. Thus far have we considered this passage separately: it now comes to be compared with the parallel passages. For here the expression employed is , and , ch. Rev 4:8; and afterwards, ; and finally, . See below on ch. Rev 11:17, Rev 19:1.
21. When God appeared to Moses in the bush, He called Himself , I will be. In Exo 3:14 He supplies this reason for His name: I will be what I will be, as He had said to Moses at the 12th verse of the same chapter, I will be with thee. Afterwards He Himself expresses the name, commanding Moses to say, I WILL BE hath sent me. The Verb becomes a Noun, as , the Article being prefixed: and itself is a befitting phrase, as in Aristotle, , , l. ii. de gener. et corrupt, c. 11.
22. This Name having been proclaimed to Moses, throughout the same vision, and afterwards throughout the whole writing of the Old Testament, the name is mentioned. of the first person might have appeared suitable there, where the Lord is speaking of Himself, and of the third person, where angels and men are the speakers. And yet Moses was commanded to say, I WILL BE hath sent me; and the Lord also calls Himself Jehovah: and the name is not afterwards repeated, whereas the name is of constant occurrence. It is plain therefore that the name adds to the meaning of the name something beyond the mere difference between the first and third person; since first of all the Lord called Himself I shall be, and presently afterwards He began to call Himself by the habitual title, He shall be-Being-He was.
23. The name is read of old, before the times of Moses, and mentioned in such a manner that we may be assured that Moses did not, from an idiom arising not until his own time, introduce the expression into the times of Enoch, Abraham, etc.: Gen 4:26; Gen 13:4; Gen 14:22; Gen 15:2; Gen 15:7, etc.
24. Again, it is plain that this revelation was made to Moses, and by the instrumentality of Moses to the Israelites, by which revelation the name Jehovah became known to them in a new way. We lately quoted the passage, Exo 3:15. A second is to be added, Exo 6:3 : I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, , as a God abounding in all good things: but under My name Jehovah I was not made known to them. In which passage is prefixed to the word , and, as denoting the aspect under which one is regarded, may be befittingly rendered by the French en, as, for instance, they say, Vivre en Chrtien. When God appeared to Abraham, He called Himself , Gen 17:1 : and from this Isaac and Jacob often so called Him. At that time also He was called Jehovah, but by a less solemn use. It was not until the time of Moses that He Himself ordered that this should be His name for ever, and that this should be the memorial of Him from generation to generation: Exo 3:15. Then He made for Himself an eternal name, by the transaction itself: Isa 63:12. Let the passage he looked to, Exo 15:3, and the whole of that song.
25. is used from , to be: and this name of Himself may be regarded either absolutely, as He who is from eternity to eternity is in Himself; or relatively, as He becomes known to His people in His character as He who is, by accomplishing His promise by the work itself.
26. In the former sense, the name was celebrated, even in the days of the Patriarchs; but under the other sense, which was added not until the time of Moses, the Lord made Himself known to the Israelites, by that great work of leading them forth from Egypt.
27. By such means He admirably, as it were, contracted the meaning of His name , so that, just as God, although being the God of all, yet was no other, and was called no other, and wished to be called no other, than the God of Israel, so , He who is, was no other than He who is to Israel, or, in other words, who affords and exhibits Himself to Israel. He truly said, I will be to you, as He afterwards said, I will not be to you: Hos 1:9. In a similar manner, as often as God performed some remarkable work, we read that He or His name was known: Psa 76:1; Psa 83:18; Isa 52:6; Eze 39:7.
28. Therefore in the time of Moses He called Himself as it were afresh, , I will be. He does not say, I will be what I was, I will be what I am; but , I will be what I will be: where there is implied the declaration of a benefit to be almost immediately bestowed. That is, I will be to the Israelites the character which, by the very fact, I will be in regard to their fathers, both what I said to them I would be, and what it behoves Me to be to them, namely, by now at length fulfilling the promise which I formerly gave. And thus the meaning of the future prevailed in , including both a recapitulation of the revelations and promises of God, which had been given to the fathers, and a declaration of the event now to be exhibited, by the bringing the people out of Egypt.
29. The name , afterwards swelling out into the name , transmitted at the same time the same meaning of the future to the name , so that in the very form of the name the future might be conspicuous, and from thence there might be an advance to the present with the past.
30. is the same precisely as . So suitable was the language of the Old Testament. But in the Apocalypse the order is inverted by an elegance of construction not to be despised, except by the supercilious; and in ch. Rev 4:8 He is said to be , where, in the natural order of the times, the four beasts celebrate the praises of the Lord in a summary form of expression, as He has exhibited Himself, and does, and will exhibit Himself. But here, ch. Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8, both by the pen of John, and by His own mouth, He is styled ; and so by a fresh idiom, but one which is founded on the Divine nature itself, the , as the principal and radical word, is placed first, with a remarkable prelude and token of that change, by which subsequently both the and the , as we have noticed, 20, betake themselves to [pass into] the .
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Chapter 4
Christ the Alpha and the Omega
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 1:8
Four times in the book of Revelation our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to John and identified himself with these words: I am Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8; Rev 1:11; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13). The words contain no deep, hidden mystery. They are simply the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In our language the words would be, I am A and Z. That is, I am the beginning and the ending. As John Gill points out, These letters, “Alpha and Omega”, being the first and the last of the alphabet, may stand for the whole. The meaning of the text is this: I am the beginning of all things and the end of all things, and everything between the beginning and the end.
With these words, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…the first and the last, our Savior identifies himself as Jehovah (Isa 41:4; Isa 44:6; Isa 48:10-12). Indeed, this is what he says by way of explanation, I am the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is God over all, was God from eternity, and is to come as God to judge the world. He is now the Savior of all who come to God by him, was the Savior of all his saints in the Old Testament, being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and is to come as the Savior of God’s elect, without sin unto salvation.
This text describes the eternality of Christ, who is, was, and ever shall be. It also speaks of our Savior’s immutability. He is always the same, unchanging and unchangeable. What he is, he always was, and shall forever be. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). His Person, his love, his virtue, and his purpose are all immutable. The text also sets forth the glorious preeminence of Christ (Col 1:18). As it has pleased the Father to give his Son preeminence in all things, it is so. Christ is the beginning of all things, the substance of all things, and the end of all things. Our Savior is himself God, the Almighty! He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things. The One whose blood and righteousness we trust, to whose dominion we gladly submit, and into whose hands we have committed our souls, is himself God, the Almighty. We have nothing to fear. Our Savior is God. And we are safe in his hands (Joh 10:27-30).
When our Savior says, I am Alpha and Omega,’ he is describing both his glory and his humiliation
Without question, these words have reference to the glorious dignity of our Savior’s Person and to the depths of his willing humiliation to save us. Christ Jesus is Alpha, the firstborn, the chief, the preeminent One of every creature. As a man, his body was created in time in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit (Mat 1:20; Heb 10:5). Yet, he is the One who created all things. Therefore, he is above all things (Heb 1:1-14).
The word Alpha suggests that Christ is the best. He is better than all who came before him. If you put all others together, he stands head and shoulders above them all as the best. We use the same kind of language today. We say of a car, It is A-1. That means it is the best of its kind. We say of a craftsman, He is A-1. That means he is the best in his trade. Our Lord Jesus Christ says of himself, I am Alpha, I am A-1, I am the best there is. And all his people gladly acknowledge that it is so.
Is he a Son? He is the firstborn Son, the only begotten Son, the eternal Son, and the only perfectly obedient Son. All other sons are made to be sons by faith in him who is the Son (Eph 1:5). Is he a Prophet? All other prophets stand behind him by an infinite distance and point to him, bearing witness to him (Act 10:43). Is he a Priest? All other priests of the Aaronic and Levitical orders were only types of him. Their only purpose was to represent Christ until he came. He is the fulfillment of them. He is the great high Priest of our profession (Heb 9:11-12). Is he a King? Indeed, Christ is a King like no other. He is King of kings and Lord of lords! (Dan 4:34-35; Dan 4:37). Is he the Builder of his church? Then he is the wise Master-Builder. Is he a Shepherd? Then he is the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, and the Great Shepherd. Is Christ a Foundation? Then he is the tried and proven Foundation, the only Sure Foundation. Those who build upon this Foundation shall never fall. Is he a Corner-Stone? Then he is the chief Corner-Stone. Is he a Rock? Then he is the only Rock of safety and refuge, the Rock of our Salvation. Is he Water? Then he is the Water of Life. Is Christ Bread? Then he is the Bread of Heaven. Is he Light? Then he is the Light of the world. Is he a Refuge? Then he is the sure, eternal, saving Refuge for our souls.
It matters not what title our Lord takes to himself, or what character he assumes, he is in all respects Alpha, A-1. He infinitely surpasses all that may be compared to him, as the sun excels the stars. When the sun arises, the stars fade in its light. And when Christ appears, all others pale into insignificance. He who is best is preeminent, and well deserves the praise and glory of all. Christ is Alpha. Let no flesh glory in his presence! All who know him glory only in him and give glory to him alone (Jer 9:23-24; 1Co 1:30-31).
Christ, we know, is also Omega, the lowest and the last, in his voluntary condescension and humiliation. In order to save us, Christ Jesus became the very least among men! This, I believe, is the meaning of our Lord’s words in Mat 11:11. He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is the greatest of all.
How can a man describe the depths of our Lord’s voluntary humiliation? He who is God stooped to become a man! (Php 2:7-8). In order to save us, the Son of God became one of us! He became what we are, so that we might be what he is. He stooped to become a man, stooped again to become the lowest of men, stooped again to become the servant of men, and stooped again to be made sin and die in the place of sinful men! Behold the depths of his humiliation! When Christ was made to be sin for us, he who is God was forsaken by God as the object of God’s horrible wrath! He cried, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? Then he answered his own agonizing cry, Thou art holy. A holy God cannot look upon sin. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord, that he would deliver him: let him deliver him (if) he delighted in him (Psa 22:1-8). At last, the Son of God stooped to death, death under the infinite, inflexible justice of God for us!
In the book of holy scripture, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega
Read Luk 24:27; Luk 24:44-47, and Joh 5:39, and learn the meaning and message of Gods holy Word. Christ is Alpha, the Beginning, for the first line of Genesis speaks of him: In the beginning God (Gen 1:1; cf. Joh 1:1-3). And he is the Omega, the Ending, for the last line of Revelation speaks of him: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all (Rev 22:21). And he is everything between the beginning and the ending. Every book of the Bible, every chapter, every verse, every sentence, every word speaks of Christ. If you could squeeze the whole Volume of Inspiration down to its very essence and substance, you would find Christ, only Christ, and nothing but Christ. Christ is the living Word of whom the written Word speaks. The purpose of the Holy Spirit in moving men to write the Scriptures was to reveal Christ. That is the only purpose of the Inspired Volume (Joh 16:14). Our Lord said concerning the whole Volume of the Scriptures, They testify of me!
The whole message of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and him crucified. The Word of God is like an alabaster box full of spikenard very precious. Break it open, and you smell nothing but the sweet aroma of Jesus Christ, our dear Redeemer. The Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, proclaims one message: The Redeemer is coming! The prophets and the kings, the priests and the judges, the preachers and the singers, the laws and the sacrifices all look one way. They all stand like cherubim over the ark, desiring to see God’s Salvation.
The four Gospels and the Book of Acts all declare one thing: The Redeemer has come! Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record in meticulous detail the incarnation, earthly life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ as the sinner’s Substitute. They speak of nothing else. In the Book of Acts, Luke records the works of Christ, the ascended King. As the Book of Revelation is called The revelation of Jesus Christ, the Book of Acts might well be called The Acts of Jesus Christ our King.
The apostolic Epistles and the Book of Revelation all say one thing: The Redeemer is coming again! From Romans through Revelation, the apostles expound to us the meaning of our Lord’s doctrine and call for us to watch for his coming with expectant hearts. Soon, Christ shall appear to gather his redeemed ones unto himself!
Ransomed sinners rejoice to know that with regard to the holy law of God, Christ is Alpha and Omega
Christ is the lawgiver; and so he is Alpha, the Beginning of the law. And Christ is the fulfillment of the law. So he is Omega, the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth (Rom 10:4). You and I are neither Alpha nor Omega to the law. We have not met, nor can we ever meet its demands. Who among the fallen sons of Adam would dare assert that he has met the first letter of the law? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. And none of us measure up to the second letter of the law. – Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
If you would see the law fulfilled, look not to man, but to Christ alone. He alone honored, kept, and fulfilled the law. Christ fulfilled the law’s requirements perfectly as a man. He loved God with all his heart, and loved his neighbor as himself. And in death, Christ savisfied the law’s justice, removed the law’s curse and penalty from us, and put an end to the law’s covenant. Our dear Savior obeyed the law as the Representative of God’s elect, and died under the penalty of the law as our Substitute. His obedience has been imputed to all who believe, for righteousness.
Because we are in Christ, we are not under the law, in any sense whatsoever, but under grace! The plain statements of Holy Scripture unquestionably assert the believer’s entire freedom from the law (Rom 6:14; Rom 7:4; Rom 8:1; Rom 10:4; Gal 3:13; Gal 3:24-25; Col 2:10-23; 1Ti 1:8-10). Believers look to Christ alone for all holiness and righteousness before God. We have no righteousness of our own, with which to commend ourselves to God (Isa 64:6). We trust Christ, the Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:6), who is made of God unto us righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1Co 1:30).
We seek holiness; but we never trust our holiness. We seek to live in righteousness; but we never imagine that we have attained righteousness. We seek virtue; but we never look to our virtue for merit with God. Our only saving, sanctifying righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. As we were made sinners, not by what we have done, but by what our father Adam did, even so we are made righteous, not by what we do, but by what our Representative and Federal Head, the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us (Rom 5:18-19).
We trust Christ alone for acceptance with God. With his imputed righteousness, we are complete, perfect, holy, and forever accepted in the Beloved (Col 2:10). The law demands perfection; but it cannot demand, nor can it have, greater perfection than we have by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. The law demands satisfaction; but it cannot require, nor can it find, greater satisfaction than we offer in the blood of our dear Substitute. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega of the law.
In the whole of God’s creation, Christ is Alpha and Omega
He is the beginning of all things, and the Ruler and Sustainer of all things from the beginning to the ending (Rom 11:36). Christ is the Alpha of creation, for all things were created by him (Joh 1:1-3). He brought this world into being by his Divine power. No, this world did not evolve into being from some mystical cosmic boom billions of years ago. It would require incredible ignorance, or willful rebellion to God, to imagine such a thing. Jesus Christ our Savior created this universe.
Christ is the Omega of creation, for all things were created by him (Rev 4:11). In the end, when our Lord’s purpose has been accomplished, it shall be plainly revealed that every creature in God’s universe, animate and inanimate, and every event of providence, both good and bad, has served him and has been used by him for the glory of his own great name (Rev 5:11-14). Yes, all men and angels, either willingly or unwillingly, serve the cause of the Creator’s glory. He sees to it (Pro 16:4). From the beginning to the ending of creation, Christ rules and sustains all things for the glory of his own great name (Col 1:15-20).
In all the purposes and covenant transaction of the triune God, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega
I realize that the thoughts of God, his eternal purposes, his sovereign decrees, and his everlasting covenant are things about which we know only a little. But this much is revealed; Christ is the Beginning of all and the Ending of all, the Alpha and the Omega. In Isaiah 45, we read of God’s purposes and decrees, and his sovereign rule of all things. The chapter ends with Christ our God calling upon men to bow to him in faith and obtain eternal life (Isa 45:22), and declaring that in the end all men shall bow to him (Isa 45:23). God’s purpose shall be accomplished; and his purpose always has to do with his Son.
Election is God’s choice of some from Adams fallen race to eternal life in Christ, and his determination to save them by Christ (Eph 1:4). Predestination is God’s eternal decree to make all of his elect like his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 8:29-30). Providence is his wise, sovereign, orderly arrangement, rule and disposition of all things to accomplish that end (Eph 1:11). The covenant of grace is God’s eternal purpose to save certain people by the merits of his Son and for the glory of his Son (Heb 10:5-7; Heb 10:10-17). If you and I could be permitted to read the book of God’s eternal decrees, we would see that it is a book written from eternity, sealed with immutability, dyed crimson in the blood of the sin-atoning Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, written from beginning to end with one object in mind; and that one object is the eternal glory of Christ, the Son of God.
In the whole affair of salvation, Christ is Alpha and Omega
John certainly has reference to this fact. In the preceding verses, he described the work of salvation, and he ascribed the whole of it to the Lord Jesus (Rev 1:5-8). Christ loved us in the beginning. Christ redeemed us in time. And Christ is coming for us in the end. In the work of salvation, Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, and everything between.
Christ is the Alpha of salvation because he called us from death to life by the power of his Spirit (Joh 5:25). He shall at the last day present all his elect holy, blameless, and unreprovable to his Father by the merits of his own blood and righteousness; so he is the Omega of salvation too (Col 1:22). And Christ is everything between because from beginning to end, he holds us in life by the power of his grace. Christ held us in physical life until he saved us by his grace; and he will hold us in grace until he brings us to glory. We are in his hands. He cannot be induced by any means, or for any reason, to let us go (Joh 10:27-30). This is our security! Child of God, lean upon Christ with all the weight of your soul. Cast yourself entirely upon him. He will not fail. He who began his work in you will finish his work in you (Php 1:6). He who called you will keep you. Christ was never Alpha, yet without being Omega too.
In Heaven’s eternal glory, Christ will be both Alpha and Omega
In Rev 22:13, our Lord announces his glorious appearance with these words, I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. When all the promises and prophecies of Holy Scripture are fulfilled, when the mystery of God’s eternal purpose has been accomplished, when the judgment is over, when the damned are forever cast into hell and the righteous are forever with the Lord, when the new heavens and the new earth have been created, when time shall be no more, when the eternal glory is begun, Christ shall be Alpha and Omega still!
He is the Door of entrance, by whose merit we shall enter heaven. He shall be the first and foremost object of our vision in heaven. So Christ is the Alpha, the Beginning of heaven’s glory. He is also the fulness, the consummation, and the cause of heaven’s eternal, unending joy and reward. So he is the Omega too. From eternity to eternity, for ever and ever, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, our unchanging and unchangeable God and Savior!
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Alpha: Rev 1:11, Rev 1:17, Rev 2:8, Rev 21:6, Rev 22:13, Isa 41:4, Isa 43:10, Isa 44:6, Isa 48:12
which is: Rev 1:4
the Almighty: Rev 4:8, Rev 11:17, Rev 16:14, Rev 19:15, Rev 21:22, Gen 17:1, Gen 28:3, Gen 35:11, Gen 43:14, Gen 48:3, Gen 49:25, Exo 6:3, Num 24:4, Isa 9:6, 2Co 6:18
Reciprocal: Gen 2:4 – Lord Exo 3:14 – I AM hath Exo 23:21 – my name Rth 1:20 – the Almighty Psa 90:2 – even from Psa 93:2 – thou Psa 102:24 – thy years Psa 102:27 – thou art Pro 18:10 – name Isa 43:13 – before Lam 5:19 – remainest Hab 1:12 – thou not Zec 13:7 – the man Mal 3:6 – I change not Joh 1:1 – the beginning Joh 8:58 – I am Rom 16:26 – everlasting 2Co 1:19 – was not Phi 3:21 – the working Col 1:17 – he Col 1:18 – the beginning 1Ti 6:16 – only Heb 12:2 – the author Heb 13:8 – General 1Jo 1:1 – That which Rev 16:5 – which art
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Christ Among the Churches
Rev 1:8-20
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We enter in this marvelously descriptive chapter, centering our thoughts upon the appearance of Christ as He walks among His Churches.
1. The general description of Christ. The Lord Jesus in Rev 1:8 is heard saying, “I am Alpha and Omega.” This expression is indeed descriptive of the eternity of our Lord. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last. It would he as though Christ had said, “I am the A and Z.” That is, “I am before all things, and I am after all things.”
We love to think of it this way: Jesus Christ is the ever-present Christ. With Him there is no past. He was always there, and He is there now. With Him there is no future. He is in the future the same as He is in the past. Jesus Christ lives in one eternal now. However, He reaches back to the beginning, and on to the end.
There is in Rev 1:8 a statement which is not found in Rev 1:4. It is the expression, “the Almighty.” This is one of the great Names of God. It was the Name that was used to Abraham when Jehovah said unto him, “I am the Almighty God.” The word means, as commonly accepted, the God who is enough.
The last time this wonderful Name of Christ is used is in Rev 19:1-21 as the Lord Jesus is described as treading out the wine press. Here is the expression: “He treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” We will find that the One who walks in the midst of the Churches is indeed the God who is enough.
2. A description of John in tribulation. In his address the Apostle said, “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.” John goes on to say how he was exiled to the isle that is called Patmos because of his fidelity to the Word of God, and because of his testimony to the Word of Jesus Christ.
The suggestion is the verification of the words of our Lord: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” It still calls us to follow Christ fully.
3. Does Christ have a right to walk in the midst of the Churches and to speak with all authority? We answer unequivocably, He has. Christ loved the Church, and bought it. He has the same authority over the Church, as the head has over the members of the body. The Church should accept this Headship of the Lord Jesus, remembering that One is Master, even Christ, and all we be brethren.
I. CHRIST IS DESCRIBED AS BEING CLOTHED WITH A GARMENT DOWN TO THE FOOT, AND BEING GIRT WITH A GOLDEN GIRDLE (Rev 1:13)
Rev 1:12 tells us that John heard a voice speaking unto him, and being turned he saw seven golden candlesticks.
1. The seven golden candlesticks are designated in Rev 1:20 as the Seven Churches. Jesus Christ is described in our key verse as in the midst of His Churches, Christ in the midst of His Churches brings to our memory several statements of Scripture:
(1) Christ was in the midst of the crosses on Calvary.
(2) After His resurrection Christ was in the midst of the disciples as they were gathered in the upper room.
(3) Christ says, “Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst.”
(4) Christ will be in the midst during the wonderful Millennial period. This is the statement of Zep 3:14-17.
(5) Christ will be in the midst of the throne in Heaven.
All of this informs us of the fact that Christ is the center of all things, and pre-eminently the central figure in the Church.
2. Christ clothed with a garment down to the foot. The picture here is that of the high priestly work of Christ. He is clothed with the robe of service. Not. only that, but He is in the act of service because His robes are girt about with a golden girdle. Our mind goes back to the time when Christ girded Himself and took a bason of water and a towel, and began to wash His disciples’ feet. He did this that He might establish forever that He is in the midst of us as one who serves.
3. He was girded about with a golden girdle. “Girdle.” in the Word of God, stands, for royalty in service. He is serving, but He is serving as a king serves his people. Surely if He serves us we ought to serve one another. He is the High Priest; we ought to be the tinder-priests.
II. CHRIST IS DESCRIBED AS HAVING HIS HEAD AND HIS HAIRS WHITE LIKE WOOL (Rev 1:14, f.c.)
1. We think first of Christ’s eternity. Whiteness, particularly white hair, expresses old age or maturity in thought and deed. The Lord Jesus is not old in the sense of being worn out, but He is old in the sense of time. That is, He is from eternity unto eternity.
The white hairs of our Christ, however, by no means suggest that He is aged in the sense of being worn and wrinkled or decrepit, with His power spent and His energy wasted. Psa 110:1-7 describes Christ’s coming back to the earth to reign on David’s throne, and it says, “From the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.” Christ is not coming out of the gloom and the shadows of the gloom and the shadows of the eventide. He is coming as the sun, burning forth at the breaking of the day. He is coming in freshness, in power, with the dew of youth upon Him.
2. His white hairs tell of His purity. Jesus Christ is the only One who ever walked among men as the sinless One. The angel, Gabriel, said unto Mary as he announced the birth of Christ, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Jesus Christ was holy, and by virtue of His holiness He made us holy, and now, robed in raiment of purity and whiteness He walks in the midst of His Churches. God grant that we may be worthy of One so fair, so pure, and so wonderful.
III. CHRIST IS DESCRIBED WITH EYES AS A FLAME OF FIRE (Rev 1:14, l.c.)
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the all-seeing Christ. There is nothing that is covered to Him. In Heb 4:13 we read, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
We may deceive the minister, or the minister may deceive the people, but neither the one or the other can deceive Christ. It is written of old that He stood over against the treasury and observed how people cast in their offerings. He always stands over against the treasury.
More than that He stands over every pew. He observes everything that is going on. He notes everything in the service; the singing, the preaching, the invitation. There is not anything that is not open to His eyes. He even looks into the heart, and He reads its thoughts and meditations.
2. Jesus Christ is the all-helping Christ. When we think of His eyes, we think of His omniscience, but we should add to this thought a further consideration. The Prophet said, “The eyes of the Lord ran to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.”
The Lord does not look upon the Churches only to condemn and to seek the wrong. He looks to aid, comfort, and assist. Let us not be afraid because Christ’s eyes are as fire. Let us be comforted thereby and encouraged to know that there is One looking down from above in order that He may bless.
IV. CHRIST IS DESCRIBED AS HAVING FEET LIKE UNTO FINE BRASS (Rev 1:15)
1. We see Christ now in His stately steppings. He is walking in the midst of His Churches in order that He may be wisdom and power unto them His feet are like unto fine brass, because He is the strength of men. Do we not remember how the Lord said before He went away, “All power is given unto Me In Heaven and in earth, Go, * * lo, I am with you?”
Jesus Christ Is our Samson who can break every cord, and take hold of the pillars of all opposition, casting them down. He is our David who can go forth and conquer Goliath. He is our Jonathan who can move against the Philistines and rout them.
He met the principalities and powers of darkness, and overcame them utterly, dispelling and vanquishing them. Such an One is walking in the midst of the Churches.
2. His voice is as the sound of many waters. In this verse we have not only His stately stoppings described in the feet, as in a furnace refined; we have also His authority. When the Lord Jesus speaks it is time for men to hold their peace. He said, “He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them (that is, obeyeth them), he it is that loveth Me.”
There is no authority in the Church of Jesus Christ which can supersede, or lift its head above the Lord Jesus. There may be many voices in the world, but above them all rings the clear, clarion call of the Son of God. “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.”
V. CHRIST IS DESCRIBED AS WITH A SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD PROCEEDING OUT OF HIS MOUTH (Rev 1:16)
We have no difficulty in catching the meaning of this symbolism. The sharp two-edged sword is the Word of God. Heb 4:12 says that “the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” Eph 6:17 says, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” These two verses suffice.
When Christ comes again He comes with a sharp two-edged sword coming out of His mouth. Thus, as He walks in the midst of the Churches, that same sword is seen and it is His Word. The minister has but one mission and that is to preach the Word.
What else should be preached? If we preach words of our own we will utterly fail. If we preach the Word of God we will preach the power of God unto salvation.
God says, “He that hath My Word, let him. speak My Word faithfully.” “What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord, Is not My Word like the fire? and like the hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?”
VI. CHRIST IS DESCRIBED IN HIS COUNTENANCE AS THE SUN SHINING IN HIS STRENGTH (Rev 1:16, l.c.)
Here is, perhaps, the most beautiful of the whole description of our Lord, We remember how Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road was stricken down at noonday by the shining of a light brighter than the noonday sun.
We remember how the Bible describes the beautiful, new Jerusalem, the city of gold, as needing no light of the sun, or of the moon, or of the stars, “for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof.”
It was on the Mount of Transfiguration that the raiment of Jesus Christ was white and glistening, but His face “did shine as the sun.” Beloved, this is He who walks in the midst of the. Churches.
1. The light of His countenance will direct us in the way that we should go. We need not err in guidance, for the Lord God giveth us light.
2. The light of His countenance will illumine the dark things and make them plain. The intricacies of His Word, the deeper meanings of His grace, the higher visions of His glory will all be made manifest in the brightness of His countenance,
3. The light of His countenance stands for fellowship. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” The light of His countenance stands for the exclusion of darkness and of sin. “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.”
4. The light of His countenance is a wonderful place in which to hide. We usually think of hiding in some dark cupboard, but the Psalmist says, “I will hide in the light of His countenance,” The reason is that the security of light lies in the fact that God dwells in light that is unapproachable which no man can approach unto “whom no man hath seen, nor can see.”
VII. CHRIST IN THE MIDST OF THE CHURCHES SPEAKING (Rev 1:18)
1. The effect upon John as he saw this vision of the Seven Churches and Christ in the midst of them was more than magic. We read, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” When Peter, in that miraculous draught of fishes, beheld the power and the glory of the Lord, he fell down before Him and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
This, however, should not be the effect it should have on us. John, no doubt, was startled and astonished at his vision, but we should walk with the Lord so closely and intimately that we will not be overwhelmed at the vision of His glory. However, we are still in the flesh. Isaiah was a good man and yet, when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, His glory filling the Temple, and he heard the seraphim saying, “Holy, holy, holy,” he cried, “I am a man of unclean lips.”
2. Christ’s assuring words. First of all, Christ told John that He was the First and the Last, then He gave in addition these words, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Jesus Christ stood before John restating that wonderful climactic glory of His death, burial, and resurrection. He stood before John acclaiming, not only that He was a Victor on the Cross, but a Victor when He descended into hades, because He brought back the keys of death and of hell.
Still further He acclaimed the feet that He was not only a Victor on the Cross, and a Victor when He descended into hell, but that He was a Victor when He came forth from the grave.
To each one of us there comes, therefore, this assurance that we need not fear life because Christ lived and met its issues; we need not fear death because Christ died and look away its sting. We need not fear the life to come because Christ is alive forever-more, and He has met all of its future possibilities.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Christ “in the churches” is the secret of their power.
CHRIST WITHIN
Imagine one without genius and devoid of the artist’s training, sitting down before Raphael’s famous picture of the Transfiguration and attempting to reproduce it, How crude and mechanical and lifeless his work would be! But if such a thing were possible that the spirit of Raphael should enter into the man and obtain mastery of his mind and eye and hand, it would be entirely possible that he should paint this masterpiece; for it would simply be Raphael reproducing Raphael, And this in a mystery is what is true of the disciple filled with the Holy Spirit Christ by the Spirit dwells within him as a Divine life, and Christ is able to image forth Christ from the interior life of the outward example.-A. J. Gordon.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Rev 1:8. The pronoun I refers to Christ because he is the one who is to come in the clouds. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet (the language in which the New Testament was written). It is a figure to indicate completeness, similar to saying a man knows his business “from A to Z.” Beginning and ending denotes the same idea as the other figure, the particular words being selected because Christ was present at all of the works of God from the beginning (Joh 1:1-3; Eph 3:9). Is, was and is to come has the same meaning as in verse 4. The Almighty. This phrase belongs primarily to God the Father, but since God is a name for the Deity or Godhead, and Christ is a member of that family, it is proper to ascribe the title to Him also. He is called “The everlasting Father” in Isa 9:6, and it can be understood only because of His relation to the Deity.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 8
5. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending”–Rev 1:8.
These are the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet, and they correspond to the Yea and Amen of the Hebrew equivalent. The one in Rev 1:7, and the other in verse 8, appear to be an affirmation and ratification of the things about to be signified as being the irrevocable testimony of Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 1:8. This conclusion is strengthened by the words of the eighth verse, in which the emphasis lies upon the Almighty, thus bringing into prominence that all-powerful might in which Jesus goes forth to be victorious over His enemies. It is Christ, the Lord, who speaks, and who says that He is the Alpha and the Omega; that He is God (for we are not to read the two words Lord God together); that He is he which is, and which was, and which is to come; and that all culminates in His title the Almighty. To suppose that the words are spoken by the Father is to introduce a thought not strictly corresponding to what precedes. The unity of the whole passage is only preserved by ascribing them to the exalted and glorified Redeemer. The words are thus highly important as witnessing to the true Divinity of Christ, and in particular to His possessing the same eternity as the Almighty.
Thus, in the assurance that the Lord will come in His might for the accomplishment of His plans, the Seer is prepared to enter upon a description of the visions which he had enjoyed.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. That what was applied to God the Father, at the fourth verse, namely, that he was, is, and is to come, is here by Christ applied to himself at the eighth verse: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, which was, and is to come.
Alpha is the first, Omega the last, letter of the Greek alphabet, and as such they enclose all the rest. Christ calling himself the first and the last, that is, the first cause and the last end, (as nothing began before him, so nothing can outlast him,) he does hereby discover his divinity to us, that he is co-essential and consubstantial with the Father, the same attribute being given to both: understand we then that this text plainly speaks the godhead of Christ, against the Socinians.
Christ calling himself the first and the last, takes to himself absolute perfection and power, sovereignty and dignity, eternity and divinity; he is the first, because he was before all beginning, and because he shall continue for ever, without end, because he is the end of all things, and because when we have attained him, we are at the highest and last of our attainments; we rest, and have no more to seek when we have found Christ, for he brings us to the Father, in whom we have eternal rest through himself, the Son: and the last title Christ assumes to himself, namely, the Almighty, bespeaks his divinity; he is God Almighty, able to accomplish all his promises to his people, and to execute his threatenings on his enemies; and if the adversaries of our Saviour’s godhead in the glass of this text do not see his divinity, it is not because they cannot, but they will not see. I am, says Christ, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, which was, and is to come, the Almighty.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Rev 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, saith the Lord Alpha is the first, Omega the last letter in the Greek alphabet. Let his enemies boast and rage ever so much in the intermediate time, yet he is both the Alpha, or beginning, and the Omega, or end, of all things. Grotius and Bengelius read, , saith the Lord God a reading with which the Vulgate accords, having, it seems, understood the verse as spoken by the Father. Accordingly Bengeliuss note is, God is the beginning, as he is the Author and Creator of all things, and as he proposes, declares, and promises such great things. He is the end, as he brings all the things which are here revealed to a complete and glorious conclusion. Again, the beginning and end of a thing is, in Scripture, styled the whole thing. Therefore, God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; that is, one who is all things, and always the same. See Wesley. It will, however, as Doddridge observes, be difficult to give sufficient proof that the words of this verse were spoken by the Father. Most of the phrases which are here used concerning this glorious Person, are afterward used concerning our Lord Jesus Christ; and , almighty, though in ecclesiastical writers of the earliest ages it is generally appropriated to the Father, may, according to the Syriac version, be rendered, He who holds; that is, superintends, supports, and governs all; and then it is applied to Christ, Col 1:17; Heb 1:3. But if, after all, the words should be understood as spoken by the Father, our Lords applying so many of these titles afterward to himself, plainly proves his partaking with the Father in the glory peculiar to the divine nature, and incommunicable to any creature. See Bishop Pearson on the Creed, p. 175.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 8
Alpha and Omega. These are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and so are used metaphorically in the sense here indicated.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:8 {6} I am {f} Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
(6) A confirmation of the greeting earlier, taken from the words of God himself: in which he affirms his operation in every single creature, the immutable eternity that is in himself, and his omnipotence in all things: and concludes in the unity of his own essence, that Trinity of persons which was spoken of before.
(f) I am he before whom there was nothing, indeed, by whom everything that is made, was made: and I shall remain though everything else should perish.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God confirmed the preceding forecast with a solemn affirmation of His eternity and omnipotence. Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and signify here God’s comprehensive control over all things including time. This is probably a merism, a figure of speech in which two extremes represent the whole. John strengthened this point further with present, past, and future references (cf. Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Heb 13:8). He is the originator and terminator of all things. God is not only Lord of the future. He is also powerful enough to bring what John just predicted to pass. He is the "Almighty."
"A weighing of evidence, especially in light of the OT ’flavor’ of the expression and a recollection that the Father in the OT refers to Himself as ’I am’ (i.e., the Tetragrammaton, Exo 3:14; cf. Isa 48:12), tips the balance ever so slightly to the side of concluding that God the Father speaks in Rev 1:8. . . .
"God’s declaration in Rev 1:8 thus ends with a note of authority. The omnipotent one will surely implement what His prophet has predicted by way of future judgment." [Note: Thomas, Revelation 1-7, pp. 80, 81. Cf. Harris, p. 182.]
John frequently used "Almighty" as a key name for God in Revelation (Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:6; Rev 19:15; Rev 21:22).
This whole introduction points to the main event of the following revelation, the return of Jesus Christ at His second coming (Rev 19:11-16). It also presents the triune God as Lord of time (past, present, and future), faithful to His promises, and powerful enough to bring these events to pass. In Genesis, Moses also emphasized God’s power and faithfulness more than any other of His attributes. The last Bible book stresses these qualities of God as does the first Bible book.