Throughout the book of Revelation there are several texts that speak of the Alpha and the Omega and the First and the Last.  Within this discussion we will examine each of these and determine who is being spoken of and, in cases where Jesus is spoken of, if he is equated with God. 

Revelation 1:8
The text of Revelation begins in verse one by speaking of a Revelation that God gave to Christ to give to us, his servants.  Moving into verses four and five we find a greeting that John sends to seven churches in Asia.  A consideration of this text is essential for understanding Revelation 1:8. 

Revelation 1:4  John to the seven assemblies in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from the One who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the seven spirits which are before His throne;  5  and from Jesus Christ the Faithful Witness, the First-born out of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him loving us and washing us from our sins by His blood, 

The greeting speaks of three distinct persons or groups.  We first read of “the one who is, and who was and who is coming.”  Following this we read of the seven spirits, and finally we read of Jesus Christ.  This leads us to ask who “the one who is, who was and who is coming” is.

The first one identified, “the one who is, who was and who is coming,” is clearly the Father.  In fact, this text reminds us of Exodus 3:14 where the Hebrew imperfect Ehyeh was used to describe God.  In that case God said that he would reveal himself to be what they needed as the circumstances arose.  With the writing of Revelation he had done so, was doing so and would continue to do so. He would be what they needed him to be. 

Looking to Revelation 1:8 we find it to be expressly stated that the speaker is “the one who is, who was and who is coming.” As we see this one is distinguished from Jesus Christ in verses 4 and 5, and so we conclude that this can bea reference to none other than the Father. It is in light of this that Hort notes the following: "This verse must stand alone. The speaker cannot be our Lord, when we consider Apoc. 1:4, which makes oJ w]n & c. distinctive of the Father; and all Scriptural analogy is against the attribution of Kuvrio" oJ qeov" with or without pantokravtwr, to Christ. The verse is thus the utterance of the great fundamental voice of the Supreme God, preceding all separate revelations concerning or through His Son."[1]  Some might object on the grounds of verse 7 where Christ is clearly in view, and yet nothing indicates that Christ would begin speaking in verse 8.  The use of amen at the end of verse 7 points to the conclusion of the thought in view.

With the Father identified as the Alpha and the Omega, we must inquire of this title's meaning.  Barnes well observes the parallel between this title and “the First and the Last,” a title given to God within the book of Isaiah (Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12).  He well explains the meaning as follows: “The sense is, that God existed before all things, and will exist forever.”[2] We accept this meaning fully and believe it to properly articulate the thought of the text.

Revelation 1:17
With God established as “the Alpha and the Omega” in verse 8, we have noted that this title parallels the use of “the First and the Last” for God in Isaiah.  On this ground many have then pointed to Revelation 1:17 in an effort to prove that Christ is God.  In effect, they argue that “the First and the Last” points to God’s eternity, with him being the first being to exist, the one before all others.  As the last, he will forever exist into the future.  Nothing will ever come after him for he will never cease to be.  If Jesus is called this, he too must have lived eternally into the past and therefore can be none other than God.  Yet is this the case? 

To properly consider the argument we need to examine the context of the text in question.   The following is the text, again from the ASV. 

Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, 18  and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 

In this text we find that Jesus is identified as “the First and the Last,” yet he is also identified as “the Living one… [who] was dead and… alive for evermore.”   We must also note that in chapter two Jesus is again identified with this title. (Rev. 2:8) Yet, this occurs with reference to himself as the one who “was dead and lived.”  Why is this significant? 

We notice that Jesus does not simply reference himself as the one that lives, but specifically as the one that “was dead,” which is more accurately translated as “became dead.”  That he became dead and now lives, and specifically that he lives “for evermore” (Rev. 1:18) points to his resurrection.  Whereas God is simply “the First and the Last” without qualification, Jesus is “the First and the Last” as the one who “became dead and is alive for evermore.” 

This is highlighted by the book Isaiah and Prophetic Traditions in the Book of Revelation: "Not only is it [the title of "the first and the last"] associated with the resurrection explicitly in two of its three uses (1.17-18; 2.8), but John relates Christ's 'firstness' specifically to the resurrection when in 1.5 he calls him the 'firstborn from the dead'...  It appears then that the [view of the title being "associated with the resurrection"] best accords with the immediate context and John's overall perspective."[3]  Commenting on 2:8, it states: "It is surely significant that John here does not merely take over the first and last designation from 1.17, but retains its connection with the resurrection."[4]  What then does this title mean? 

As we noted for God, the title implied God’s eternal existence, for as the first he was before anything else, and as the last his existence is unending,  If all were to cease existing he would remain.  Jesus, on the other hand, was the first to receive the resurrection to immortality. (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5)  As such, he is the first to experience this and in his immortality (1 Cor. 15:53) he is forever existing and hence he is appropriately identified as the last.[5]   

Revelation 22:12-13
A disputed text presents itself in Revelation 22, where some will argue that the text speaks of Christ, while others that it speaks of God.  The text speaks of “the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  These are all parallel expressions denoting the same thing.   While the text is not qualified to show itself speaking of Christ as in Revelation 1:17-18 and 2:8, it would not necessarily need to be in light of the qualification having already been established in those two texts.   

While the majority of scholars have taken this text to be one of Christ, there is good reason for rejecting this view.  We do not view the rejection of such as a theological necessity, but we view the text as providing the grounds for doing this. 

Noting the loci citati vel allegati of the Nestle-Aland 27^th edition Greek New Testament, we find a reference of “quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and non-Christian Greek writers.”[6]  In examining this for Revelation 22:12-13 we find a reference to Isaiah 40:10 that proves to be extremely enlightening. Looking to this text we find a clear parallel to Revelation 22:12, which we find fulfilled in Revelation 22. 

Isaiah 40:10  Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 

This text is extremely significant, for it can be in reference to none other than the Father.[7]  The text speaks of Jehovah and “his arm” a reference to God’s power, which the Messiah is identified as. (1Cor. 1:24)  Tracing this thought forward we come to see that it is the Messiah (Isa. 53:1), who of course is his Son that is ruling for him. (1 Cor. 15:27)  This in itself is not conclusive for showing that the speaker of Revelation 22:12-13 is not Jesus, but this is only our first line of evidence. 

The second line of evidence comes in noting that God the Father finds himself identified as “the Alpha and Omega” shortly prior to the passage in question, at Revelation 21:6.  That this is the Father can be determined by two clear points.   

First, the speaker is identified as “the one sitting on the throne,” which is a reference used exclusively for the Father (Rev. 4:9; 5:1; 6:16).  Second, we observe that verse 7 speaks of ones being the speaker’s “son,” which men are never spoken of as in relation to Christ.[8]  Rather, they are deemed Christ’s brothers (cf. Joh. 20:17).  In fact, this text alludes back to the terminology used of the Father to Solomon (2Sam. 7:14) and later to Christ himself (Heb. 1:5).  Therefore, it comes as little surprise that Robertson notes this to be “the first time since Rev 1:8 that God has been represented as speaking directly.”[9] [10] 

We must finally note that Revelation 22:16 seems to introduce Christ as speaking, eliminating the possibility of him being the speaker in the previous verses.  Looking to verse 16 we find that Christ begins speaking with the words “I, Jesus.”  This first person pronoun, proper name construction is used but only three times in the book of Revelation, the other two being for John himself.   

The first occurrence of this construction is found in Revelation 1:9. Here John uses it to introduce a speaker change.  In verse 8 we noted that the Father had been speaking and 9 finds John introducing himself to indicate that it is no longer God but he who is speaking.  We find a similar occurrence then in Revelation 22:8, just a few verses prior to 22:16, also pointing to a speaker change.  While it is admittedly true that only two other occurrences are not a significant number, the fact that John makes use of this in such close proximity to Jesus’ own use of the expression is telling.   

It is in light of these points that we feel that this text finds the Father as the speaker.  Admittedly the speaker is not identified explicitly, but this is not uncommon within the book of Revelation (cf. Rev. 16:15; 18:20).  What though of the objections to this view? 

The first and most obvious might be that the speaker identifies himself as “coming quickly,” something Christ is said to be doing (Rev. 22:20).  Yet, as we noted, the text presents what is at the very least an allusion to Isaiah 40:10, which speaks of Jehovah as coming, whom we noted could only here be the Father.  Within Daniel's prophecy the Ancient of Days, who in the context is shown to be the Father (Dan. 7:13), is said to come (Dan. 7:22).  Jesus also spoke in a parable that showed the Father to be coming. (Luk. 20:13-16)

On this point we must also note that in Revelation 22:7 the angel apparently speaks of himself as coming quickly.  Many have argued that Christ interjects this point in the text, but there are no contextual indicators to point to this.  When Christ spoke of his coming he specifically identified his angels as coming with him (Mat. 16:27), and so for the angel to utter such words should not be considered unusual or inappropriate.  In fact, saying that God, Jesus and an angel are coming seems to parallel Luke 9:26. 

A final point of objection might be that the speaker states that his reward is with him to render to ones according to their deeds.  From this it could be argued that Christ made a similar statement Revelation 2:23, thus indicating that he is the speaker in 22.  Yet we must also observe that God is spoken of as being in a similar role (Rev. 11:18; Mat. 6:1), with the reward clearly finding its origin in God, coming through Christ as the deliverer.   

On this text we would conclude by noting Ford’s comments: “If one follows Gaechter’s order, the concluding words of Revelation (22:10-13) are spoken by the One who sits upon the Throne, rather than by the interpreting angel; cf. 22:8-10… It echoes Isa 40:10; Pss 28:4; 62:12; Jer 17:10, all of which refer to God as the One who brings recompense for the good or bad.  Such reattribution could be seen in the fall of the Holy City.  Vs. 13 proves that the preceding statements do come from the mouth of God.”[11]             

In view of what we have herein stated, it is our position that both the Father and Jesus are spoken of as “the First and the Last,” but with Christ it is a reference to the immortality he received as the first one resurrected.  He is the first of the new creation and the last in respects to none coming after him.  With God it is a reference to his eternal existence from all past eternity.  He is the first in that none came before him, and as with Jesus, he is the last in that none will come after him.  In all of this there is simply no basis in demanding that any of these texts serve as “proof” of Christ being God or more specifically, that Jesus is a one person of a Trinity.   

A Text within the Context
We find it necessary to now address one point within the context.  It is an unrelated objection within the book of Revelation, noted in Revelation 22:6.  The key portion of this text reads: “And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His slaves what must happen quickly.”  It is in paralleling this text to Revelation 1:1 that we find both the objection and the answer to the objection. 

Revelation 1:1 A Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to show to His slaves things which must occur quickly. And He signified by sending through His angel to His slave, John, 

It is argued that Jesus is the one that sent his angel to deliver the message to John and so Jesus must be “the Lord God” who “sent His angel” that is spoken of in Revelation 22:7.  Yet this in no way need be considered true.  In fact, it is far from the most reasonable view on the text. 

The text of Revelation 1:1 speaks of "his servants," in parallel to 22:6.  Both texts present the servants as God's, not Christ's.  In the case of 1:1, the angel sent is spoken of as Christ's, while in 22:6 it is God's.  While it is natural that the angel would belong to both (for the angels are also said to be Michael's), there is another possibility. The basic meaning of the Greek word translated angel is simply messenger, and few will deny that Christ is God’s messenger. (Mal. 3:1)  It may then be understood that Christ is the messenger that God gave the revelation to deliver to his servants, and per Revelation 1:1 we find that this revelation was delivered by Jesus through one of his own angels.     

The book of Revelation speaks of the “Lord God” on nine occasions, without ever making a reference to Jesus.  In fact, on several occasions the context specifically distinguishes Jesus from the Lord God (Rev. 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 19:6).  If we accept that the book of Revelation is a coherent literary work that is consistent in its use of language, there is simply no basis for arguing that an expression used throughout the book of Revelation as a reference to the Father is here at the conclusion used for another.