The Alpha and the Omega

For most of us who have grown up in Christian circles, we have heard this phrase ‘The Alpha and the Omega’ many times. This is a term that Jesus has used to describe himself where he says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Once again, Jesus is revealing more about who he is, which aligns perfectly with how he is presented in the rest of scripture. That he was there at the beginning, and will be there at the end, there is an idea of completeness and of the eternal in Christ. In the gospel of John, Jesus is described as the Word (Logos), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Our passage today takes us to the very end of the bible as we have it, Revelation 22. In the preceeding chapter, Jesus has provided us with a picture of what is in store for God’s faithful. The Alpha and the Omega is victorious, and the glory of God will light the new heaven through Christ the lamb, and we who are victorious will inherit all that is described there! What an amazing and generous God we serve.

In our pericope today, Jesus has ascended to the place of honour at God’s right hand; an invitation is given us, with warnings, but the promise and the hope that he will return is explicit. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Josh