The term Alpha and Omega comes from the phrase "I am Alpha and Omega", an appellation of Jesus in the Book of Revelation. The first part of this phrase is first found in Chapter 1 verse 8, and is found in every manuscript of Revelation that has 1:8. Several later manuscripts repeat "I am the Alpha and Omega" in 1:11 too, but do not receive support here from most of the oldest manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus. It is, therefore, omitted in some modern translations. Scholar Robert Young stated, with regard to "I am the Alpha and Omega" in 1:11, the "oldest omit" it. A similar reference is in Isaiah 44, where the Lord says to be the first and the one who is after all.
Christianity
and omega are the first and last letters, respectively, of the classical Greek alphabet. Thus, the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" is further clarified with the additional phrase, "the beginning and the end" in Revelation 21:6, 22:13. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet were used because the book of Revelation is in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek. This phrase is interpreted by many Christians to mean that Jesus has existed for all eternity or that God is eternal. Though many commentators and dictionaries ascribe the title "the alpha and the omega" to both God and to Christ, some secular sources argue otherwise. Barnes' Notes on the New Testament claims: "It cannot be absolutely certain that the writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus specifically here... There is no real incongruity in supposing, also, that the writer here meant to refer to God as such." Most Christian denominations also teach that the title applies to both Jesus and his Father. The letters Alpha and Omega, in juxtaposition, are often used as a Christian visual symbol. The symbols were used in early Christianity and appear in the Roman catacombs. The letters were shown hanging from the arms of the cross in Early Christian art, and some crux gemmata, jeweled crosses in precious metal, have formed letters hanging in this way, called pendilia; for example, in the :File:Escudo de Asturias.svg|Asturian coat of arms, which is based upon the Asturian Victory Cross. In fact, despite always being in Greek, the letters became more common in Western than Eastern Orthodox Christian art. They are often shown to the left and right of Christ's head, sometimes within his halo, where they take the place of the Christogram used in Orthodox art.
