A detailed Quick Facts infographic examining the textual evidence for Revelation 1:11. It compares the King James Version with the Berean Literal Bible and highlights commentary and manuscript evidence concerning the disputed words “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

QUICK FACTS: DID JESUS REALLY SAY “I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA” IN REVELATION 1:11?

PART ONE — WHAT DO THE OLDEST MANUSCRIPTS SAY?

Research by Simon Brown

There is a surprisingly simple textual problem in Revelation 1:11 that every Christian Bible student should know about.

For centuries, readers of the King James Version have read words that appear to have Jesus saying:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…”

— Revelation 1:11, KJV

This verse has therefore sometimes been used as evidence that Jesus personally declared Himself to be “the Alpha and Omega.”

As the screenshot reproduced in this article demonstrates, some Trinitarian teachers and websites have specifically included Revelation 1:11 among the verses they use to support that claim.

But there is a major problem:

The words “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” are absent from important early Greek manuscript witnesses.

That is why these words disappear completely from the Berean Literal Bible and many other modern translations.

So what happened?

Let us look at the Quick Facts.

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QUICK FACT 1 — WHAT DOES THE KING JAMES VERSION SAY?

The King James Version reads:

“Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book…”

— Revelation 1:11, KJV

Notice those opening words:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

If these words were part of the original text of Revelation, they would obviously be important.

But now compare the same verse in the Berean Literal Bible:

“Saying, ‘What you see, write in a book and send to the seven churches: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’”

— Revelation 1:11, BLB

Something very important is missing.

The BLB does not say:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

It simply begins:

“What you see, write in a book…”

Why such a dramatic difference?

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QUICK FACT 2 — THE DIFFERENCE COMES FROM THE GREEK TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

This is not simply a case of modern translators deciding that they did not like the words.

The longer reading found in the KJV belongs to a later Greek textual tradition.

The clause:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”

is absent from important early Greek manuscript witnesses and consequently does not appear in the standard critical Greek text followed by many modern Bible translations.

That is why translations such as the Berean Literal Bible, NIV, ESV and NASB do not contain these words in Revelation 1:11.

So the important question is not:

Which English Bible do I personally prefer?

The important question is:

What did the earliest recoverable Greek text of Revelation 1:11 actually say?

According to modern critical textual scholarship, the evidence strongly supports the shorter reading:

“What you see, write in a book…”

without:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

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QUICK FACT 3 — WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU TO SIMPLY TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

This is why the screenshots reproduced in this article are important.

Readers can examine the evidence for themselves.

As shown in the screenshot from the Trinitarian website GotQuestions, their article states:

“Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the ‘Alpha and Omega’ in Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; and 22:13.”

Notice particularly:

Revelation 1:11.

It is specifically included as evidence that Jesus proclaimed Himself “the Alpha and Omega.”

But now compare that statement with what recognised Bible commentaries themselves say about the text of Revelation 1:11.

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QUICK FACT 4 — EVEN TRINITARIAN BIBLE COMMENTARIES ACKNOWLEDGE THE TEXTUAL PROBLEM

This is not a textual issue invented by people who reject the Trinity.

It has long been recognised by mainstream biblical commentators, including Trinitarian scholars.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states concerning Revelation 1:11:

“The oldest manuscripts all omit this clause.”

What clause?

The very words:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges likewise describes the words “I am … the last” in this location as:

“Not genuine in this place.”

That is extremely important.

On one side, we have Revelation 1:11 being presented as evidence that Jesus proclaimed Himself “the Alpha and Omega.”

On the other side, textual scholarship acknowledges that the very words needed to make that argument are absent from important early manuscript evidence.

That is the textual problem every reader deserves to know about.

Quick Facts: Does Romans 9:5 Really Call Jesus “God Over All”? What Did Paul Actually Mean?

 

A detailed Quick Facts Bible study image examining Romans 9:5 and the disputed phrase “God over all.” The study compares different ways the Greek sentence can be understood and examines Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 11:31 and Romans 1:25 using the Berean Literal Bible.

QUICK FACTS:

DOES ROMANS 9:5 REALLY CALL JESUS “GOD OVER ALL”?

WHAT DID PAUL ACTUALLY MEAN?

PART ONE

INTRODUCTION

Romans 9:5 is frequently used as evidence that the apostle Paul explicitly called:

JESUS:

“GOD OVER ALL.”

Some modern translations make this interpretation appear extremely clear.

But there is a problem.

The earliest Greek manuscripts did not contain the modern punctuation that translators place into the sentence.

And punctuation can substantially affect how:

ROMANS 9:5

is understood.

So before building an important doctrine upon this verse, we should ask:

WHAT DOES THE GREEK ACTUALLY SAY?

HOW SHOULD THE SENTENCE BE PUNCTUATED?

AND:

DOES PAUL'S INTERPRETATION ELSEWHERE HELP US IDENTIFY THE:

“GOD OVER ALL”?

QUICK FACT 1 — LOOK FIRST AT ROMANS 9:5 IN THE BLB

The Berean Literal Bible reads:

“whose are the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, being over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen.”

— Romans 9:5, BLB

Notice the wording carefully:

“THE CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH,

BEING OVER ALL,

GOD BLESSED TO THE AGES.

AMEN.”

The difficulty is determining exactly how the final words relate to what precedes them.

QUICK FACT 2 — SOME MODERN TRANSLATIONS MAKE THE INTERPRETATION MUCH MORE EXPLICIT

Compare translations that render the passage essentially as:

THE CHRIST,

WHO IS:

GOD OVER ALL.

That punctuation and word arrangement immediately encourages the reader to conclude:

PAUL CALLED JESUS:

GOD.

But the important question is:

DID PAUL HIMSELF SUPPLY THAT MODERN PUNCTUATION?

NO.

The punctuation represents:

A TRANSLATIONAL DECISION.

Therefore we should distinguish:

THE INSPIRED GREEK WORDS

from:

THE LATER PUNCTUATION USED TO INTERPRET THOSE WORDS.

QUICK FACT 3 — ANCIENT GREEK MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT SETTLE THE QUESTION WITH A MODERN COMMA OR FULL STOP

This is the heart of the problem.

Ancient manuscripts such as:

CODEX VATICANUS

and:

CODEX SINAITICUS

do not give us Romans 9:5 with the complete modern punctuation system found in today's English Bibles.

Therefore translators must decide how the sentence should be punctuated.

And that matters enormously.

One punctuation can produce the sense:

CHRIST...

WHO IS GOD OVER ALL.

Another can separate the concluding praise so that it refers to:

GOD,

WHO IS OVER ALL,

BLESSED FOREVER.

Therefore:

PUNCTUATION

becomes part of the interpretation.

QUICK FACT 4 — PAUL TELLS US VERY CLEARLY WHO HIS “ONE GOD” IS

This is where Paul's undisputed statements become extremely important.

Paul writes:

“Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through Him.”

— 1 Corinthians 8:6, BLB

Notice Paul's words:

“ONE GOD,

THE FATHER.”

Then Paul separately identifies:

“ONE LORD,

JESUS CHRIST.”

Paul does NOT say:

ONE GOD:

THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST.

His explicit statement is:

“ONE GOD,

THE FATHER.”

QUICK FACT 5 — PAUL ALSO TELLS US WHO IS “OVER ALL”

This is particularly important for Romans 9:5.

Paul writes:

“One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

— Ephesians 4:6, BLB

Who does Paul explicitly say is:

“OVER ALL”?

THE:

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL.”

Therefore compare:

ROMANS 9:5 — DISPUTED:

“GOD...

OVER ALL...”

WITH:

EPHESIANS 4:6 — CLEAR:

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL,

WHO IS OVER ALL.”

This should immediately make us cautious about claiming that Romans 9:5 unquestionably identifies:

JESUS

as:

“GOD OVER ALL.”

QUICK FACT 6 — PAUL CALLS THE FATHER THE GOD OF JESUS

Paul repeatedly writes:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...”

— Ephesians 1:3, BLB

Notice:

JESUS CHRIST:

HAS A GOD.

And Paul identifies Him as:

THE FATHER.

Therefore Paul's normal distinction is:

GOD:

THE FATHER.

AND:

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:

GOD'S SON.

QUICK FACT 7 — PAUL USES VERY SIMILAR “BLESSED FOREVER” LANGUAGE FOR THE FATHER

This is one of the strongest pieces of comparative evidence.

Paul writes:

“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, the One being blessed to the ages, knows that I am not lying.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:31, BLB

Notice:

“THE GOD AND FATHER OF THE LORD JESUS”

is:

“BLESSED TO THE AGES.”

Now compare Romans 9:5:

“GOD BLESSED TO THE AGES.

AMEN.”

The language is strikingly similar.

Therefore the concluding words of Romans 9:5 can reasonably be investigated as:

A DOXOLOGY OF PRAISE TO GOD.

QUICK FACT 8 — PAUL DOES SOMETHING SIMILAR EARLIER IN ROMANS

Romans 1:25 speaks about:

“the Creator, who is blessed to the ages. Amen.”

— Romans 1:25, BLB

Again:

THE CREATOR

↓

“BLESSED TO THE AGES”

↓

“AMEN.”

Compare:

ROMANS 1:25:

“BLESSED TO THE AGES. AMEN.”

ROMANS 9:5:

“GOD BLESSED TO THE AGES. AMEN.”

This is important Pauline evidence.

Paul unquestionably uses this kind of doxological language concerning:

GOD.

QUICK FACT 9 — THEREFORE WE SHOULD COMPARE PAUL WITH PAUL

Rather than allowing punctuation in one disputed verse to determine our theology, compare Paul's clear statements:

“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”

— 1 Corinthians 8:6

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS OVER ALL.”

— Ephesians 4:6

“THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.”

— Ephesians 1:3

“THE GOD AND FATHER OF THE LORD JESUS, THE ONE BEING BLESSED TO THE AGES.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:31

And:

“THE CREATOR, WHO IS BLESSED TO THE AGES. AMEN.”

— Romans 1:25

Then return to:

ROMANS 9:5.

Does Paul suddenly contradict this pattern and identify:

JESUS

as:

“GOD OVER ALL”?

Or should the final words be understood consistently with Paul's repeated praise of:

GOD THE FATHER?

That is the real question.

QUICK FACT 10 — WE DO NOT NEED TO ACCUSE THE GREEK TEXT OF BEING WRONG

The problem is not:

THE ORIGINAL GREEK.

The question concerns:

HOW THE GREEK IS PUNCTUATED AND TRANSLATED.

That distinction is extremely important.

The Greek text should be:

EXAMINED.

The punctuation should be:

TESTED.

The translation should be:

COMPARED.

And Paul's other writings should be allowed to:

INTERPRET PAUL.

We should never build a major doctrine merely upon punctuation supplied centuries after:

THE APOSTLE PAUL.

CONTINUED IN:

PART TWO — FINAL CONCLUSION

In Part Two we will finish the investigation.

We will examine:

THE ALTERNATIVE PUNCTUATION OF ROMANS 9:5.

WHETHER “OVER ALL” MUST REFER TO JESUS.

PAUL'S OTHER DOXOLOGIES TO GOD.

THE ARGUMENT THAT THE GREEK GRAMMAR FAVOURS APPLYING “GOD” TO CHRIST.

AND:

WHETHER ROMANS 9:5 CAN HONESTLY BE CALLED PROOF THAT:

JESUS IS GOD.

Then we will reach our final conclusion.

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.

COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.

EXAMINE THE GREEK.

COMPARE PAUL WITH PAUL.

DISTINGUISH THE ORIGINAL WORDS FROM TRANSLATOR-SUPPLIED PUNCTUATION.

TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.

FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.