#24 - The First and the Last.

Biblically, the Greek language has been twice blessed. First, being the international language of the world at the time, it became the language of the New Testament. Second, its alphabet has been used in this holy book to define and further express a Divine quality. The Greek letters Alpha and Omega, the first and the last letters of this alphabet, are used as symbols of an infinite nature—the nature of the Almighty God.

Who is the First and the Last?

The answer can be stated no more clearly than it is in Isaiah 44:6, “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.” The LORD, Who is the King of Israel, is the first and the last; and his redeemer, Who is the LORD of hosts, is the first and the last. Since it is clearly God Himself Who is declaring this, it is GOD Himself Who is the First and the Last.

It must be understood, that since God is the First and the Last, and since there is no other God beside Him, there can be no other First and Last. No one but God can be the First and the Last.

Who is the Alpha and the Omega?

The Greek letters Alpha and Omega are the very first and very last letters of the alphabet; and as such, are the very beginning and the very end of the alphabet. Since there can be no letter before the Alpha and no letter after the Omega, these letters are the best symbols of opposite infinities. So, saying From Alpha to Omega, is like saying, From infinity to infinity. And these beginning and ending letters encompass eternity. These are perfect symbols of the eternal God.

The Bible expresses this thought exactly: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22:13) In other words, He Who is the Alpha and the Omega is also the Beginning and the End, and the First and the Last. But who exactly is mentioned here?

In verse 7 of this chapter we hear the words, “Behold, I come quickly”. Who is coming? In verse 12 we hear it again, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Who is coming to reward every man (good and bad) according to his works? “I Jesus…” answers verse 16. Yes, Jesus is the One who is coming, to judge the world, and to give every man according to his works. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.

Who is the Redeemer?

But how can this be? If only God can be the First and the Last, then how can this also apply to Jesus? It cannot—unless Jesus Christ is God. Isaiah 44:6 mentioned the Redeemer. Who is the Redeemer? To redeem is to repurchase, to buy back, and the one who bought back humanity from the clutches of Death was Jesus Christ. “God sent forth his Son…to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:5)

Titus was “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (v.2:13-14) It is the Son of God who redeemed us. The one who redeems is called the Redeemer. Isaiah 44:6 says the Redeemer is the LORD of Hosts. Therefore, Jesus Christ who redeemed us is the LORD of Hosts. Jesus Christ is God. God the Father will not appear to man because no man may see Him and live, therefore Titus was calling Jesus Christ the great God and our Saviour.

The Redeemer is the King of Israel

The chief priests, together with the scribes and elders believed Christ to be the “King of Israel” (Matthew 27:41-42). They said “Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” (Mark 15:32) Even Nathaniel said to Jesus, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” (John 1:49) The people at the feast, who went forth to meet Jesus, cried out, “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:13) The fact that Jesus did not hold any political position is proof that the title, “King of Israel” was not a political, but a spiritual and Divine title—the same title attributed to the LORD God.

God said, “I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” (Isaiah 41:4) Therefore, being God, Jesus can be the First and the Last. This is clearly obvious in Revelation 2:8. “These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive”. Who, but Jesus Christ, was crucified and resurrected? Revelation 1 describes “a great voice as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” (vv.10-11), this voice coming from “one like unto the son of man” (v.13). And this voice spoke, saying, “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (v.18)

As we saw in Revelation 22, it is Jesus Christ who is coming to judge the world and to give every man according to his works. The connection is also made in chapter 1, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him….I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (vv.7-8) When the verses are read in context, it is apparent that the speaker is John, and the subject is Jesus Christ. Verse 8 reveals Jesus as God; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the Lord, the Almighty, and the One which is to come.

The First and the Last is the Creator

The prophet Isaiah has revealed this: “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.” (Isaiah 48:12-13) Who laid the foundations of the earth? Whose hand created the heavens? God the Father told us it was His Son: “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:10). We know that the Father was speaking of His Son because verse 8 says so: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever”. God the Father calls His Son Jesus, Lord, and God. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) This is the first lesson taught by the Bible.

The First and the Last is Jesus Christ

We know the Son to be the Creator, because Jesus is the Word, and “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

The Creator is eternal and is everywhere present at all times, and in all time; and this One who made the souls is the high and lofty One, and He inhabits eternity: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place….For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.” (Isaiah 57:15-16) Whose name is holy? The “name which is above every name…the name of Jesus” (Philippians 2:9-10).

In the world of shelved books, the bookends are the beginning of books and the end of books; all books exist between these bookends and beyond these bookends no book exists. Likewise, He Who is the Alpha and the Omega is the Beginning of all things and the End of all things; nothing exists beyond Him. By virtue of His eternal existence, nothing existed before God, and when all things perish only God will remain existent.

By gathering what is written in the Bible, the logical connections can be made. The First and the Last is the Alpha and the Omega, and the Beginning and the End, and the King of Israel, and the LORD of Hosts, and the Redeemer, and the Creator, and the Eternal, the One Who is coming, the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.