In
the book of Revelation, [2] the risen Christ introduced himself to the apostle
John as “Alpha and Omega,” followed by the explanation of this title, “the
first and the last” (Revelation 1:11). Alpha and omega are the
names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.
In John’s day, most of the Gentile converts to
the Church spoke Greek, which was the most widespread of the languages used
in the Roman Empire. [3] The title “Alpha and Omega” is also found in other
parts of the book of Revelation, sometimes defined as “the beginning and the
end[ing]” (Revelation 1:8; 21:6). In Revelation 22:13 the Savior declared,
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
The risen Christ’s message to the Nephites similarly
has the Lord saying, “I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end” (3 Nephi 9:18). Since the Nephites did
not know the Greek terms, the Savior undoubtedly used other words (possibly
Hebrew letters), which Joseph Smith rendered in the form more familiar to
readers of the King James Bible. Several modern revelations include the title
(D&C 19:1; 35:1; 38:1; 45:7; 49:12; 54:1; 61:1; 84:120).
The
earliest attestation for the title “first and last” is in the book of Isaiah
(41:4; 44:6, 8-9; 48:12). [4] Isaiah 41:4 ties the title to “the beginning.”
Isaiah 48:12-13 (cited in 1 Nephi 20:12-13) notes that the Lord is the creator
of all things, something that is said of Jesus in the New Testament (John
1:3, 10; Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:1-2). The Book of Mormon also says that
“he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Alma
11:39; cf. Moses 2:1).
An alternate title applied to Christ in the book
of Revelation is “he that liveth, and was dead.” In Revelation 1:17-18 and
2:8, this title immediately follows “the first and the last.” A related title
is “him which is, and which was, and which is to come” (Revelation 1:4, 8;
4:8). This title refers to Christ’s premortal existence, his mortal ministry,
and his return in glory to the earth. It is expressed in D&C 35:1, “Listen
to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and
forever.”
Other
modern scriptures that draw on this idea include:
- “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus, who
was on the earth, and is to come, the beginning and the end” (D&C 49:12)
- “For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to
exert the powers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and
ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with
my people. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Amen” (D&C
84:119-120)
- I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth,
I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:4)
According to Revelation 3:14, Jesus is “the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (cf.
Revelation 1:5; Jeremiah 42:5). [5] In Hebrew, the words “amen,”
“faith[ful],” and “true/truth” all derive from the same root.
The same word-play is found in Revelation 21:5:
“And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (cf. Isaiah
25:1; John 17:17; D&C 1:39), reminding us that Christ is “the Word” by
whom God created the world (John 1:1-3, 14; 1 John 1:1; 5:7; Revelation 19:13).
The “Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the
Son of God” (D&C 107:3; cf. Alma 13:7; D&C 124:123) is also said to
have “neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son
of God” (Hebrews 7:3; cf. Hebrews 6:20; Alma 13:7-9; D&C 84:17; Moses
6:7, 66-68). That Christ, “the Holy One” is “without beginning of days or
end of life” is affirmed in D&C 78:16 (cf. Moses 1:3).
In the Book of Mormon, we find Jacob saying that
“the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things
as they really are, and of things as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13). D&C
93:24 agrees with this definition of truth: “And truth is knowledge of things
as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.”
During his mortal ministry, Jesus declared that
“ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
“The spirit of truth,” is one of Christ’s titles (D&C 88:6-7, 66;. 93:8-11,
26), [6] and thus it is he who sets us
free from sin. King Benjamin taught that “salvation was, and is, and is to
come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah
3:18).
For
additional material relating to this lesson, see:
- John A. Tvedtnes, “Faith and Truth,” Journal
of Book of Mormon Studies 3/2 (Fall 1994)
- John A. Tvedtnes, “That Which Is to Come,”
chapter 35 in Tvedtnes, The Most Correct Book: Insights From a Book of
Mormon Scholar (Salt Lake City: Cornerstone, 1999, later reissued by
Horizon).