What Does it Mean that God is Alpha and Omega?

Revelations 1:8, (NIV) tells us, “I am the Alpha and Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Alpha this way: something that is first. Other words for Alpha include beginning, creation, and origination.

What a revelatory mystery this is! So much so, that our finite minds sometimes grapple with this grand declaration.

Humans have many of their own “firsts”. At conception, a human life begins. Life occurs in a linear fashion. Babies achieve important milestones. Toddlers learn. Children grow and achieve. Gangly teenagers transform into educated adults.

Jesus told Nicodemus “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," (John 3:1-21). Our spiritual transformation happens when a gentle God intersects our human life. God becomes the “Alpha” of our individual lives at our spiritual rebirth.

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1. God equips our unique beginnings: he supports our new endeavors. He is there when we make the decision to pack up and move across the country. God is present every new morning: we have the ability to call upon the Holy Spirit first thing on every waking day. We can ask for his blessings and protection.
2. God can guide important decisions: God delights when we first call on him for major decisions. When we leave the harder decision to Him, when we ask for his guidance first, we can know He is directing us towards what’s best for our lives.

I Corinthians 2:7 reveals the beauty of God’s wisdom, “We speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.” (CSB).

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When we revisit Revelations 1:8, we are reminded that God is also our Omega: “Who is to come.” These awe-inspiring words delight me, but in all honesty, these words cause me to feel reverential fear.

As a finite being on earth, I will one day stand before the Alpha and Omega of the galaxies. As a finite being, I admit to compartmentalizing the ultimate Creative visionary of the universe.

I Corinthians 2:7 reveals the beauty of God’s wisdom, “We speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.” (CSB).

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Omega as the extreme of the final part. Other words for Omega are the last, conclusion, and perfection.

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1. God has the Final Word: Invite him into all of your earthly matters and trust that his perfect will exists. As we daily surrender our ups and downs to Christ, we must know that through surrender, God’s has the authority and power to handle every issue. Believe every situation is under spiritual quality-control.
2. A Blessed Culmination: Never forget! A grand finale is coming. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him,” (2 Corinthians 2:9, NLT).
3. Our Earthly Stories End Well: Ups and downs. Hard and easy. No matter! Because if God is our end, then we can look forward to a Happily-Ever-After. Let’s trust his perfect will for every chapter of our lives. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. God rewrites a new story as we live out our days with Him. He is the grandest editor of our earthly storybook. 

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There’s an infinite future imprinted on our hearts. A divine plan conceived before our earthly beginnings. God knew of us before our mothers held us. God knew when we would begin our spiritual journeys. He romanced us first. That’s the beauty of God as Alpha.

As Omega, God is preparing an ending shrouded in divine mystery. His foreknowledge determines how our stories will end. Beyond earthly thrones. Above cultural dynamics. More powerful than political establishments. What awaits us at the end of time is almost unfathomable. And to think, this promise awaits His faithful believers who endure.

On Patmos, God gave Apostle John a vision for our future. “Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new...I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end...the one who conquers will inherit these things and I will be his God." (Revelations 21:5-6, CSB). 

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Author of the classic book, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer wrote this on the concept of Alpha and Omega:

"If we grope back to the farthest limits of thought where imagination touches the pre-creation void, we shall find God there. In one unified present glance, He comprehends all things from everlasting, and the flutter of a seraph's wing a thousand ages hence is seen by Him now without moving His eyes.

Our finite minds were not meant to comprehend the mysterious King who was before the beginnings of earthly time. But because of his mercy and love, God humbled himself and became a man."

Jesus himself embraced his own “Alpha and Omega” story on earth. 

1. He was born of a virgin. (Luke 1:28)
2. He entered the temple as a young boy. (Luke 2:41)
3. Christ began his three-year ministry, sacrificed himself on a cross because he loved us, and cut through His own “time-space” continuum on our behalf. (John 18:37)

As Warren Wiersbe puts it: "If you want to understand God, you have to know Jesus Christ. I have met people who say, "Well, I get so much truth about God from walking in the woods." You can learn some things about God by walking in the woods, but you cannot get the full revelation you have in Christ. Some say, "I love to sit and look at a beautiful sunset; it tells me so much about God." Well, it can; but you will learn much more of God's revelation through His Son, Jesus Christ. God has spoken in Jesus Christ, and this is His last word. Jesus Christ is God's last word, and if you want to know about God, you have to come to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega; His ministry is the ministry of revelation — He reveals God to us."

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Believers are to prepare themselves as carefully as a bride preparing for her future wedding. We can prepare our hearts by spending time with our Bibles. We can get in our prayer “closets” and worship.

These simple actions prepare us for spiritual perfection. A perfected faith on earth prepares for a perfect life in heaven.

“Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself,” (Revelations 19:7). 

As we live out our days (work, family, and social life) we can compartmentalize Jesus. We relegate God without sometimes realizing it. Here on earth we decorate and remodel our earthly dwellings. We invent gadgets which make life easier. We innovate and streamline life. As image-bearers, creativity resides within us. But the Grand Creator of Time Itself is preparing something better! 

Friends, a future day is coming! This will be a day when God establishes a new heaven and a new earth. “Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God," (Revelations 21:3, CSB).

May we continually bless the name above all names! The Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last! The one who was, who is, and is to come! Amen. 

A Prayer to God, our Alpha and Omega

Your word tells me that if I seek after wisdom you will provide it. So I am seeking you, the source and fountain of wisdom. You've written everything you want me to know if the pages of your book, The Bible. I pray that as I read your word, it would shape my wants and desires and longings. I pray that it would impress on me what matters most to you. I pray that as I consider the decision before me, that I would remember what your word teaches about your sovereignty and control over all things.

You know this problem before me. You know how it turns out. That's because you are the Alpha and the Omega. You know the end from the beginning. Nothing happens apart from your will and plan. Not only are you sovereign, but you are good. All your plans are holy, righteous, and good. I can trust that you know what is best for me. When I move forward with this decision, I know that it is your will and that you will use it for my good and your glory.

Forgive me for getting caught up in wanting to know the future and how everything turns out. Forgive me for treating you like a "magic 8 ball." Forgive me for fearing the future and for waiting around in the hopes that the answer will be written on the wall. Help me to rest and trust in who you are. Help me to look to Jesus, knowing that if you gave of your own Son to save me from sin, how will you not also be with me in all the challenges and decisions of my life? There is nothing and no one that can separate me from you; I have nothing to fear.

You are my Rock, my Savior, and my Deliverer. Be with me as I move forward in this time of confusion and difficulty. Above all, may your will be done on earth, and in my life, as it is in heaven. In Jesus name, I pray, amen. (by Christina Fox, A Prayer for When You Don't Know What to Do)

Jessica Galán encourages her readers to embrace malleability in the midst of life’s difficult moments. She spends her day teaching amazing students from diverse backgrounds in Fairfield County, Connecticut. She’s wife to a super-creative man and the proud mother of three resilient young women. She’s served as a writing facilitator for Lysa TerKeurst through COMPEL Training. She enjoys daily cups of steaming hot café con leche and breaks out in sporadic salsa dancing when no one’s looking. You’ll find her stories at jessicagalan.net. Connect with her here: Twitter || Instagram ||Facebook

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