Revelation 1:8 - The God of Jesus Speaks

The following was posted in one of the forums:

Rev 1:1 Clearly shows us who was speaking to John so we know that it was also Christ saying He was the Alpha/Omega:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Re 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Our response:

Revelation 1:1 definitely and clearly distinguishes "God" from "Jesus." The Revelation originated from "God," and this one person gave this revelation to Jesus; this is plainly stated. So is "God" in Revelation speaking unipersonally of one person, or three persons? Is the Greek word THEOS, meaning "God/god", ever applied to Jesus in the book of Revelation? Most trinitarians claim that "God" in Revelation 1:1 refers to the Father; this is indeed so, and so in Revelation 1:1 "God" is not three persons, but one. And by closely examining the context of the appearances of the word "God" all through Revelation, the conclusion is that "God" is continuously not referring to three persons, but one person, as can be clearly seen from its usage in Revelation 1:1. Jesus speaks of the unipersonal God as his God in Revelation 3:12 (King James Version). Several other translations recognize "God" as being one person who is the God of Jesus in Revelation 1:6; 2:7; 3:2.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. -- American Standard Version.

There is disagreement among academics and theologians over the identity of KURIOS (Lord) in Revelation 1:8. The main point of contention is whether the speaker is Jesus Christ or God the Father (Jehovah). Many academics, especially within particular traditions, interpret the phrase "says the Lord God" (legei kyrios ho theos) as referring to Jehovah, the Almighty. 

Many commentaries interpret Revelation 1:8 as referring to God the Father based on the titles "Almighty" (Pantokratōr) and "who is, and who was, and who is to come". The terms "Almighty" (Pantokratōr) and "who is, and who was, and who is to come" are used in many commentaries to argue that Revelation 1:8 is quoting God the Father. Some contend that the title "Almighty" is used only for the Father in this context to differentiate him from Jesus, who is referred to as the "faithful witness" and the "firstborn from the dead" in earlier verses, even though Trinitarians frequently assign the word Almighty to Christ. No scripture, however, ever speaks of Jesus as "Almighty", which leads to the conclusion that Almighty in Revelation 1:8 is not speaking of Jesus, but rather of Jesus' God and Father.

Some scholars believe that the description, "who is, and who was, and who is to come", in verse 8 is a periphrasis (circumlocution) of the name Jehovah/YHWH, indicating what many refer to as Jehovah's eternal nature, that is, that God is eternal both in his past and his future. Several scholars present the conclusion that the phrase KURIOS HO THEOS (Lord God) in the context of 1:8 is a Hebraism reflecting the Hebrew Holy Name of God and the Hebrew word Elohim, rendered in the American Standard Version of the Old Testament as "Jehovah God". 

Matthew Henry: According to his classic commentary, the Father is first identified as the "Jehovah who is, and who was, and who is to come" in the introductory salutation (v. 4-5). He implies that although Christ "challenges the same honor," the precise wording in verse 8 captures the Father's immutability and eternity.

In his Notes on the Whole Bible, Albert Barnes makes the case that it is "more natural" to allude to "God as such" (the Father) because the phrase "which is, and was, and is to come" is similar to how God is described in Revelation 1:4.

Kermit Zarley is a modern biblical scholar and author who contends that in all seven other places in Revelation, including Revelation 21:22, where God and the Lamb are directly contrasted, the phrase "Lord God, the Almighty" (kurios ho theos ho pantokrator) only refers to God the Father.

In their interpretations of the Greek text, Griesbach, Tittman, and Hahn used the reading "God" (Theos) rather than "Lord" (Kyrios), which further indicates an identification with God the Father rather than the Lord Jesus.

The Alexandrian manuscripts, the Complutensian edition, and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions read, "the Lord God"; and the Ethiopic version only "God." The anarthrous Greek expression kurios, rendered as "the Lord" in most translations of Revelation 1:8, often represents, in our known NT manuscripts, a substitution for the holy name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the context indicates this to be the case in Revelation 1:8.

The Greek word for "God" is with a definite article; this directly links "God" in Revelation 1:8 to the one person who is "God" in Revelation 1:1. Furthermore, the expression "who is and who was and who is to come" identifies the speaker as the one bearing the expression, "who is", etc., in Revelation 1:4. "God" of Revelation 1:1, is the one person spoken of by, basically, the same expression, "who is", etc., in Revelation 1:4, and Revelation 4:8. It is same one person who is pictured as sitting on the throne in Revelation 1:4; 4:9,10; 5:1,7,13; 6:16; 7:10,15; 19:4; 21:5. Jesus is clearly distinguished from this one person Revelation 5:7.  Thus, the one being quoted in Revelation 1:8 is not Jesus, but rather "God" who gave the Revelation to Jesus. Please note that the one speaking in Revelation 1:7 is not Jesus, but rather John. Trinitarian Bible scholar A. T. Roberston shows that Revelation 1:8 is an "unannounced" change of speaker in his comments on Revelation 1:8. And he makes no mention of Revelation 1:8 as being spoken by Jesus.