In Rev 3:14, Jesus is said to be the beginning (αρχη) of God’s creation. While some
argue that this means that Jesus is the “ruler” or “head” of creation, this is
a stretch, and instead, many hold that this refers to Jesus being the beginning
of either the Old or New Creation. On this being a reference to the Old creation,
see D.
Charles Pyle on Revelation 3:14 (cf. Is
Latter-day Saint Christology "Arian"?); for an interpretation favouring
Jesus being the beginning of the New creation,
see G.K.
Beale on Revelation 3:14.
While one disagrees with his Arian Christology (see the article linked above), Rolf Furuli (at the time of writing, lecturer in Semitic languages at the University of Oslo) offered the following commentary on another text (Col 1:18) that predicates αρχη of Jesus in the New Testament vis-à-vis his relationship to creation. As the book is rare to find (and so are attempts by JW proponents to engage in scholarship), some might find the following of interest:
[Colossians 1:18]
reads, “he is the beginning [archē],
the first-born [prōtotokos] from the
dead” (RSV). In addition to the word prōtotokos,
which we have already examined, we also find another very important word, namely,
archē. In John 1:1 we read “in the beginning
[archē] was the Word,” but in Colossians
1:18 we are told that Jesus is the archē. Tracking through both the
classical and New Testament Greek usage of this word, we find the lexical
meanings are as follows: 1) beginning, 2) origin/source and 3) ruler/authority.
In the NT archē occurs 53 times, and 26 of those
must have the meaning “beginning,” because they are preceded by a preposition
(as “from the beginning”). In 8
instances (Matthew 24:8; Mark 1:1; 13:8; Hebrews 5:12; 6:1; 7:2; 2 Peter 3:4)
the word occurs in a genitive construction where the meaning is also, clearly, “beginning.”
In 6 instances (John 8;25; Jud 1:6; Hebrews 2:3; 3:14; Revelation 21:6; 22:13.
In several of these texts there is a contrast between the “beginning” and the “end”)
the meaning “beginning” is also appropriate. In 2 instances (Acts 10;11; 11:5)
it has the meaning “corner.” In 11 instances (TEV has the following readings,
in parentheses: Luke 12:11 [governors]; 20:20 [authority]; Romans 8:38
[heavenly rulers]; 1 Corinthians 15:24 [spiritual rulers]; Ephesians 1;12
[heavenly rulers]; 3:10 [angelic rulers]; 6:12 [wicked spiritual forces];
Colossians 1:16 [spiritual powers]; 2:15 [spiritual rulers]; Titus 3:1 [rulers])
archē has the meaning “government” or
“ruler.” The final uses of this word are in Colossians 1:18 and Revelation
3:14, which are both theologically significant texts.
From the above it is
clear that archē, in more than 75% of
its occurrences, meanings “beginning.” Apart from “corner,” which also is a “beginning,”
the word is used in some sense connected with “government.” The word archē, with the meaning “source” is nowhere
attested in the NT, and 7 of the instances with the meaning “government” are in
the plural. Also, the four singular occurrences with this meaning are
qualified, either by “every” (1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; Col 2:10) or by a genitive
construction (Luke 20:20).
The word archē in Colossians 1:18 stands
unqualified as a predication of Jesus, and the meaning “government” seems to be
out of the question in this verse. In the next clause Jesus is said to be “the
first born [prōtotokos] from the
dead,” and archē and prōtotokos occasionally occur together,
expressing the concept “the first son” (compare Gen 49:3 and Deut 21:17 in the Septuagint).
So archē and prōtotokos in verse 18 may express the same thought: Jesus is the
first one to experience a resurrection from the dead with continuing life in
view.
The application of archē to Jesus in Revelation 3:14 is
parallel to is use in Colossians 1:15. In Revelation 3:14 archē is qualified by “God’s creation,” and this presents a problem
for those who support the trinity doctrine. The sense “government, authority”
is hardly fitting here, but if the translator chooses the only other meaning
which is found in the NT, namely, “beginning,” then Jesus is described as “the
beginning of God’s creation,” and thus a part of creation.
To avoid including
Jesus in creation, a meaning which is found in the Septuagint and in classical
Greek (but not in the NT) is introduced, namely, “origin” or “source.” It is interesting
to note that only in Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 3:14 is “origin” or “source”
for archē in many translations. We
cannot call this “bias” because “origin” or “source” is a lexical possibility,
but the fact that this rendering is used only
in the two above-mentioned passages in many translations shows that theology
has exerted a strong influence upon the translators.
Getting back to
Colossians 1:18, we have found support for rendering archē as “beginning” in other NT examples; even in Revelation 3:14,
an important christological passage, the sense of “beginning” is strongly suggested.
Additional support is found in the phrase “the firstborn of the dead” in verse
18. The meaning is evidently that he was the first to experience a resurrection
(Regarding the resurrection, in 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23 Jesus is called the “first
fruit” [aparchē]. According to Acts
26:23 he was the “first to rise from the dead,” and Revelation 1:5 uses the
same phrase as Colossians 1:18, “firstborn of the dead”). The conclusion of the
verse supports both “beginning” and “firstborn of the dead,” because it gives a
basis for these expressions, namely, “that he might become the one who is first
in all things.” (Rolf
Furuli, The Role of Theology and Bias in
Bible Translation With a Special Look at the New World Translation of Jehovah’s
Witnesses [Huntington Beach, Calif.: Elihu Books, 1999], 254-56)
