Revelations 1:8 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.”
God responds to John’s word of praise in verses 6-7. The Book of Revelation begins with the declaration of God’s sovereignty. Alpha (A) and omega (Ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and are equivalent to English “A to Z.” By using this designation, John indicates the completeness of God. Revelation ends with a similar declaration for Jesus in 22:13. Human language is inadequate to describe who God is. We can use all kinds of words, but none can fully describe the “I am” (egō eimi).
God’s timelessness is asserted with the phrase who is and was and is to come. God is beyond time but becomes involved in time through the Son. First, God is in the present. God defines all other existence. God is present with us now, to see us through life’s challenges. Second, God was and always has been. There was never a time when God was not. God has been involved in human history and experience and, more broadly, in creation. Third, God is coming. We can be assured of the future because of the past. God’s promises are true; therefore, we can have peace knowing what our destiny will be.
Fourth, God is Almighty, all-powerful, and nothing is beyond God’s control or influence. This word (pantokratōr) is common in the Old Testament but found in the New Testament only in Revelation (also in 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22) and a quote from 2 Samuel 7:18 in 2 Corinthians 6:18. The word captures God’s complete sovereignty. By using this description, John emphasizes God’s power, which could have spoken powerfully to believers bound, harassed, or compelled in the pagan Roman Empire. Readers would have assurance about everything that follows in the book. Those with faith in Jesus are connected as victors to the eternal, omnipotent, ever-present God.