Revelation 1:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The martyrdom of the blessed Apostles has sanctified that day for us. They gained the glory of the whole world by despising the world. Peter is the first Apostle, Paul the last Apostle. The First and the Last, Christ, brought the first and the last to one day of martyrdom. To remember what I have said, consider the Alpha and the Omega. The Lord Himself clearly says in the Apocalypse: “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” He is the first, before whom there is no one. He is the last, after whom there is no one. He precedes all things and brings all things to completion. Do you wish to behold the First? “All things were made through Him” (Jn 1:3). Do you seek the Last? “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4). So that you might live at some time, you had Him as Creator. So that you may live forever, you have Him as Redeemer.

For we have both known and preach the Godhead of the Son, being guided by great and exalted words. Which words? These: “He who is,” “the Almighty,” and again, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty,” are clearly ascribed to the Son. So also are the other words of equal force with these. They belong among those things of which none is acquired and later assigned to the Son or to the Spirit, just as none is so assigned to the Father Himself. For He is not perfected by addition. There was not a time when He was without the Word. There was not a time when He was not Father. There was not a time when He was not true, or wise, or almighty, or without life, radiance, or goodness.

Scripture most of all uses the expressions: "always," "eternally," and "He always abides with the Father." In the Apocalypse it says the following: "He who is, and who was, and who is to come."

Of Him of whom it is said, "He who is, and who was," will anyone take away eternity?

By the words Alpha and Omega, Christ is signified as God, who contains all things, without beginning and without end.

He is the One who is, who was before, and who has no end. He is co-eternal with the Father, and therefore He will render to each according to his works.

This verse contains a new name which Christ gives Himself: Alpha and Omega.

In Greek, alpha is the first letter of the alphabet, and omega is the last. This means that the Word of God contains within Himself all His creation, visible and invisible.

"I am Alpha and Omega." The Apostle adapts to the Greek alphabet a form of expression proper to the Hebrews (Is 44:6), meaning the beginning and the end.

Jesus Christ is the beginning, or cause, of all that exists. He is also the end of all things.

That is, He can by His will bring the existence of the world to an end. More precisely, He is the end and goal toward which all things strive.

If everything has its beginning and end from Him, then He alone is eternal.

That is, because of that dread judgment which He will execute upon men when He comes in His own time. Why, immediately after the greeting, does the holy Apostle begin to speak of the dread judgment? He hastens to mark out the chief theme, or chief subject, of his book. He does this to prepare his readers for it and to dispose them in a certain way toward receiving the great and dread revelations about the world’s subsequent destinies. To confirm the immutability and inevitability of the Lord’s universal judgment, and likewise all the events connected with it, about which St. John is about to speak, he first says on his own behalf: “Yea, Amen.” Second, he calls as witness Him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of all that exists (Rev 1:8).

Then the Apostle expresses the chief thought of his book: “The Lord is coming with clouds.” In the Old Testament, the cloud served as a sign of divine presence. Among later Jews, the Messiah was even directly called “the man of the clouds.” He is coming, of course, to execute judgment upon His enemies. All men will turn their gaze toward Him, both the Jews who pierced Him and all the nations. His coming will appear dreadful to all, so that men will cry aloud in terror, κόψονται. This is entirely true. It will certainly happen, the Apostle notes. God Himself further guarantees this, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of all. He holds all things in His power and therefore can accomplish everything foretold in the Apocalypse (verses 7-8).