Revelation 3:14 — First Created or First Cause?

Rev 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;

Revelation 3:14 is another verse people often bring up to argue that Jesus was the first created being. When Christ calls Himself “the beginning of the creation of God,” some take that to mean He had a starting point—that He isn’t eternal, and therefore can’t be God.

But that’s not what the verse is saying. The purpose of this article is to look carefully at Revelation 3:14 in its context, break down what “beginning” really means, and show that this title actually affirms Christ’s eternal power and authority as the source and ruler of all creation.

We’ll look at the original word used for “beginning,” break down its true meaning, and then show how this verse doesn’t deny Christ’s divinity—it actually proves that He is the eternal God, the source of all creation.

Looking at the Word “Beginning” (Greek: archē)

BibleHub is a really useful site because it shows us each verse not only in English but also in the original Greek, with definitions and usage—even if you don’t know Greek yourself.

The word archē doesn’t mean “the first thing created.” Instead, it carries the sense of origin, source, or ruler. In other words, Jesus is the origin and ruler over creation—the One from whom creation itself begins.

So rather than teaching that Christ is a created being, this verse actually shows the opposite: He is the eternal God who is the very starting point and cause of everything else.

Rev 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;

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”

1. The Amen
   • This is one of Christ’s titles.
   • In Isaiah 65:16, God is called “the God of truth” — in Hebrew, literally “the God of Amen.”
   • By taking this name, Jesus shows that He is the God of truth.
   • It also fits here because this is the last of the seven letters sealing and confirming all that has been said.

Romans 3:4 says, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
→ This shows us that God alone is the truth, and every man is a liar!

Now watch this—John 14:6 says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
→ Jesus didn’t say He just has the truth or teaches the truth. He’s claiming to be the truth itself! Why? Because He and the Father are the same eternal God.

The Faithful and True Witness

• Same title as in Revelation 1:5.
• Christ is the perfect and reliable witness of God — everything He says is true.
• Laodicea, and all the churches, must take His testimony seriously.

“The beginning of the creation of God…”

Some twist this to mean Jesus was the first thing God created, that’s not what’s being said.

The Greek word archē means origin, source, or ruler. Christ is not a creature—He is the first cause, the One who made all creation.

He is:

• The author of the old creation (John 1:3; Col. 1:16).
• The author of the new creation—giving eternal life and making believers new (2 Cor. 5:17).

Closing: The First Cause and False Reasoning

Before we wrap up, let’s talk about logic for a second. An illogical fallacy is basically a bad argument — something that sounds like reasoning but doesn’t actually make sense when you examine it.

The “First Cause – No Cause” means this: everything in creation has a cause. Trees come from seeds, people come from parents, buildings come from builders. If you trace those causes backward, eventually you get to the very start.

But there has to be a first cause that itself was not caused by anything else — otherwise the chain would go on forever and nothing would exist. That First Cause is God.

So when we call Christ the beginning of creation (Rev. 3:14), we’re not saying He was created. We’re saying He is that First Cause — the One who caused all things, yet was Himself caused by none.