Who is the Alpha and Omega in the Bible? A Confusion Caused By Translation?
Who is the Alpha and Omega in the Bible? We are happy to have the English language translations of the Bible. However, we must understand their limitations.
When the original manuscripts were translated into English, the name of the Father was translated to “the Lord” or “God” over 7000 times.
A serious problem was created in the new testament when they also called the Messiah by the same title they gave the Father in the Tanakh (old testament), which is “the Lord.”
In reality, the titles for the Messiah are more appropriately translated “the Master” or “the King.”
Using the same translation for both the Father and the Son blurs the line between both. This serves the “Jesus is God” believers well and indoctrinates us by repetition into believing they are one and the same.
The Problem of Syncretism
Syncretism: the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.
I strongly believe “the Lord” is referring to the Roman god Mithras who was called Lord Mithras. He was the national deity of the Romans at the time Constantine was so-called “converted” to Christianity.
Christianity became the national religion of Rome at the same time that Mithraism mysteriously disappeared (4th century).
If one studies Mithraism, and studies the faith of the Natsarims (followers of the way), then it is easy to see that Christianity is the result of syncretism of Mithraism and the Natsarim faith of the Hebrews.
Also, if one studies a concordance, we see the name of Ba’al is “Lord.” The Lord of Christianity is therefore a polluted title.
Who is Alpha and Omega in Revelation?
Anyway, this use of the same title for both the Father and the Son has created confusion and misinterpretation of scripture. Such has caused the need for the question: “Who is alpha and omega in Revelation? In Hebrew, it is “Who is Aleph and Tav in Revelation?”
Rev 1:8 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.
Who is the Bible referring to as “the Lord?” Is it the Father or the Son? It would have been so easy if they had given us the proper names.
Now for those of us who understand that there is only one Almighty, and that is the Father, it is easy for us to know that it is referring to the Father.
1 Ti 2:5 For there is one Elohiym (God), and one mediator between Elohim (the Father) and men, the man Mashiach Yahushua;
However, there are those who don’t have this understanding and believe the Father and Son are one and the same. These persons may believe it is speaking of the son, worse it is the son who is speaking in Revelation 1:8!
YHWH Says He is the Only Alpha and Omega
First of all, YHWH claimed exclusive rights to being the Alpha and Omega (Aleph and Tav in Hebrew) from in the Tanakh. He said he alone is the first and the last.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, YHWH Tseva’oth (of hosts): ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no Elohim besides Me.
Isa 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
So how can Yahusha claim to be the Alpha and Omega? Is it that he is YHWH? In Isaiah 44:6, YHWH said there is no Elohim besides him. In Debarim 6:4, he said he is one, denoting a strict monotheistic existence of himself:
Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: YHWH our Elohim is one YHWH:
See: Why Our Belief Is False If It Does Not Have an Old Testament Foundation
The Trinity?
Christians try to bridge the gap through the trinity, but that is a pagan concept. Three gods in one, but not 3 different gods, they are one and the same, yet they have rank. Trinity and its symbols are totally pagan. Trinity is not biblical.
One Elohim plus One Man as Mediator
Actually, we have the Father, the one Elohim (Deut 6:4) and Yahusha the son of man (Luke 9:22) whom through his obedience as a man, gave us access to YAHUAH’S salvation (Heb 5:8-9) and was exalted as our High Priest to sit at YAHUAH’S right hand to make intercessions for us (Rom 8:34) until it is time for him to return to rule on earth (1 Thess 4:16). He qualified as our High Priest because he was tempted as a man and did not sin (Heb 4:14-15).
The above relationship is summarized in one verse:
1 Tim 2:5 For there is one Elohim, and one mediator between Elohim and men, the man Mashiach Yahusha
That is the biblical foundation on within which this and indeed all posts on Just a Word are written.
See: Why the Institutional Church is not biblical: Ekklesia vs Church
Who Gave The Revelation of Yahusha?
So first we need to look at who gave the Revelation of Yahusha HaMashiach. This is revealed in the very first verse of the book:
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Yahusha HaMashiach, which YHWH 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 Yahuchanon:
So let us see the chain:
Revelation 1:1 says it is from YAHUAH => Yahusha => angel => Yahuchanon => Yahusha’s servants.
The Messiah as Messenger
In the Bible, whenever the angels came representing the Father, they spake in the first person as YHWH, even though they manifested in the form of men.
Genesis 16:10
And the angel of YHWH said unto her, I (YHWH) will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.Gen 22:15 — Gen 22:17
And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,And said, By myself have I sworn, saith YHWH (similar to I am Alpha and Omega, saith YHWH), for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Again in the story of Mosheh and the burning bush:
Exo 3:2 – 4 And the angel of YHWH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Mosheh said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when YHWH saw that he turned aside to see, YHWH (in the form of the angel) called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
The Messiah revealed himself as a messenger here, though made so much higher than the angels:
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
So because the Revelation came from YHWH to Yahusha, to figure out who is the Alpha and Omega, we have to understand the Messiah as the messenger of the Father, speaking as YHWH, just as the angels did.
Who Is The Almighty?
Rev 1:8 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.
Next, we must also prove who is the Almighty in the context of the Book of Revelation. This is because we might be tempted to say yes, YHWH is the Almighty but now Yahushua is coming back as YHWH the Almighty!
Sons of the Alpha and Omega
Now in Revelation 21:6-7, we have the Alpha and Omega describing us as his sons.
Rev 21:6 — Rev 21:7
And he (Yahusha) said unto me, It is done. I (YHWH) am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I (YHWH) will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his Elohim (only YHWH is described in the Bible as Elohim), and he shall be my son (Rom 8:14, Gal 4:6).
The fact is, we cannot be sons of Yahusha. The bible only describes us as being the sons of YHWH.
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of YHWH: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
We are Yahusha’s brothers, not his sons!
Mat 12:50
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
So the Alpha and Omega is obviously referring to YHWH the Father. But wait, there is more…
Contradiction? The First and the Last
Now in Revelation 2:8, Yahushua used the term “first and the last” to describe himself. That is also the Alpha and Omega (Aleph and Tav).
Revelation 2:8
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Now there seems to be a contradiction here. If he is the first and the last, if he is the Alpha and Omega, if he is El Shaddai (the Almighty), how then can he die? Does this first and last in Rev 2:8 mean he is the Almighty?
The Almighty Cannot Die
The simple tie-breaker is that the Almighty cannot die or else he would be mortal. He would no longer be Almighty as he would have been under the power of death.
So we have to do more searching to get to the bottom of this mystery.
When in doubt, we must go to the good old Tanakh (so-called old testament). The new testament is the fulfillment of the law and prophets of the Tanakh. Therefore, the Tanakh will remove any doubt from what seems like contradictions of the new testament. The Tanakh is the validator.
Now what does the Tanakh say:
Num 23:19 Elohim is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
So right there we see that the Almighty cannot die. If he is not the son of man, he cannot stoop to the mortality of man and lie nor repent.
As such, he cannot die either.
The Son of Man is Not the Almighty
Luke 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
That was Yahusha describing himself as the son of man.
Therefore, Yahusha could not be referring to himself as the Almighty, because on several occasions, he referred to himself as the son of man (Mat 26:45, Mark 2:10, Luke 7:34, John 12:23).
So since the Almighty cannot die and was not the son of man, what does Yahusha mean by he was the first and the last in Revelation 2:8?
See: Is Isaiah 9:6 Saying the Messiah is the Mighty Elohim?
Yahusha the First and the Last
We will find out by looking at the meanings of first and last as used in Revelation 2:8 It is dangerous to take the English language meaning without going ‘under the hood.’
English: first
Transliteration: protos
Pronunciation: pro’-tos
Definition: Contracted superlative of G4253; *foremost (in time place order or importance)*: – before beginning best chief (-est) *first (of all)* former.
KJV Usage: first (84x), chief (9x), first day (2x), former (2x), misc (7x).
Occurs: 104
In verses: 98
English: last
Transliteration: eschatos
Pronunciation: es’-khat-os
Definition: A superlative probably from G2192 (in the sense of contiguity);
farthest final (of place or time): – ends of last latter end lowest uttermost.
KJV Usage: last (46x), lowest (2x), uttermost (2x), last state (2x), ends (1x), latter end (1x).
Occurs: 54
In verses: 49
Yahusha in effect was announcing himself as the king, the foremost and ultimate…the highest a man could attain.
He was announcing his preeminence:
Yahusha’s Preeminence
Colossians 1:18
And he is the head of the body, the called out assembly: who is the beginning, the firstborn (first) from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence (the fact of surpassing all others; superiority.).
In Revelation 2:8 when he said: “the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive,” he is stating his superiority as the firstborn from the dead. As our king, the king of Israel, he will always have preeminence among men. He is the ultimate, the first and the last.
The man Yahusha lived as a man and died as a man and is in the spirit of a man making intercessions for us at the right hand of the Father.
1 Ti 2:5 For there is one Elohim, and one mediator between Elohim and men, the man Mashiach Yahusha;
Conclusion: YHWH Is The Alpha and Omega
Who is the Alpha and Omega in the Bible? The removal of the proper names of the Father and the Son from the Bible has caused confusion and contradictions in interpreting the translations of the bible.
The Messiah came to deliver his revelation that was given to him by his Father YHWH. The Messiah speaking as YHWH is in keeping with biblically referenced tradition of messengers of YHWH speaking in the 1st person as YHWH.
The image above shows Revelation 1:8 as translated in Et Cepher (Divine Book).
We are sons of the Alpha and Omega (Aleph and Tav), which means sons of YHWH Elohim. Note that the bible does not describe us as sons of the Messiah, but rather brothers or servants.
What’s more, Revelation 2:8 in describing the Messiah described him as the first and the last (not the Alpha and Omega), which was dead and now lives. The Almighty Father cannot die.
Therefore Revelation 1:8 should be properly written as thus:
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith YHWH, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
We will continue to look at verses used to exalt the Messiah to being equal with Father YHWH. This as we look at the question, “should we worship the Messiah?“
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