The Alpha and the Omega in the Bible

"Alpha and Omega" is one of the most majestic titles for God in Scripture, drawn from the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. To say that God is the Alpha and the Omega is to confess that he is the beginning and the end of all things, the One who encompasses the whole of history and stands sovereign over it. The risen Lord declares, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). This is no mere figure of speech but a claim to absolute, eternal lordship over time and creation. The title appears most fully in the book of Revelation, where it belongs both to God on the throne and to the exalted Christ. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13), Jesus says, and again, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life" (Revelation 21:6). The God who began the story is the same God who brings it to its appointed goal, and he satisfies all who come to him. This confession echoes the language of the Old Testament prophets. The Lord had already said through Isaiah, "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6), and "I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last, I am he" (Isaiah 41:4). When the glorified Christ tells John, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last" (Revelation 1:17), he takes to himself the very name and authority of the eternal God of Israel. For the believer, the truth that God is the Alpha and the Omega brings deep comfort: the One who holds the beginning also holds the end, and nothing in between escapes his sovereign, loving rule.