The alpha and Omega!

(Revelation 1:8) "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God.

What does Alpha and omega mean? Alpha and omega is the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and they symbolize the beginning and the end. The Lord is informing us that He is the first; all things began with Him! In fact none of creation would have existed if the Lord Jesus was not personally involved; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

John makes reference not to the written word, but of the essential word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is clear, we understand that the Bible had not yet been written, but “the Word” nevertheless was with God and in fact was God. Let us consider Matthew Henry’s thought on the subject: “The Word is two-fold: logos endiathetos - word conceived; and logos prophorikos - word uttered. The logos ho esō and ho exō, ratio and oratio - intelligence and utterance. There is the word conceived, that is, thought, which is the first and only immediate product and conception of the soul (all the operations of which are performed by thought), and it is one with the soul. And thus the second person in the Trinity is fitly called the Word; for he is the first-begotten of the Father, that eternal essential Wisdom which the Lord possessed, as the soul does its thought, in the beginning of his way. What I find interesting in considering the reference Henry now makes;” "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.” (Proverbs 8:22)

The introduction to the beginning of wisdom: “That it is an intelligent and divine person that here speaks seems very plain, and that it is not meant of a mere essential property of the divine nature, for Wisdom here has personal properties and actions; and that intelligent divine person can be no other than the Son of God himself, to whom the principal things here spoken of wisdom are attributed in other scriptures, and we must explain scripture by itself. If Solomon himself designed only the praise of wisdom as it is an attribute of God, by which he made the world and governs it, so to recommend to men the study of that wisdom which belongs to them, yet the Spirit of God, who indited what he wrote, carried him, as David often, to such expressions as could agree to no other than the Son of God, and would lead us into the knowledge of great things concerning him. All divine revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, and here we are told who and what he is, as God, designed in the eternal counsels to be the Mediator between God and man. The best exposition of these verses we have in the first four verses of St. John's gospel. In the beginning was the Word, etc. Concerning the Son of God.”

Matthew Henry’s thought process is very intriguing and He was a man mightily gifted by God, in fact even Spurgeon viewed him as one of supreme understanding, if not the greatest of all expositors of scripture. Now back to his thoughts; “There is nothing we are more sure of than that we think, yet nothing we are more in the dark about than how we think; who can declare the generation of thought in the soul? Surely then the generations and births of the eternal mind may well be allowed to be great mysteries of godliness, the bottom of which we cannot fathom, while yet we adore the depth. There is the word uttered, and this is speech, the chief and most natural indication of the mind. And thus Christ is the Word, for by him God has in these last days spoken to us (Heb_1:2), and has directed us to hear him: “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17:5)

“He has made known God's mind to us, as a man's word or speech makes known his thoughts, as far as he pleases, and no further. Christ is called that wonderful speaker (see notes on Dan_8:13), the speaker of things hidden and strange. He is the Word speaking from God to us, and to God for us. John Baptist was the voice, but Christ the Word: being the Word, he is the Truth, the Amen, the faithful Witness of the mind of God.”

He is the beginning and He will be the end to all of mankind’s endeavours. When we see and understand the importance of His role in God’s economy, we will value His work on the cross with a lot more homage. It is God’s way of keep us close to Him and He will never let us forget the brilliance of His achievements. Remember the warning to the church of Ephesus; John leads us from chapter one into chapter two with a reference of Him being the first and the last; “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last.” (Revelation 1:17)

Only then does he tell the church at Ephesus after he commends them for their diligence in signalling out false teachers and the like. Nevertheless he reminds them to do the first works as they had lost their way and abandoned their first love. They had forgotten who it all started with, the Alpha and the Omega! In fact the warning is so serve that the warning they received was if they did not remember Him their lampstand would be removed: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5)

The Apostle Paul understood this so clearly that we often see him making reference to the importance of this truth and he continually reminds us that it is all about the Lord Jesus and no one else: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1Corinthians 2:2)

We must be careful not to run away with ourselves when proving a doctrinal truth to the exclusion of His accomplishment on the cross of Calvary. God will have no part in that matter! Why should He, as His Son is so dear to Him that nothing will stand in His way when it comes to exalting His name. Although we are now sons and entitled to all of the blessings that accompany that privilege, we must never forget to keep the Lord Jesus in the forefront of our minds at all times, as He is our Alpha and Omega!

Signing off

Tyrone

(Note on Daniel 8:13) The question asked concerning it, Dan_8:13. Observe [1.] By whom the question was put: I heard one saint speaking to this purport, and then another saint seconded him. “O that we knew how long this trouble will last!” The angels here are called saints, for they are holy ones (Dan_4:13), the holy myriads, Jud_1:14. The angels concern themselves in the affairs of the church, and enquire concerning them, if, as here, concerning its temporal salvations, much more do they desire to look into the great salvation, 1Pe_1:12. One saint spoke of the thing, and another enquired concerning it. Thus John, who lay in Christ's bosom, was beckoned to by Peter to ask Christ a question, Joh_13:23, Joh_13:24. [2.] To whom the question was put. He said unto Palmoni that spoke. Some make this certain saint to be a superior angel who understood more than the rest, to whom therefore they came with their enquiries. Others make it to be the eternal Word, the Son of God. He is the unknown One. Palmoni seems to be compounded of Peloni Almoni, which is used (Rth_4:1) for Ho, such a one, and (2Ki_6:8) for such a place. Christ was yet the nameless One. Wherefore asked thou after my name, seeing it is secret? Jdg_13:18. He is the numberer of secrets (as some translate it), for from him there is nothing hidden - the wonderful numberer, so others; his name is called Wonderful. Note, If we would know the mind of God, we must apply to Jesus Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, not hidden from us, but hidden for us. [3.] The question itself that was asked: “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice? How long shall the prohibition of it continue? How long shall the pleasant land be made unpleasant by that severe interdict? How long shall the transgression of desolation (the image of Jupiter), that great transgression which makes all our sacred things desolate, how long shall that stand in the temple? How long shall the sanctuary and the host, the holy place and the holy persons that minister in it, be trodden under foot by the oppressor?” Note, Angels are concerned for the prosperity of the church on earth and desirous to see an end of its desolations. The angels asked, for the satisfaction of Daniel, not doubting but he was desirous to know, how long these calamities should last? The question takes it for granted that they should not last always. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, though it may come upon their lot. Christ comforted himself in his sufferings with this, The things concerning me have an end (Luk_22:37), and so may the church in hers. But it is desirable to know how long they shall last, that we may provide accordingly.