Jesus as Lord Jehovah God in Revelation 1:8: An Exegetical and Comparative Study from the Peshitta Holy Bible
By Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
Abstract
This article explores Revelation 1:8 from the Peshitta Holy Bible translation, which declares: “I am The Alap and The Tau, says THE LORD JEHOVAH God, he who is and has been and is coming, The Almighty.” The passage provides a Christological affirmation of Jesus’ divine identity as Lord Jehovah God. Through exegetical analysis, this paper establishes that it is Jesus Himself who confesses to being Alap and Tau (the Semitic equivalents of Alpha and Omega). Furthermore, it argues that Islam, six centuries later, appropriated and distorted this divine self-revelation of Christ in its Qur’anic discourse of Allah. The conclusion affirms that Jesus, not Allah, is the eternal Lord Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.
1. Introduction
The Book of Revelation opens with one of the most profound declarations of divine identity in Christian Scripture. Revelation 1:8 in the Peshitta, the Syriac-Aramaic version of the New Testament widely used in the ancient Eastern Church, attributes to Jesus Christ the titles Alap and Tau—the first and last letters of the Aramaic alphabet, corresponding to the Greek Alpha and Omega. This designation situates Christ as the beginning and end of all existence, thus affirming His ontological equality with God.
The significance of the Peshitta text is particularly important, as it preserves the Semitic idiom closer to the linguistic context of Jesus Himself. Unlike later theological speculations, the Peshitta grounds the confession of Jesus as THE LORD JEHOVAH God firmly in the biblical witness. This study demonstrates that Revelation 1:8 is not a vague theophanic utterance but an explicit Christological claim, distinguishing Jesus as Jehovah God Almighty, and that this divine claim predates and supersedes any later imitation within Islamic theology.
2. Exegetical Analysis of Revelation 1:8 in the Peshitta
The Peshitta text reads:
“ܐܢܐ ܐܠܦ ܘܬܘ ܐܡܪ ܡܪܝܐ ܐܠܗܐ ܗܘ ܕܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܘܗܘܐ ܘܐܬܐ ܐܠܗܐ ܚܝܠܬܢܐ”
(“I am the Alap and the Tau, says THE LORD JEHOVAH God, He who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”)
Key theological observations:
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“Alap and Tau”: These are the first and last letters of the Syriac alphabet, serving as a Semitic parallel to the Greek Alpha and Omega. It implies totality, sovereignty, and eternity. In declaring Himself as both beginning and end, Jesus situates Himself beyond time and space, encompassing the entire created order.
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“THE LORD JEHOVAH God”: The Peshitta uses Marya Alaha (ܡܪܝܐ ܐܠܗܐ), an explicit title for the God of Israel. This is not a metaphorical honorific but a direct identification of Jesus with Jehovah—the covenantal God revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures.
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“He who is, who was, and who is coming”: This phrase resonates with God’s self-identification in Exodus 3:14 (Ehyeh asher Ehyeh – “I AM WHO I AM”). It emphasizes the eternal existence and unchanging nature of Christ.
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“The Almighty” (Elaha Haylthana): This phrase attributes omnipotence to Jesus, affirming His divine sovereignty over all creation.
Thus, the Peshitta leaves no room for interpreting Revelation 1:8 as referring to a generic deity. The text explicitly attributes these divine qualities to Jesus Christ Himself.
3. Christological Confession: Jesus as the Source, Not the Copy
It is significant that in the New Testament canon, Jesus Himself is the one making this self-declaration. The divine “I am” formula (Ana Alap w-Tau) belongs to Christ alone. Historically, this predates the rise of Islam by six centuries. The Qur’an, however, presents Allah with similar eternalistic claims, e.g., “He is the First and the Last” (Qur’an 57:3). This Qur’anic formulation is clearly derivative, reflecting an attempt to mimic the divine confession of Christ.
While the Qur’an divorces this title from its Christological foundation, Revelation situates it squarely in the person of Jesus. Islam’s Allah, therefore, appropriates divine language already established in Christian Scripture, yet empties it of its Christological substance.
4. Alpha and Omega as Divine Essence
The theological import of Alap and Tau (Alpha and Omega) is not limited to linguistic symbolism. It points to God’s essence as eternal origin and consummation of all things. If these titles define the very essence of deity, then their first articulation in Revelation 1:8 constitutes a divine self-revelation unique to Jesus.
By contrast, Allah in Islam is presented as “The First and the Last,” but this claim appears centuries after the canonical Christian Scriptures, suggesting theological borrowing rather than original revelation. The timing itself demonstrates that Jesus, not Allah, is the eternal Word who discloses the fullness of God’s nature.
5. Theological Implications
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For Christology: Revelation 1:8 provides one of the strongest textual proofs of the deity of Christ in the Peshitta tradition. Jesus is not merely the Messiah or prophet but Jehovah God Almighty.
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For Apologetics: This verse undercuts Islamic claims that Jesus was only a human messenger. If He is Alap and Tau, He is the eternal God, not a created being.
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For Comparative Theology: The Qur’an’s use of eternalistic titles for Allah reveals a pattern of imitation. What was confessed by Jesus in the first century was echoed and reappropriated six centuries later, but without the essential Christological truth.
6. Conclusion
Revelation 1:8 in the Peshitta Holy Bible affirms with clarity that Jesus is THE LORD JEHOVAH God, the Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come. The titles Alap and Tau (Alpha and Omega) reveal His eternal essence as divine origin and end. Historically and theologically, it was Jesus who first made this confession. The later Qur’anic appropriation of similar titles for Allah represents a derivative borrowing rather than divine revelation.
Therefore, the Christian confession remains firm: Jesus Christ is God Almighty, the eternal Lord Jehovah, and not the Allah of Islam.
📌 Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
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