Daily Bible Nugget #739, Revelation 1:11

4-17-23 Daily Bible Nugget 739 Revelation 1v11

The Nugget:

Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

My Comment:

I have posted the following discussion here to demonstrate how CROSS REFERENCES are a great aid to Real Bible Study when answering Muslim challenges to the Bible and Christian faith. Please read to learn about the power of cross-reference Bible study!

The Muslim Claim:

Revelation 22:9 And he said to me, See (that thou do it) not. I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them who keep the words of this book. Worship Aloha.

(http://qbible.com/aramaic-new-testament/revelation/22.html)

The angel didnt say ‘worship Jesus’.

Those who worship Jesus will stay in hell forever

Quran 5:72

They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary” while the Messiah has said, “O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden them paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.

Response by HK:

You should have read further down and see that the God who is being worshipped and giving the commandments is Jesus. Read the whole chapter. Revelation 22:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

TK replied:

show me one, just ONE place where Jesus tells you he is ALOAH or where any angel say Jesus/Messiah is ALOAH

Jesus is NOT the first and last since he DIED

He had a beginning (in his mother’s womb) and had an ending (he was crucified and DIED). Automatically this verse is FALSE and Jesus is disqualified.

HK replied:

Now you’re disputing the words of Jesus himself. Who are you?

Jesus body died but his Spirit remains alive forever. It’s NOT his Spirit that died. Jesus is a Spirit.

Jesus is the first and last (Alpha and Omega). The same title God used in Isaiah 44.6! Revelation 1:17-18.

TK replied:

//Now you’re disputing the words of Jesus himself.//

You can post millions of ‘alpha omega’ ‘first and last’ verses.. but they’re irrelevant if in reality Jesus had a beginning and ending. He’s created in Mary’s womb. And he died on a tree.

Hindu ‘god’ claimed to be Alpha Omega in Hindu scripture (Bhagavad Gita)

BG 10.20: O Arjun, I am seated in the heart of all living entities. I am the beginning, middle, and end of all beings.

Alpha Omega in Quran

“He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is the Knower of all things.” (Quran 57:3)

Jesus didn’t say he’s the alpha omega. However he did use “first” and “last” in a sentence:

Holy Quran 5:114

——————

قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيدًا لِّأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا وَآيَةً مِّنكَ ۖ وَارْزُقْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ

Said Jesus, the son of Mary, “O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers.”

HK replied:

<<“He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is the Knower of all things.” (Quran 57:3)>>

So you agree Jesus is described in the Bible like Allah in your Qu’ran. First and last.

<<<Jesus didn’t say he’s the alpha omega. However he did use “first” and “last” in a sentence:>>>

False. Who was saying these words. Answer is given on the same passage.

Revelation 1:11, 12, 13.

TK replied:

“Virtually all modern translations do not include in Rev 1:11 the following words that are in the KJV version of that verse:

Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,”

BIBLE CORRUPTION

HK replied:

The point is that Jesus is the first and the last. Same title God used to describe himself on Isaiah 44.6. And it is the same title your Allah used in Quran 57.3.

TK replied:

isaiah quoted the REAL GOD, not a fake human deity

HK replied:

// isaiah quoted the REAL GOD, not a fake human deity //

Jesus is the REAL GOD. Not some fake god who couldn’t help his prophet when he needed help most, like losing his children.

VM commented to TK:

Your comment “He had a beginning (in his mother’s womb) and had an ending (he was crucified and DIED)” refers.

Thanks for acknowledging that he was crucified and died.

My response to TK:

You totally miss the point that at Revelation 1:11, Jesus claims to be the “Alpha and Omega.” This means that our Lord Jesus Christ made a direct claim to be God. Jesus did not claim to be God the Father.

The fact that this text is unique to the King James Version of the English Bible and is not represented in the original Greek text does not diminish the truth of this claim by Jesus because it is restated in other places both in the book of Revelation and elsewhere in the Bible. These places can readily be identified by anyone who will make the effort to consult a source of more complete CROSS REFERENCES such as those I supply in my book The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and which I supply in my yet more complete digital resource, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury (available from www.e-Sword.net as a premium downloadable Bible commentary):

I am. See on Rev 1:8; Rev 1:17, Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13, Deut 32:39, Isa 41:4; Isa 43:11; Isa 48:12, Zec 13:7, Joh 8:58, Heb 13:8.
Alpha and Omega. Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13.
the first. Rev 1:17, Rev 2:8; **Rev 22:13, Isa 41:4; **Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12, Psa 93:2, Isa 41:4; Isa 44:6, Mic 5:2, Hab 1:12, Joh 1:1; Joh 1:15; Joh 8:58, **Col 1:17, Heb 12:2; Heb 13:8, 1Jn 1:1.
the last. Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12, Heb 1:11; Heb 12:2; Heb 13:8.

TK replied to me:

study Islam. It’s not complicated. You don’t have to cross reference here and there just to support a concept. Many people in the west have studied Islam and accepted Islam as the truth. You should too.

My reply to TK:

You state in your comment to me:

“study Islam. It’s not complicated. You don’t have to cross reference here and there just to support a concept. Many people in the west have studied Islam and accepted Islam as the truth. You should too.”

In my studies of Islam so far, I have found its claims, practices, and history to be incompatible with the truth already contained in the New Testament and the Bible as a whole.

Cross reference Bible study is the best way to study the Bible, especially when you have access to a more complete collection of references.

Cross references make it much easier to obey the directive of Jesus to “search the Scriptures” (John 5:39).

Cross references are more effective than a Bible concordance because they connect not just the same words but related ideas expressed in different words, something a concordance alone cannot do.

Those who study the Bible using cross references will strengthen their faith and get a far better understanding of what the Bible actually teaches. They will be firmly grounded in their faith and will know how to discern truth from error. They will not turn aside to follow those who teach lies and falsehood.

My further reply to TK:

And I posted evidence regarding your false claim that Jesus never said what is stated in Revelation 1:11, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” by sharing with you the CROSS REFERENCES for that statement that prove Jesus DID state this truth elsewhere in the book of Revelation, starting with Revelation 1:8,

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.

Revelation 1:17
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
King James Version

Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Revelation 21:6
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
King James Version

Revelation 22:12, 13
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
King James Version

TK posed the question to me:

When Jesus was alive with his disciples, did he ever declare he’s the first and the last?

My answer to TK:

You ask:

“when Jesus was alive with his disciples, did he ever declare he’s the first and the last?”

John was on earth in the Isle of Patmos when he heard Jesus behind him speaking with a great voice (Revelation 1:10). Jesus directly commanded John to “write in a book” what he saw, and John did so. That is how we came to have the book of Revelation. Jesus was certainly alive and on earth when he spoke these things to John.

I notice you have asked elsewhere in this thread:

“how do you reconcile the contradiction? how can the dead be the ever living? how can the one born be from eternal past?”

The answer is found in the Bible. The answer is given in Revelation 1:5,

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,

Jesus explained that He is the “first begotten of the dead.”

Carefully studying the CROSS REFERENCES given for this verse, we learn that this is a reference to the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ is the first to be resurrected bodily from the dead:

Acts 26:23
23  That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
King James Version

Romans 1:4
4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
King James Version

1 Corinthians 15:20-23
20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
King James Version

I have shared just a few of the cross referenced Bible passages which shed light upon or explain the meaning intended by “first begotten of the dead.”

How can one who died be living? God raised Jesus bodily from the dead.

How can the one born be from the eternal past?

Again, the Bible gives a clear answer:

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.