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Revelation 3:14 (KJV)

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Most translations say "the beginning of God's creations" or "the beginning of the creation of God." A few translations say something such as "the chief of God's creation."

Is "the beginning of the creation of God" the most correct? Is it saying that Christ was created by God?

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3 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

Translation

From the Apostolic Bible:
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Your first question is in regards to the translation. It seems that all three would be pretty valid translations. The original Greek for "the beginnings" here is arche:

Strings G746
1. beginning, origin
2. the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
3. that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
4. the extremity of a thing a) of the corners of a sail
5. the first place, principality, rule, magistracy a) of angels and demons

So, "the beginnings" seems to be a valid translation. Personally, I like the translation that the Apostolic Bible gives there: "the source of the creation of God"

Was Jesus created?

No, it's saying that Jesus was the source of all created things. It reflects back on this verse:

John 1:1-3 (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Summary

This isn't saying that Jesus was created. It's saying that Jesus was the source of creation. He was the beginning of all things. It's showing that through him, all things were created.

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I'm interested that you quote John 1.1 without mentioning that the second word of the verse is αρχη. It rather confirms your point, I think! – lonesomeday Nov 24 '11 at 21:16
I appreciate the interpretation in light of the wider body of John's writings. +1 – Kazark Apr 3 '12 at 14:35

""Actually all of the answers given here are wrong. The scripture is not talking about Jesus at all. The scripture is actually talking about Amen himself.

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

These thing saith the Amen is the point. Jesus is not the 'Amen' - as a matter of fact Amen in and of himself is a deity of ancient Egypt. This deity was the first created from the 'Nun' which was the head god of ancient Egypt. Amen means 'hidden one' in ancient Egypt or 'Invisible God', and thus:

Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

According to the scriptures Jesus was the first born having been born before the foundation of the world. A son is not born before the father nor at the same time as a father which means he was born After his father, through his father and in the image of his father.

This passage and many other were taken from the Old Testament especially dealing with the story of Joshua and his fatherwho was only named once (Nun). Joshua and Jesus is the same name which is the Hebrew word 'Yashua'. Joshua father was 'Nun' which is the high god of the ancient Egyptian deities. His son 'Amen' took over and created the world and humanity.

Back to the scripture - Revelations 3:14 has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus but Amen himself who witnessed the creations of his son Jesus. Now the word 'Jesus' is actually the Hebrew 'Ya`shua' which is literally and Egyptian word(s) for 'Ya = Moon' and 'Shua' sky/moving wind. Thus the name Yashua literally means 'moon travels the sky'.

Another point that should be made as well is that 'Nun' had a son by the name of Shu which was the god of 'air/sky' and thus the name Ya`shua means 'god of the sky'. Nevertheless as Egyptian mythology began to branch off Shu became the son of Amen

The ancient Egyptian religion Amen aka 'Invisible God' had a son named 'Khonsu' which name means 'moon traveler of sky'. His father 'Amen' the invisible one/hidden one sat back and witnessed his son aka the firstborn create and judge his creation. Khonsu is responsible for creation of the planet and humanity alike. And he is also the god of fate and judgment which is exactly what Jesus is supposed to be. ""

In order to understand the story you must understand the origins of the story.

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Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics--StackExchange! I appreciate all the work you did researching this question, but I'd like it better if you shared your sources. In particular, I don't see any reason to link the Greek and Hebrew word "amen" with the Egyptian god Amun besides the similar pronunciation. There are more unsubstantiated claims in this answer than I'm comfortable with--especially given the rather speculative conclusion. Could I persuade you to provide your references? Thanks. – Jon Ericson Mar 23 '12 at 21:56

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Christ is both Not-created AND created.

Using methods of sensus plenior:

Jesus is the light

Jn 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 ¶ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Jn 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

He is self-existent

1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The word 'Elohim' for 'God' has a pun 'alo khoom' meaning 'not dark'. The 'not dark' or 'the light' existed before creation hidden in God.

And he is created

Ge 1:3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Jhn 1:14 And the Word (which is the life and light) was made flesh, and dwelt among us...

Contradictions are riddles In sensus plenior, contradictions speak of different aspects of the same truth. they are riddles. Jesus is the Only begotten Son AND the Unbegotten Only Son.

Christ as the Light represents the Holiness of God:

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin.

Since Holiness expresses a separateness, and the Godhead was unified in Love, Holiness waited for creation to be expressed. Immediately after the heavens and the earth were created God declared, "Let there be Light" and His holiness was made manifest.

Therefore we can say that Christ was created, that he is the firstfruits of creation [1] without fear of treading on his divinity.

He is both the Creator and a created man. That is the essence of incarnation.

[1] 1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

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