Revelation 3:14

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:14

The last of the seven cities (modern Eski-hisar, "the old fortress") lay about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia and 90 miles east of Ephesus. It was a wealthy town that specialized in banking, producing black woolen cloth, and health care. It had suffered a severe earthquake that had destroyed it, but its prosperous citizens had rebuilt it.

Jesus Christ called Himself the "Amen" (lit. So be it). We should probably understand this title as a testimony to His ability to produce what He predicts (cf. Isaiah 65:16). As a "Witness," His testimony to the situation in Laodicea was trustworthy. The Laodiceans had a reputation for saying and doing whatever was necessary to preserve their own wellbeing. [Note: Tatford, pp. 143-44.] In contrast, Jesus spoke the truth. The "Beginning [Origin] of God’s creation" sets forth His authority to pass judgment. The Laodiceans were creative, but Jesus alone was the Creator (cf. John 1:3; Colossians 1:16).

Michael Svigel argued that arche here means ruler (of God’s creation). [Note: Michael J. Svigel, "Christ as ’Arche in Revelation 3:14," Bibliotheca Sacra 161:642 (April-June 2004):215-31.] This rendering is possible, but most translators have believed the meaning is origin or source, which non-Trinitarians have taken as evidence that the Son is a created being.

"The whole tendency of the Johannine writings and of the Apocalypse in particular . . . forbids the interpretation ’the first of creatures.’" [Note: Swete, p. 59.]