Revelation 22:13

Joshua Perez

3/7/2025

“12 Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 22:13 NASB)

The titles “the Alpha and Omega”, “the first and the last”, and “the beginning and the end” are all very similar, and appear to be conveying the same idea. For this reason, we will treat them as the same in meaning for this article. Many assert that because God (the Father) is called “the first and the last” twice in the book of Isaiah (44:6, 48:12), and the Son is called the same title three times in the book of Revelation (1:17, 2:8, 22:13), that this must mean they are ontologically equal, and are both God. This assertion is a misunderstanding of how titles function in the Bible, that being that they can have varying degrees depending on context. 

For example, God is called the only savior (Isaiah 43:11), yet Othniel and Ehud are also called “saviors” in Judges 3:9,15. God says he is the only God (Isaiah 45:5), yet Moses (Ex. 4:16; 7:1) as well as the judges of Israel (Ex. 21:8, 22:8-9; Psalm 82), are called “gods”. God is called “Lord”, yet kings, emperors, property owners, and masters are also called “Lord” (kurious - Matthew 20:8, Mark 13:35, Matthew 10:24, 1 Peter 3:6, Matthew 21:30, Acts 25:26, Matthew 27:63). And lastly, God is called “king of kings” (1 Tim. 6:14-16), yet Artaxerxes and Nebucahdnezzar are also called that (Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37; Ezra 7:12). All of this goes about to display that a title can be applied to God, and man, without conflating them into one being. A single title can be used for two people with a different implication. To give an example, me saying “i’m good at basketball” is very different than Lebron James saying he is good at basketball. “Good” simply means to be “well”, or “approved”. But the degree to which “good” is being used is obviously different. Therefore, Jesus and God both being called “The First and the Last” does not make them equal or one in the same being. 

So, what does “the First and the Last” mean? One proposed meaning is provided by the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary:

“13. I am Alpha—Greek, "… the Alpha and the Omega." A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Origen, and Cyprian transpose thus, "the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Andreas supports English Version. Compare with these divine titles assumed here by the Lord Jesus, Re 1:8, 17; 21:6. At the winding up of the whole scheme of revelation He announces Himself as the One before whom and after whom there is no God.” (commentary on Rev. 22:13)

Jamieson like many assumes that when a title God refers to himself as is applied to another, it must mean that person is also God. As displayed earlier in this article, this assumption isn’t true due to it being proven false with counter-examples. Another explanation of these titles is provided by Bullinger, who states: 

“is a Hebraism, in common use among the ancient Jewish Commentators to designate the whole of anything from the beginning to the end; e.g., ‘Adam transgressed the whole law from Aleph to Tau’ (Jalk.  Reub., fol. 17.4).” (E. W. Bullinger, Commentary on Revelation, 147-148)

Bullinger among several other interpreters [1] believe the aforementioned titles to be a designation of being the “entirety”, or the “start” and “finish” of something. However, Bullinger's example of Adam transgressing the law from “Aleph to Tau” is a different statement than Jesus claiming to be “The Aleph (alpha) and Tau (omega)”. Jesus did not say he was “the Alpha through Omega”, which does imply being the aggregate or entirety of something; rather, he claims he is “the Alpha and Omega”. Thus, we need to reconsider what this title means. 

In our view, “the Alpha and Omega”, “the first and the last”, and “the beginning and the end” are all titles that designate being “unique”, or one of a kind in a category. We will display this by overviewing all of the places the title is used.

“The First and the Last” referring to God

In Isaiah 44:6, God says:

"Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me'" Isaiah 44:6 (NASB)

Based on this passage it appears “the first and the last” refers to God being unique. He is the first and the last God, the only one true God (John 17:3). In verse 8, he even asks:

“Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”

The emphasis of this passage is not that God is the first and the last of a category (implying others are in the middle), or that God is the entirety of a category; the emphasis is his uniqueness. There is no other almighty God, and no one else is like him in character, he is unique. In Isaiah 48:12 “the first and the last” also appears to function in the same manner.

"Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last" Isaiah 48:12 (NASB)

Just before this in verse 11, God declares:

“...And My glory I will not give to another”

And later on in verses 13 he states:

“13 Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.”

God is the only being worthy of glory and honor as the Almighty. Furthermore, he is the only one who can be accredited with creating the universe (Gen. 1:1; Psa. 104:24; 121:2; Malachi 2:10) [2]. The emphasis in this passage is again not that God is the first and the last person who is the Almighty, or that he is the first and the last person to create the universe; he is the only one to do so, and he is only Almighty. In Revelation 1:8, God says:

“8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

In this text, God is portrayed as the only one who is, was, and is to come; which is to say he is eternal (Psa. 90:2; Ex. 3:14; Deut. 32:40-41; Rev. 4:11). Furthermore, he is called "the Almighty"; Scripture teaches that God is the only who is “almighty” (2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 4:8; 15:3; 16:7; 19:15; 21:22). Therefore, uniqueness is again the implication of “the Alpha and the Omega (the first and the last)”. Lastly, in Revelation 21:6-7 God says:

“6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

God is the only person who is the “Father” to all Christians (Eph. 4:6), and is the only one who grants us the status of his children. We find again that “Alpha and Omega”, “Beginning and the end”, and "first and the last" speak of God being unique. 

“The First and the Last” referring to Jesus

In Revelation 1:17-18, as well as 2:8, Jesus says:

“17…Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

“8. The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:” 

Jesus is the only person who was dead, and now lives forever holding the keys of death and Hades. He is unique, or one of a kind in this respect. Finally, we come to the primary verse in question:

“12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:12-13)

Jesus is the only one who can and will render every man according to his work, as all judgement has been handed over to the Son (John 5:22,27). Jesus is in fact unique in many aspects:

• Jesus is the unique son (monogenes huion) son of God (John 3:16; Rom. 1:3,4).

• Jesus is the only one to be given the "keys of Death and Hades" (Rev. 1:18).

• Jesus was the only sacrifice which truly removes the sins of mankind (Heb. 9:26; 10:12,29; Rom. 5:17-19; Heb. 9:26-28).

• Jesus is God's only Messiah (John 1:41; Acts 2:36; 3:18; 4:12)

• Jesus is the only one to live a totally sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5)

In all instances of “the first and the last” being applied to Jesus, his unique characteristics are in view. It's important to note that when Jesus quotes Isaiah 44:6, declaring himself to be "the first and the last", he omits the part where Hashem says "besides me there is no God". Why did Jesus omit this part? Because for him, it's untrue. The Father is unique in that he is the first and the last God (the only God). While Jesus is unique in that he is the first and the last Messiah; God's one and only son.

Jesus and the Father are both the "Alpha and Omega" in their own respective categories, and there is no reason to believe that this title can not refer to both of them without conflating them into one God.

[1] Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible (Rev. 22:13); Benson commentary (Rev. 1:8)

[2] Bereshit Rabbah 1:7; The Rabbis are particular to note that all references of God "creating", or doing things typically only associated with Hashem, use singular verbs (indicating God is only one person).