Text: Rev. 1:8, 11; 22:13
…and not the “Aleph” and the “Tau” (first and last
letters of the Hebrew alphabet—see Psalm 119) or the “A and the Z”? Aren’t all
of these titles saying the same thing, as defined for us in the Authorized Version, namely,
“the beginning and the ending” (1:8, 22:13) or “the first and the
last” (1:11, 22:13)? They are, but I believe there’s a reason that God
insisted on “Alpha and Omega,” a transliteration rather than a
translation from the underlying Greek text, as opposed to something else or merely
using “the first and the last.”
“God is called
the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8; 21:6), which are the first and last letters
of the Greek alphabet. We usually think of “beginning” and “end” as the chronological
points of an event, but in the Book of Revelation “the beginning and the end”
are God himself. God completes life just as the opening and closing letters
complete the alphabet. As Christians, we must reverse our pattern of thinking about
life in terms of physical beginnings and endings and consider the beginning and
the ending as God, not as events. Overcoming the tendency to be event centered
is difficult. Even nations and empires begin and end with certain events. But
God must be central in our larger relationship with him. We must subordinate
events to God; He is the originator and planner of the events of our lives.”
· · Now let’s consider God’s use of the Greek alphabet:
a.
At the time of
the new testament’s composition, Latin was the political language of the known
world, but Greek was the common tongue, much like English is today (Eccl.
1:9-10). Note how Paul, a Hebrew, and the Roman captain communicate with one
another in Greek in Acts 21:37-39. Paul chooses to address captain in Greek,
rather than Latin, even though the latter is a Roman soldier, since the chances
of him speaking Greek, the common tongue, were even better than him knowing
Latin, which Paul, as a Roman citizen (21:39, 22:25-27) knew as well. The
captain is surprised that Paul speaks Greek, which marks Paul as a man of the
world, since Greek was spoken throughout the Roman world.
b.
By choosing the
first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, God is showing his identification
with the Gentiles, from the beginning to the end of time. The nations have
always been part of God’s plan, as revealed to the prophets regarding the
kingdom (Mt. 25:34, Acts 3:21) and as hid in God until Paul regarding the
one-body mystery in Christ (Eph. 3:9). God called out Abraham from the nations
and separated Israel, but he wasn’t dispensing with the nations, just giving
Israel primacy over them (Gen. 12:3). His plan was to use one nation to bring
the others home, so to speak, but as we know, Israel for the most part failed
in that mission.
c.
The title, then,
is an affirmation that God not only identifies with Israel but with the other
nations as well…forever. The Revelation describes the consummation of the
kingdom program revealed in prophecy, not the mystery program revealed to Paul
(its consummation is described in Eph. 1-3), and the fulfillment of God’s
promises to Israel and to the nations. Note how “nations” is used in
Revelation 19 times, all the way into chapters 21-22, the eternal state, and “nation”
twice, for a total of 21 references (3x7 for numerology students—the nations
are perfected in Revelation!).
So “Alpha and Omega,” which strikingly appears only in the first and final (21-22) chapters of Revelation (!), is as full of meaning to the nations as “JEHOVAH” (Ex. 6:3, Ps. 83:18, Is. 26:4) is to Israel. The next time you see the Alpha and Omega reference or image, remember God’s claim on the Gentiles. Praise the Lord!
