IMPORTANT UPDATE — NEW RESEARCH AVAILABLE
This subject has now been completely rewritten and expanded with additional research and evidence.
READ THE NEW UPDATED ARTICLE HERE: QUICK FACTS: REVELATION 1:5 — DOES “FIRSTBORN” MEAN JESUS WAS THE FIRST PERSON GOD CREATED?
A detailed Bible-study image examining Revelation 1:5 and the meaning of Jesus being called “the firstborn of the dead.” It compares Revelation 1:5 with Colossians 1:15 and 1:18 and considers whether “firstborn” means the first person God created or describes Christ’s resurrection, supremacy, authority and preeminence. Research by Simon Brown.
REVELATION 1:5 — DOES “FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD” MEAN JESUS WAS THE FIRST PERSON GOD CREATED?
IMPORTANT UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Research by Simon Brown
I originally published an article on this page entitled:
“Revelation 1:5 PROVES Jesus Is NOT the First Person to Exist!”
After continuing to study Revelation 1 and comparing it more carefully with Colossians 1:15–18, I believe some of the arguments and conclusions in my original article were stated too strongly.
In particular, I previously argued that because Revelation 1:5 does not say Jesus was the first person to exist, this somehow proved that He was not.
I no longer believe that is a sound argument.
The absence of a statement is not necessarily proof of its opposite.
Revelation 1:5 does not tell us when Jesus first began to exist. Therefore, this verse alone should not be used either to prove or disprove the personal pre-existence of Christ.
However, Revelation 1:5 does contain extremely important evidence concerning the biblical meaning of “firstborn,” particularly when compared with Colossians 1:15–18.
I have therefore corrected and updated this article so that it reflects my continuing research and what I now believe the biblical evidence actually supports.
I encourage everyone reading my research to do what I continually try to do myself:
Test everything against Scripture.
LET US BEGIN WITH REVELATION 1
The Book of Revelation begins with an important distinction:
Revelation 1:1
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him...”
Notice carefully what the text says.
GOD gave the revelation TO Jesus Christ.
We therefore have two distinguishable figures in the opening words of Revelation:
GOD — the One who gives the revelation
and
JESUS CHRIST — the One who receives the revelation from God.
Whatever theological conclusions someone eventually reaches about Jesus, we should begin with what the text actually says.
Then we come to Revelation 1:4–5.
John sends greetings to the seven churches and writes concerning Jesus:
Revelation 1:5
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Three extraordinary descriptions are given to Jesus:
1. The faithful witness
2. The firstborn of the dead
3. The ruler of the kings of the earth
The second description is particularly important for this study.
JESUS IS “THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD”
Why does John call Jesus:
“the firstborn of the dead”?
Clearly, John is not saying that Jesus was the first dead person ever to exist.
Nor was Jesus the first person in biblical history to be restored to life.
The expression therefore requires us to think more carefully about what biblical “firstborn” language can communicate.
It can involve more than simply chronological existence.
In the case of Jesus, His resurrection is connected with His unique position, supremacy and authority.
And this becomes especially important when we turn to one of the passages frequently used to argue that Jesus was the first person God created.
WHAT ABOUT COLOSSIANS 1:15?
Paul writes:
Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
Some readers, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses, understand:
“firstborn of all creation”
to mean that Jesus was the first being created by God, before everything else was created.
But does the word “firstborn” itself prove that?
No.
The expression must be interpreted from its biblical and immediate context.
And remarkably, Paul gives us another extremely important use of “firstborn” only three verses later.
COLOSSIANS 1:18 PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT CLUE
Paul continues:
Colossians 1:18
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn out from the dead, so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
Now compare these statements:
Colossians 1:15
“the firstborn of all creation”
Colossians 1:18
“the firstborn out from the dead”
Revelation 1:5
“the firstborn of the dead”
This comparison is extremely important.
Paul doesn't leave us merely with the word “firstborn.”
In Colossians 1:18 he connects Christ's position with:
His resurrection from the dead
and
His preeminence.
Paul says:
“so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
Therefore, we should be very careful about taking Colossians 1:15 and automatically turning:
“the firstborn of all creation”
into:
“the first person God ever created.”
Those are not the same words.
“FIRSTBORN” DOES NOT ALWAYS SIMPLY MEAN FIRST CREATED
This is an important biblical principle.
The word firstborn can certainly refer to literal birth order.
But Scripture can also use firstborn language in connection with rank, inheritance, supremacy and special position.
A striking example occurs in Psalm 89.
Speaking concerning the Davidic king, God says:
Psalm 89:27
“I also will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”
Notice the connection:
FIRSTBORN
and
HIGHEST OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.
Now compare that with Revelation 1:5:
“the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
That is a fascinating parallel.
Psalm 89 connects firstborn with exalted kingship.
Revelation 1:5 connects Jesus being firstborn with His position as ruler of the kings of the earth.
Therefore, the biblical concept of “firstborn” cannot automatically be reduced to:
“the first person who came into existence.”
DOES REVELATION 1:5 PROVE JESUS DID NOT PRE-EXIST?
This is where I need to correct my original article.
Previously I argued that Revelation 1:5 proved Jesus was not the first person to exist because John did not mention such a pre-existence here.
I now believe that went beyond what the verse actually says.
Revelation 1:5 does NOT say:
Jesus was the first person God created.
But neither does Revelation 1:5 explicitly say:
Jesus did not personally exist before His human birth.
That particular question must therefore be investigated from the whole biblical evidence, rather than settled by an argument from silence in Revelation 1:5.
This is an important distinction.
We should never make Scripture say more than Scripture actually says, even when we believe our overall theological conclusion is correct.
DOES COLOSSIANS 1:15 PROVE JESUS WAS GOD'S FIRST CREATION?
Again, we must be careful.
Paul does not write:
“Jesus was the first person God created.”
He writes:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
And then, only three verses later:
“the firstborn out from the dead, so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
Therefore, “firstborn” by itself does not establish that Jesus was God's first-created being.
The context must determine its meaning.
BUT WHAT ABOUT COLOSSIANS 1:16?
Immediately after calling Jesus “the firstborn of all creation,” Paul writes:
Colossians 1:16
“For in Him all things were created, things in the heavens and things upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and unto Him.”
This is obviously an extremely important passage.
Many Christians understand Paul to be describing Jesus' involvement in the original Genesis creation.
Others understand Paul's emphasis differently, particularly because he specifically mentions:
thrones
lordships
rulers
and
authorities.
That question deserves careful examination from Colossians itself.
But Revelation 1:5 alone cannot settle that debate.
What is interesting, however, is what Revelation 1:5 says concerning Jesus:
“the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
And compare what Jesus says after His resurrection:
Matthew 28:18
“All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Me.”
Notice something extremely important:
Jesus possesses extraordinary authority.
But Jesus says that this authority:
“has been given to Me.”
That naturally raises the question:
WHO GAVE JESUS THIS AUTHORITY?
The New Testament repeatedly answers that question by pointing us to God.
GOD EXALTED JESUS
Peter says concerning Jesus:
Acts 2:36
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Paul likewise writes:
Philippians 2:9
“Therefore God also highly exalted Him, and granted to Him the name above every name.”
Again we see:
GOD exalted JESUS.
And Revelation 1 begins:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him...”
This distinction should not simply be ignored.
JESUS IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD
There is another important expression in Colossians 1:15 which can easily be overlooked:
“He is the image of the invisible God.”
Jesus is described as the image OF God.
Paul similarly writes:
2 Corinthians 4:4
“Christ, who is the image of God.”
The image and the One whose image is being represented are distinguishable in the language Paul uses.
Jesus perfectly reveals and represents God.
This agrees beautifully with Jesus' words:
John 14:9
“The one having seen Me has seen the Father.”
Jesus reveals His Father perfectly.
But Scripture repeatedly distinguishes Jesus Christ from the God and Father who sent, empowered and exalted Him.
WHAT DOES REVELATION 1:5 ACTUALLY PROVE?
It establishes something important, but not exactly what my original article claimed.
Revelation 1:5 tells us explicitly that Jesus Christ is:
“the faithful witness”
“the firstborn of the dead”
and
“the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
It therefore gives us valuable evidence for understanding biblical firstborn language.
When compared with Colossians 1:18 and Psalm 89:27, we see that “firstborn” can be associated with:
RESURRECTION
PREEMINENCE
RANK
KINGSHIP
and
SUPREMACY.
Therefore:
“FIRSTBORN” DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN “FIRST PERSON GOD CREATED.”
And that is the much more careful conclusion I believe the biblical evidence supports.
FINAL CONCLUSION
My original article was right to question the assumption that Colossians 1:15 automatically means Jesus was the first person God created.
However, my original argument from Revelation 1:5 went too far.
The fact that Revelation 1:5 does not mention Jesus existing before His birth does not prove that He did not pre-exist.
Likewise, Revelation 1:5 does not say that Jesus was God's first-created being.
What it actually tells us is:
Jesus is the faithful witness.
Jesus is the firstborn of the dead.
Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth.
And Colossians 1:18 gives us an especially important parallel:
Jesus is “the firstborn out from the dead,” so that He might hold “preeminence in all things.”
Therefore, when we read:
“the firstborn of all creation”
in Colossians 1:15, we should not simply assume that Paul meant:
“the first person God ever created.”
That interpretation must be demonstrated from the context rather than assumed from the word firstborn itself.
This is why careful biblical research matters.
I have made mistakes in my research before, and I may make mistakes again. When better evidence shows that an argument needs correcting, I believe the right thing to do is correct it openly rather than defend something simply because I previously wrote it.
Our objective should never be to make the Bible agree with us.
OUR OBJECTIVE SHOULD BE TO MAKE OUR BELIEFS AGREE WITH THE BIBLE.
Research by Simon Brown
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- 2 Peter 1:1 — Another Trinitarian Misunderstanding?
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