Rev 1:4 "John to the seven churches which are in Asia:"
These messages are for the churches, not just back then, but going all the way through until Jesus comes again.
Rev 1:4 "Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;"
(God)
Rev 1:4 "and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;"
(Spirit)
Rev 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ,who is the faithful witness...
(Jesus)
Some will say this is God's Spirit
Some will say these are angels.
And of course many will say this is the Trinity.
Rev 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"
Rev 1:6 "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Rev 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."
I don't agree with the opening comments on this video but he does have some good points after that.
I don't think this is a reference to the Trinity
I never call a body another person, nor do I call a spirit another person. Both make up a person.
Gen 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
This could be seven angels before the throne.
I'm leaning to this being God's spirit. (See the picture above or the video to the left to expand on that.)
More importantly I think this is to show that we are in the first part of the Sanctuary, the Holy Place.
Many do not want to debate this but I think we need to at least establish whether the Holy Spirit is another person or not.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. (1 Cor 11:3)
Rev 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord
(God, The Father)
, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
I have heard this passage explained three different ways.
Most red letter Bibles will have verse eight red to reflect Jesus.
Yet I believe verse eight is talking about God.
Not because of how the verse starts but because how the verse ends.
Let break down some of the wording here and see who it points to.
- The Alpha And The Omega (to A kai to O) (This could point to either God or Jesus)
-
God:
- Rev 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
- Rev 21:5-6 - And he that sat upon the throne said.....I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus:
- Rev 1:11-13 - I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last....And I turned to see the voice that spake with me....I saw...one like unto the Son of man
- Rev 22:12-13 - I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
- The Beginning And The Ending (archē kai telos)
- God:
- Rev 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
- Rev 21:5-6 - And he that sat upon the throne said.....I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus:
- Rev 22:12-14 - I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
- The First And The Last (prōtos kai ho eschatos)
-
Jesus:
This title always points to Jesus.
- Rev 1:11-13 - I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last....And I turned to see the voice that spake with me....I saw...one like unto the Son of man
- Rev 1:17-18 - Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore
- Rev 2:8 - These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive
- Rev 22:12-13 - I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
- Which Is, and Which Was, And Which Is To Come (ho ōn kai ho ēn kai ho erchomenos)
- God: This title always points to God.
- Rev 1:4-5 - Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
- Rev 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
- Rev 4:8 - Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
- Rev 11:16-17 - We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come
- Rev 16:5-7 - Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Looking at this more closely we can see that some titles are used interchangeably while others are specific to one or the other.
We must pay attention to who we are talking about as we read the text.
I've heard too many sermons where it clearly reads God (meaning the Father) and they flip it around to say Jesus.
Doing this creates much confustion and many don't even notice it.
Now, that is how I read the text above but some do read it differently.
Some say Jesus is talking about himself "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,".
But then gives credit to God as he said "saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord.
Please study for yourself, as you can tell we can easily get things mixed up.