Four times in the book of Revelation, the Lord declares Himself to be the Alpha and the Omega (1:8, 1:11, 21:6, 22:13).  Let us look at the first one in Revelation 1:8, “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.”  The words ‘Alpha’ and ‘Omega’ are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, thus the Lord declares Himself to be the first and the last, the beginning and the ending.  We have a similar expression in Isaiah 44:6, “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.” 

The Lord Jesus has always existed and there was never a time when He did not exist, because God is eternal and has no beginning nor does He have an ending.  We read in John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  This shows us that in the beginning of anything that was created…Jesus was already there.  In fact, He created all things that were created.  In Hebrews, chapter 7 we are told of Melchisedec, who is presented to us a type of Christ.  We read of him in verse 3, “having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God.”  This is reflected in the words of Revelation 1:8 where we just read, “which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME.”  The Lord goes on to say of Himself in Revelation 1:18, “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.”  He is the One who always lived, yet He died.  Now, through resurrection, He is “ALIVE FOR EVERMORE.”   

To get an idea of what the Lord means by calling Himself the Omega (the end), let us consider John 13:1, “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, HE LOVED THEM UNTO THE END.”  The end of what?  The Lord Jesus loved His own until the very completion of the work He had come to do.  He loved them unto the end of His life, which was the sacrifice of Himself for their sins.  He completed (and ended) the work of salvation by dying for them.  The Apostle Paul later stated that the Lord, “loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

In that same sense, the Lord, who is the beginning and created all things, will complete His purpose…leaving nothing undone.  We read in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Christ is the first incentive for our faith and the One who brings our faith to maturity.  He completes what He begins! 

The characteristic of eternity itself is ended, or complete, for the Lord Himself has already determined what eternity will be like.  He has determined that all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the glory with Himself.  Those who have rejected the Lord will spend eternity experiencing the full wrath of God.  We read in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”  Is He, who is the Alpha and Omega, also your Lord and Savior?  Your eternity depends on whether you believe on the Jesus Christ as your savior or not.  (467.6)