This past Sunday I preached on Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ. Yesterday and today the same, and for ever. You can watch it here
In my preparation I spent some time in the book of Revelation looking at the phrases that speak of the eternity of God. They are:
which was, and is, and is to come
Alpha and Omega
the beginning and the end
the first and the last
and then there is the phrase
the Almighty
I noticed something about these: they each occur three (3) times; Almighty occurs nine (9) times (9 is a multiple of 3). Is there any significance in the numbers 3 and 9? I am inclined to think there is - the book of Revelation is a very symbolic book and numbers are a principle player. Three is an important number throughout the Scriptures, so I am pretty sure it is noteworthy. Having said that let me add, I don’t plan to pursue that aspect in this post. I merely wish to explain what I found.
which is and was and is to come
Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
What a fascinating way to express the eternity of God! This is equivalent to “I am who I am” and “I am” of Exodus 3.14, which is an explanation of Yahweh, the name of God.
You may have noticed that 1.4 and 1.8 say which is, and which was, and which is to come while 4.8 says, which was, and is, and is to come. I confess, I don’t know why it is different.
This is only used of the Father.
I am Alpha and Omega
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 21:6 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.
Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It signifies that he is first and last and everything in between. The Father says this twice (1.8, 21.6) and Jesus says it once (22.13). This is a declaration of deity.
the beginning and the end
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 21:6 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.
Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Notice how every time Alpha and Omega is used it is followed by the beginning and the end. The one explains the other. And like Alpha and Omega, the Father speaks twice (1.8, 21.6) and Jesus once (22.13). This is also a declaration of the deity of Christ.
the first and the last
Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
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;
Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Each time it is Jesus speaking. This is a strong declaration by Jesus that he is God. There are two interesting quotes from the Old Testament that are similar (both are from the Septuagint):
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith God the King of Israel, and the God of hosts that delivered him; I am the first, and I am after these things: beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 48:12 Hear me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I am forever.
When Jesus says, I am the first and the last he means, I am the first, and I am forever. Amen!
The Almighty
This is a name for God from the Septuagint. A few times it is used for El Shaddai (God Almighty) but most often for “God of hosts”, which the Septuagint understands as God Almighty. It occurs nine times in this book and only once outside of it. Whenever we talk of the Almighty, everyone knows we are talking about God. Not one of many, the one and only God. Amen!
It is only used of the Father.
As I said, I studied this while preparing for my teaching on Hebrews 13:8. People always say you get way more out of preparing to preach than those who hear you. Amen to that! And anytime you think a 30-40 minute teaching is long, just think of how long it would be if we mentioned everything we studied in preparation!! Anyway, I was blessed. I pray you are as well.
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If you have made it this far, you may recall there are two phrases (which is, and which was, and which is to come and the Almighty) I said were used only of the Father and not of Jesus. You may be thinking, what about Revelation 1:8, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty, isn’t that Jesus speaking? I don’t believe it is. Jesus is referred to in the preceding verses (1-7), but does not appear or speak until v 11. This means v 8 is the Father. Am I trying to avoid a clear reference to the deity of Jesus? If you have read this you know that is not the case. Nevertheless, I believe these are two phrases that are not used of or by Jesus.
Variations of "which is, and which was, and which is to come"
Revelation 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
This is interesting. Three times, as I have already pointed out, we have seen, which is, and which was, and which is to come (with one variance). This looks like a fourth time. What’s the explanation? For some reason, instead of "which is, and which was, and which is to come", 11:17 has "which art, and wast, and art to come." I’m not sure why the translators (of the KJV) did it this way. There are some texts which read, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who is and who was…” And this makes sense because beginning in 11:15 the future has arrived!
Revelation 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
This is curious because the literal translation is, “Thou art righteous, O Lord, who is and who was, the Holy One...”
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