Names of Jesus: Alpha and Omega

Names of Jesus: Alpha and Omega

Jesus has many names and each tells us more about Him. By learning the many names of Jesus we can get to know Him more personally and develop a better understanding of who He is. Some of His names speak of Him as the Son of God, some as the Son of Man, others as Savior, and plenty more that relate to Jesus as the Truth. Over the next two weeks, we will explore two closely related names that teach us about Jesus as the Alpha and Omega and speaks of His absolute divinity and relation to, with, and of God the Father.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Revelation 22:13 CSB

How is Jesus the Alpha, First, and Beginning?

In Isaiah, we see God identify Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end – just like Jesus does in Revelation to the apostle John. This is not a mistake – this is Jesus clarifying once again that He is God. He is emphasizing His divinity, authority, and control over all of creation.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8 CSB

Who has performed and done this,

    calling the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, the first,

    and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 41:4 ESV

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

    and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last;

    besides me there is no god.

Isaiah 44:6 ESV

“Listen to me, O Jacob,

    and Israel, whom I called!

I am he; I am the first,

    and I am the last.

Isaiah 48:12 ESV

Jesus Christ is the Alpha. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, signifying that He is first, He is the beginning, was there at the beginning, and is the beginning of salvation as well. Through, by, and for Him, all things begin and exist. He is superior to all creation making Him first in rank, firstborn of all creation, and first in priority throughout all of creation. We are instructed as believers to put Him first in all we do and to place Him in the right place of priority in every area and relationship of our lives. Jesus Christ is before and above all of creation, always.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
² He was in the beginning with God. 
³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:1-3 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God^[a] and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Matthew 6:33 CSB

The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:37 CSB

How is Jesus the Omega, Last, and End?

As Jesus is the Alpha, the first, the beginning, He is also the Omega, the last, the end. Omega happens to be the last letter of the Greek alphabet, signifying that He is not only the beginning, but He is the end and the last. All created things were made through, by, and for Him, and all ends will also be determined by Him and occur through Him for His glory.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world,^[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17 ESV

Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are how God chose to put an end to the Old Testament Law, evolving it into the new beginning of redemption through faith in Jesus. He was the end of the Law and the beginning of grace. He is also the last, final, end step in our salvation – He is enough. Faith in His saving works is what saves us – nothing else, nothing more, nothing less.

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you^[a] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 CSB

²⁰ But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 
²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 
²² to put off your old self,^[a] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 
²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 
²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV

Through Him, we experience the end of our old selves and the beginning of our new life in Him. He is the Finisher and Perfector of our faith – He completes the works of faith in us, drawing us to the end of this life into the beginning of eternity with Him. Through Him, the first heaven and earth will end, and the new heaven and earth will begin. Nothing begins or ends that is not from, for, and through Jesus Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has^[a] come!

2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Revelation 21:1 ESV

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Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Based on Articles from the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible By J.D. Douglas & M.C. Tenney, edited by M. Silva / Zondervan

How being the Alpha and Omega displays the divinity of Jesus

Jesus emphasizes His divinity by taking on the name God spoke to Israel in Isaiah. God proclaimed Himself as the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega several times to the Israelites. As God identified Himself to the Israelites, Jesus Christ identifies Himself to John when revealing to Him what the End would be like.

Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.

Revelation 21:6 CSB

God’s redemptive story is completed through Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, Lord of All. Matthew 25:31-46 explains clearly that faith or unbelief in Jesus will determine each of our own ends as well; faith leading to eternal life with Him with an end to sin and suffering, and unbelief leading to eternal fire and separation from Him and all that is good.

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 25:41 ESV

⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:46 ESV

Choosing your own End in Jesus

We are all called to choose Jesus. We are all drawn to Him by the Father, and through faith in Jesus, we get to come to the Father, being made right in His sight through the blood of His Son. Jesus was the spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, and He died to save each and every single one of us from the penalty of our sins by paying our hefty debts with His own life.

¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way:^[a] He gave^[b] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-17 CSB

²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[a] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20 ESV

By choosing to believe in Jesus as the Son of God who died and rose again as the perfect sacrifice to pay for your sin debt, you are justified, made right with God, and are welcomed into the family of God as fellow siblings with Christ. Today I pray you choose faith in Jesus, and let Him lead you in a life of love and obedience to the Father as He draws you closer to the end that is coming.

Dear Jesus, please move mountains in the hearts of each person reading this today. I pray that each person here right now who does not yet know You as their personal Lord and Savior draws closer to You today in faith, seeks Your face, asks You to come into their life today, and accepts You as their personal Savior. Lord, I pray that you soften hearts to You today and that glory is brought to Your precious name. Amen