Jesus
proclaimed Himself to be the “Alpha
and Omega” in:
Revelation 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.” English Standard Version (ESV)
Revelation 21:6
6 And he
said to me, “It is
done! I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will
give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (ESV)
Revelation 22:13
13 I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the first
and the last, the
beginning and the end.” (ESV)
“Alpha” and “omega” are the first
and last letters of the Greek alphabet.
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.
Jesus
as the beginning and end of all things is a reference to no one but the true
God.
This
statement of eternality could apply only to God. It is seen especially in Revelation
22:13, where Jesus proclaims that He is “the
Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
One
of the meanings of Jesus being the “Alpha
and Omega” is that He was at the beginning
of all things and will be at the close.
It
is equivalent to saying He always existed and always will exist.
It
was Christ, as second Person of the Trinity, who brought about the creation: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has
been made” (John
1:3).
His
Second Coming will be the beginning of the end of creation as we know it (2
Peter 3:10).
As
God incarnate, He has no beginning, nor will He have any end with respect to
time, being from everlasting to everlasting.
A
second meaning of Jesus as the “Alpha
and Omega” is that the phrase identifies Him as the God of the Old Testament.
Isaiah
ascribes this aspect of Jesus’ nature as part of the
triune God in several
places.
“I,
the Lord, am the first, and with the last I am He” (Isaiah
41:4).
“I
am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” (Isaiah
44:6).
“I
am he; I am the first, I also am the last” (Isaiah
48:12).
These
are clear indications of the eternal nature of the Godhead.
Christ,
as the Alpha and Omega, is the first and last in so many ways.
He
is the “author and finisher”
of our faith (Hebrews
12:2), signifying that He begins it and carries it through to completion.
He
is the totality, the sum and substance of the Scriptures, both of the Law and
of the Gospel (John
1:1, 14).
He
is the fulfilling end of the Law (Matthew 5:17).
And
He is the beginning subject matter of the gospel of grace through faith, not of
works (Ephesians
2:8-9).
He
is found in the first verse of Genesis and in the last verse of Revelation.
He
is the first and last, the all in all of salvation, from the justification
before God to the final sanctification of His people.
Jesus
is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end.
Only
God incarnate could make such a statement.
Only
Jesus Christ is God incarnate.
Are
you struggling with a big decision or wondering how your eternal future will
play out?
Why
not talk to the God of the universe and let Him work in your behalf?
He
says, “I will instruct you and teach you
the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm
32:8).
Ask
God to show you what to do. Pray the following prayer:
“Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and my sins have
separated me from You. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and
begin a new life with You.
Please forgive me. I now receive your Son,
Jesus Christ as my Savior, my Master and my Lord. I believe and confess that
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead.
I want to receive all that Jesus Christ has
provided for me as my Savior. Your Word says, ‘Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans
10:13).
I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is
the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come
into my heart and be Lord of my life. I thank You that you have given me
eternal life, and according to Your Word, I am born again.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of
the Holy Spirit Who is in me now. I surrender my life to You. I promise to
study Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
RELATED POSTS:
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/08/christ-is-acknowledged-as-unique-son-of.html
gotquestions.org
gotquestions.org
No comments:
Post a Comment