(Unless stated otherwise, all verses in this article come from the Hebraic Roots Bible – HRB.)
The title Alpha and Omega, on the surface, appears to be applied to both the Eternal and to Yeshua in the book of Revelation. Some interpreters have taken this evidence as sufficient reason to unite the Eternal and Yeshua into a single being. The author is not convinced that this is the way John of Patmos intended for these images to be understood by the original readers, that we unite the Eternal and Yeshua into a single being y applying the title Alpha and Omega to both of these figures. Perhaps there is a much better and more persuasive reading of all the evidence in ‘Christology’ in the book of Revelation.
We will be looking at the Alpha and the Omega, and the First and Last titles.
There are three titles that basically function as synonyms. They are variously applied to the Eternal and to Yeshua in the book of Revelation. Basically, they are all-encompassing titles:
- Alpha and Omega, which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. They symbolize the first and the last, and everything in between.
● First and Last, which is, again, an all-encompassing title.
● The Beginning and the End.
In essence, these are synonymous titles, they all have the same meaning. These titles appear a total of seven times in the book of Revelation. This is fairly significant because in this book seven is the number of completeness.
Revelation 1:8 [Hebraic Roots Bible - HRB] I am the *Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the Ending, says Adonai YAHWEH, the One who is, and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty. *Aleph-Tav (Hebrew) = Alpha-Omega (Greek) (Words of Yahweh in blue)
This is clearly not Yeshua. Later, in chapter one:
Revelation 1:17 And when I saw Him{Yeshua}, I fell at His feet, as dead. And He put His right hand on me, saying to me, Do not fear. I am the First and the Last, (Words of Yeshua in purple)
This is one of the synonymous titles, spoken of above, obviously referring to Yeshua.
Revelation 21: 6-7
6 And He said to me, It is done! I am the Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the Ending. To the one thirsting, I will freely give of the fountain of the Water of Life.
7 The one overcoming will inherit all things, and I will be Elohim{God} to him, and he will be the son to Me
<I am the Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the Ending.> – here we have two titles, but then the speaker says <I will be Elohim{God} to him, and he will be the son to Me>. The overcomers, the conquerors are going to be the children of this figure, who has to be the Father.
Revelation 22:12-13
12 And behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according to his work.
13 I am the Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last.
In the book of Revelation, the one who is constantly portrayed as coming quickly, the one who is going to bring his reward, and the one who is going to repay every person according to their deeds, is clearly Yeshua. This is plainly stated in chapters 2 and 3.
We have the Eternal being described with these titles, and Yeshua is also being described with the same titles:
– one title in chapter 1:8
– one title in chapter 1:17
– two titles in chapter 21:6-7
– three in chapter 22:12-13
Altogether, there are seven times in which this all-encompassing title is being used and, of course, seven is the number of perfection. It is interesting to note that the Holy Spirit is never given any of these titles. The Holy Spirit never claims to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and the first and the last. It’s only a title that is attributed to the Eternal and to the Lamb (Yeshua).
POSSIBLE MEANINGS OF YESHUA BEING CALLED THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA
1) One possible way of interpreting all this evidence, since we see that Yeshua is described with the same titles as the Father, is that you could say that Yeshua is the Father. Most Christians are not going to believe this particular interpretation, but it is a possibility that someone may. The Father and the son are given the same titles so, you can conclude that the Father must actually be the Son. This is highly unlikely because the One who is seated upon the Throne and the Lamb are consistently different in the book of Revelation, as they are throughout the rest of the New Testament.
THE ONE SITTING ON THE THRONE (THE FATHER) AND THE LAMB (YESHUA) ARE CONSISTENTLY DIFFERENT IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION AND THE REST OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Nobody thinks that the Son is the Father, unless they are ‘modalists’. Modalism did not exist until the third century after Yeshua.
Modalism – is a theological doctrine that attempts to explain the nature of God by emphasizing His oneness at the expense of His tri-personal nature.
Core Belief of Modalism:
God is one person who reveals Himself in three different modes or manifestations:
● As Father in creation
● As Son in redemption
● As Holy Spirit in sanctification
These are not distinct persons, but sequential roles or masks God wears at different times.
Source: Copilot
2) Another possible meaning is that Yeshua is being called the Alpha and the Omega, and the other titles because he bears the Father’s titles while functioning as the Father’s agent. So, the Father shares His titles with Yeshua as the agent. This way we continue to have two figures, but they are not merged into a single figure. They continue to be two persons. Yeshua possesses these titles, not innately, they are not titles he was born with. He receives them because the Father shares them with him in his capacity as the agent of the Eternal. This is consistent with the New Testament, where Yeshua is constantly portrayed as the Eternal’s agent.
Apart from these two interpretations, there does not seem to be any other way of interpreting the fact that the Eternal and Yeshua have the same titles. Some believe that it proves that Yeshua is the Eternal, but then again, that is just merging the two figures together. The Eternal in the Book of Revelation is clearly the Father, and Yeshua is never called the Eternal in it. If you say Yeshua is the Eternal, you have to say he is the Father which is highly unlikely.
The evidence compels us to accept the conclusion that Yeshua is the Alpha and Omega because the Eternal has assigned those titles to him in his role as the Eternal’s agent.
We will turn our attention to the evidence which is critical for understanding the role of the Messiah in the book of Revelation.
Yeshua has been highly authorized and highly empowered by the One seated upon the Throne.
YESHUA IS HIGHLY EMPOWERED BY THE ETERNAL
Revelation 1:1
A Revelation of Yahshua Messiah, which YAHWEH gave to Him to show to His slaves{servants} things which must shortly come to pass.
We have Yeshua revealing the things that the Eternal gave to him. From the opening verse we can see that Yeshua Messiah and the Eternal are different, they are two numerical persons. In addition, Yeshua is not all-knowing because the Eternal is giving this Revelation. Yeshua acts as the agent of revealing the Eternal’s redemptive truths to the readers.
Another fact that demonstrates that Yeshua has been highly empowered is that he is sharing the Throne of the Eternal. We see this in:
Revelation 3:21
The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father in His throne.
Yeshua conquered, he overcame and because of this, he was given the privilege to sit down with the Father on His Throne.
THE IMAGERY IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
The Throne should be interpreted as an image of authority, of power and of dominion. It is not two people sitting on one particular chair. It is the Father sharing His rule, His dominion, His glory and His kingship with Yeshua because he has conquered. However, you interpret the image of the Throne, it is quite clear that the Father has now shared that with his conquering Son.
A little later, we have the image of the Child who is being attacked by a dragon when the woman gives birth to him
Revelation 12:5
And she brought forth a male child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to YAHWEH and to his throne.
Again, the Child is different from the Eternal. Nobody thinks that the male Child is the Eternal, the two are quite distinguished. The Child is exalted (post-resurrection, exaltation and ascension to heaven). He is caught up to the Eternal and His Throne.
THE THRONE OF THE ETERNAL AND OF THE LAMB
In chapter 22, it is apparent that the ‘Lamb’ (the primary way in which Yeshua is portrayed in the book of Resurrection) is sharing the rule of the Eternal by being on His Throne
Revelation 22:1-3
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, coming forth out of the throne of YAHWEH and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of its street and of the city, on this side and that side of the river, was a tree of life producing twelve fruits: according to one month each yielding its fruit. And the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations.
3 And there will be no blight any more: and the throne of YAHWEH and the Lamb will be in it; and His servants will minister to Him.
Here, are two occurrences of the Throne of the Eternal and of the Lamb. The Lamb is already there, sharing in the Rule, in the Dominion, in the Sovereignty of the One Eternal. Clearly, they are still two separate figures. You have the Eternal and the Lamb, not the Eternal and the Eternal. Clearly, Yeshua has been highly empowered and highly authorized with the sharing of the Eternal’s throne, that is, sharing of the Eternal’s rule.
THE MESSIAH IS WORTHY
Why is Yeshua worthy of receiving all these accolades? It is clearly stated in the introduction of the Lamb in chapter 5.
Revelation 5:5-6
5 And one of the elders said to me: Do not weep. Behold, the Lion being of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, overcame so as to open the scroll, and to loose its seven seals.
6 And I saw, and behold, in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, was a Lamb standing, as having been slain . . .
The Lion having conquered makes him worthy to open this scroll and the ‘seven seals’. The reason that he has conquered and is deemed worthy, is because he is not a ferocious, conquering, powerful, Lion warrior figure. He is actually a Lamb who is simultaneously standing up and as if slain. He bears in his own image the death and resurrection of Yeshua. So, he is worthy to open the scroll and to reveal the truths, the will and purposes of the Eternal because he has been killed. His worthiness is not in his own person, his worthiness is in his faithful ‘Act’ of dying for the sins of the world and functioning as a sacrificial Lamb. This is going to be very important.
Later on in that chapter, it says:
Revelation 5:9-10
9 And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy are You to receive the scroll, and to open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood purchased us to YAHWEH out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 and made us kings and priests to our Elohim; and we shall reign on the earth.
Again, the worthiness of the Lamb is indicated by the fact that he was slaughtered, he was slain. With his blood he purchased, men from every tribe, tongue and nation for the Eternal. In light of this, he has transformed these redeemed people to be a kingdom and priests to our Eternal, and the result is that they are going to rule and reign on the earth.
Yeshua’s worthiness is not bound to his own person. It is not based on his identity, but on what he accomplished. As a mortal who died, he was slain, he was slaughtered.
Yeshua also functions as the agent of the Eternal’s justice and judgement.
In the Hebrew Writings (Old Testament), it is the Eternal who brings the wrath and the judgement upon humanity. In the Nazarene Writings (New Testament), He shares that function with the Son; this is clearly stated in the book of Revelation.
THE WRATH OF THE ETERNAL AND OF THE LAMB
In chapter 6 it says:
Revelation 6:16
16 And "they (the Kings of the earth) said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us," and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, (See Hosea 10:8)
17 because the great day of His wrath has come; and who is able to stand?
We have , the One who sits on the Throne (the Judge, the King, the Father) and we see that this judgement is also shared with the Lamb. He is worthy to share in that because of what he has accomplished at the stake. The wrath is not just the wrath of the Eternal, it is the wrath of the Lamb as well. Notice that the Holy Spirit is nowhere to be found here.
The Eternal has shared His role as the Cosmic Judge with the slain and risen Lamb to the point where it is the day of their wrath. It is the wrath in the presence of the Eternal and the Lamb. This is also stated in chapter 19 where Yeshua appears on a white horse
Revelation 19:11, 15 11 And I saw Heaven being opened. And, behold! A white horse, and He sitting on it having been called Faithful and True. And He judges and makes war in righteousness. ... ... ... 15 And out of His mouth goes forth a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations. And He will shepherd them with an iron rod. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of YAHWEH Almighty.
Yeshua at the ‘second coming’ functions as the judge, and he is going to take care of the nations with the rod of his mouth he is going to shepherd the nations by enacting the fierce wrath of the Almighty. The Eternal has shared His role as the bringer of wrath, of judgement, with the Lamb. This is drawing on the imagery of Psalm 2. The way in which Psalm 2 has impacted the theology and the portrayal of the Eternal and the Messiah in the book of Revelation is often overlooked in its interpretations.
THE LAMB SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
Continuing with the theme of how Yeshua functions as the agent that is highly empowered and authorized in the book of Revelation. Chapter 13 is important because it mentions the Lamb who has been slain and the book of life.
Revelation 13:8
And all those dwelling in the earth will worship him (referring to the beast figure), those of whom the names had not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world.
This passage indicates that the Lamb has been slaughtered from the foundation of the world. This cannot be a literal slaughtering, it has to be being slain in the Eternal’s plans and in His purposes from the foundation of the world. That is, it was in the Eternal’s fore-knowledge and a pre-existence in which Yeshua was in the plans and purposes of the Eternal. Here, the Lamb has been slain all the way from the beginning of the Eternals plans from the foundation of the world. This will be to be critical later in our interpretation.
‘SON OF MAN’ IN DANIEL
Additionally, Yeshua is portrayed in the book of Revelation as this figure from the book of Daniel, ‘the Son of man’. This appears in Revelation 1:13 and also in Revelation 14.
So, Yeshua is introduced as the ‘son of man’ right from the beginning in chapter 1
Revelation 1:13
. . . and in the midst of the seven menorahs{lampstands} One like the Son of Man . . .
This is the figure that was introduced in the book of Daniel. When you think of the ‘Son of man’ from the book of Daniel, you have to picture a human figure who has been highly empowered and highly authorized by the Ancient of Days (the Eternal), which is exactly what we see in all these passages.
Daniel 7:13-14
13 I was looking in the night visions. And behold! One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of the heavens. And He came to the Ancient of Days. And they brought Him near before Him.
14 And dominion was given to Him, and glory, and a kingdom . . .
The introduction of the ‘Son of man’ in Daniel is that he is a human being different from the Ancient of Days, who empowers this human figure with the Eternal’s own Dominion, Glory and Kingdom. It is not surprising that in the book of Revelation we see Yeshua being highly empowered as Yahweh’s agent that he displays himself as the ‘Son of man’; namely the figure who has been empowered with the Eternal’s privileges, prerogatives and Authority
YESHUA AND PSALM 2
Psalm 2 has a lot to say about Yeshua in the book of Revelation, and it tells us a lot about the level of authority and empowerment that the Lamb has received from the One who is seated upon the Throne.
The use of Psalm 2 in Revelations Christology
Psalm 2:7-9
7 He said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as Your inheritance; and as Your possession the ends of the earth.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Here, we have the coronation of the King, where he is established as the Son of the Eternal. Yahweh says to this King, you are my Son, today I become your Father. The King is anointed to be the Messiah. The King, the Messiah and the Son of the Eternal are all synonymous titles. As the Eternal’s Son, Yeshua can ask of Yahweh that He would give him His inheritance, namely, all the Nations and the very ends of the earth, as his possession. The Son will be highly empowered with the dominion of all the earth and according to Psalm 2 he is going to break them with a rod of iron. We have seen this image of the rod of iron in chapter 12:5, in chapter 19 and in chapter 2.
Note that Psalm 2 says that the Messiah, the Son of the Eternal, is going to ‘break‘ the nations with a rod of iron. However, we read the passage in the New Testament, when it gets quoted, it says he is going to ‘shepherd’, a completely different verb.
In Psalm 2:9 the Hebrew verb is «ra’a» and it means to break. There is another verb that is also pronounced ra’a but spelled differently. It sounds the same even though it is written differently. Without the Masoretic vowel points, you cannot tell if the verb means ‘break’ or ‘shepherd’. The Jewish translator of the Septuagint that looked at the Hebrew without the vowel points, which did not exist at the time, put it into Greek as ‘Shepherd’. The writer of Revelation quoted from the Septuagint, so he translated it as ‘shepherd’ or ‘rule’. It is not a discrepancy, it is just the nature of some of the quotations in Hebrew that are interpreted differently by the Septuagint translator
Revelation 2:26-27
26 And the one overcoming, and the one keeping My works until the end, "I will give to him authority over the nations,"
27 and "He will shepherd them with an iron staff" like the vessels of the potter they shall be shattered, as I also have received from My Father. (Psalm 2:8, 9)
Yeshua is sharing his authority with his conquering disciples who are going to shepherd the nations with a rod of iron in the same way that Yeshua has received that authority from the Father. He acknowledges that he has received this authority from the Father. This is precisely what we saw in Psalm 2. In this Psalm Yahweh, is empowering the Son with dominion and rule over all the nations of the Earth and in Revelation, Yeshua is doing the same to his own disciples.
Clearly, we have the impact there from Psalm 2:8-9.
We have already seen:
Revelation 12:5
● the woman gave birth to a male Child
● He will shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron
● He was caught up to the Eternal and to His Throne
Revelation 19:15
● A sharp sword comes from his mouth of Yeshua to strike down the nations
● He will shepherd them with a rod of iron
The impact of Psalm 2 has indicated that Yeshua is one who has received authority as the Eternal’s agent to share in His rulership and dominion.
There is another passage that cites and draws upon Psalm 2. In Revelation 11:18, which is in the context of the second coming at the seventh trumpet when the kingdoms of the world become the Kingdom of the Eternal:
Revelation 11:18
And the nations were full of wrath; and Your wrath came
This is very much impacted by the opening two verses of Psalm 2
Psalm 2:1-2
1 Why have the nations raged and the peoples are meditating on emptiness?
2 The kings of the earth have placed themselves; yea, the rulers have plotted together against YAHWEH and His Messiah
So, the nations are upset and angry at the Eternal His Messiah and the wrath actually comes. Psalm 2 has made a considerable impact on the book of Revelation. We have only looked at a few passages connected to Psalm 2, we are only scratching the surface here. The point is that the impact of Psalm 2 portrays the Lamb, the Messiah, as one who has been highly empowered by Yahweh. It pictures Yahweh empowering and authorizing the Son as His agent.
The best reading of titles formerly belonging to the Eternal now being given to Yeshua are because Yeshua functions as the highly empowered and authorized agent of the Eternal. Yahweh is the Alpha and the Omega, and He shares that title with the slain and risen Lamb.
CONCLUSION:
The titles Alpha and Omega, First and Last, and Beginning and End appear to be synonymous titles attributed to both the Eternal and to the Lamb that was slain.
● Yeshua functions as the Eternal’s authorized agent in several ways within the book of Revelation, including:
● The agent of revealing the Eternal’s words.
● Sharing in the Eternal’s Throne and His Rule.
● Sharing in the Eternal’s role as the Cosmic Judge.
● Yeshua is constantly portrayed as the beneficiary of the Eternal’s Authority. He plainly admits in Revelation 2:27
● that he has received Authority from his Father
● Being illustrated as Daniel’s ‘Son of Man’, who was given Dominion, Glory and a Kingdom by the Eternal
● Yeshua is the only one worthy and qualified to act as the Eternal’s agent of Revelation, Rule and Judgement because he was slain as a sacrificial Lamb, slaughtered.
● The Immortal Supreme Being has authorized a mortal who died and has been raised to New Life.
The best interpretation that considers all this data is that the Lamb is:
● the Eternal’s highly empowered agent
● the bearer of the Eternal’s titles and Authority in light of his sacrificial death that occurred before the foundation of the world (The Alpha, the Beginning).
● Yeshua’s death redeems Believers and makes them into Kings and Priests who will live in the Eternal’s Kingdom forever (The Omega, the End, the Last).
That is why
Yeshua, the Eternal’s agent, shares in His title the Alpha and the Omega without being confused or merging the Lamb and the Eternal together.
● The Eternal (Yahweh) and the Lamb (Yeshua) are two different figures.
Source:
Justin Smith (Biblical Unitarian Podcast)
The Eternal appears as ‘God’ in the original
Yeshua appears as ‘Jesus’ in the original
All verses in this article are taken from the Hebraic Roots Bible – HRB.