Who is the Alpha & Omega?

by edp81 25 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • Introspection
    Introspection

    Well, the question of source is like the question of "who". If we take this idea of past, present and future, then this line of thought is limited to the past isn't it?

  • UnDisfellowshipped
    UnDisfellowshipped

    It is very interesting to see what the Watchtower Society has said about who the Alpha and Omega is:

    "Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand" Book, Page 20:

    The Alpha and the Omega

    9. Now, wonder of wonders! The Sovereign Lord Jehovah himself speaks. How appropriate this is as a preface to the visions that are about to unfold, since he is our Grand Instructor and the ultimate Source of Revelation! (Isaiah 30:20) Our God declares: I am the Alpha and the Omega, . . . the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8) This is the first of three times in Revelation that Jehovah himself speaks from heaven. (See also Revelation 21:5-8; 22:12-15.) First-century Christians would quickly have recognized alpha and omega as the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jehovahs calling himself by those two letters stresses that before him, there was no almighty God, and there will be none after him. He will bring to a successful conclusion, for all eternity, the issue of Godship. He will be forever vindicated as the one and only almighty God, Supreme Sovereign over all of his creation.Compare Isaiah 46:10; 55:10, 11.
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    "Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand" Book, Page 81:

    24. Listen! Melodious, soul stirring, is the song of praise that the cherubs render to Jehovah: Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming. Again, the threeness indicates intensity. The cherubs strongly affirm the holiness of Jehovah God. He is the Source and the ultimate Standard of holiness. He is also the King of eternity, always the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 22:13) The cherubs take no rest periods as they proclaim the matchless qualities of Jehovah before all creation.
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    "Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand" Book, Pages 303-304:

    8. What magnificent foregleams fill our minds as we meditate on these promises! Wondrous provisions are in store for faithful mankind under heavens loving government. Are such promises too good to be true? Are they just the dreams of an old man exiled on the island of Patmos? Jehovah himself answers: And the One seated on the throne said: Look! I am making all things new. Also, he says: Write, because these words are faithful and true. And he said to me: They have come to pass! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.Revelation 21:5, 6a.

    9. It is as though Jehovah himself were signing for faithful mankind a guarantee, or title deed, to these future blessings. Who would dare question such a Guarantor? Why, so certain are these promises of Jehovah that he speaks as though they were already fulfilled: They have come to pass! Is not Jehovah the Alpha and the Omega . . . , the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty? (Revelation 1:8) Indeed he is! He himself declares: I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6) As such, he can inspire prophecies and fulfill them in every detail. How faith strengthening! So he promises: Look! I am making all things new! Rather than questioning whether these marvels will really happen, surely we should be wondering: What do I personally have to do to inherit such blessings?
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    "Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand" Book, Page 316:

    6. Jehovah, the King of eternity, now addresses readers of Revelation for the last time in the prophecy, saying: Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Happy are those who wash their robes, that the authority to go to the trees of life may be theirs and that they may gain entrance into the city by its gates. Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone liking and carrying on a lie.Revelation 22:12-15.

    7. Once again, Jehovah God emphasizes his eternal sovereignty and the fact that what he first purposes he will at last perform. He is coming quickly to execute judgment and will reward those earnestly seeking him. (Hebrews 11:6)
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    "Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand" Book, Page 319:

    15. Jesus now adds a final word of encouragement: He that bears witness of these things says, Yes; I am coming quickly. (Revelation 22:20a) Jesus is the faithful and true witness. (Revelation 3:14) If he bears witness to the visions of Revelation, they must be true. Both he and Jehovah God himself repeatedly stress the fact that they are coming quickly, or soon, Jesus here saying that for the fifth time. (Revelation 2:16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20) The coming is to execute judgment on the great harlot, the political kings and all others who oppose the kingdom of our Lord [Jehovah] and of his Christ.Revelation 11:15; 16:14, 16; 17:1, 12-14.

  • jwsons
    jwsons

    bttt for Lee "WTS changes" jwsons

  • JamesThomas
    JamesThomas

    It's been mentioned that the idea of Alpha and the Omega, is not original to Christian beliefs, but rather is a spiritual idea passed down from before, or better said: a finger-pointing, past down.

    That religious people unquestionably attribute That which has no beginning or end to their cherished little ideas of god, an individual thing or deity -- is silly; as a finite entity is not INFINITE as "being the Alfa and Omega" implies. However, we are free to reinforce our religious beliefs in any way we can, and we do.

    That, which has no beginning or end, is here/now and must be, is, ultimately formless; because to have form is to have a beginning and end, is to have limits and boundaries, is to have an outside and an inside. All of which by the way is necessary for the mind to grasp it. However, the mind can not grasp it's own Source, that, which is limit-less.

    So, what is It, that is here and now, and in which we all equally share? The Alpha and Omega. Or in other words the question to ask ourselves is: Who am I, really?



  • LittleToe
    LittleToe

    Just another vote for the Alpha and Omega of Revelation being Jesus (not that it's really a democratic thing - LOL).

    Undis:Good to see ya, bro.
    Now get your ass back onto that "Freedom" thread
    LOL

  • MerryMagdalene
    MerryMagdalene

    I belong to a non-denominational dog pack and, according to their scriptures (posted along most roadside fire hydrants, telephone poles, fence posts, rocks, and large shrubberies), the saviour also once came among us, saying: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the dominant and the submissive, the leader and the follower, the beginning and the end. I am Dog the Father, howling at the moon. I am Dog the Mother, nursing my pups in a den. And I am Dog the Child, chasing my own tail into infinity. I am spirit and I am flesh. I am strong and I am weak. I am all canines, great and small, wild and domestic, slave and free. I am in you and you are in me, now and forever more. Aaaaooouuu."

    Merry

    (of the Sirius class)

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