What is the significance of Jesus saying "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending"?
score:8
This is a powerful assertion of Deity by Jesus. You are correct that it is, in fact, Jesus Himself who is speaking here and not the Father. That is made clear in this passage, as Jesus was the One who "was dead" and is now "alive forevermore".
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Revelation 1:17-18 NASB
Jesus is, indeed, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Almighty.
Paul's letter to the Colossians is also simliar:
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. Colossians 1:15 NASB
It is noteworthy to reference the passage in Isaiah where God states something very similar:
“Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’” Isaiah 41:4 NASB
So, it was God (the LORD) in the Old Testament who claimed to be the First and the Last, and it is Jesus Himself who makes that very same claim in the New Testament. God alone is the First and the Last, and Jesus claims to be God Almighty in an unmistakable manner.
Upvote:0
The common assumption is that Jesus is saying he is the beginning and end, and therefore eternal as the Father.
Upvote:0
Additionally, the terminology of Alpha/Omega or Aleph/Tav (as it was in Hebrew), Beginning/End, First/Last indicate entirety. That is He is the entirety of things, the all-encompassing God of everything. That claim is supported by verses like Col 1:15ff, 2:9 and others.
Upvote:0
Today they refer to it as "from birth to earth" or from "womb to tomb". Jesus meant that he there for us from the very beginning of our existence all the way to our dying day and home to heaven.
Upvote:1
It is believed that Jesus, even assumed, that Jesus said this, implying he is "[Almighty] God", in turn, "The Father".
However, on the other side of the spectrum, verses Revelation 1:8, 21:6 and 22:13 identifies not Jesus, but rather, The Father Himself. This is obvious when you check out the references.
Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The respective positions of these letters in the Greek alphabet are used to illustrate that God [Yahweh or Jehovah in modern English] alone is the beginning and the end, which brings us to Revelation 21:6. For The Most High is Almighty God, and he will continue to be Almighty God forever and ever. He is the only one who can be noted as from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2).
The final occurrence we see in Revelation 22:13. It is evident that a number of persons are represented as speaking in this chapter of Revelation, mainly verses 8 and 9, show that the angel spoke to Apostle John. Verse 16 obviously applies to the Lord himself - Jesus, the first part of verse 17 is credited to the spirit and to the bride of the Lamb, and the one speaking in the latter part of verse 20 is manifestly John himself.
The Alpha and the Omega of verses 12-15 properly be identified as the same one who bears the title in the other two occurrences, God our Father. The expression such as Look, I am coming quickly, in verse 12, does not require that these aforementioned verses apply to Jesus, inasmuch as God also speaks of himself as coming” to execute his judgment. This can also be compared with Isaiah 26:21. In Malachi 3:1-6, it speaks of a joint coming for judgment on the part of God our Father and his Messenger of the Covenant..
Now we have Revelation 1:11 from a Textual Citric standpoint. The additional occurrence of this phrase in the King James version of Revelation 1:11 (and or any translation that shares later MSS), the reality is, it does not receive much support from some of the oldest Greek manuscripts copies that we have, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi rescriptus. It is, therefore, omitted in many modern and or revised Bible translations.
A sidenote, Jesus is the first and last of a new creation that is to come whereas the creation of God begins and it connects to God's original purpose, for example, we have the New Covenant.
Upvote:5
The Alpha is the first letter of the Alpha-bet. The Omega is the last letter thereof.
Jesus is simply saying, as he is three verses latter - "I am at the beginning, I am at the end."
From a human perspective, the best we can do is understand that Jesus is eternal. (By the way, John 1:2 is a better support for that.) For highly concrete original hearers, re-focusing them on the eternal via metaphors they use made the idea sink in.
More post
- 📝 Do OT scriptures clearly indicate sacrifices will be replaced?
- 📝 Are Catholics obliged to follow scientific evidence that they find disreputable with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic?
- 📝 Are There Names for the Sundays in Eastertide?
- 📝 How much can holy water be diluted?
- 📝 What did Charles Hodge teach about theology as science?
- 📝 What's the significance of hyssop in John 19:29?
- 📝 What is the physical evidence for a global flood?
- 📝 What is the Catholic teaching on oral sex and impotence?
- 📝 What are the arguments in favor of the proposition that it was man's spirit that died in the Garden of Eden?
- 📝 Why has St. John or the three Nephites not come out in support of the LDS Church?
- 📝 What did the early church believe about the "rapture"?
- 📝 Isn't "Jehovah-Jireh" (and other such names) just the name of a place?
- 📝 According to Catholic law and rules, is postponing of the Rite of Acceptance OK?
- 📝 What does Sinclair Ferguson (a reformed theologian) mean by a 'new identity'?
- 📝 Question about mortal sin and the state of grace?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the concept that demons have an odor?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, what is the difference between forgiveness and release from punishment?
- 📝 Who gave JC authority?
- 📝 What is the Catholic perspective on why are Angels and Archangels at the bottom of the "Angelic Hierarchy"?
- 📝 Where is the dust of the earth?
- 📝 Do Jehovah's Witnesses object to praying with other Christians?
- 📝 How does the Bible teach us to direct our prayers?
- 📝 What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?
- 📝 Was the feast of unleavened bread celebrated for 8 days (opposed to 7) as it is outside Israel today in Jesus' time?
- 📝 Is spirituality different than superstition?
- 📝 Is there a patristic precedent for understanding "foreknew" as "foreloved"?
- 📝 According to Catholicism can you be saved without being baptised?
- 📝 Given a Catholic understanding of Hell and individual judgment, do Catholics believe that all Protestants will go to Hell?
- 📝 Is there any extra-biblical evidence that shows the apostles were martyred?
- 📝 What was inside the Ark of the Covenant?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the significance of Jesus saying "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending"?
- 📝 According to Protestantism, what is the significance of Jesus and the Mount of Transfiguration?
- 📝 What is the significance of the three different gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh) given to Jesus by the Magi after his birth?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
- 📝 What is the significance of Jesus seeing Nathanael under the fig tree?
- 📝 What is the significance of Noah, after the flood, getting drunk and cursing his son who saw him Naked?
- 📝 What is the support for saying Jesus believed Genesis was a literal account of creation?
- 📝 According to Protestant trinitarians, what is the significance of the father-son relationship between God and Christ?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for identifying the Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead and the Lazarus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus?
- 📝 According to LDS (Mormon) teaching, what is the relationship between Jesus and Lucifer?
- 📝 When Jesus gave Peter his name (rock) what is the significance that he then said upon a ‘different’ kind of rock he would build his church?
- 📝 What is the significance of changing the names of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah?
- 📝 What is the basis of the view that Jesus was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit upon death?
- 📝 According to Protestants following the Reformation, what did Jesus mean when he said "do this and you will live"?
- 📝 What is the spiritual significance of swearing on a Bible among the various churches and denominations?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief held by Jehovah's Witnesses that Jehovah and Jesus Christ are separate entities?
- 📝 For people who believe in Jesus and not the devil, what happened in the desert?
- 📝 What does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teach about who Jesus is and where He came from?
- 📝 What does the LDS Church teach about Jesus being married, having children, and His position on polygamy?
- 📝 What was Jesus trying to convey in the parables of the mustard seed and yeast?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 In what way are we to be one, as Jesus and the Father are one?
- 📝 What is the significance of Bethlehem as the place of Jesus birth?
- 📝 According to Jehovah’s Witnesses what does the name Immanuel mean in light of their belief that Jesus is a created being and not God?
- 📝 What is the significance of the angelic visitation of the shepherds after the birth of Jesus Christ?
- 📝 What is the role and significance of Zion in Christianity?
- 📝 What is the significance of colour purple in the robe that Jesus was made to wear?
- 📝 What is the significance of what Jesus ate after his resurrection?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for “the Sinner’s Prayer” and do Protestants believe that saying the prayer make one a Christian?
- 📝 What is the LDS (Mormon) view of the necessity of Jesus death and resurrection?