2023/06/05

94. "I Am the Alpha and the Omega," part 2

The phrase "I am the Alpha and the Omega" appears three times in the Book of Revelation. The first appearance is in the passage, "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). Immediately preceding this passage are the words, "every one who pierced him" (Revelation 1:7). Since these words match the words quoted in the Gospel of John: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced" (John 19:37), the first passage above is seen to be connected to the scene of Jesus' passion and death on the cross in the same Gospel. 

With this understanding in mind, let us look at the passage of the second appearance. It says: "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 21:6), after which it continues: "To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:6-7). In these passages, as in the case of the first appearance, we also find words that link to the scene of Jesus on the cross in the Gospel of John. The phrase, "It is done!" corresponds to "It is finished" (John 19:30), "the thirsty" to "I thirst" (John 19:28), and "I will be his God and he shall be my son" to "[H]e said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!'" (John 19:26-27). Here, however, we notice that the flow of the text of Revelation goes backwards in time, contrary to the Gospel of John. A reversal of time occurs in the second appearance. 

This reversal extends to the third appearance: "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:12-13). That is evident from the statement that follows, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates" (Revelation 22:14). The "blessedness" of "those who wash their robes" is linked to the scene of the night before Jesus' Passion and Death, i.e., before his last meal, when he washed the feet of his disciples. 

The "reversal of time" was built into the process in which the words "I am the Alpha and the Omega" are repeated and reinforced as indicated above in boldface. When the trainee of Revelation, who hears this process in his own voice, comes to the end of the book and hear the statement of blessing, "[T]he grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all" (Revelation 22:21), he will gain the power to return to the word, "The revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1) at the beginning of the book. This power is the force that keeps the believer repeatedly practising the training of Revelation and works as the engine of the believer entering into the daily routine of collaborating with the Holy Spirit, linking the blessing received at the concluding rites of the Mass to the next Mass.

Maria K. M.