“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 21:6)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13)

First and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Omega, form a descriptive title for the Lord, picturing Christ as the sum total of all the letters, or the embodiment of language. Taken together with the first words John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” we see the metaphor taking shape. Jesus Christ is the complete package, the all-embracing Word of God. He was there at creation, and He will be there at the end of history.

When God spoke, the world came into existence; the sheer intonation of His voice created that which was not there. Theologians call this “ex nihilo,” out of nothing. God expressed Himself into nothingness and history began, as recorded in Genesis, which we refer to as “the beginning.” That is the Alpha of God’s movement into this world.

His Omega, the final word, fittingly portrayed in the last book of the Bible, depicts the end times and the eternal state. In the book of Revelation itself, the title Alpha and Omega occurs at the beginning in chapter 1 and the ending in chapter 22, forming an inclusion, or bookends, for the apocalyptic message. This is the same God, start to finish, from beginning to the end, with His all- encompassing message.

Hidden (though not very deeply) is an affirmation of the deity of Jesus Christ. The first use of Alpha and Omega as a title is attached to “The Lord God,” where it clearly alludes to the Lord God of the Old Testament, the common English rendition of Yahweh Adonai. The same title is used of Christ, Alpha and Omega, in Revelation 21:6 and 22:13. Such titular equivalence would be nothing short of blasphemous if Christ were not identified as the Lord God of Israel! But Jesus is the one seated on the throne of God (Rev 21:5). He is none other than God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the all-encompassing expression of Yahweh to us, speaking into our lives in all wisdom and knowledge and understanding and insight. We do well to study Him and believe in Him and follow Him.

Lord, You are the beginning and completion of life for me, and I praise You.