Of all the names of God in the Bible, the Lord God refers to Himself three times as the Alpha and Omega in the last Book of the Bible. Although there are references throughout the Bible to the eternality of God, and Christ, and that He is First and Last, these specific words are only found in Revelation. I believe the Lord reveals this reference to Himself in the last Book because this name encompasses All that He is, all that He was, and All that He will be.
Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, representing “the beginning,” and Omega is the last letter in that same alphabet, representing “the end.” Stop and think about that for a minute. There are hundreds of different alphabets, but whatever alphabet a particular language uses, every word within that language uses characters from their specific alphabet to form every word within that language. So, an alphabet encompasses the complete language.
There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. Revelation was written in Greek, the common language of the Roman empire of that day. Since God was dictating to John what to write, it would stand to reason that He would choose to use the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet to relay the fact that He was from the beginning, He is now, and He will be to come.
It is interesting that in rabbinic literature, the word “emet” which is the word for “truth,” uses the first (aleph), middle (mem), and last (tav) letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Truth can be considered the “seal of God,” and in Judaic tradition, it carries the same meaning as Alpha and Omega.(1)
In our English language, when we say, “that covers it, from A to Z,” we are essentially expressing the fact that the topic of which we are speaking is completely covered, and nothing was left out.
I started thinking about this subject after a discussion in my Sunday School class one Sunday morning. One of my teachers was telling about his recent visit to a prison which he visits on a regular basis to witness to inmates. One of the inmates approached him to ask a question. He asked about the fact that Christians claim there is an eternity and that Christ is eternal. He then basically asked, if Christ is eternal, why does He say that He is the beginning and the end? Doesn’t that imply there will be an end to Himself?
My mind started dwelling on that question. I became a Christian as a child and have been in church all my life. I am of the opinion that Believers like me that grew up in church often hear statements about God that we accept as fact, but we never really stop and dive into the meaning behind the true statements. This man was trying to wrap his mind around one of those statements I have heard and easily taken for granted as truth all my life: that Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, without really digging into all that it means.
The simple explanation is all the above referencing the alphabets. It simply means that Christ encompasses all, everything.
Oh, but there is so much more!
The Alpha
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
The word “God” here is Elohim, the plural form of God. This is significant because it means God the Father, God the Son, and the God the Holy Spirit were ALL present at creation. In fact, in the Gospel of John, we read this:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.” (John 1:1-5)
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
In the High Priestly Prayer that Jesus prayed before His crucifixion, He refers to His eternity past:
“And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.” John 17:5
Other scriptures supporting His eternal existence:
“Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’” Isaiah 41:4
“This is what the Lord says, He who is the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of armies: ‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.’” Isaiah 44:6
“Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel whom I called;
I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.
Assuredly My hand founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I call to them, they stand together.” Isaiah 48:12-13
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:1-3)
“And, ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will wear out like a garment,
And like a robe You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.” (Hebrews 1:10-12)
“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)
So, Christ was there in the beginning, even before the beginning. Our minds cannot comprehend something or someone not having a beginning. As human beings, we all had a set point that our lives began. God created man.
“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7)
Unless the Lord returns first, we will all have an end.
“All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.” (Ecclesiastes 3:20)
However, God created us with “eternity in our hearts.” Our bodies will die and decay, but our spirit will live forever. Yet, as Soloman described it, our minds now are finite and unable to understand everything.
“He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
In this following verse, God was speaking to Jeremiah, but God does see us all even before we are conceived and born.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
God had a plan for each of us before we were ever created.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:3-6
Our Present
We do not have a God that created human beings and then left us to fend for ourselves. In the Old Testament, we find scripture where God promised to be with some of the Old Testament saints. However, He knew man would fall, so He planned for Christ to come at an appointed time to be our sacrifice. When we receive Christ as our Savior, He places the Holy Spirit to reside within us. From that moment on, we are never away from His Presence. It is possible to be out of fellowship with Him by not heeding His voice and direction for our lives, but He never leaves us.
Old Testament Promises:
“The eternal God is a hiding place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;” (Deuteronomy 33:27a)
“No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not desert you nor abandon you.” (Joshua 1:5)
New Testament Promises:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
“for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5b-6)
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” (John 14:16-21)
Present and Eternal:
“God is our refuge and strength, A very ready help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:6-10)
“The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’” (John 10:24-31)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
The Omega
God was there before the world began and before our beings were formed. He was there in the beginning. He is with us now, ever present and working. He will be there at our end, when our physical life on this earth as we currently experience it will come to an end.
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
Conclusion
So, Omega, “the end,” may sound contradictory to “eternal,” but it is not.
Omega, as the name for Christ here, really means a “completion.” A “finish.” God had a plan for this world. Just as Genesis explained to us how this world began, the Book of Revelation is telling how this world, thus the plan of God for those who live(d) in this world, comes to an end.
What is left when this world as we know it ceases? Of all that we paid attention to, of all that we honored, and even worshipped, what remains when this life ends? The Omega. The Last One to stand that deserves all our praise and worship. Nothing else that we tried to honor, give attention to, or made a priority, will remain. Only Christ. Then our end is really the beginning of our eternity.
Alpha and Omega has this huge, all-encompassing explanation that we just went through. God was in the beginning, is now and will continue to be Present while this world still spins, and will be with us when this world ends.
Matthew Henry stated it this way:
“He gives us his titles of honour as a pledge or surety of the full performance, even those titles of Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. As it was his glory that he gave the rise and beginning to the world and to his church, it will be his glory to finish the work begin, and not to leave it imperfect. As his power and will were the first cause of all things, his pleasure and glory are the last end, and he will not lose his design; for then he would no longer be the Alpha and Omega. Men may begin designs which they can never bring to perfection; but the counsel of God shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure.” (2)
Now, let us make it a little more meaningful to us as individuals. God is with us when we take our first breath, is with us each and every day, and will be with us as we take our last breath. But even more than that, God is with us with each new experience we face, whether it be something joyful, or the makings of a trial. He is with us as we face each day of that circumstance, and He will be with us when that experience comes to an end. No matter what circumstance or stage of life we are at, God is there. He was there, is there, and will be there. Forever and ever. And I believe that about covers it all, from A to Z.
…but wait, there’s still more!
Another Beginning
Remember when Christ was on the cross? The last words He spoke were:
“Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30)
Christ came into the world as a human for that purpose – to die for the sins of the world. When He resurrected, God showed He has power over death, hell, and the grave. His salvation plan was complete.
Do you know where else God say, “It is done?”
“And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ Then He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’” (Revelation 21:5-8)
We referenced Revelation 21:6b in the beginning where the Lord God calls Himself the Alpha and Omega. He is certainly that, but if you look at the complete verse, you see in verse Revelation 21:6a where the Lord God says His work is complete, it’s DONE. What is complete? Everything. The plan He had from the beginning, the world He created, the ending of that same world: everything is complete, finished, done. What else is complete? Everything that will be New. The new heavens and earth. Eternity. Everlasting water of life flowing for His children to drink freely of. It will all be new, yet it is complete. It will have a beginning for us, yet it’s already done. Just like Christ’s mission on this earth. He gave His life before the foundation of the world, yet there was a point in history where it happened on earth. The eternal home awaiting us – it’s our future – but it’s done. Just as if we were already there enjoying it.
Think of it this way. There is a saying that, “That man is as good as his word. If he says it will happen, then it’s as good as done.” God is DONE.
Right before calling Himself the Alpha and Omega for the last time, He gives a warning.
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:12-13)
He is coming quickly. Are you ready for your ending so that you can experience the beginning that never ends, but is already done?
And that still does not cover it all..it is only the beginning.
(1) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alpha-and-Omega, Accessed 5/29/25
(2) Matthew Henry Commentary; https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Rev.21.1-Rev.21.8; Accessed 6/24/25