The "A" and the "Z"

 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Rev 1:8. KJ2000


"Call me Ahab," opens Moby Dick.  The opening of a book often sets its tone.  This is the book of Revelation, and its opening sets the tone for the triumph of God.

Alpha and Omega
 
 in the alphabet of the Greeks, the beginning and the end.  It is a phrase of power—it signifies his dominion over all things:

By him all things were created;  there is nothing that was created that he did not create.  All other things must use his creation as raw material.

In him all things consist.  Why do the "laws of Nature" work so consistently?  Is it not because they reflect the unchanging nature of the one who ordained them, and who upholds them by his will?
In him all things have their being.  You and I literally borrow the very idea of existence from the great "I AM."

The Almighty

The phrase is almost unique in the New Testament—but not in the Old Testament.  It is often translated, in the Old Testament, "Lord of Hosts."  It means the one who is all powerful;  he is the Lord over all powers.

The phrase occurs most commonly in Ezekiel's prophecy, and it reminds us that the things which are prophesied will come to pass, for the Lord of Hosts, the all-powerful one, has spoken it.  It is his promise, the promise of power.

Who was, who is, who is to come

It is a trinity of existence proclaiming the eternity of God.  Do we even know what it means to be eternal?  In a small way we do;  it means to be unchanging.  That John received this revelation 1900 years ago means nothing to its validity today.  The one who is eternal has spoken, and he does not change. 

So we have it:  the high trumpet call of God announcing his intentions to his children.  He reminds us that all things are his;  all power is his; all time is his—and that all things will come to pass just as he has said.