Revelation 1:8 Criticism of Jehovah's Witness' Interpretation. Jehovah's Witness' Interpretation. Many often refer to Revelation 1:8 and claim that this is Jesus referring to himself as "God Almighty. We do not believe that this is Jesus that is being quoted, and here we provide evidence this is so. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God , "who is and who was and who is to come (ho erchomenos, W&H transliteration), the Almighty. " — Revelation 1:8, New American Standard Version Many often refer to Revelation 1:8 and claim that this is Jesus referring to himself as "God Almighty. We do not believe that this is Jesus that is being quoted, and here we provide evidence this is so. The scripture directly says it was the "Lord God1 (as it reads in most translations) speaking, thus we have no reason to believe that any other than Yahweh is speaking. From verse 1, we ascertain that it is actually the angel speaking, quoting Jesus , who in turn is quoting his Father, Yahweh. The phrase "Lord God" is based on the later Septuagint tradition of substituting Kurios for Yahweh. The Hebrew phrase is Yahweh Elohim. In the extant NT Greek manuscripts Yahweh has been substituted with Kurios [Lord] and sometimes with Theos [God]. Elohim is translated as "Theos". This can be seen by comparing Acts 3:22; 7:37 with the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 18:15. In all instances where the phrase occurs in the NT, it is in reference to Yahweh1, the Father of our Lord Jesus. — Luke 1:32; 1 Peter 3:10-15; Revelation 11:17,19; 15:3; 16:7; 18:8; 21:11; 22:6. Likewise, with the phrases "the Lord our God" and "the Lord your God": These phrases are always used unipersonally in reference to Yahweh, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. — Matthew 4:7 (Deuteronomy 6:16); Matthew 4:10 (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20); Matthew 22:37 (Deuteronomy 6:5); Mark 12:29 (Deuteronomy 6:4); etc. Additionally, we note that there are Christian translations into Hebrew that contain the divine name in this verse. While their purpose usually was to try to prove that Jesus is called "Yahweh", they nevertheless did recognize that this should be "Yahweh" in this verse. The following are some Hebrew translations that contain the holy name in Revelation 1:8: NT, by W. Robertson, 1661; NT, by J. C. Reichardt, 1846; NT, by J. C. Reichardt & J. H. R. Biesenthal, 1866; NT, by F. Delitzsch, 1981 edition; NT, by I. Salkinson & C. D. Ginsburg, 1891. Looking at Revelation 1:1, we note that the Revelation is from God who gave it to Jesus. (This should be enough to prove that Jesus is not God.) The message is delivered through an angel to John. In Revelation 1:4 John says the message is from the Father, Yahweh, who is and who was and who is to come. Then in verse 5, John says: "*and* from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. " Thus John identifies two individuals which the messages are from, the Father, Yahweh, and Jesus, God's Son. Then in verse 8 we find the quote: " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End', says the Lord God, 'the being who was and who is to come — the Almighty. '" Thus we conclude that the "The Lord" in this verse is Yahweh, not Jesus, as shown from Revelation 1:4. Revelation 1:8 is not refering to God as "coming" in the same manner that verse 7 speaks of Jesus as coming in the clouds , but rather he "is to come", and this in relation to God's being — his existence — in the past and the present. As far as we -know, no one claims that when he says "who was", that this means that he was coming from somewhere. Likewise, no one claims that when he "who is", that is means he is presently going somewhere. In other words, it is not saying of the Almighty was coming or going in the past, that he is coming or going somewhere in the present, and thus, it is likewise not saying that he will be coming from or to somewhere in the future; thus "is to come" refers to God's being in the future. Therefore , verse 8 speaks of God's being, his eternal existence, past, present and future. Revelation 1:8 is the Almighty Yahweh, the God and Father of Jesus speaking. He is the one who was, is and is to come. Jesus is not the one who was, is, and is to come. The peculiar phrase in Revelation 1:8 only belongs to Yahweh, not to Jesus. Yahweh has existed from all eternity past, he exists now, and he exists for all time to come. This is basically what Yahweh is saying in Revelation 1:8. Nevertheless, although we do not believe that Revelation 1:8 speaks of this, Yahweh is also to come with judgment through Jesus. (Malachi 3:1-6; Psalm 96:13; Micah 1:3; Revelaton 1:1; 22:6. Psalm 96:98; 110:1; Matthew 22:43-45; 26:64; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Acts 2:34; 7:55: Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:13; 10:12,13; 1 Peter 3:22; John 5:22) Only Yahweh is truly the Almighty. In verses 9 and 10 John refers to himself when he heard a loud voice, as of a trumpet saying, "Write what you see… This quote is from Jesus (verse 11, c1), not Yahweh, as described in the following verses. In verse 18 Jesus says: "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. " #Jesus was actually dead and not alive anywhere#, if this is to make any sense at all, for he contrasts his being dead with being alive forevermore. Now we know that God cannot die, so Jesus is thus by this verse proved to not be God Almighty . Some isolate the phrase "who is coming, " and claim that this phrase designated the Messiah, since it is used of the Messiah many other scriptures. (The phrase ho erchomenos appears in the following scriptures, and sometimes it is applied to Jesus, and sometimes to others: Matthew 11:3; 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 6:47; 7:19; 7:20; 13:35; 19:38; John 6:14; 6:35; 12:31; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Hebrews 10:37; Revelation 1:4; 1:8; 4:8, Revelation 20:12-13, 20) Often this is coupled with the claim that entire phrase of Revelation 1:8 designates the holy name, Ehyeh, of Exodus 3:14, Yahweh/Jehovah of Exodus 3:15. (The holy name actually signifies action, and not just existence.) From this, then, they claim that Revelation 1:8 is Jesus speaking, and thus that Jesus is the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In reality, when "ho erchomenos" is used of the Messiah of Yahweh, it is used as depicting the Messiah of Yahweh as being sent by Yahweh, not as Yahweh Himself, and thus a distinction is made between the Messiah and the One who sent the Messiah. For instance, in Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, John 12:13, he who comes, ho erchomenos, is said to do that coming in the name of Yahweh (Psalm 118:26), thereby showing Yahweh to be a distinctly one person, who is not the Messiah that comes in the name of Yahweh; thus the default is that Jesus is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Additionally, the phrase is used of others who are not the Messiah, thus the phrase is not a distinctive phrase unique to the Messiah. — Luke 6:47; John 6:35; 2 Corinthians 11:4. We should also note that in Revelation 1:8, the phrase "ho erchomenos" is referring to God's continuous existence into the future (in contrast to his existence in the past and present, from everlasting to everlasting #[Micah 5:2]#), whereas "ho erchomenos" when applied to the Messiah in the Gospels does not refer to Jesus' eternal existence in the future, but rather to his coming into the world as one promised to be sent by Yahweh. — Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 11:3; 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 7:19,20; Luke 13:35; 19:37,38; John 6:14; 12:13. Jesus is anointed [made christ, the anointed one] by Yahweh (unipersonally). He is not Yahweh who thus anoints him. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is never identified in the Bible as more than one person, but He is identified as one person. – Psalm 2:2; 45:7; Isaiah 61:1; Acts 2:36; 4:27; 10:38. Someone writes: There is only one Alpha and Omega, the father had no beginning and he has no ending ; Jesus holds this title, no one else! Verse eight is about Jesus, not about the Father. This, at least admits that the phrase is Revelation 1:8 refers to no beginning and no ending, and would thus negate the argument that would connect "coming" in Revelation 1:8 to Jesus' coming as spoken of in Revelation 1:7 (although, in the Greek, two different forms are used, erchetai in Revelation 1:7 and ho erchomenos in Revelation 1:8 .) We find the phrase "#Alpha and Omega#" in Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13 — all three of which refer to Yahweh. We conclude that #this phrase is therefore not used of Jesus# (c2). Many translations have the words added in verse 11 , before the word "Write": "I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. " However, this sentence does not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts and therefore does not appear in many Bible translations, and we therefore regard it as spurious. Revelation 22:12-16: "See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. " Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. "It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. " The angel delivering the message recorded in Revelation 22:13 is quoting Yahweh, the Father of Jesus, who comes to judge the world, not only with and by means of Jesus, but also with the saints. — Malachi 3:1-6; Psalm 96:13; 98:9; Daniel 7:18,22; Micah 1:3; Zechariah 14:5; Acts 17:31; 2 Peter 3:7,8; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Psalm 90:4; Revelaton 1:1; 20:4,11-13; 22:6. Earlier, John says that the angel spoke these words, evidently quoting Yahweh . (Revelation 22:6) In verse 8 John is the one speaking, and the angel rebukes him in verse 9. In verse 10 John begins to quote the angel again, but in verse 12, the angel is delivering the words of Yahweh (see verse 6) — it is evident that the angel is not referring to himself. In verse 16, it is evident that the angel is quoting Jesus, and then in verse 17 the angel is prophetically quoting the spirit and the bride. In verses 18-20, the angel again is quoting Jesus, while the last verse is John himself speaking. In Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12 we find the expression "first and last" used of Yahweh. From Isaiah 44:6,7 this expression, "first and last" appears to mean that which is begun is carried through to completion, something which the false gods of the heathen cannot do. However, most of our trinitarian and oneness neighbors appear to read into this expression 'from eternity past to the eternal future, ' although there is nothing in the scritpures to warrant this meaning. The Alpha and Omega symbolism only emphasizes the same thing, since Alpha is the first or start of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last or end of the Greek alphabet. "First and Last" is used of Jesus in in Revelation 1:17 and Revelation 2:8. This would apply both to Yahweh as originator of his divine plan and the one who sees it to the completed end, and to the Son as the one who carries out the divine plan by means of his death, resurrection and the coming day of judgment. Some have noted that Jesus is the first human to be raised to life without end by Yahweh his Father, thus he is called the "firstborn of the dead". (Colossians 1:18) He is also the last to be so resurrected since all others who eventually receive such a resurrection will be through Jesus, not by Yahweh directly. (John 5:21,22; 6:39,44; 11:25) Thus there appears to be a connection between his statements that he became dead was now alive forever and ever. His holding the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) shows the authority given to him by his God of releasing all who are in death and hades. — John 5:27-29 (New American Standard); Revelation 20:11-13. However, there is also another application that could be meant. Each — both Jesus and Yahweh — is the first and the last of his peculiar kind: Yahweh is the first and the last of his peculiar kind, in that he is the first and the last one to be increate, that is, never to have been created. No one was before Yahweh in this sense and no one will be after him in this sense. The Son is the first and the last of his peculiar kind, in that he is the first and the last to have been directly created by God, all other creatures having been indirectly created by God, that is, through the agency of the Logos. Thus the Father and the Son are both unique — which is the meaning of these three expressions — but each of them is unique in a different sense: The Father is unique in that he is the only — the first and the last — being never created; the Son is unique in that he is the only — the first and the last — being ever directly created by Yahweh without the assistance of an agent, which creative assistance by the Logos occurred in the case of all the rest of creation — the Logos himself being excepted. (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:27) Thus Yahweh is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of increation — the only being who never was created. The Logos is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of God's direct creation. These terms used with reference to the Son are equivalent to his being called: "the only begotten of the Father. " (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9) Their use with reference to the Father implies that he is from eternity, though not directly teaching it, the direct teaching being his uniqueness in that he never was created or begotten, as was the Son. ********************* CRITICISIM. Summery: Revelation 1. Revelation 1:12-17 explains or reinforces Revelations 1:1-8 in the following manner. John says that he heard a voice. The voice that he heard said "I am the Alpha and the Omega (verse 11). The author of the article acknowledges that this quote is from Jesus claiming to be the Alpha and the Omega. The author of the article points to the portion of the quote which says "write what you see" (see c1). Nevertheless, the same quote which says write what you see, also says I am the Alpha and the Omega. Therefore, Jesus is saying both. The author of the article does not seem to recognize this obvious truth. The author of the article believes that because the phrase "I am the Alpha and Omega" does not appear in all ancient writtings, it is not valid in any ancient wirttings. This is dispite the fact that Jesus claims to be the first and the last in various scriptures, and first and last is synonymous Alpha and Omega. They both mean the same thing, as used in this verse also. The scripture goes on to say that, John turned around to see who had been speaking to him. John testifies that he saw the speaker and he was Jesus or John believed he was Jesus. Nevertheless, the speaker identified himself as the first and the last after John turned around and looked at him v17. The speaker went on to identify himself as having lived, died, and lived again. The author of the article seems to have a problem with the concept of the Alpha and Omega dieing, Nevertheless, Revelation 2:8 says the Alpha and Omega did die. (Revelation 2:8 - And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; This is an embarrassment to the writer, and it serves to indicate that he has not read the entire book of Revelation (at least not carefully. Furthermore, David testifies that his flesh could rest in hope because God would not leave his soul in hell Psalms 16:9-10. The goes on to say that Jesus died and was not alive anywhere. Jesus at the very least is an eternal spirit. Once he comes into existence he can never go out of existence. This again is quite embarrassing. The writer obviously does not understand our knowledge of the trinity.) On the surface it would appear that Revelation 1:4-5 applied only to God the Father. Not so, if the references are carefully studied. It applies to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Revelation 1:4 observe how clearly the other two personalities of the Godhead are mentioned: "and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ . . ." (Revelation 1:4,5). The seven Spirits here are equivalent to the Holy Spirit. (2) Who is the particular personality of the Trinity described in the Book of the Revelation as "the coming One" ? It is Jesus Christ. The Revelation closes like this: "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly ." And what is John's reply? "Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus" The speaker in Revelation 1:17 also testifies that he has the keys of hell and death Revelation 9:1; 20:1. The writer freely admits that Jesus holding the keys represents the authority given to Jesus by his father. Which defines Jesus as the one holding the keys. Not only did John identify the speaker as the Son Of Man or one who looks like the Son of Man, thus not Jehovah, but John said that he saw the speaker. Using the writer's own logic, we know that no man has seen God at any time. Furthermore, when John turned around the person he saw identified himself as Alpha and Omega. Therefore according verses 17 and 18, the person who holds the keys, is the Son of Man, was seen by John and is the First and Last. Revelation 22 The writer of this article states that verse 6 is evidently talking about Jehovah. He says the same thing about verse 8 in Revelation 1. His reasoning is that the phrase used is Lord God which always refers Jehovah. The phrase Lord God only appears six tims in the new testament, and three of that six it could mean Jesus or Jehovah. A sample size of six is too small to draw a conclusion based on always. Now when half of the sample is questionable, forget about it. In fact kurios for Lord occurs many times, and it refers to both Jehovah and Jesus Matthew 1:20, 22. And we know that Jesus is Lord(1 Corinthians 12:3, Romans 10:9). When the bible uses Lord to refer to Jesus it almost always uses Kurious. This usage of kurios is also in Revelation 1:8 where the said it necessarily referred to Jehovah. Nevertheless, verse 6 says the Lord God (Kurios) sent his angel. Verse 16 says I Jesus have sent my angel. It is erroneous to conclude that because Kurios has sent his angel, that Jehovah has sent his angel. It could be either Jehovah or Jesus. Nevertheless, verse 16 specifically say Jesus has sent his angel. Likewise, both Jehovah and Jesus are Lord God of the prophets. Finally, as far as who is coming. The God who says he is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last also said that he is coming quickly. Now let us see who the One who is coming quickly actually is: Revelation 22:20 - He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon. ' Amen. COME, LORD JESUS. It is more than obvious that Jesus is the One who is coming quickly which means that he is the One claiming to be the First and the Last, much like God did in the Old Testament! As if this weren't enough to prove that Jesus is speaking, note once more what Revelation 22:12 says: "… My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. " The writer claims that in verse 12, the angel is delivering the words of Yahweh. Nevertheless, The only way that it could be known whom the angel is quoting is the content of the text. The content of the text is my reward is with me. Jesus is the only one who comes with a reward. The One who is coming will repay and judge everyone according to what they have done. This is a function which Jesus performs at his return from heaven: Matthew 16:27 - For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. Thus it is clear the one who is bringing the reward with him is Jesus, not Jehovah. The fact that Jehovah is judging the world through Jesus, as is pointed out, does not alter the fact that Jehovah is not bringing the reward with him, and Jesus is. Furthermore, Revelation 20 says "Surely I come quickly ... Lord Jesus". Thus if Jesus is comming in verse 20, bringing the reward in verse 12, then it is Jesus who is comming in verses 11 and 7. If Jesus is coming in the last half of Revelation 22, then who is coming in the first half of Revelation 22, and in Revelation 1? Are Jesus and Jehovah both coming back to back? Seriously! The same person who is coming claims to be the Alpha and the Omega. Nevertheless, the writer says Revelation 22:13 is a quote from Yahweh when saying "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last". One thing that is undiniable is that all three phrases are synanamous. Revelations 1:17 refers to Jesus as being the first and the last where the author agrees Jesus is speaking. Therefore, instead of admitting that Jesus is also the Alpha & Omega the author expresses a logic that says that both Jesus and Yahweh, is the first and the last of his peculiar kind: This is not what the phrase first and last means. In light of the foregoing, the following concept of Alpha and Omega should not come as a surprise. Alpha and Omega is an example of a Hebrew literary form much like poetry, called a merism. A merism is a literary device that appears in both prose and poetry. Merism occurs when a writer mentions the extremes of some category in order to portray it as a totality, e.g., those opposites and everything in between them. One common form of merism is the use of polar word pairs in a single phrase; e.g., from the least of them to the greatest (Jerimiah 31:34). "Good and evil" is a merism meaning "everything" (Genesis 2:17). For example, in Genesis 1:1, when God creates the heavens and the earth, the two parts combine to indicate that God created the whole universe. Similarly, in Psalms 139, the psalmist declares that God knows my down sitting and my uprising; indicating that God knows all that the psalmist does. Other examples are: Alpha and Omega, first and Last. Merisms also figure in a number of familiar English expressions. When we mean to say that someone searched thoroughly, everywhere, we often say that someone "searched high and low". The phrase lock, stock, and barrel originally refers to the parts of a gun. We use merisms to refer to the whole of anything that has constituent parts. See merism in Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. The point here is that I am the Alpha and Omega means that I am everything. Because that is not a well-known fact, the writer of the article probably was not aware of this and therefore, began to define the word in a manner, which was convenient for his doctrine. (The writer says Alpha and Omega means one thing when referring to Jehovah, and it means something else when refereeing to Jesus). Nevertheless, we cannot make up our own deffinition of words, because that is the way that we choose to interpret the text. Alpha and Omega means the same thing reguardless of who it refers to. Just as high and low means the same thing independent of context. I am the first and last means I am everything. Finally, something needs to be said about trinitarians' understanding of God or one God in three persons. In order to understand God as used in the Nicene Creed we must first look at an unpopular definition of person that focuses not on separate existence but on relationships. Person - one (as a human being, a partnership, or a corporation) that is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. Trinitarians believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one person in the sense that each is aware of the other, speaks to the other, and loves and honors the other. The bonds or relationship of the individuals is as strong as the bonds of the individuals that make up a corporation. Therefore, they can be referred to as one person. Thus, God may be described as "one person" or as "three persons," depending on the meaning of "persons." This is the practice followed in the Nicene Creed. Trinitarians recognize that God speaks in the Bible as one "person," in the sense of a single personal being when addressing mankind or speaking of his relation to the world. Thus, God refers to himself as "I," and is addressed by humans as "you" in the singular. This is no embarrassment to the trinitarian belief, but fits it perfectly, since trinitarians believe that the three "persons" are one divine being. Also fitting perfectly with the doctrine of the Trinity is the fact that the Father and the Son speak to and of one another as distinct persons. It is simply a misunderstanding to ask whether trinitarians believe that Jesus prayed to himself when he addressed the Father. It is likewise inappropriate to say that the trinity is so complicated that no one understands. Person being defined as a relationship consisting of more than one individual is a legal definition of person (the first person and the second person, the defendant and the plaintiff). Let him that has an ear hear. God is a God who answerers prayer. My prayer is that God will grant me clarity of thought and precision of expression, that he might be glorified and that we might be edified, and that an alarm would be sounded. Therefore, I am forced to conclude that further confusion along the lines of what a person is to a trinitarinn is nothing short of denial. Although, you don't have to agree with the Trinitarian view of God it is simply denial to conclude that the logic is impossible to understand. Revelations 21:6 We have already examined with the author Revelations 1, and Revelations 22. We examined without the author Revelations 2:8, Revelations 9:1, Revelations 20:1 and Matthew 16:27. Now we will examine in depth an additional scripture with the author Revelation 21:6 Revelation 21:3-7 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 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. 6 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. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. This same speaker also said: He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Now the only Person in the New Testament who claimed to give "the spring of water of life" to anyone who overcomes is the Lord Jesus: Revelations 7:17 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. Jesus the Lamb does what God in 21:7 says he will do, namely, give believers to drink from the spring of living water. This isn't the only place where Jesus is said to do this: John 4:10, 13-14 10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 13. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 7:37-38 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Thus, the foregoing clearly shows that Jesus is the One who identified himself as the one who gives unto him that is athirst, and Alpha and Omega in Revelation 21:6-7 . The confusion as to who is speaking has its foundation in the fact the above texts show that Jesus claims and ascribes to himself the very functions and titles of God Almighty.