The Past and the Future

“I am the Alfa and Omega,” says the Lord God,” who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)
In the book of Revelation, Alpha (Α or α) and Omega (Ω or ω), the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, is a title of Christ and God. Theologically, as the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus refers to Himself as eternal. From beginning to end, Jesus has always existed and always will exist. This is an attribute unique to God, meaning Jesus equates Himself with the eternal God the Father.

As you may recall, in posts 5 and 6 we discussed the past in terms of Alfa events. These occurrences were based upon recalling facts in the context of historical events, remembrances and moments of meditation. In addition, they were identified as flashbacks in time.

In the last post, number 7, we began to consider Omega as a symbol or image of what is to come in our future existence. This post and several others to come will expand the various nuances and meanings of the future as a flashforward.

The Future as a Flashforward

An Image of a Flash

In the literature and the performing arts, a flashforward is a scene that take places chronologically after the current action and shows what is to come. Flashforward examples can be real, imagined, projected, or expected scenes that will happen later. A flash forward is synonymous with the term, prolepsis; taken from Greek, prolambanein: pro-, before; + lambanein, lēp-, to take.] which means to take before or to anticipate.

The idea behind prolepsis is quite simple. Merriam-Webster defines it primarily as “the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, prolepsis is a “figure of speech in which a future act or development is represented as if already accomplished or existing.”

In the next post we will continue to expand the various nuances and meanings of the future as a flashforward.

Clay