- This topic is empty.
- Posts
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”[a] says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Here Jesus is called the Almighty. I thought only the Father was the Almighty?
Hi sscott,
Revelation is different, very different.Rev 1
” 1The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him,
to shew unto his servants
things which must shortly come to pass;
and he sent and signified it
by his angel
unto his servant John:” God to Jesus to the angel to John.All speak in the book.
Context is less relevant and can only apply to one verse and no more.
Rev 1
” 5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
This was about Jesus.
The next verse is spoken by God
then the following by John“8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Compare rev 21 spoken by God
“5And 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.
6And he said unto me, It is done. 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.
7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. ”
and rev 22
John, then the angel, then God.8And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last”
The confused somehow use these verses to suggest Jesus is also His own Father.
We should not walk with them.“
Quote (sscott @ Nov. 15 2006,07:07) 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Here Jesus is called the Almighty. I thought only the Father was the Almighty?
I agree Sscott,
It makes sense to me that this verse is Yahshua's utterance. Here is a couple of reasons why:Revelation 1:7
7BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.In the preceding verse someone is identified as “coming with the clouds”. It is said of this person that “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”. It is unmistakably Yahshua.
Then a declaration is made:
Revelation 1:8
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”It seems likely that the subject identified as “coming” would also be the speaker in the very next verse.
Also, the subject (Yahshua) is described as the Alpha and Omega:
Revelation 1:8
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”But in Revelation 22:13, Yahshua is given this title:
Revelation 22:12-13
12″Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13″I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”Is there two Alpha and Omegas? No. There is only one – The Almighty…
Blessings
I don't believe Yashua is ever called the Almighty. Nick seems to have hit it on the head.
did I say that?? lolQuote (Oxy @ Nov. 16 2006,13:11) I don't believe Yashua is ever called the Almighty. Nick seems to have hit it on the head. did I say that?? lol
lol, Oxy.Miracles do still happen!
Quote 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”[a] says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Here Jesus is called the Almighty. I thought only the Father was the Almighty?
I believe the other 42 times that reference is made to the “almighty” it is always pointing directly to Jehovah God.
I also notice that this is a revelation by GOD which he gave to his Son, and his son transmitted it through angels and John wrote down what he saw.
So sometimes, John is speaking directly. Sometimes Jesus, sometimes God.
No. Jesus is in no way called Almighty here. The verse doesn't say this at all.
Let's look at the context. Shall we?
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
REVELATION 1:1-2
“A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place. And he sent forth his angel and presented [it] in signs through him to his slave John, who bore witness to the word God gave and to the witness Jesus Christ gave, even to all the things he saw.”
As a side observation, this revelation was presented in signs and is given to show God’s “slaves” and not the world in general, the things that must take place. Much like Jesus illustrations, unreceptive hearts would not get the meaning, or have understanding. (Mat 13:10-15)
When looking at this symbolic book, we should remember this:
Revelation 1:1 explains that the revelation was given by GOD through JESUS CHRIST, and therefore the one speaking, through an ANGELIC REPRESENTATIVE at times is God himself, and at other times it’s Jesus Christ. And sometimes JOHN himself is speaking.
Hence, it is reasonable to expect the words of Jehovah God the Almighty to be quoted in the account, along with Jesus’ words, and John’s (and even the angel’s words, who transmitted the message.)
And in my opinion, they all seem to introduce themselves at the beginning or introductory words are mentioned in connection with them, and they all are mentioned at the closing of Revelation.REVELATION 1:4
“John to the seven congregations that are in the [district of] Asia: May YOU have undeserved kindness and peace from “The One who is and who was and who is coming,” and from the seven spirits that are before his throne,”
(Compare 2 Cor 13:14, where a similar greeting is given)REVELATION 1:8
“The Lord God says, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty!’” (The New American Bible)
While Jesus Christ is referred to in the previous verse as “coming with the clouds,” the words of Revelation 1:8 indicate that it is “the Lord God,” “the Almighty” who is speaking. In the Scriptures, only the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as “the Lord God” and as the “Almighty.”
Burden of proof: If we have a phrase or a title that is over and over again, repeatedly applied specifically to a certain one and we don’t find this word used in connection with anyone else by name, and we come across another instance of that word or phrase where it is uncertain who is being spoken of, it would have to be proved that this case is different from the majority and not the other way around.
“ALMIGHTY”:
Shaddai (Heb. “Almighty”) and Pantokrator (Gk. “Almighty”) are repeatedly used with reference to Jehovah, the Father. (Ex 6:3; 2 Cor 6:18; Rev 19:6, Rev 4:8, etc) Neither of these expressions are ever applied to “Jesus” or “Christ.” Yet, the word “almighty” is applied to Jehovah 42 other times, from the very first occurrence of that word to the very last occurrence:
GENESIS 17:1
“When Abram got to be ninety-nine years old, then Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him: “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and prove yourself faultless.”
REVELATION 21:22 (King James Version)
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty AND Lamb ARE the temple of it.” (It’s clear in this verse that the Lamb, [Jesus] is distinguished and separate from the “Almighty” here. Both of them “are” spoken of. It does not say that the Almighty and Jesus “is,” but uses the plural: “are.”)
Since “Jehovah” is specifically and without question called “God” a thousand times in scripture, and many more without the actual use of his name, the “burden of proof” clearly rests on anyone who wants to prove that the words “God Almighty” refers to anyone but Jehovah.
(See the “*” in the section below entitled: “Can two different beings be called the same thing or be explained with the same words?”)
“LORD GOD”:
The expression “Lord God” occurs in many Bibles roughly 80 times. It never occurs with reference to the name “Jesus.” In fact, in the original languages, the expression found about 80 times is “Jehovah [or “Yahweh”] God.” The substitution of the word “Lord” and the removal of God’s name without question has confused many as to who this one is. The words “Lord God” never occur with reference to “Jesus,” although it does occur about 80 times with reference to Jesus’ Father, Jehovah.
Since the words “Lord God” are definitely used with reference to Jehovah many times and nowhere specifically clearly used with reference to “Jesus,” the burden of proof rests on those who wish to prove that this scripture refers to anyone other than Jehovah.
“THE ONE WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME”
As well, this verse (1:8) is speaking of “the One who is and who was and who is to come.” Just a couple verses before, at Revelation 1:5, we see greetings are given from the one “who is, and who was, and who is to come,” “and from Jesus Christ.” (NIV)
In verse 5 it’s obvious that the one “who is, and who was, and who is to come” is not Jesus Christ, because greetings are given from him “AND from Jesus Christ. So, when the phrase “the one who is and who was and who is to come” occurs 3 verses later, it would seem that this again establishes that we are speaking of someone other than Jesus. Or at the very least, it’s not at all clear that it’s speaking of Jesus.
Moreover, in the very next verse, the apostle John, says: “I . . . came to be in the isle that is called Patmos for speaking about God and bearing witness to Jesus.” (Rev. 1:9) So John understood God to be separate and distinct from Jesus.
Also, compare Revelation 4:8 where it says: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (NIV) We notice the phrase “holy, holy, holy” occurs only one other time in the Bible at Isaiah 6:3, and there it is referring to “Jehovah.” (Also compare Rev 11:17)On this point and others, not the following:
“Verse 8. I am Alpha and Omega. These are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, and denote properly the first and the last. So in Revelation 22:13, when the two expressions are united, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” So in Revelation 1:17, the speaker says of himself, “I am the first and the last.” Among the Jewish Rabbins, it was common to use the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to denote the whole of anything, from beginning to end. Thus it is said, “Adam transgressed the whole law from \^HEBREW\^ to \^HEBREW\^”–from Aleph to Tav. “Abraham kept the whole law from \^HEBREW\^ to \^HEBREW\^.” The language here is that which would properly denote eternity in the being to whom it is applied, and could be used in reference to no one but the true God. It means that he is the beginning and the end of all things; that he was at the commencement, and will be at the close; and it is thus equivalent to saying that he has always existed, and that he will always exist. Compare Isaiah 41:4, “I the Lord, the first, and with the last;'– Isaiah 44:6, “I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God;”–Isaiah 48:12, “I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.” There can be no doubt that the language here would be naturally understood as implying divinity, and it could be properly applied to no one but the true God. The obvious interpretation here would be to apply this to the Lord Jesus; for
(a) it is he who is spoken of in the verses preceding, and
(b) there can be no doubt that the same language is applied to him in Revelation 1:11.
As there is, however, a difference of reading in this place in the Greek text, and as it cannot be absolutely certain that the
writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus specifically here, this cannot be adduced with propriety as a proof-text to demonstrate his divinity. Many MSS., instead of “Lord,” \~kuriov\~, read “God,” \~yeov\~; and this reading is adopted by Griesbach, Tittman, and Hahn, and is now regarded as the correct reading. There is no real incongruity in supposing, also, that the writer here meant to refer to God as such, since the introduction of a reference to him would not be inappropriate to his manifest design. Besides, a portion of the language here used, “which is, and was, and is to come,” is that which would more naturally suggest a reference to God as such, than to the Lord Jesus Christ. See Revelation 1:4. The object for which this passage referring to the “first and the last–to him who was, and is, and is to come,” is introduced here evidently is, to show that as he was clothed with omnipotence, and would continue to exist through all ages to come as he had existed in all ages past, there could be no doubt about his ability to execute all which it is said he would execute. Saith the Lord. Or, saith God, according to what is now regarded as the correct reading. Which is, and which was, etc. See Barnes “Revelation 1:4”. The Almighty. An appellation often applied to God, meaning that he has all power, and used here to denote that he is able to accomplish what is disclosed in this book.” )–Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament (1974)
One place this can be found is here: http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/view.cgi?book=re&chapter=001
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
