Revelation 1:8-11 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last”
Revelation 1:11 “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”
There are several words omitted from both Revelation 1:8 and 1:11 which provide strong testimony to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself Jehovah, the Lord God Almighty.
In Revelation 1:8 in the King James Bible we read: “I am Alpha and Omega, THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and is to come, the Almighty.”
And in Revelation 1:11 we read of a voice speaking to the apostle John: “Saying, I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST; AND, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches WHICH ARE IN ASIA; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
When John turned to see the voice that spoke unto him, he saw one like unto the Son of man. Then this same Son of man says to him: “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.” Revelation 1:17-18.
This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; He that was dead and is now alive for evermore.
If the Lord Jesus Christ is the one speaking here as the King James Bible and the Traditional Greek Texts read, then He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and He is Jehovah God Almighty.
Compare these titles to those Jehovah God gives us of Himself in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 44:6 we read: “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I AM THE FIRST, AND I AM THE LAST; AND BESIDE ME THERE IS NO GOD.”
And in Isaiah 48:12 again we read: “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I AM THE FIRST, I ALSO AM THE LAST.”
In Revelation 1:8 the words “THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING” are omitted by the new Vatican Versions including the RSV, NIV, NASB, ESV, ISV, Jehovah Witness New World Translation and Daniel Wallace’s NET versions.
The Catholic Connection
They used to be in the Catholic Douay-Rheims of 1582 – “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” and the Douay of 1950, but the more modern Catholic versions like the St. Joseph New American bible of 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible of 1985 omit these words by following the ever changing Critical (condition) texts of the United Bible Society/Nestle-Aland/Catholic/Evangelical Combine.
But, not to worry, the latest Catholic Public Domain Version of 2009 has now put these words back into the text and it reads: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.”, and so too has The Revised Douay-Rheims Bible 2012.
The words “the beginning and the ending” are found in several manuscripts like 205, 209, 1854, 2344, 2351, 2432, 2814 and are in the Old Latin copies ar, c, dem, div, gig, had, t, z the Latin Vulgate, Coptic Boharic and the Syriac Peshitta ancient versions. There were so quoted by Origen, Apringius, Andrew, Clement and Beatus.
Clement of Alexandria The Instructor Book I: Rightly, therefore, the Lord again promises milk to the righteous, that the Word may be clearly shown to be both, “the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end”
Lamsa’s 1933 translation of the Syriac Peshitta reads in Revelation 1:8 – “I am Aleph and Tau, THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
There is no book of the Revelation in the Vaticanus manuscript, but the words were included in Sinaiticus original. Then they were removed, and then later on put back into the Sinaiticus mss. They are found in the Traditional Greek Text and in the modern Greek New Testament used by the Greek Orthodox churches all over the world today.
The Modern Greek Bible reads: “Εγω ειμαι το Α και το Ω, αρχη και τελος, λεγει ο Κυριος, ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος, ο παντοκρατωρ.”
And in the Modern Hebrew Bible – אני האלף ואני התו ראש וסוף נאם יהוה אלהים ההוה והיה ויבוא אלהי צבאות
The words: “THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING” are included in Wycliffe 1395, Tyndale 1525, Coverdale 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549 -”I am Alpha and Omega, the begynnynge and the endynge, sayeth the Lorde almyghty”, the Bishops’ Bible 1568, the Douay-Rheims 1582, the Geneva Bible 1587, the King James Bible 1611, the Beza New Testament 1599, the Bill Bible 1671, Mace’s New Testament 1729, Worsley Version 1770, Thomas Haweis N.T. 1795, the Clarke N.T. 1795, the Thomson Bible 1808, The Revised Translation 1815, Webster’s translation 1833, the Morgan N.T. 1848, the Hewett N.T. 1850, The Commonly Received Version 1851, Julia Smith Translation 1855, The Revised N.T. 1862, The Smith Bible 1876, The Revised English Bible 1877, the Dillard N.T. 1885, Youngs 1898, The Living Bible 1971, the NKJV 1982, Green’s Literal 2005, the Third Millennium Bible of 1998 and the English Jubilee Bible 2010.
Other English Bibles that read: “I am Alpha and Omega, THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” are Interlinear Greek New Testament 1997 (Larry Pierce), the Lawrie Translation 1998, The Koster Scriptures 1998, the Worldwide English N.T. 1998, God’s First Truth 1999, The Last Days Bible 1999, The Tomson N.T. 2002, The Apostolic Polyglot Bible 2003, The Evidence Bible 2003, The Resurrection Life New Testament 2005 (Vince Garcia), Bond Slave Version 2009, Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, Holy Scriptures VW Edition 2010, Biblos Interlinear Bible 2011, The Work of God’s Children Illustrated Bible 2011, The Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011, The Natural Israelite Bible 2012, The Voice 2012 (a Critical text version!), Interlinear Hebrew-Greek Scriptures 2012 (Mebust), Hebraic Roots Bible 2012, The Biblos Bible 2013 and the Modern English Version 2014.
Foreign Language Bibles
Among foreign language Bible they are found in the Afrikaans bible 1953 – “Ek is die Alfa en die Oméga, die begin en die einde, the Albanian Bible, the Dutch Staten Vertaling – “Ik ben de Alfa en de Omega, HET BEGIN EN HET EINDE”, the French le Bible de Geneve 1669, the French Martin 1744 and the French Ostervald 1998 – “Je suis l’Alpha et l’Oméga, LE COMMENCEMENT ET LA FIN,” Spanish Reina Valera of 1569, 1909, 1960 and 1995 – “Yo soy el Alpha y la Omega, PRINCIPIO Y FIN, dice el Señor, que es y que era y que ha de venir, el Todopoderoso.” Luther’s German Bible 1545 – “Ich bin das A und das O, der Anfang und das Ende, spricht der HERR”, the Italian Diodati of 1649 and the New Diodati of 1991 – “Io son l’Alfa, e l’Omega; IL PRINCIPE,E LA FINE”, the Portuguese Almeida Corrigida y Fiel version – “Eu sou o Alfa e o Ômega, O PRINCIPIO E O FIM, diz o Senhor”, the Polish Updated Gdansk Bible 2013 – “Ja jestem Alfa i Omega, początek i koniec” and the Tagalog Ang Salita ng Diyos 1998 – “Ako ang Alpha at Omega, ang simula at ang wakas.”
the Modern Greek New Testament -“Εγω ειμαι το Α και το Ω, αρχη και τελος, λεγει ο Κυριος, ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος, ο παντοκρατωρ.”
As a side note, the Vatican Versions like the NIV, NASB, ESV, RSV, NET etc. contain an extra word in Revelation 1:8. The NIV says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega (omits “the beginning and the ending”) says the Lord GOD (adds the word “God”), who is, and who was, and who is to come.”
This extra word “God” is NOT found in Tnydale, Coverdale, the Bishops’ Bible, the Geneva Bible, the Beza New Testament 1599, Young’s 1898, Green’s 2000 nor the NKJV. Nor is the extra word God found in the Julia Smith Translation 1855, the Charles Thompson Translation 1808, the Daniel Mace N.T., the English Jubilee Bible 2010, Thomas Haweis N.T., Worsley N.T., A Faithful Version, the Resurrection Life N.T. 2005 – I am the Alpha and Omega–the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is, and was, and is to come–the Almighty!, the Tomson N.T 2002,
The Hebrew Transliteration Scriptures 2010 –1:8 Anochi Alef ve Tav, the beginning and the ending, said Adonai, which is, and which was, and which is to come, Elohei Tzavot (Almighty).
https://www.messianic-torah-truth-seeker.org/Scriptures/Brit-Hadashah/Hisgalus/Hisgalus01.htm
Neither is the extra word “God” found in the Spanish Sagradas Escrituras of 1569, the Spanish Reina Valeras of 1909, 1960, 1995, or 2011, nor the German Schlachter 2000, nor the Italian New Diodati of 1991, nor the Dutch Staten Vertaling Bible, nor in the French Martin 1744 or Ostervald of 1996, or the Portuguese Biblia Almeida Corrigida E Fiel or the Portuguese A Biblia Sagrada em Portugués.
It it also not in the Greek texts of Stephanus, Beza, Elziever nor in the Modern Greek – “Εγω ειμαι το Α και το Ω, αρχη και τελος, λεγει ο Κυριος, ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος, ο παντοκρατωρ.”
Modern Greek Bible – https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/bible/greek-modern/revelation/
However the extra word “says the Lord GOD” is found in the Catholic versions like the Douay-Rheims, St. Joseph NAB, New Jerusalem bible 1985, the Jehovah Witness New World Translation and the other Vatican Versions like the ESV, NIV, NASB, NET and Holman Standard.
Revelation 1:11 – “I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST”
When we get to Revelation 1:11 the words “I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST” are omitted by the modern Catholic versions and the RSV, NIV, NASB, ESV, ISV and NET versions all of which are based on the ever changing UBS – Nestle-Aland Vatican Versions Critical Text. They are also omitted by the Catholic Douay Rheims, the St. Joseph New American bible of 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible of 1985.
The words are found in the Traditional Greek text and in the Greek texts of Stephanus, Beza and Elziever. They are also found in many individual Greek manuscripts that have survived to this day, including about 57 of Hoskiers cursives, according to Jack Moorman and his book ‘When the KJV Departs from the “Majority” Text’.
This IS the text of the Reformation Bibles in all languages.
The words: “I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST” are found in Tyndale 1525, Coverdale 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549 – “saiynge. I am Alpha and Omega, the fyrst and the laste.”, the Bishops’ Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, the Beza N.T. 1599, the King James Bible 1611, the Bill Bible 1671, Mace’s New Testament 1729, the Worsley Version 1770, the Clarke N.T. 1795, the Thomson Bible 1808, The Revised Translation 1815, the Morgan N.T. 1848, The Commonly Received Version 1851, the Julia Smith Translation 1855, The Revised N.T. 1862, The Smith Bible 1876, The Revised English Bible 1877, the Dillard N.T. 1885, Young’s literal 1898, The Living Bible 1971, the NKJV 1982, the Amplified Bible 1987, Green’s Literal 2005, the Interlinear Greek N.T. 1997 (Larry Pierce), the Lawrie Translation 1998, The Koster Scriptures 1998, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, The Last Days Bible 1999, the Tomson N.T. 2002, the Resurrection Life New Testament 2005, Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, English Jubilee Bible 2010, Holy Scriptures VW Edition 2010, Biblos Interlinear Bible 2011, The Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 – “Saying, Ani Hu the Aleph and the Tav, HaRishon (The first) and HaAcharon (The last)”, The Voice 2012 (a Critical text version!) – ” A voice: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the very beginning and the very end. Make a book of what you see, write it down…”, The Biblos Bible 2013 and the Modern English Version 2014.
Among foreign language Bibles these words are included in the Africanns Bible, the Albanian bible, the Dutch Staten Vertaling – “Ik ben de Alfa en de Omega, de Eerste en de Laatste;”, the French le Bible de Geneve 1669, the French Martin 1744 and Ostervald 1998 – “Qui disait :Je suis l’Alpha et l’Oméga, le premier et le dernier”, the Spanish Las Sagradas Escrituras of 1569, Cipriano de Valera 1602, the Reina Valera’s 1909, 1960, 1995, Spanish Jubilee 2010 – “Que decía: Yo soy el Alpha y Omega, el primero y el último.” Luther’s German Bible 1545 and the 2000 Schlachter Bible – “Ich bin das A und das O, der Erste und der Letzte”, the Italian Diodati of 1649 and the New Diodati of 1991 – “Io son l’Alfa, e l’Omega; il primo, e l’ultimo” , the Romanian Cornilescu, the Russian, the Portuguese Almeida Corrigida, Revisada y Fiel Version – “Que dizia: Eu sou o Alfa e o Ômega, o primeiro e o derradeiro”, the Polish Updated Gdansk Bible 2013 – “Który mówił: Ja jestem Alfa i Omega, pierwszy i ostatni.”, the Hungarian Károli Bible – “Én vagyok az Alfa és az Omega, az Elsõ és Utolsó”, and in the Tagalog Ang Salita ng Diyos 1998 -“Sinabi nito: Ako ang Alpha at ang Omega, ang simula at ang wakas.”
and the Modern Greek New Testament – “ητις ελεγεν· Εγω ειμαι το Α και το Ω, ο πρωτος και ο εσχατος· και, Ο, τι βλεπεις, γραψον”,
and the Modern Hebrew New Testament – ויאמר אני האלף ואני התו הראשון והאחרון ואת אשר אתה ראה כתב אל ספר ושלחהו אל הקהלות אשר באסיא לאפסוס ולזמירנא ולפרגמוס ולתיאטירא ולסרדיס ולפילדפיא וללודקיא׃
both of which can be seen at this site here –
The omission of these words from Revelation 1:8 and 11 by the modern UBS Catholic Vatican Versions removes an important reference to the Lord Jesus Christ being equal to Jehovah God of the Old Testament who Himself is also “the first and the last, and beside Me there is no God”.
John Gill – “I am Alpha and Omega,…. These are the words of Christ himself, appearing at once, and confirming what John had said of him, concerning his person, offices, and future coming: Alpha is the first letter, and Omega the last in the Greek alphabet, and signifies that Christ is the first and the last, as it is interpreted in Revelation 1:11, and is a character often given to the divine Being in prophetic writings; see Isaiah 41:4, and is no small proof of THE PROPER DEITY OF CHRIST.”
John Gill’s Commentary on Revelation 1:11 –
Verse 11 – Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,…. These characters, which are repeated here, are left out in the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions; but are very fitly retained, to point out the person that speaks; to express his dignity, deity, and eternity; to excite the attention of John, and to give weight to what he said:
https://www.studylight.org/comm…/eng/geb/revelation-1.html
Matthew Poole – Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, as Aleph and Tau are in the Hebrew alphabet: the meaning of these is expounded, the beginning and the ending; he who was before all, and shall continue to exist when all creatures shall cease to be; the first and the last, as the same terms are expounded, Revelation 22:13; so Isaiah 41:4; 43:13 Which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty:
He addeth the Almighty, to show that he was able to make his words good. Thus in this verse, omnipotency, eternity, and immutability, ARE ALL APPLIED TO GOD, AND PARTICULARLY PREDICATED OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.”
Matthew Henry – “This account of Christ is ratified and confirmed by himself, v. 8. Here our Lord Jesus justly challenges the same honour and power that is ascribed to the Father, v. 4. He is the beginning and the end; all things are from him and for him; he is the Almighty; he is the same eternal and unchangeable one. And surely whoever presumes to blot out one character of this name of Christ deserves to have his name blotted out of the book of life. Those that honour him he will honour; but those who despise him shall be lightly esteemed.”