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The beginning and the end. In the Greek alphabet, in which the New Testament was written, alpha is the first letter and omega is the last. In the Book of Revelation, God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,” meaning that God remains from the beginning to the end of time.

The beginning and the end, the first and the last, as in She had to master the alpha and omega of the new computer program before she could even begin. This idiom and its meaning, based on the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, appears in the New Testament (Revelation 1:8): “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,” where it is repeated three more times.

Alpha and Omega (Greek: Αλφα and Ω) is an appellation of God in the Book of Revelation (verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13). Its meaning is found in the fact that Alpha (Α) and Omega (Ω) are respectively the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Twice when the phrase appears, it is clarified with the additional title “the beginning and the end” (21:6, 22:13).

Some thus see the term “Alpha and Omega” as a paraphrase of Isaiah 44:6: “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.” While the context in the Book of Revelation is clearly related to this, Jewish scholarship shows that the Alpha and Omega is also a Hellenized form of the rabbinical dictum: “The seal of God is Emet (Truth),” the word Emet (אמת) being derived the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Jewish background

The Hebrew for Truth is Emet. It is composed of three letters: Aleph, Mem, and Tav. The Aleph and the Tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, equivalent to the Alpha and Omega in the New Testament scripture, which was originally written in Greek.

The fact that the word Emet begins with the first letter of the alphabet and ends with the last led the ancient Jewish rabbis to see in this word a mystical meaning.

God’s absolute perfection is expressed in Isaiah 41:4 and 44:6 by the phrase, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.”

The phrase fitly expresses the idea that God is unique and eternal, the beginning and end of all that exists. As the first letter of Emet, Aleph denotes that God is the first of all beings.

There was no one before Him of whom He could have received the fullness of truth. The Tav, or last letter, in like manner, signifies that God is the ultimate being.

There is no one higher than He, and there will be no one after Him, since He is eternal. Thus Emet is a sacred word expressing that in God, truth dwells absolutely and fully.

Christian usage

The tradition of expressing God’s eternity by means of the first and last letters of the alphabet seems to have been passed down from the synagogue into the early church through the Book of Revelation, generally recognized by biblical scholars as having been written by an author whose first language was either Hebrew or Aramaic. In place of the Aleph and Tav, the Alpha and Omega were substituted in the Greek text.

However, the substitution of the Greek letters for those of the Hebrew tongue inevitably caused a portion of the meaning and beauty in this designation of God to be lost, for the Greek letters Alpha and Omega have no relation to the word “Truth.”

Although Alpha indeed happens to be the first letter of the Greek word aletheia (truth), Omega is not the last letter, as is Tav in the word Emet. In the Greek, the sacred and mystical word “Truth,” expressed in Hebrew through the letters Aleph and Tav, had to be sacrificed.

In Christian art

In early Christianity, the Alpha and Omega were often used as the monogram of Christ.

These letters thus became Jesus’ crest. The Alpha-Omega symbol was often written under the arms of the cross within a circle or triangle. In later centuries the cross took the form of the Chi-Rho, derived from the first two letters of “Christ” in Greek. Often the Alpha is found on the right and the Omega on the left, to indicate that in Christ the beginning and the end are joined into one.

This crest is found on the coins of the emperors Constans, Constantius, and Magnentius. Since Constantius was an Arian and thus a “heretic,” this tells us that the symbol was not limited to “orthodox” use.