The Aleph and Tav in the Hebrew Scriptures—Part 1
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| Alpha and Omega |
Alpha Α and Omega Ω, Aleph א and Tav ת
Alpha (Α) and Omega (Ω) and Its First Two Mentions
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.... for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus ChristI am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What you see, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches ...— Revelation 1:8-11
Sandwiched between these first two "Alpha and Omega" verses, John places the bullseye of the text on the Word of God, Jesus Christ. Being in the center is significant because it highlights points related to the discussion's main topic.
Before we get to the final two, Alpha and Omegas, two more mentions of "First and Last," relating to beginning and end, occur. These are not accompanied by "Alpha and Omega, the first one revealing the Lord Jesus, also making it clear that He is the reference to these titles.
“Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
— Revelation 1:17-18
The other title, "First and Last," unaccompanied by Alpha and Omega, is found in the second chapter of Revelation. It was the letter to be addressed to the suffering church of Smyrna.
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life
— Revelation 2:8
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| The Holy City, The New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven as described in Revelation 21 |
Alpha (Α) and Omega (Ω) and Their Last Two Mentions
The final two usages of Alpha and Omega are found at the end of the book of Revelation, connecting us with the creation account at the beginning, which will be the topic of this entire study.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, (recall Eden) and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
And he said unto me, It is done. (recall Jesus words "it is finished) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
— Revelation 21:1-6
The Bible began with the creation of heaven and earth. Revelation ends with a new heaven and a new earth. Once again, we see bookend themes. In the beginning, we saw Eden prepared for God and man to dwell together, and now we see a Holy City coming down from above.
The fourth and final use of Alpha and Omega is in the very last chapter of the Bible. Note that the language in this portion of Scripture is very similar to the first couple of chapters of Genesis.
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. (rivers flowing from Eden)
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bore twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (tree of life in the garden)
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done ...
... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last
— Revelation 22:1-13
He is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, in each of Alpha and Omega's four uses. In reading the last two occurrences, the apparent connection to the first chapters of the Genesis creation account cannot be denied.
Jesus also dictated a letter to the church of Laodicea, which is the very same truth.
These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God
— Revelation 3:14
The Gospel of John begins with this now-familiar theme, reminiscent of the creation account. As we saw between the first two uses of Alpha and Omega, this connection with the Word of God is evident.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men ...
— John 1:1-6
Later in John's Gospel, Jesus is praying just before the Passion that is about to occur, and mentions that He existed before the world was created.
And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
— John 17:5
Paul further develops this revelation of Jesus' presence at the creation beginning in his letter to the Colossians.
For by him (the Lord Jesus Christ referenced earlier in the chapter) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
— Colossians 1:16-17
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The Lamb Slain From the Foundation of the World
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.— 1 Corinthians 5:7
This type of deliverance is illustrated in Exodus, when God delivered His children from the cruel taskmaster, Pharaoh. Pharaoh represents our willful, stubborn, and sinful flesh, as well as the spiritual forces that govern those passions.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Romans 6:22-23
In a previous chapter in Revelation, John tells us that Jesus, the Lamb, was slain from the foundation of the world.
... the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
— Revelation 13:8
How can this be? And where can we find this in the Old Testament?
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| Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. |
The First and the Last
Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.— 1 Chronicles 29:29
And the mentions end with good King Josiah.
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the Lord,
And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
— 2 Chronicles 35:26-27
These mentions at the beginning and end of the kings give us a clue that this phrase "first and last" concerns a king's works and foreshadows a Messiah King, the "Son of David," who would rule in the hearts of men.
The bulk of the references that follow are in the book of Isaiah, which directly prophesies this coming Savior, the Messiah King. The first one discusses one "raised" from the east.
"Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him,And made him rule over kings?...
...Who has performed and done it,Calling the generations from the beginning?'I, the Lord, am the first;And with the last I am He.'"
— Isaiah 41:1-4
The second one, once again, mentions a king in connection with it.
Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
— Isaiah 44:6
The third and final occurrence reveals where we are headed next, with all its connections to "the beginning."
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass ...
... I have even from the beginning declared it to you; before it came to pass I showed it to you ...
... You have heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them ...
... Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
— Isaiah 48:3-13
The end of this portion of Scripture references the "First and Last" and His role in creating heaven and earth. Right in the middle of the above declarations of the "First and the Last," God tells us that He declares the end from the beginning.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
— Isaiah 46:9-10
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| Allegory of the Creation of the Cosmos by Domenicus van Wijnen |
Jesus Was in the Beginning
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.— John 5:39
Jesus also tells them this in John 8.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
— John 8:56-58
Consider that the Scriptures at the time of John's writing consisted of only the Old Testament. He is making it clear that He, the one Who is, Was, and Is to come, the great "I Am," is in the Old Testament. The writer of Hebrews expounds on this New Testament reference as it pertains to the Lord Jesus, who was a sacrifice for sin.
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin,
You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book (Tanakh - Torah Prophets and Writings), it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.'"...
... By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
— Hebrews 10:5-10
Jesus also reveals to His disciples the places in the Old Testament where it was written of Him.
Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses (Torah - first five books) and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them,
"Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
— Luke 24:44-49
Jesus says in the above passage of Scripture that the events of His suffering, death, and resurrection were recorded in the Old Testament.
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| A stained glass rendition of Christ's second coming, the one who was and is and is to come St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Charleston, SC |
The One Who Was and Is and Is To Come
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne— Revelation 1:4
The following verse is the second use of this key phrase, which is so relevant to our topic of Christ, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. His Kingship is an appropriate inclusion in this discourse.
... and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
— Revelation 1:5-8
The third occurrence occurs in a scene set in the throne room of heaven and again connects us to the theme of creation.
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:
"Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!"...
... "You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.
— Revelation 4:8, 11
The fourth and final use summarizes all of them together, revealing God's entire plan and purpose from the beginning.
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:
"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
— Revelation 11:15-17
So, where is Jesus "in the beginning"?
See Part 2 for this continuing lesson.
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