Who is the alpha and omega in the scriptures? Is it the Father only? Is it the Son or is it both the Father and the Son?

The term “Alpha and Omega” occurs four times in the scriptures and they are all located in the book of Revelation. Here they are:

“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.” Rev 1:8

“Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:” Rev 1:11

“And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” Rev 21:6

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Rev  22:13

When we look at the context of each of these passages and compare the scripture with itself, we see very clearly who is being referenced and we also see a beautiful pattern that emerges.

The first text is clearly referring to the Father.

“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.”Rev 1:8

Before we get to all of the reasons why it is speaking of the Father we need to address why some would apply it to Jesus. It is because of the previous verse.

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Rev 1:7

I can see how some would apply verse 8 to Jesus but we need to understand that John is the one speaking of Christ’s  second coming and not Christ himself speaking like He does in Rev 16:15.

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

Going back to verse 7, the pronoun “him” is used 3 times and “he”is used once. This clearly shows that it is John speaking of Christ. Then he ends that thought with an Amen. In the next verse, another thought is introduced, which is entirely different from the previous. This will become clear when we look at the words used in verse 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.”Rev 1:8

Let’s start with the phrase “ which is, which was, and which is to come”. This phrase was used four verses earlier.

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;” Rev 1:4

Notice that Him “which is and which was and which is to come” is first of all a singular person.  While I believe the “seven Spirits” or Holy Spirit is the Spirit of that individual (The Father) it (His Spirit) operates outside of His physical person and is therefore represented as being distinct or separate (lamps before the throne).

“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Rev 4:5

The lamp is simply a vessel for the oil. It is the oil transferred to the lamp that is the Spirit of God (see Zech 5).

The point being is that the one “which is and which was and which is to come” is definitely a person other than the Holy Spirit but this does not make the Spirit a “person” in the same sense as the Father and Son.

Moving on, the Him “which is and which was and which is to come” is also a distinct person separate from Christ. Notice verse 5.

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness….” Rev 1:5

Who is this person? The Almighty.

“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.” Rev 1:8

The term “Almighty”is connected with the phrase “which was and is and is to come”. In other words the one “which was and is and is to come” is the “Almighty” one. This is also found in another place in Revelation but in this instance two additional words are added to the term “Almighty”.

“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Rev 4:8

Many people want to use the phrase”holy, holy, holy in reference to a trinity, however we have already established by the Word itself that the “Almighty”is a Person other than the Spirit and the Son. The “holy, holy, holy” is referring to the “Almighty” which is the one “which was and is and is to come”.

For further clarification on the phrase “Lord God Almighty”and who it is referring to, we can look to the end of the book of Revelation.

“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Rev 21:22

Once again, the “Lord God Almighty” is someone other than the Lamb and therefore is not referring to a trinity. Neither is the phrase “holy, holy, holy” because that phrase is connected to the “ Lord God Almighty”. So, who is the Lord God Almighty? The Father.

It is amazing how the scriptures explain themselves. It is also equally amazing to see and hear of others taking a phrase out of context and attach a philosophical argument to it.

Going Forward, notice the context of Chapter 4. John sees a Person sitting on a throne in heaven.

“And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Rev 4:2

This is the same Person to whom the four beasts were saying:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Rev 4:8

This is a real person sitting on a throne. One single individual, the Father.

“And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever”Rev 4:9

In Chapter 5, “the Lamb”which is Christ comes to Him.

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.” Rev 5:6-7

After the Lamb takes the book from the One sitting on the throne, the heavenly host break out in a song of praise.

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Rev 5:13

Jesus clearly tells us that it is the Father sitting on the throne because Jesus sits down with Him.

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev 3:21

To summarize what we have covered so far, the Father is the “Lord God Almighty”, the one who is being referred to by the phrase “which is, which was and which is to come.”

Because of these reasons I believe the “Alpha and Omega” in Revelation 1:8 is referring to the Father. The next reference, however is clearly the Son of God.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…”Rev 1:10-11

John turns to see who it was that was speaking and He sees the “Son of man” which is Christ.

“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.”Rev 1:12-13

John falls at Jesus feet and the Savior speaks:

“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.” Rev 1:17-18

Comparing verse 11 with verse 17 we see the phrase “first and the last.” He is not speaking in behalf of the Father but is speaking of Himself, the one who “was dead” and yet “liveth.”

The next reference to “Alpha and Omega”, I believe, is speaking of the Father.

“And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” Rev 21:6

To find out who is speaking we simply read the context.

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Rev 21:5

Its the one sitting upon the throne. We have already established that it is the Father sitting on the throne.

Certainly one can make the case that “the Lamb” also sits on the throne. We just read that He sits on the throne. Although, I believe John never actually sees with His own eyes, Jesus sitting on the throne, it can be deduced from several verses. Here is one of them.

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Rev 7:9-10

One could reason that if the great multitude are “before” the throne and the Lamb, then the Lamb is on the throne. The only issue is that it is not explicitly stated but is only deduced through reasoning. Furthermore, here again we see in verse 10 that the God which sitteth upon the throne is someone other than the Lamb.

A couple verses later it says the Lamb is “in the midst of the throne.”

“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Rev 7:17

Does “in the midst”of the throne mean sitting upon the throne? Possibly, but again it is not explicitly stated that He is sitting on the throne.

Another verse to contemplate concerning Christ sitting on the throne is in Rev 19.

“And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.” Rev 19:4-5

Some have suggested that the voice that “came out of the throne” is Christ Himself sitting upon the throne. This is entirely possible but is not clearly stated. It stands to reason that it is not the elders nor the four beasts because they had just spoken. This is another voice.

What is significant here is the term “Praise our God.” If it is indeed Christ, then why would Christ call the Father God? And does He do this elsewhere?

The fact is that Christ refers to the Father as “my God” several times in the scriptures. In Revelation 3:12, Christ does so 4 times.

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Rev 3:12

There are other scriptures similar to this but that is not the purpose of this study. We are answering the question of who is the one sitting on the throne.

While we can “deduce” that Christ is sitting on the throne and even Christ says that He does, John does not see Him actually sitting on the throne.

The point is that the Father is the one that is primarily on the throne. The reason being is that Christs, although king, is our high priest. It is after His mediatorial ministry as our high priest, that He becomes primarily our King.

The last reference to the “Alpha and Omega” is found in Rev 22.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Rev  22:13

This is clearly Christ when we see that in the context the one speaking these words is the one that is coming again.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev 22:12

The “Alpha and Omega” is a term that is used for both the Father and the Son. One may ask, How can it be given to both of them? Does this mean that they are “one God”?

This is abundantly clear when we read a couple of verses that explain how the names of the Father are given to the Son by inheritance.

“Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 1:4

The Son of God, receives as an inheritance, the names of God the Father. What is interesting to note is that nowhere in the scriptures is the Holy Spirit referred to as the “Alpha and Omega”. Only the Father and the Son.

In closing, the term “Alpha and Omega” occur four times in the book of Revelation. Two times are at the beginning or “alpha” of the book and two times are at the end or “omega” of the book. The pattern for each reference goes like this: Father, Son, Father, Son.

My personal interpretation is that the Father is the “alpha” because He was the first being and has always existed. Christ is the “alpha” of all born or created. The Father is the “omega” because He is the source of life and if He ends all ends. Christ is the omega because is “omega”, “end” , or “fulfillment” of God’s character that is to be manifested by all the citizens of God’s kingdom. In other words, He is the pattern to which all should look to in order to know how to Love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves.