The title “Alpha and Omega” or Alpha Kai Omega occurs only three times in the Bible, and all three are in the book of Revelation. Because Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, Revelation 22:13 could be paraphrased: “I am the A and the Z, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” These verses in Revelation probably allude to passages in Isaiah in which God identifies himself as being both the first and the last (Isaiah 44:6; 48:12). The Hebrew words Rishon (ree-SHONE) and Acharon (ah-cha-RONE) translate “first” and “last.”
Present at the world’s beginning, Jesus will also be present at its end, when he and his work are finally and fully revealed. When you pray to Christ as the Alpha and the Omega, you are praying to the one who is, who was, and who is to come. He is our all-sufficient Lord, who will not fail to complete the good work he has begun in us.
Praying to the Alpha and Omega
One of my children’s favorite books was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Maybe you remember this alphabet book with an attitude, which begins with the line, “A told B and B told C, ‘I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.’” As this lyrical story continues, all the little lower case letters scramble up the coconut tree only to overload it and then come tumbling down. Fortunately, the upper case letters rush to the rescue, picking up their little ones and then dusting them off so that the whole chaotic scene can begin again. Amazing what a lively and memorable story can be constructed with only 26 letters.
What does a children’s book have to do with Jesus’ title as the Alpha and the Omega? Think about it like this. You probably know that the word “alphabet” is formed from “alpha” and “beta,” the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. Could it be that when Jesus calls himself the “Alpha and Omega,” the first and last letters of the alphabet, he is implying that he is not just the first and the last but all the letters in between?
Now think about what you do with letters. You communicate. You tell stories. Through the story of his life and death, Jesus is the only one who perfectly communicates the love of God, revealing who God is and what his intentions are. As the Alpha and Omega, Jesus is still alive, still writing the story, using our own small stories to advance the overarching story of God’s redemption.
Remember what Jesus has said to you. Cherish his words. Base your life on them. If you do, the message that Paul spoke to the Corinthian Christians will apply to you as well: “You’re our letter of recommendation written in our hearts that everyone knows and reads. It’s clear that you are Christ’s letter, written as a result of our ministry. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, a letter written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).
