Four times in Revelation (1:8; 1:11; 21:6; 22:13) Jesus refers to himself as the “Alpha and Omega”. You probably have heard that these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, in fact our word ‘alphabet’ comes from ‘alpha’ and the second letter ‘beta’ which are also similar to the first 2 letters in Hebrew ‘aleph’ and ‘beth’. When we think of Jesus saying this as he does in Revelation 22:13, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” What do we think he means by this phrase? Obviously Jesus was not two letters of the Greek alphabet and it is clearly a figurative description, but what?
We use a phrase about how something is all-inclusive that is similar to this. When talking about the animals from A to Z or how you can get anything from A to Z from Amazon.com. What we are saying is that this is all of it, everything. That is what Jesus is saying about himself here. There is a song I remember singing, “He Is My Everything”, that expressed this idea and encouraged us to help others see their need for Jesus to be their all as well.
“He is my Everything
He is my All
He is my Everything
Both Great and Small
He gave His Life for me
Made Everything New
He is my Everything
Now How about you?”
Just as God is described as the One who gives us all things and in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:25-28), Jesus is described in Colossians 1:16-17 as having all things created by and for him and being the one who holds all things together. Whatever you need from A to Z, Jesus is the one who can provide it. Have you made Jesus your everything. Like the youth song says do you believe and live the words:
“You are my strength when I am weak,
You are the treasure that I seek,
You are my all in all.
Seeking You as a precious jewel,
Lord to give up I’d be a fool.
You are my all in all.”
By: James Pasley