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JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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248<br />

The previous charts and lists show how the names and terms expressing Jesus' deity<br />

correspond to that of Jehovah God in the Hebrew Scriptures. The following list fleshes this out<br />

by explaining how this can be.<br />

THE ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE FIRST AND LAST, THE BEGINNING AND END<br />

"'I am the Alpha and Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was, and<br />

who is to come, the Almighty'" (Rev 1:8).<br />

The title "Alpha and Omega" is used several times in the Old Testament to refer to<br />

Jehovah God:<br />

"'I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last--I am He. . . . Yes,<br />

and from ancient days I am He. . . . This is what the Lord says—Israel's<br />

King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:<br />

I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God.'"<br />

(Isa 41:4; 43:12-13; 44:6)<br />

God the Father is also called this name in the New Testament:<br />

"He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then<br />

He said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' He said<br />

to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.<br />

To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the<br />

water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God<br />

and he will be My son'" (Rev 21:5-6).<br />

Yet Jesus Christ dares to claim this title for Himself as well. That the above reference<br />

from Revelation 1:8 refers to Jesus rather than God the Father is obvious when we look at the<br />

verses that precede His identification:<br />

"Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those<br />

who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him.<br />

So shall it be!" (Rev 1:7)<br />

That this description fits that of the coming Messiah, the Son of Man, is obvious when we<br />

compare it with Matthew's prophecy:<br />

"At that time the signs of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the<br />

nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on<br />

the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory" (Mt 24:30).

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