Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἀμήν, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ·
And to the angel in the church in Laodicea write: "The words of the Amen, the true and faithful witness; the beginning of the creation of God." (My translation from the Greek)
Much ink has been spilled about the meaning of Christ’s title in this verse, “the beginning of the creation of God.” Odds are, if you interact with groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, you will come across this verse, as they sometimes appeal to it to support their Arian Christology. Here is what one leading scholar of the Apocalypse writes on this verse:
Despite what most commentators think, the titles in 3:14 do not link Jesus to the original creation, but are an interpretation of Jesus’ resurrection drawn from 1:5. His resurrection is viewed as the beginning of the new creation, which is parallel with Col 1:15b, 18b; cf. “first-born of all creation” (πρωτοτοκος πασης κτισεως) in Col 1:15b, which may refer to the original creation in Genesis, and “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead” in v 18b (αρχη, πρωτοτοκος εκ των νεκρων). The latter phrase refers to the resurrection as a new cosmic beginning (as evident from the link not only with Col 1:15-17 but also with 1:19-20, 23). This is parallel with 2 Cor 5:15, 17, where Paul understands Jesus’ resurrection as bringing about a “new creation” (cf. the lining of ωστε [“so that”]; see also Eph 1:20-23; 2:5-6, 10) . . .That is, Christ as “firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth” in 1:5 is interpreted in 3:14 as designating Christ as the sovereign inaugurator of the new creation. Consequently, the title “beginning of the creation of God” refers not to Jesus’ sovereignty over the original creation but to his resurrection as demonstrating that he is the inauguration of and sovereign over the new creation.
G.K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGNT; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1999), 298. Emphasis in original.
