Apocalypse | 007 | Who is El Shaddai?

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. (Revelation 1:8)

John was still writing through the opening statements of the book of Revelation when the above statement was made by the Lord. In the Old Testament, "The Lord" was always transliterated from the Hebrew word "yeh-ho-vaw" or Jehovah. By John, it was transliterated from the Greek word "kurios" which means supreme authority. The speaker in Revelation 1:8 is Jehovah, the supreme authority, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty.

Let's identify who exactly was speaking here:

• Alpha and Omega:
  In the beginning of his vision, John saw the Alpha and the Omega and "...fell at his feet as dead...", but He laid His hand on John and said, "...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 of death." (Revelation 1:16-18) These characteristics could be attributed to none other than Jesus Christ, who was alive from everlasting, died on the cross, and is now alive forevermore.
  
  
• The First and The Last: 
  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. (Isaiah 44:6) Many people might imply that God in this verse is just one God, but that was not what Isaiah was implying. He was speaking against idol worshippers who have formed other gods beside the one true God and have gone off to worship them. (Isaiah 44:10) 
  
  
• Which is, and Which Was, and Which is to Come:
  This set of phrases means that the speaker was from everlasting. Can we find evidence in the Bible suggesting Jesus' Christ as everlasting? Certainly! In his messianic prophecy, the prophet Micah states, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2)
  
  
• The Almighty:
  Is Jesus Christ the Almighty? If all the characteristics above point to Him, then he is surely the Almighty. He was the one who said to Moses, "I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:2-3)
  

The question we should ask now is, who gave Him this authority? We find the answer in Philippians chapter 5:

1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 

2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 

3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 

4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 

5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 

8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 

10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 

11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

If you read and meditate on these verses, you will know that Jesus Christ was once equal in nature to God, His Father, but sacrificed it all to save you and me from our sins. For this reason, His Father deems Him the worthy sovereign over the universe. To His Son He says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." (Hebrews 1:8). 

No matter which passage we study in scripture, no matter what point we start from, all of them point to this undeniable truth - GOD IS LOVE.

Until the next post, God bless you.