Apocalipse 1:8

I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Who is the speaker in this verse, Jesus Christ, or God the Father? In view of the eternal power and authority of Christ, already stressed, it would appear that John is here emphasizing the Deity of Christ. Earle quoted Plummer as being of that opinion and also pointed out that J. B. Smith gave extensive quotations to show that all of the ancients attributed these words to Jesus Christ.[22] In a sense, of course, it makes little difference, because the same things are true of Christ that are true of God the Father. It makes for better unity in the passage to ascribe Revelation 1:8 to Christ.

Alpha and the Omega ... These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and are here used figuratively to stand for the entirety of anything. Such a comparison seems to have existed for ages. The Hebrews said of Abraham that, "he kept the law from Aleph to Tav (first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet). "From A to Izzard" was a colonial proverb in America with the same meaning. ("Izzard" was an early American name for the letter Z).

Plummer pointed out that the use of this figure is progressively expanded in Revelation. Note:

Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8).

The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 21:6)

The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).

Since the usage of this expression in subsequent passages of Revelation undoubtedly refers to Christ, there is no good reason why it should not be applied to him here.

Who was and is and is to come ... See full comment on this under Revelation 1:4.

The Almighty ... Scholars make a big point out of this word's being one of the "the Septuagint's renditions of Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts"[23] but there is no reason for not applying it also to Christ who was prophetically designated as "The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father" (Isaiah 9:6). That this is indeed a proper and appropriate title of Jesus Christ will vividly appear in subsequent chapters of this magnificent prophecy. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is often referred to as God. For more complete elaboration of this see in my Commentary on Hebrews, p. 31. Furthermore, he himself used the Old Testament "I AM" no less than eight times. See under Revelation 1:4. Also, of those eight New Testament usages of the "I AM" title for Jesus Christ, five of them are in the gospel of John; and the appearance of two more such usages here in the first chapter of Revelation emphasizes the close correspondence between it and the other Johannine works. The same mind lies behind all of them.

[22] Ralph Earle, op. cit., p. 477.

[23] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 19.