The First and the Last

Biblical Texts

In the Old Testament the expression occurs three times in chapters 40–48 of the book of Isaiah, each time as part of the LORD's self-identification.

• Isaiah 41:4 — "I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he."
• Isaiah 44:6 — "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
• Isaiah 48:12 — "I am he; I am the first, I also am the last."

In the New Testament it occurs three times in the book of Revelation.

• Revelation 1:17 — When John, having seen a vision on Patmos, falls at his feet, Christ says, "Fear not; I am the first and the last." He goes on to say that he was dead and is alive, and that he has "the keys of hell and of death."
• Revelation 2:8 — In the letter to the church in Smyrna, one of the seven churches of Asia, the speaker is introduced as "the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive."
• Revelation 22:13 — "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

Translations that follow later manuscripts, such as the King James Version, also include the expression in Revelation 1:11. Many modern translations, including the New Korean Revised Version, omit it from that verse.

Background and Original Languages

The relevant passages in Isaiah belong to a context of comfort and argument addressed to Israel during the Babylonian exile. These texts contrast the idols of Babylon with the LORD and assert that the LORD alone planned history from the beginning and raised up Cyrus to bring that plan to pass. The title therefore expresses not only temporal eternity but also a monotheistic declaration directed against idolatry. Many scholars hold that chapters 40 and following were written by a so-called Second Isaiah around the time of the exile, while the traditional view holds that the entire book was written by the prophet Isaiah.

The Hebrew terms are rishon ("first") and acharon ("last"). The Greek expression is ho prōtos kai ho eschatos. Eschatos is also the root of the word eschatology, meaning "the doctrine of the last things."

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Revelation places on the lips of the risen Christ an expression that in the Old Testament belonged to the LORD alone. In Revelation 1:8 and 21:6, God declares that he is "Alpha and Omega," and Revelation 22:13 joins this title with "the first and the last." The context of verses 12 and 16 of that chapter identifies the speaker as Jesus. In Revelation the title serves as a ground of comfort for the persecuted church: because the One who is the First and the Last has conquered death, suffering does not have the final word (Revelation 2:8–11).

Interpretation and Debate

Most denominations that confess the Trinity, including Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Anglicans, read this title as key evidence of Christ's deity, since they understand Christ to be claiming for himself the very title with which Isaiah declared that there is no God besides the LORD. It is frequently cited alongside John 8:58 in discussions of Christology.

Jehovah's Witnesses interpret it differently. They reportedly hold that "Alpha and Omega" refers to Jehovah God, while explaining "the first and the last" in Revelation 1:17 to mean that Jesus was the first and the last to be resurrected by God to immortal spirit life.

Matthew 19:30 and 20:16, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first," speak of a reversal of human rank. These verses are distinct from the title "the First and the Last."

In the Korean Church

In preaching, the expression is commonly cited to convey that God governs the beginning and the end of both history and individual lives. It is often used together with "Alpha and Omega," which carries the same meaning.