Alpha and Omega

IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND the meaning of these words spoken to us by the Apostle John, let us begin with his Gospel account: “In a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and a god was the Word.” (John 1:1, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott, Interlineary Translation) Continuing, John says that the Word “was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (vss. 2,3) In these verses, “Word” is a translation of the Greek word logos, and conveys the thought of a mouthpiece. John says that in his prehuman existence, God’s only begotten Son acted as a mouthpiece, or Logos, to speak and act on his Father’s behalf. As the Logos, he was used throughout the creative process, and was always with “the God”—Jehovah. The Logos, too, was “a god,” a mighty spirit being.

In due time, the “Word [logos] was made flesh.” (vs. 14) He was given the name Jesus, and grew to manhood “separate from sinners” and distinct from all others. (Heb. 7:26) During his earthly ministry, Jesus “taught … as one having authority,” and men said, “Never man spake like this man.” (Matt. 7:29; John 7:46) Whatever others may have thought of him, Jesus knew his origin, testifying, “I came down from heaven,” and again, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.” (John 6:38,51) When questioned by the Pharisees, he declared, “I know whence I came, and whither I go.” “I am from above: … I am not of this world.” “I proceeded forth and came from God; … he sent me.” “Before Abraham was, I am.”—John 8:14,23,42,58

These verses are but a sampling of the many Scriptures which point out the prehuman existence of God’s dear Son. When he reached the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus expressed in prayer the great desire he had to once again be with the Father in the heavenly realm. His heartfelt words were, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me … with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”—John 17:4,5

Jesus left the riches of the heavenly courts and came to earth to be man’s Redeemer. As a man, he had virtually no possessions. On one occasion, he told a prospective follower that “the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matt. 8:20) Paul said that God’s Son “was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (II Cor. 8:9) He left the glory and spiritual wealth he had with the Father as the Logos, and “made himself of no reputation, … he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death.” (Phil. 2:7,8) Thus we see that as God’s instrument of creation, and later man’s Redeemer, Jesus is qualified to have the title given in our Key Verse: “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”

The Apostle Paul speaks of the excellence of Jesus compared to all other creatures, only God being excepted. In Jesus, “we have redemption through his blood, … Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, … And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. He is … the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”—Col. 1:14-18