Jesus and His God

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come (ho erchomenos, W&H transliteration), the Almighty.” — Revelation 1:8,  New American Standard Version

Many often refer to Revelation 1:8 and claim that this is Jesus referring to himself as “God Almighty. We do not believe that this is Jesus that is being quoted, and here we provide evidence this is so.

The scripture directly says it was the “Lord God” (as it reads in most translations) speaking, thus we have no reason to believe that any other than Yahweh is speaking. From verse 1, we ascertain that it is actually the angel speaking, quoting Jesus, who in turn is quoting his Father, Yahweh.

The phrase “Lord God” is based on the later Septuagint tradition of substituting Kurios for Yahweh. The Hebrew phrase is Yahweh Elohim. In the extant NT Greek manuscripts Yahweh has been substituted with Kurios [Lord] and sometimes with Theos [God]. Elohim is translated as “Theos”. This can be seen by comparing Acts 3:22; 7:37 with the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 18:15. In all instances where the phrase occurs in the NT, it is in reference to Yahweh, the Father of our Lord Jesus. — Luke 1:32; 1 Peter 3:10-15; Revelation 11:17,19; 15:3; 16:7; 18:8; 21:11; 22:6.

Likewise, with the phrases “the Lord our God” and “the Lord your God”: These phrases are always used unipersonally in reference to Yahweh, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. — Matthew 4:7 (Deuteronomy 6:16); Matthew 4:10 (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20); Matthew 22:37 (Deuteronomy 6:5); Mark 12:29 (Deuteronomy 6:4); etc.

Additionally, we note that there are Christian translations into Hebrew that contain the divine name in this verse. While their purpose usually was to try to prove that Jesus is called “Yahweh”, they nevertheless did recognize that this should be “Yahweh” in this verse. The following are some Hebrew translations that contain the holy name in Revelation 1:8: NT, by W. Robertson, 1661; NT, by J. C. Reichardt, 1846; NT, by J. C. Reichardt & J. H. R. Biesenthal, 1866; NT, by F. Delitzsch, 1981 edition; NT, by I. Salkinson & C. D. Ginsburg, 1891.

Looking at Revelation 1:1, we note that the Revelation is from God who gave it to Jesus. (This should be enough to prove that Jesus is not God.) The message is delivered through an angel to John. In Revelation 1:4 John says the message is from the Father, Yahweh, who is and who was and who is to come. Then in verse 5, John says: “*and* from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” Thus John identifies two individuals which the messages are from, the Father, Yahweh, and Jesus, God’s Son.

Then in verse 8 we find the quote: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End’, says the Lord God, ‘the being who was and who is to come — the Almighty.’”

Thus we conclude that the “The Lord” in this verse is Yahweh, not Jesus, as shown from Revelation 1:4.

Revelation 1:8 is not refering to God as “coming” in the same manner that verse 7 speaks of Jesus as coming in the clouds, but rather he “is to come”, and this in relation to God’s being — his existence — in the past and the present. As far as we know, no one claims that when he says “who was”, that this means that he was coming from somewhere. Likewise, no one claims that when he “who is”, that is means he is presently going somewhere. In other words, it is not saying of the Almighty was coming or going in the past, that he is coming or going somewhere in the present, and thus, it is likewise not saying that he will be coming from or to somewhere in the future; thus “is to come” refers to God’s being in the future. Therefore, verse 8 speaks of God’s being, his eternal existence, past, present and future. Revelation 1:8 is the Almighty Yahweh, the God and Father of Jesus speaking. He is the one who was, is and is to come. Jesus is not the one who was, is, and is to come. The peculiar phrase in Revelation 1:8 only belongs to Yahweh, not to Jesus. Yahweh has existed from all eternity past, he exists now, and he exists for all time to come. This is basically what Yahweh is saying in Revelation 1:8.

Nevertheless, although we do not believe that Revelation 1:8 speaks of this, Yahweh is also to come with judgment through Jesus. (Malachi 3:1-6; Psalm 96:13; Micah 1:3; Revelaton 1:1; 22:6. Psalm 96:98; 110:1; Matthew 22:43-45; 26:64; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Acts 2:34; 7:55: Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:13; 10:12,13; 1 Peter 3:22; John 5:22) Only Yahweh is truly the Almighty.

In verses 9 and 10 John refers to himself when he heard a loud voice, as of a trumpet, (verse 11) saying, “Write what you see… This quote is from Jesus, not Yahweh, as described in the following verses. In verse 18 Jesus says: “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” Jesus was actually dead and not alive anywhere, if this is to make any sense at all, for he contrasts his being dead with being alive forevermore. Now we know that God cannot die, so Jesus is thus by this verse proved to not be God Almighty.

Some isolate the phrase “who is coming,” and claim that this phrase designated the Messiah, since it is used of the Messiah many other scriptures.  (The phrase ho erchomenos appears in the following scriptures, and sometimes it is applied to Jesus, and sometimes to others: Matthew 11:3; 21:9;  Mark 11:9; Luke 6:47; 7:19; 7:20; 13:35; 19:38; John 6:14; 6:35; 12:31; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Hebrews 10:37; Revelation 1:4; 1:8; 4:8) Often this is coupled with the claim that entire phrase of Revelation 1:8 designates the holy name, Ehyeh, of Exodus 3:14, Yahweh/Jehovah of Exodus 3:15.  (The holy name actually signifies action, and not just existence.) From this, then, they claim that Revelation 1:8 is Jesus speaking, and thus that Jesus is the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In reality, when “ho erchomenos” is used of the Messiah of Yahweh, it is used as depicting the Messiah of Yahweh as being sent by Yahweh, not as Yahweh Himself, and thus a distinction is made between the Messiah and the One who sent the Messiah. For instance, in Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, John 12:13, he who comes, ho erchomenos, is said to do that coming in the name of Yahweh (Psalm 118:26), thereby showing Yahweh to be a distinctly one person, who is not the Messiah that comes in the name of Yahweh; thus the default is that Jesus is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Additionally, the phrase is used  of others who are not the Messiah, thus the phrase is not a distinctive phrase unique to the Messiah. — Luke 6:47; John 6:35; 2 Corinthians 11:4.

We should also note that in Revelation 1:8, the phrase “ho erchomenos” is referring to God’s continuous existence into the future (in contrast to his existence in the past and present, from everlasting to everlasting), whereas “ho erchomenos” when applied to the Messiah in the Gospels does not refer to Jesus’ eternal existence in the future, but rather to his coming into the world as one promised to be sent by Yahweh. — Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 11:3; 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 7:19,20; Luke 13:35; 19:37,38; John 6:14; 12:13.

Jesus is anointed [made christ, the anointed one] by Yahweh (unipersonally). He is not Yahweh who thus anoints him.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is never identified in the Bible as more than one person, but He is identified as one person. –  Psalm 2:2; 45:7; Isaiah 61:1; Acts 2:36; 4:27; 10:38.

Someone writes: There is only one Alpha and Omega, the father had no beginning and he has no ending; Jesus holds this title, no one else! Verse eight is about Jesus, not about the Father. This, at least admits that the phrase is Revelation 1:8 refers to no beginning and no ending, and would thus negate the argument that would connect “coming” in Revelation 1:8 to Jesus’ coming as spoken of in Revelation 1:7 (although, in the Greek, two different  forms are used, erchetai in Revelation 1:7 and ho erchomenos in Revelation 1:8 .)

We find the phrase “Alpha and Omega” in Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13 — all three of which refer to Yahweh. We conclude that this phrase is therefore not used of Jesus. Many translations have the words added in verse 11, before the word “Write”: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.” However, this sentence does not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts and therefore does not appear in many Bible translations, and we therefore regard it as spurious.

Revelation 22:12-16: “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The angel delivering the message recorded in Revelation 22:13 is quoting Yahweh, the Father of Jesus, who comes to judge the world, not only with and by means of Jesus, but also with the saints. — Malachi 3:1-6; Psalm 96:13; 98:9; Daniel 7:18,22; Micah 1:3; Zechariah 14:5; Acts 17:31; 2 Peter 3:7,8; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Psalm 90:4; Revelaton 1:1; 20:4,11-13; 22:6.

Earlier, John says that the angel spoke these words, evidently quoting Yahweh. (Revelation 22:6) In verse 8 John is the one speaking, and the angel rebukes him in verse 9. In verse 10 John begins to quote the angel again, but in verse 12, the angel is delivering the words of Yahweh (see verse 6) — it is evident that the angel is not referring to himself. In verse 16, it is evident that the angel is quoting Jesus, and then in verse 17 the angel is prophetically quoting the spirit and the bride. In verses 18-20, the angel again is quoting Jesus, while the last verse is John himself speaking.

In Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12 we find the expression “first and last” used of Yahweh. From Isaiah 44:6,7 this expression, “first and last” appears to mean that which is begun is carried through to completion, something which the false gods of the heathen cannot do. However, most of our trinitarian and oneness neighbors appear to read into this expression ‘from eternity past to the eternal future,’ although there is nothing in the scritpures to warrant this meaning.

The Alpha and Omega symbolism only emphasizes the same thing, since Alpha is the first or start of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last or end of the Greek alphabet. “First and Last” is used of Jesus in in Revelation 1:17 and Revelation 2:8.

This would apply both to Yahweh as originator of his divine plan and the one who sees it to the completed end, and to the Son as the one who carries out the divine plan by means of his death, resurrection and the coming day of judgment. Some have noted that Jesus is the first human to be raised to life without end by Yahweh his Father, thus he is called the “firstborn of the dead”. (Colossians 1:18) He is also the last to be so resurrected since all others who eventually receive such a resurrection will be through Jesus, not by Yahweh directly. (John 5:21,22; 6:39,44; 11:25) Thus there appears to be a connection between his statements that he became dead was now alive forever and ever. His holding the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) shows the authority given to him by his God of releasing all who are in death and hades. — John 5:27-29 (New American Standard); Revelation 20:11-13.

However, there is also another application that could be meant. Each — both Jesus and Yahweh — is the first and the last of his peculiar kind: Yahweh is the first and the last of his peculiar kind, in that he is the first and the last one to be increate, that is, never to have been created. No one was before Yahweh in this sense and no one will be after him in this sense. The Son is the first and the last of his peculiar kind, in that he is the first and the last to have been directly created by God, all other creatures having been indirectly created by God, that is, through the agency of the Logos. Thus the Father and the Son are both unique — which is the meaning of these three expressions — but each of them is unique in a different sense: The Father is unique in that he is the only — the first and the last — being never created; the Son is unique in that he is the only — the first and the last — being ever directly created by Yahweh without the assistance of an agent, which creative assistance by the Logos occurred in the case of all the rest of creation — the Logos himself being excepted. (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:27) Thus Yahweh is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of increation — the only being who never was created. The Logos is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of God’s direct creation. These terms used with reference to the Son are equivalent to his being called: “the only begotten of the Father.” (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9) Their use with reference to the Father implies that he is from eternity, though not directly teaching it, the direct teaching being his uniqueness in that he never was created or begotten, as was the Son.

See: Paul S. L. Johnson’s book, Creation, pages 51-53

Many Bible Students note that Charles Taze Russell applied alpha and omega of Revelation 1:8 to Jesus, not Yahweh, and continue in this tradition. While we see no need to apply this term to Jesus, we present links below to works by various Bible Students that offer an explanation differently than our own (You may wish to download PDF files first in order to better search through them without using your browser.):

Notes on The Revelation of Jesus Christ by Anton Frey (PDF Format)

New Albany Notebook and Study Records in Revelation – New Albany, IN Bible Students Ecclesia (PDF Format)

The Revelation of Jesus Christ by R. E. Streeter (PDF Format)

Revelation for the End of the Gospel Age

The Great Debate (pdf format — it may take a few minutes to load), by Robert A. Wagoner. Click Here for information on the book and where to order a copy.

Some references that present matters similar to our study above are (we do not necessarily agree with all that is stated on the pages):

Southern Wisconsin Bible Students Revelation Notes – We have not found this book online, but it is included in the Bible Students Library CD-ROM

Two Persons in the Book of Revelation – Mark Miller

For more on this topic:

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Updated: November 30, 2009.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 3:06 pm and is filed under 1 Corinthians, Almighty, Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Firstborn of the Dead, Lord, Oneness, Scriptures, Who is-Was-Is to Come, Yahweh/Jehovah, trinity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.