Isaac Blessing Jacob, Stom, Matthias, Dutch, ca.1635-1637; The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham.
Where Science Meets the Doctrine and Covenants: Come Follow Me Lesson: March 3-9: Doctrine and Covenants 19
We read in Doctrine and Covenants 19:1, “I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world.”
In ancient scripture, the phrase “Alpha and Omega” is Greek (Άλφα και Ωμέγα; referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) and thus, is found only in the New Testament, and then only in Revelation. In 1:8-11 we read, “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. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
Then in Revelation 21:6 and 22:13-15, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely…I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
As the Old Testament was written in Hebrew (or reformed Egyptian), the phrase Άλφα και Ωμέγα is not found there. However, the Hebrew phrase רִאשׁוֹן֙ (ri·šō·wn; First, in place, time, rank) אַחֲר֔וֹן (’a·ḥă·rō·wn; Hinder, late, last, western) (Biblehub) is found in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
It is interesting that the Hebrew word רִאשׁוֹן֙ (ri·šō·wn) can be translated as “First, in place, time, or rank”. In 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul wrote, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” According to Bible Hub, the Greek word for “first” in 1 Corinthians 15:45 is πρῶτος (prōtos), which means first, before, principal, most important, or foremost. Thus, this word in Greek has almost exactly the same meaning as the Hebrew word רִאשׁוֹן֙ (ri·šō·wn). It is clear from this verse that Paul was referring to Christ when he used the phrase “the last Adam”. That reference is obviously metaphorical. The Greek word there, translated as “last” by the King James authors is ἔσχατος (eschatos), meaning last, at the last, finally, till the end, farthest, or final. I think the word “final Adam” gives that phrase an interesting twist.
I have written a number of times in my books and essays about Adam as the “first man”, and have proposed that the word “first” there, in my opinion, should be considered a title, as “first in rank” or as “principal, most important, or foremost”. After all, Adam is the Archangel, which means being the chief angel, most important angel, or “first” angel.
We read further in Doctrine and Covenants 19:4-14, “And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am endless. Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory. Wherefore, I will explain unto you this mystery, for it is meet unto you to know even as mine apostles. I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that you may enter into my rest. For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. Endless punishment is God’s punishment.”
I do not even begin to comprehend what Christ said in those verses. None-the-less, it appears that, as with Alpha and Omega, “Endless” and “Eternal” are other names (or titles?) for Christ. Apparently, I shouldn’t feel badly that I don’t comprehend the above passage, because we are not intended to understand it. We are told in Doctrine and Covenants 76:44-48, “Wherefore, he saves all except them—they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment—And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof; Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway shut it up again; Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are ordained unto this condemnation.”
Christ told Martin Harris in Doctrine and Covenants 19:26-27, “And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God—Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.” Some people have unwittingly listed the term “Jew” in the Book of Mormon as evidence against its ancient authenticity. This statement in the Doctrine and Covenants makes it crystal clear that the use of the term “Jew” in the Book of Mormon was no mistake. The following is from my post for January 15-21, 2024:
It appears that Lehi discovered that he was descended from Joseph only after reading from the plates of brass, as recounted in 1 Nephi 5:14. Nephi refers to “Jews” as early as 1 Nephi 1:2. He stated in verse 4 that his, “…father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days…” When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were separated, the greater part of ten of the tribes were included in the Kingdom of Israel, whereas the Kingdom of Judah consisted of mainly the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
According to the definition in Wikipedia, “The term Jew is derived from Hebrew יְהוּדִי Yehudi, originally the term for the people of the Israelite kingdom of Judah. According to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe of Judah and the kingdom of Judah derive from Judah…” Furthermore, “The English term Jew originates in the Biblical Hebrew word Yehudi, meaning ‘from the Kingdom of Judah.’ It passed into Greek as Ioudaios and Latin as Iudaeus, which evolved into the Old French giu after the letter ‘d’ was dropped. A variety of related forms are found in early English from about the year 1000, including Iudea, Gyu, Giu, Iuu, Iuw, and Iew, which eventually developed into the modern word.” “The term Yehudi (יְהוּדִי) occurs 74 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible. The plural, Yehudim (הַיְּהוּדִים) first appears in 2 Kings 16:6 (around 754–732 BC, although some scholars claim that the book of Kings was not written before the captivity — (so we return to the minimalist/maximalist debate) where it refers to a defeat for the Yehudi army or nation, and in 2 Chronicles 32:18, where it refers to the language of the Yehudim (יְהוּדִית). Jeremiah 34:9 has the earliest singular usage of the word Yehudi. In Esther 2:5–6, the name ‘Yehudi’ (יְהוּדִי) has a generic aspect, in this case referring to a man from the tribe of Benjamin…”
Because Lehi spent his entire life in Jerusalem, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, and apparently didn’t know he was descended from Joseph until after he left Jerusalem, it seems only natural that Nephi would refer to his family as Jews.
I will also add here that living in Jerusalem for many years and apparently being descended from people who had lived in Jerusalem for many years, Lehi and his family would clearly have had some direct descent from the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Joseph was the tribe through which Lehi’s blessing was obtained, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t also descended from Judah and Benjamin, and perhaps even Levi. He may even have been descended from other tribes in the Kingdom of Israel, besides Joseph.
Patriarchal blessings are much the same. We are told that we are from, or adopted into, a given Israelite linage. Again, that is our linage of blessing, but that may not be our only linage from the House of Israel. After some 2700 years of breeding and cross-breeding, if someone is a direct descendant of any of the Israelite houses, he or she is likely descended from most or even all of them.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
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