Christ as Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End

The false prophets—for 'the day shall come upon them to darken them' (Eccl 11:6). Therefore, you, O man, being exhorted to 'sow in the morning, and let not your hand withhold' (Eccl 11:6) until the 'evening', so that you may receive an excellent 'harvest' of knowledge from God; for 'light your own light of knowledge, and bear fruit unto the fruit of life, until generations of righteousness come to you'.

use you do not know what sort of thing will belong, this or that. 'You do not know', he says, 'what this or that will belong to'. If you are 'sowing' but not farming, you do not know whether it bears fruit or does not bear fruit.

is also possible to take this to mean that the same person 'at once' 'sows' and 'reaps', so as not to 'belong' to one kind first and to another kind second 'at once' while all things are happening. And yesterday was a witness to the Gospel that 'so that the sower may rejoice together with the reaper' (Matt 13:43), as the same 'time' is for both 'seed' and 'harvest'; 'harvest' indeed of the progress already received, and 'seed' of the future to be received.

And the visitation of the Savior may happen to some 'in the morning' and to others 'in the evening'; 'evening' for those who were unfaithful, but 'morning' for those to whom the sun 'has risen' (Ps 118:130) through 'faith' and 'piety'. And this must be said: it is impossible to teach correctly one who has not learned.

In the very beginning of the introduction to instruction, it is 'sow and let not your hand withhold' so that one might again have a product and 'sow' and feed others. Such a blessing is brought forth in Genesis concerning Benjamin: 'Benjamin', he says, 'a wolf that snatches the morning food and will distribute food in the evening' (Gen 49:27).

The 'wolf that snatches' was when 'he persecuted the church and incited it'; gap... of that state, and the rest became from 'Benjamin' the son of the right hand, the 'son of the day', the son of rest; then indeed 'he ate in the morning', being instructed in the introduction according to faith, 'and in the evening he gave food as nourishment', he became an 'apostle', a 'teacher in faith and truth among the Gentiles'.

Furthermore, what then is 'you do not know'?—since they are 'at once', you do not have the knowledge that divides this from that. To 'belong' here means to be placed together. 11,6d7ab And if the two are the same good things. And the light is sweet and good to the eyes.

To see with the sun. If, he says, 'you sow' well and 'you reap', 'the two good things have happened at once'. And you have received well the preceding progress and have received the following well.

Jesus himself therefore says to be 'beginning and end'; 'I', he says, 'am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the living one and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever' (Rev 1:8, 22:13). See how these things, appearing to be opposite, he says to be himself both before and after. For he says, 'I am the first and I am the last', or first, 'I am the Alpha and I am the Omega'.

There are letters which the Holy Spirit engraves in the heart of those thus prepared. For he says: 'not on stone tablets, but on fleshly tablets I engrave' (2 Cor 3:3); and he says these are written by the Holy 'Spirit', by the 'living Spirit'. He himself is also the divine letters; in which the 'book of the living' (Rev 21:27) is written, in which 'the names' of the apostles are engraved 'in the heavens' (Rev 21:27), there they are inscribed. He therefore says 'I am the Alpha and I am the Omega'.

Through other things he revealed that the other things also are. He himself is therefore 'beginning' and 'end'. It is therefore within his power to participate 'at once', in which respect he is 'beginning' and 'end'; according to one respect 'beginning', and according to another 'end'. And just as we call the same one 'lamb' and 'shepherd' and these do not conflict, so we call him 'way' and 'door' and these do not oppose. Thus he himself is called 'beginning' and 'end'.

'Beginning' is as a 'foundation' of the 'divine building' being laid down; 'for no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid' (1 Cor 3:11). He himself is the 'head of the corner' (Ps 118:22); he himself the 'placed foundation' 'has become the head of the corner', joining; and the 'corner' is the meeting of two walls. Just as the two covenants and the two peoples were joined and the church became one, using Christ as 'head', so also he became 'end'.

Behold, 'beginning and end', 'first and last'. Take the 'first' here according to honor; there are those bearing the first things 'in the church' such as 'apostles, prophets'; there are also the others having such things as 'the gift of healings, understanding, governance, tongue'. All...