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Alpha and Omega Part 2 of Series

Revelation Commentary, , , , , , ,

 Revelation 1:8: “I am Alpha and Omega.”

This utterance, the first of the utterances of Jesus in the Book of Revelation, seems to be saying, not only the awesome title “I Am,” but also that “I Am the Alphabet,” since alpha and omega are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This is a puzzling statement unless and until we understand the significance of the alphabet as it is used in this context.[1]

Hebrew Aleph and Tau

Based upon the premise that the book was originally written in Hebrew, we should translate the alphabetic terms back to the Hebrew. The equivalent of Greek alpha and omega is Hebrew aleph and tau. The aleph and tau, being the first and last letters, represents the entire alphabet and is no doubt the Hebrew word for “alphabet.’  The word we translate “and” is represented in Hebrew by the letter vau, giving us the three letters aleph, vau, and tau.These three letters so arranged spell the word translated “sign,” or transliterated ’ôwth, or sometimes ‘oth. [2]

We may readily see that as the alphabet Christ is the totality of every word that may be uttered, written, or read. He is The Word. However, there are aspects of the ancient alphabet that are difficult to translate. One of those is the fact that the oldest alphabets were not only letters, but were also numerals. As the numerals, Christ is the entire realm of all that can be measured or quantified, that is, all mathematics and science. But this is not yet all that the term aleph-vau-tau indicates, for in the earliest traceable stages, the alphabet was also the means of designating the time-telling stars and constellations in their time-telling movements as well as their function in navigation and cartography (Seiss, 177).[3]

Even now there is a system for naming stars that uses the Greek alphabet – roughly in order of their brightness within a constellation: alpha, beta, gamma, … etc.

Christ is All and in All

To sum it up, as aleph-vau-tau, Christ is All and in All: The Word, Time, Space, Wisdom, Life.

Origen in his Commentary said that the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible were twenty-two, “like the letters of their alphabet.”[4] This was a fact noted also by Josephus and other writers of that era. It indicates that they considered the alphabet as representing a totality; that is, the complete Scriptures were contained in the twenty-two letters of the alphabet.

[1] See also my Commentary on Revelation 1:7, “Coming”. The Hebrew word ’ôwth, (consisting of the letters aleph-vau-tau,), is used in Dan.7:13 regarding the ‘coming’ of the Son of Man in the clouds.

[2] Targumim = ‘translations’.
The Babli is the Babylonian Talmud and the Yerushalmi is the Jerusalem Talmud.
Midrash is: (1) the haggadic or halakic exposition of the underlying significance of a Bible text. (2) A collection of Midrashim. (3) cap: the Midrashic literature written between the 4th century B.C. and 11th century AD].
Haggadah is: (1) ancient Jewish lore forming esp. the nonlegal part of the Talmud. (2) The Jewish ritual for the Seder, (Passover feast).
Halakah is the body of Jewish law supplementing the Scriptural law and forming especially the legal part of the Talmud.

[3] “In the perspective of early Christians who compiled listings of heretics, Israelites who rejected Jesus as Messiah were quintessential heretics. Among this group, the Pharisees were remembered for their devotedness to astrology: ‘Fate and astrology were quite popular notions with them,’ writes Epiphanius…. Epiphanius further recounts how they possessed a vocabulary of their own in Hebrew for the zodiac and other celestial beings,” (Malina, 74).
Quoting Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 4.46. Anti-Nicene Fathers, 5.42, that “‘Heretics’ read constellations in terms of Israel’s biblical tradition. They assimilate the doctrines of an Aratus, for example, to those declared by the Scriptures, thus ‘exhibiting a strange marvel, as if the assertions made by them were fixed among the stars” (ibid.).
Malina says further: “The heretics opposed by Hippolytus interpret the Scriptures allegorically. The Scriptures do not mean what they say literally, but refer to something else (this is allegory). Furthermore, these heretics likewise interpret the stars allegorically, using the fixity and regularity of the stars to give credence to their interpretations” (ibid.). These heretics thus used the stars to give credence to strange doctrines and suggest hidden meanings.

[4] As stated by Eusebius, History of the Church, 6.25; that the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation (ibid., 6:25.10).

Next Lesson – Alpha and Omega Part 3

Revelation 1:1 – He Sent and Signified It By His Angel

Revelation Commentary, , , , ,

1:1. “And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” (KJV)

There are some forty-two references to angel/s in the Book of Revelation. It is therefore important to understand the term. The following references will make clear what angels are and what their ministry is:

“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire,” (Hebrews 1:7 quoting Psalm 104:4).

“But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:13-14).

“Bless the LORD, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word,” (Psalms 103:20).

Angels are spirits and ministers who go forth ministering and doing God’s word. They are mighty in strength, do His commandments and obey His voice. These spirits/angels/ministers are made a flaming fire, which makes them appear as burning stars. Now we see these same relationships exist in the Book of Revelation.

It might help to clarify these relationships as: (1) On the material, physical level they were the Ministers in the literal Churches; (2) On the cosmic level, they were burning stars as lamps of fire in the heavenlies; (3) On the spiritual level, they were obedient emissaries of God to express and interpret God’s will to the physical, material world.

Stars Are Angels

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.” (The seven spirits before the throne are the seven lamps of fire, as stated in Revelation 4:5 quoted below):

Revelation 1:16: Jesus is holding the seven stars/seven spirits in his hand: “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.”

Revelation 1:20. The seven stars are the seven angels: “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

Angels of the Churches

The “angels” of the seven churches were the ministering spirits of those churches. These ministering spirits indwelt the pastors, prophets, and others who were filled with the Holy Spirit. The messages to the Churches are addressed to these “Angels,” for example:

Revelation 2:1: “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.”

Revelation 3:1: “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”

Revelation 4:5: “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and [there were] seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”

Revelation 5:6: The seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven spirits: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

1:1. And He Sent And Signified It By His Angel, (KJV)

Why did he send the Revelation by this Angel, and who was the Angel?  This and the next two lessons will answer this question.

This Angel was the interpreter. As in Nehemiah 8:5-8, Ezra read from the Book and the interpreters gave the “understanding,” the “sense.” The Hebrew language of the Scriptures was like a foreign language to them at this time.  In Revelation 1:1, the Angel is the interpreter; he “signified,” or ‘interpreted,’ what God was saying to John.

The “Angels of the Churches” were the interpreters as in the synagogues of that day throughout the Roman world, where the interpreter stood by the reader and interpreted in their mother tongue what was read from the Hebrew text.

Next Lesson: Who Was The Signifying Angel of Revelation 1:1?