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Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega

Rev 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.

Introduction

This is just one of a dozen times that Christ is referred to as “the beginning and the end” in this book alone. We have already listed all the one dozen times this is stated when we did our study on verse four, part 2:

Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

So why does the holy spirit repeat this only three verses later, and then again in verse 11, and also in verse 18 in this very first chapter of this book? There is a reason why the spirit stresses this fact, and there is a reason why this is stressed so much at the beginning of this prophecy, and then again at the end of this prophecy. Just notice how many times this is mentioned in this first chapter alone:

Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Rev 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

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 1:18 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.

We listed these four verses in this first chapter, as well as eight other times in the book of Revelation, which stress this all important aspect of Christ and His word. They are all listed in the study notes entitled Rev 1:4 – Part 2. I will not go over them all again here, but I will remind you that the reason this is stressed so very much is to impress within each of us the is, was, and will be character of Christ and His word, as it is to be understood by “this generation” who is reading “the things written therein.”

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Again, here is the verse we must always keep before our spiritual eyes as we read all the words of this prophecy, all of these ‘is, was, and will be’ words:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The time has been “at hand” ever since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “This generation,” has been on hand in every generation which reads and understands, and “keeps those things which are written therein.”

We are blessed to know that we are to “keep the things written therein” as the Lord’s elect in every generation since Christ. However, don’t think that just because you are given to see and hear these things at this time that your light cannot be turned into darkness, and all the things you know at this moment to be true, don’t just assume that you will always know and stand for the Truth. Peter made that mistake and ended up being blessed to find a place for repentance. There are those who find no place for repentance, such as Judas and his Old Testament type, Esau:

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

It still until this very day astounds me how the Lord can turn our light into darkness, but it is evident that it can be done:

Luk 11:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

With that in mind, let us ask the question, “Who is “the Almighty?”

Rev 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.

We have just been told that “the Almighty is “the Lord which is, which was, and which is to come.” Verses 17-18 tell us that this “Almighty” One is the same “first and last, who was dead and is now alive forevermore.”

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 1:18  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.

So it should be obvious that this man who is called “the Almighty” is called such because “God has given Him that name which is above every other name under heaven.”

Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Jesus Christ is “the Almighty,” but let us never make the mistake, that so many have made, in thinking that because His Father has given Him that title, therefore Christ is the Father. Those who purvey this bit of heresy call it ‘modalism,’ and it is without basis in God’s word, which goes overboard to let us know that the father alone retains “the power of the throne” even as He has given a kingdom and a throne to our Lord and Savior, in the same manner in which Christ has given to us a kingdom and a throne. Does this verse make us our own head?

Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

Christ is “Almighty” relative to the earth and the heavens. He is not, however, the power of the throne:

Gen 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

The Father is always “greater than Christ.” Lest there be any doubt, the Father has given us these words also:

1Co 15:27 For he [the Father] hath put all things under his [Christ’s] feet. But when he [the Father] saith all things are put under him [Christ], it is manifest that he [the Father] is excepted, which did put all things under him [Christ].
1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [the Father] that put all things under him [Christ], that God [“the God of Father of Jesus Christ”] may be all in all.

2Co 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ.

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Christ, and all of us, are what we are for one reason and for one reason only:

Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ] should all fulness dwell;

Here is the context of that verse:

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

“All things were created by Him and for Him… He is before all things… because it pleased the Father that in Christ should all fulness dwell,” means nothing at all to the purveyors of the so-called ‘oneness’ doctrine also known as ‘modalism.’ None of that is really true at all, except in God’s foreknowledge. Here is the one verse that has more weight than all the rest of the Bible combined to those who have fallen prey to this insidious doctrine:

Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

So “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “it pleased the Father…” and “the image of the invisible God,” are all out the door as mere figures of speech which, according to this false doctrine, are all “speaking of things that are not as though they were.” The oneness of Christ and His Father is “as we are one” with Christ:

Joh 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

That is how Christ and His Father are “one.”

Pray that God does not make your light to be darkness, as He has done in the lives of so many who have been swallowed up by the “two hundred thousand, thousand horse like locusts with stingers in their tails.” That, according to the scriptures, is two million false doctrines of the false prophets, which blot out the light of the sun, and in so doing blot out the names from the book of life, of those who fall for their heresies: That is all in Revelation 9 which we will cover in depth when we get there.

Conclusion

We have been reminded by this verse that Christ and His words are, were and will be. That is the nature and the character of “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We have seen that the present, the past, and the future are all ours in Christ.

The past

Luk 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and [some] of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luk 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

The present and the future:

1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

We were not there when those prophets were killed, but then again, we were right there in our father Adam, who was also of his father the devil, so their blood will be required of “this generation” reading these words today. We do not know what the morrow holds, but in Christ, and according to Christ, both “things present and things to come are all ours.” It is all written in God’s book, and if we are in that book, then it is ours. “Paul, Apollos, Peter, or the world, or life and death, it is all ours.” That again, is the character of the is, was, and will be Word of God. It is all of Him.

Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

We have also seen that Christ is not His Father, but will, in the end, “be subject unto Him who has put all things under Christ.” We have seen that the false doctrine of Christ and His Father being one and the same, a doctrine known as ‘oneness or modalism’ are both just that, false doctrines which keep us from ever knowing  what is life eternal:

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Our very salvation depends on knowing the Christ of scripture.

Next study we will learn who the apostle John symbolizes, in the words of this prophecy. We will see who is used in this prophecy to symbolize our brothers in Christ. We will also learn who the scriptures reveal are always used of God to persecute His elect, and we will find out who, exactly it is, who has “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.