A detailed Bible-study infographic examining Revelation 3:14 and the meaning of Jesus being called “the Beginning of God's creation.” It compares the major interpretations of the Greek word archē and asks whether Jesus was God's first creation, the source of creation, or the beginning of God's new creation. Research by Simon Brown.
THE CORRECT MEANING OF REVELATION 3:14 — WHAT DOES “THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S CREATION” REALLY MEAN?
Does Revelation 3:14 Say Jesus Was Created, or That Jesus Created Everything?
Research by Simon Brown
IMPORTANT UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL RESEARCH
I originally published this article in 2020.
Since then I have continued researching Revelation 3:14, the Greek word ἀρχή (archē), Colossians 1:15–18, John 1:1–3 and the wider biblical teaching concerning creation.
As a result, I have substantially revised this article.
Some arguments in my original research were stated too strongly, and a few points concerning the Greek language needed correcting.
Rather than hide those mistakes or simply delete the article, I believe the proper thing to do is acknowledge them and replace the earlier arguments with a more careful examination of the biblical evidence.
My conclusion remains non-Trinitarian, but our conclusions should rest upon what Scripture can actually establish.
WE SHOULD NEVER MAKE THE BIBLE SAY MORE THAN IT SAYS.
So let us reconsider Revelation 3:14.
WHAT DOES REVELATION 3:14 ACTUALLY SAY?
Jesus tells John:
“And to the messenger of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of God's creation.”
— Revelation 3:14, BLB
The crucial expression is:
“THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S CREATION”
The Greek is:
ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ
Hē archē tēs ktiseōs tou Theou
The important word is:
ἀρχή — ARCHĒ
Usually translated here as:
“beginning.”
But what exactly does that mean?
THREE MAJOR INTERPRETATIONS
Revelation 3:14 has been interpreted in several different ways.
INTERPRETATION 1 — JESUS WAS GOD'S FIRST CREATION
Jehovah's Witnesses understand Jesus as God's first created being and therefore understand “the beginning of God's creation” in that general framework.
Under this interpretation, Jesus belongs to God's creation and was its first member.
INTERPRETATION 2 — JESUS IS THE SOURCE OR ORIGIN OF CREATION
Many Trinitarian interpreters understand archē here in an active sense.
Jesus is therefore not the first thing created but the origin, source or ruler of creation.
This interpretation is commonly connected with John 1:1–3 and Colossians 1:15–17.
INTERPRETATION 3 — JESUS IS THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S NEW CREATION
Another interpretation understands Revelation 3:14 in connection with Christ's resurrection and the new creation inaugurated through him.
This interpretation can be compared especially with Colossians 1:18, where Jesus is called both:
“THE BEGINNING”
and
“THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD.”
This third interpretation is the one I believe deserves much more attention.
But importantly, the Greek word archē by itself does not automatically prove any one of these interpretations.
We have to examine the context.
WHAT DOES THE GREEK WORD ARCHĒ MEAN?
My original article stated too simply that archē meant:
“the initial starting point.”
That was incomplete.
The Greek noun ἀρχή (archē) has a broader range of meanings.
Depending upon context, it can refer to such ideas as:
beginning
origin
first position
rule
authority
or ruler
For example, the same basic Greek word occurs in expressions concerning rulers and authorities.
Therefore, we cannot simply look up one English definition of archē and declare the theological question solved.
CONTEXT MUST DETERMINE ITS SENSE.
DOES “BEGINNING” MEAN “FIRST CREATED”?
Not necessarily.
This is extremely important.
Revelation 3:14 does not use a Greek expression meaning:
“THE FIRST THING GOD CREATED.”
It calls Jesus:
“THE ARCHĒ OF GOD'S CREATION.”
Therefore, someone who argues that Revelation 3:14 proves Jesus was God's first created being must establish that interpretation from the context.
The word archē alone doesn't prove it.
But the same caution must apply to the opposite argument.
Someone cannot merely say:
“Archē means source, therefore Revelation 3:14 proves Jesus created the universe.”
That conclusion also requires contextual evidence.
AN IMPORTANT PARALLEL: COLOSSIANS 1:18
Now we come to a very important passage.
Paul writes concerning Jesus:
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, firstborn out from the dead, so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
— Colossians 1:18, BLB
Notice the language:
“HE IS THE BEGINNING”
The Greek word is again:
ἀρχή — ARCHĒ
But Paul immediately connects this with:
“FIRSTBORN OUT FROM THE DEAD”
and then explains the result:
“SO THAT HE MIGHT BE HOLDING PREEMINENCE IN ALL THINGS.”
This is extremely important evidence when considering Revelation 3:14.
Jesus is the beginning in a passage directly concerned with his position as the resurrected firstborn from the dead and his resulting preeminence.
REVELATION ITSELF USES SIMILAR LANGUAGE
Revelation 1:5 describes Jesus as:
“…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
— Revelation 1:5, BLB
Notice again the connection:
Jesus Christ
→ faithful witness
→ firstborn of the dead
→ ruler of the kings of the earth
Then Revelation 3:14 describes him:
the Amen
→ the faithful and true Witness
→ the beginning of God's creation
There is an interesting connection within Revelation itself.
Revelation 1:5 calls Jesus the:
“FAITHFUL WITNESS”
Revelation 3:14 calls him the:
“FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS.”
Revelation 1:5 calls him:
“THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD.”
And Revelation 3:14 calls him:
“THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S CREATION.”
This makes Christ's resurrection, rulership and new-creation status highly relevant to interpreting Revelation 3:14.
It does not by itself settle every question, but it is evidence that should not be ignored.
JESUS IS THE FIRSTFRUITS FROM THE DEAD
Paul writes:
“But now Christ has been raised out from the dead, the firstfruit of those having fallen asleep.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:20, BLB
And:
“But each in the own order: Christ the firstfruit, then those of Christ at His coming.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:23, BLB
Jesus therefore occupies the first and supreme position in God's resurrection program.
He is the:
firstborn from the dead
firstfruits
beginning
and the one through whom God's future Kingdom is established.
BUT JESUS WAS NOT THE FIRST PERSON EVER RESTORED TO LIFE
This distinction matters.
People were raised from the dead before Jesus.
Lazarus is an obvious example.
Yet Lazarus eventually died again.
Jesus' resurrection was fundamentally different.
Paul says:
“Christ, having been raised out from the dead, dies no more; death no longer rules over Him.”
— Romans 6:9, BLB
Jesus is therefore the beginning of something radically new:
RESURRECTION TO IMMORTAL LIFE.
That makes the connection between “beginning” and “firstborn from the dead” especially significant.
WHAT ABOUT COLOSSIANS 1:15?
Paul calls Jesus:
“the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
— Colossians 1:15, BLB
This verse is also disputed.
Jehovah's Witnesses understand “firstborn of all creation” as evidence that Jesus was God's first created being.
Traditional Christianity generally understands “firstborn” primarily in terms of Christ's supremacy over creation rather than Christ being part of creation.
But we should remember that the biblical term “firstborn” does not always mean “first-created.”
Psalm 89 provides an important example.
God says concerning the Davidic king:
“Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”
— Psalm 89:27
Here firstborn clearly carries the idea of rank, supremacy and kingship.
That makes Paul's explanation in Colossians 1:18 especially significant:
“…so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
DOES REVELATION 3:14 PROVE JESUS WAS THE FIRST PERSON GOD CREATED?
I do not believe it does.
The verse calls Jesus:
“THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S CREATION.”
It does not explicitly say:
“Jesus was the first creature God made.”
Therefore we should not insert those words into the verse.
If someone wishes to argue that Jesus was created, that case has to be established from the wider biblical evidence—not merely assumed from the English word “beginning.”
BUT DOES REVELATION 3:14 PROVE JESUS CREATED GENESIS?
We must be equally careful here.
Revelation 3:14 itself does not say:
“Jesus created the heavens and the earth.”
Nor does it say:
“Jesus is the God who created everything.”
Those conclusions are usually brought into Revelation 3:14 from passages such as John 1:1–3 and Colossians 1:16.
Those passages therefore need to be investigated separately.
We should not use Revelation 3:14 to prove a particular interpretation of Colossians 1:16 and then use Colossians 1:16 to prove our interpretation of Revelation 3:14.
That would become circular reasoning.
WHO DOES SCRIPTURE IDENTIFY AS THE CREATOR?
One passage that deserves serious consideration is Isaiah 44:24:
“Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: ‘I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by Myself.’”
This is powerful monotheistic language.
Yahweh declares Himself the Creator.
Likewise Genesis begins:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
— Genesis 1:1
And Jesus himself says:
“Have you not read that the One having created from the beginning made them male and female?”
— Matthew 19:4, BLB
These passages are important to the wider creation discussion.
However, I want to correct another argument from my original article.
A CORRECTION TO MY EARLIER GREEK ARGUMENT
My previous article incorrectly suggested that the Greek word ὁ (ho) in Matthew 19:4 meant:
“ONE PERSON.”
That is not grammatically correct.
ὁ (ho) is the masculine singular Greek definite article—essentially “the.”
The ordinary Greek numeral for “one” is εἷς (heis).
Matthew 19:4 still refers to “the One having created,” and I believe the passage is important, but we should not build an argument upon an incorrect definition of the Greek article.
WHEN RESEARCH SHOWS AN ERROR, WE SHOULD CORRECT IT.
Truth has nothing to fear from correction.
ANOTHER CORRECTION: JOHN 1:2–3
My original article also described translations such as “He” in John 1:2 and “Him” in John 1:3 as simply:
“FALSE TRANSLATIONS.”
That was too strong.
The underlying Greek pronouns can be rendered according to how the translator understands their antecedent and according to normal English grammar.
The real debate is not whether English translators invented nonexistent Greek pronouns.
The deeper question is:
WHAT DOES JOHN MEAN BY “THE WORD” — THE LOGOS?
Does John's logos describe a personally pre-existent Son?
Or God's word, wisdom, purpose and self-expression that ultimately became flesh in Jesus?
That is a much larger question and should be investigated in a dedicated study of John 1:1–14, rather than settled by simply calling “he” or “him” a false translation.
WHAT ABOUT JOHN 17:5?
My original article also attempted to prove that Jesus could have glory with God before the world existed without personally existing then.
Jesus prayed:
“And now glorify Me, You Father, with Yourself, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.”
— John 17:5, BLB
There are genuine interpretive questions here.
Traditional Christianity understands this as evidence of Jesus' personal pre-existence.
Biblical Unitarians have commonly understood the glory as existing beforehand in God's plan, foreknowledge and purpose.
But my old statement that:
“BEING LOVED BY GOD IS HAVING GLORY WITH GOD”
went beyond what John actually says.
John 17:24 connects God's pre-world love for Jesus with his glory, but it doesn't simply define love and glory as identical concepts.
I have therefore corrected that argument.
John 17:5 deserves to be examined independently and carefully rather than being used as a shortcut for interpreting Revelation 3:14.
GOD'S PURPOSE EXISTED BEFORE ITS FULFILMENT
There is nevertheless an important biblical principle concerning God's foreknowledge.
Paul says believers were:
“…chosen… in Him before the foundation of the world…”
— Ephesians 1:4
Peter says Jesus was:
“foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but having been revealed in the last times…”
— 1 Peter 1:20, BLB
Jesus speaks of a Kingdom:
“…having been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
— Matthew 25:34, BLB
Therefore, Scripture certainly allows things to exist in God's purpose, plan and foreknowledge before their historical manifestation.
Whether that completely explains Revelation 3:14 is another question.
Again:
WE MUST NOT MAKE ONE VERSE PROVE MORE THAN IT ACTUALLY PROVES.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER JESUS WAS RAISED?
Now we come to something Scripture states very clearly.
Jesus says:
“All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Me.”
— Matthew 28:18, BLB
Notice:
“HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME.”
Jesus receives authority.
Paul likewise says God:
“…highly exalted Him, and granted to Him the name above every name…”
— Philippians 2:9, BLB
And Peter describes Jesus:
“…who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to Him.”
— 1 Peter 3:22, BLB
The risen Christ therefore occupies an extraordinary God-given position of authority.
JESUS IS THE RULER OF GOD'S NEW ORDER
This brings us back to Revelation.
Jesus is:
the faithful witness
the firstborn from the dead
the ruler of the kings of the earth
— Revelation 1:5.
And he is:
the Amen
the faithful and true Witness
the beginning of God's creation
— Revelation 3:14.
Combined with Colossians 1:18:
“He is the beginning, firstborn out from the dead, so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
I believe there is a substantial biblical case for understanding Revelation 3:14 in connection with Christ's position at the head of God's new creation.
But I want to state the conclusion more carefully than I did in my original research:
REVELATION 3:14 ALONE DOES NOT EXPLICITLY SAY “NEW CREATION.”
That conclusion comes from comparing the verse with the wider New Testament picture, particularly Christ as “the beginning” and “firstborn from the dead” in Colossians 1:18.
That distinction is important.
SO WHAT CAN REVELATION 3:14 ACTUALLY PROVE?
It tells us explicitly that Jesus is:
THE AMEN.
THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS.
THE ARCHĒ OF GOD'S CREATION.
It does not explicitly say:
Jesus is God's first-created creature.
It does not explicitly say:
Jesus is Almighty God.
And it does not explicitly say:
Jesus created Genesis.
Each of those claims requires additional interpretation and supporting passages.
MY UPDATED CONCLUSION
After revisiting my original research, I believe the strongest interpretation is that Jesus' title as “the beginning of God's creation” should be understood in light of his resurrection, supremacy and position at the head of God's new order.
This is particularly supported by:
COLOSSIANS 1:18
“He is the beginning, firstborn out from the dead, so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.”
and:
REVELATION 1:5
“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Jesus is God's chosen Messiah.
God raised him from the dead.
God exalted him.
God gave him authority.
And God placed him at the head of the coming Kingdom.
That provides a powerful biblical framework for understanding why the risen Jesus can be called:
“THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S CREATION.”
But unlike my original article, I will not claim that the Greek word archē by itself proves this interpretation.
Nor will I claim Revelation 3:14 alone settles every question concerning Christ's pre-existence or his role in creation.
Those questions must be examined from the whole biblical record.
RESEARCH SHOULD BE WILLING TO CHANGE
When I first wrote this article, I believed some of my arguments were stronger than they actually were.
Further research showed me where corrections were necessary.
I do not see that as a weakness.
IF WE ARE SEEKING TRUTH, WE MUST BE WILLING TO CORRECT OURSELVES.
The purpose of Bible study should never be to defend something simply because we previously wrote it.
Our responsibility is to ask:
WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD ACTUALLY SAY?
My understanding remains that the Bible presents the Father as the one true God and Jesus as His Son, Messiah, risen Lord and appointed ruler.
But every individual passage deserves to be examined honestly and carefully.
And Revelation 3:14 is no exception.
FINAL QUESTION
When Jesus calls himself:
“THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S CREATION”
does he mean:
the first being God ever created?
the source of the Genesis creation?
or
the beginning and ruler of God's new creation through resurrection?
I believe the biblical evidence, particularly Revelation 1:5 and Colossians 1:18, gives us very good reason to take the third interpretation seriously.
But most importantly:
READ THE VERSE.
READ THE CONTEXT.
COMPARE SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE.
And never make the text say more than it actually says.
Research by Simon Brown
wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com
Figure 1. Infographic examining the Jehovah's Witnesses' interpretation of John 1:1, including the translation "the Word was a god," and comparing it with the biblical context.
