In the Scriptures (Revelations 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13) … Christ states that He is “Alpha and Omega” (“the beginning and the ending”) … but I wonder if we sometimes miss the full importance / significance of this meaning / title?
What exactly does Christ mean when He states that He is the “beginning and the ending?”
Although one of the beauties of the scriptures is that there are any number of doctoral / spiritual meaning interlaced within each verse … perhaps we can gain some great spiritual insight from the science of ethology and the behavior of wolves in the wild.
Social animals in a hierarchical community are assigned ranks for the purpose of scientific study. Six of these ranks have attracted special attention in ethology and are identified as follows: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Omega.
The wolf pack hierarchy is a very strict social order.
The Alpha male (or female) is the dominant member … and gets preferential access to food and other desirable items of activities.
The Beta male (or female) acts as the second in command … among other things … and so on down through each successive class.
Finally … the Omega member of the pack is the lowest member of the group. They are subordinate to all others in the community … and are expected to remain submissive to everyone. Quite often … they are used as communal scapegoats or outlets of frustration … or given the lowest priority when distributing food.
So this begs the question … why is all of this so important??
The answer is simple! No matter who you are … you too belong to a pack … a pack of humans … who also have a hierarchical structure … irregardless of whatever political environment you may find yourself living in.
You might find yourself as the Alpha male (or female) who has preferential access to resources and opportunities … or you might find yourself as the Beta male (or female) who also has ample resources and opportunities laid out before you …
Or perhaps you might find yourself as the Omega member of society … the one that gets the brunt of everyone else’s frustrations and aggressions … the one that is continually pushed down and violated … the one that the world has not been kind to when it comes to resources or opportunities.
And that is why it is so important and significant that Christ says that He is “Alpha and Omega” … because no matter who you are or what life has dealt you … He is stating that He understands how you feel … that He can HEAL you … because He knows how you feel … because in a sense … He is you!!
If you are the Alpha male (or female) … He is you!
If you are the Omega male (or female) … He is you!
He gets you … He can relate to you … He can heal you!!
Indeed … Christ has suffered all … He understands all … He can heal all … and hence the personal significance of the title “Alpha and Omega.”
*****
(As a side note … it is interesting to make particular attention to the fact that in hierarchical communities … that ethologists pay special attention to six (6) specific ranks or classes is a Social Structure. First off … one of the features / characteristics of pride is the desire to be better than everyone else … which leads to rankings / classifications / a hierarchical structure. The fact that a society has “class rankings / a hierarchy” evidences a society that is still dealing with pride – or “Satan’s great Tool.” Second … the number six (6) has scriptural significance as being the number of imperfection … the human number … the number of man as destitute of God … without God … without Christ. So from a certain perspective … perhaps the mark of the beast (666) … is not a single number … but a pattern of 3 distinct sixes (6) next to / on top of / overlapping each other. The mark of the beast could simply be a society that is ruled by pride (Satan’s great Tool) and evidenced by an oppressive social hierarchy overlapped / reinforced on itself several times. The beast is Satan … and the mark (or sign) of a society ruled by him is that which comes from pride … an oppressive hierarchical social structure.)
(Note that this is in contrast to those who follow Christ … for the scriptures clearly state that all are equal before the Lord … and he does not make distinction … nor does He play favorites … based upon prideful worldly classifications / or distinctions.)
Scripture Journal 