“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- KJV 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.
- BSB “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- NKJV “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- NLT “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Lord God declares himself the Alpha and Omega, the eternal Almighty. It matters because the sovereign, eternal God guarantees everything the book promises.
Overview
God speaks directly, claiming to be the beginning and end of all things, the eternal one who holds all of history. The title "Almighty" assures readers of his complete sovereignty over the events to come. Notably, similar titles are later applied to Christ, affirming his shared divine identity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 25
- Isa 44:6This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
- Rev 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
- Isa 48:12“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I am also the last.
- Isa 43:10“You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
- Rev 21:6He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
- Isa 41:4Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he.”
- Rev 1:4John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;
- Rev 11:17saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned.
- Rev 4:8The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”
- Rev 1:17When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- Rev 2:8“To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:
- Isa 9:6For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- 2 Cor 6:18I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
- Gen 49:25even by the God of your father, who will help you; by the Almighty, who will bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
- Rev 19:15Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.
- Rev 16:14for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty.
- Exod 6:3and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.
- Rev 21:22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.
- Gen 35:11God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your body.
- Gen 28:3May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
- Gen 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless.
- Num 24:4he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open:
- Gen 43:14May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
- Rev 1:11saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
- Gen 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.