John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
We know that in the Greek language there are two words for the word “word.” One is logos and the other is rhema. Logos is the written Word of God, the letters written on parchment. Rhema is the spoken, living, or revealed Word of God.
Many times in our Christian walk we read a scripture and possibly even memorize it. We feel we know it well. Then one day we hear this exact same scripture and it “comes alive” inside of us. What we say is this: that scripture that used to be logos became rhema. In other words, it was no longer just letters on a page, but the Word came alive and was revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting that in John 1, we read, “In the beginning was the Word.” And in verse 14 it tells us that the Word became flesh. In other words, the Word in verse one is clearly Jesus. You would think that the word “Word” in verse one would have come from the Greek word rhema, because Jesus is the living, spoken, revealed Word of God.
But surprisingly, it is not. The Bible calls Jesus the written Word in John 1:1.
Three times in the New Testament Jesus calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. You can look up these scriptures in your English Bible and that’s what it says.
However, Jesus never said I am the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus didn’t speak Greek. He spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. What He actually said was, “I am the Aleph and the Tav.”
The Aleph and the Tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Because of that, the translators automatically assumed that Jesus was referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In fact, there are Bibles that say Jesus said He was the A and the Z.
But Jesus did not say He was the A and the Z, nor did He say He was the Alpha and the Omega, again because He did not speak English or Greek. He spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. And what He was referring to is this.
In the first line of Genesis, in the first line of the Torah that every Jew knew well, were these words—”b’rasheet bara Elohim et HaShamayim v’et HaEretz.”
The opening verses of Genesis in the original Hebrew!
B’rasheet is translated “in the beginning.” Bara is translated “created.” Elohim is rendered as God. HaShamayim is translated “heavens.” V’et HaEretz is translated “and the earth.”
You may notice we skipped a word. The word we skipped was et. The reason it was not translated is because the rabbis and scribes have never known the meaning of this word. The reason it was not eliminated out of the text is because the Hebrew text is also a complicated mathematical formula and nothing can be added or taken away.
In the Hebrew language the word et, that has been untranslatable for thousands of years, is spelled Aleph Tav.
When Jesus said, “I am the Aleph and the Tav,” He was saying I am the Word, (or logos, written Word) that was in the beginning. In the first line of the Torah, in the first line of the first verse in Genesis, He was there with God! He was in the beginning and all things were created through Him.
So when John wrote the first line of his Gospel, He said in the beginning was the Word (Word of God) and the Word of God created everything, came to earth, and became the salvation of man.
So you can see that Jesus was not just referring to Himself as letters in the alphabet, but He specifically was saying that He was the written Word of God Who was in the beginning with God!
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Dr. Larry Ollison is founder and Senior Pastor of Walk on the Water Faith Church and founder of Larry Ollison Ministries. With over forty years in the ministry, he is a very popular speaker nationally and internationally and ministers the Word of Faith through radio, television, Internet, and daily e-mail devotionals. As the author of twelve books (including The Power of Grace, The Practical Handbook for Christian Living, Breaking the Cycle of Offense, Life is in the Blood, and recently released The Paradise of God), he is in frequent demand for radio/TV interviews, book signings, and magazine publications.
Dr. Ollison was raised a Southern Baptist. While majoring in theology at Southwest Baptist University, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. For many years he traveled extensively speaking at Full Gospel Business Men's meetings and conventions. He later earned an M.A. in Theology and a Ph.D. and Th.D. from Life Christian University.
Currently President of International Convention of Faith Ministries (ICFM), Dr. Ollison is also Vice-President of Spirit FM Christian Radio Network, Missouri State Director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and a Trustee on the boards of several international ministries. He is also the host of The Cutting Edge Radio Broadcast and authors The Cutting Edge Daily Devotional.
As the owner of a marine dealership, his extensive business background brings a unique flavor to his teaching. He founded and served as chairman of the Missouri State Marine Board, President of the Marine Dealers’ Association, Vice-President of a bank holding company, along with holding several directorships in various corporations.
Dr. Ollison's strongest areas of teaching are the blood of Jesus, faith, relationships, the Hebrew language, the Holy Spirit, the end times, and heaven. During ministry, he operates freely in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. His use of humor and his ability to make a theological concept simple makes it enjoyable and easy for everyone to understand. Countless testimonies have been received from people who say their lives have been changed after experiencing Dr. Ollison's unique ministry.
Dr. Ollison is a pastor, pilot, teacher, and author. His number one goal is to meet the needs of the people through the teaching of faith in God's Word. He and his wife, Loretta, have two children and six grandchildren.