Jesus Christ and Creation — Apocalypse of John 3:14, part two

Rev. 3:14 Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἀμήν, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ·

Every treatment of Rev 3:14 worth reading mentions Colossians 1:15,18 see especially J. B. Lightfoot, Colossians pages 41-44. 

Col. 1:15 ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως,

Col. 1:18 καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας· ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς πρωτεύων,

Rev. 1:5 καὶ ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ μάρτυς, ὁ πιστός, ὁ πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν καὶ ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς. 

G. K.  Beale[1] makes a case for reading τῆς κτίσεως as “the new creation”, not the creation of Genesis one. Beale’s reads Rev. 3:14 in light of Col. 1:15,18 and Rev.1:5. He notes the obvious similarities like  ὁ μάρτυς, ὁ πιστός in Rev. 1:5, 3:14, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως Col. 1:15 and ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ Rev. 3:14. He uses ὁ πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν Rev. 1:5 as a key to unlock the meaning of ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ Rev. 3:14. Beale argues that ὁ πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν refers to the new creation on the basis of Col. 1:18 where ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν follows immediately after  ἡ κεφαλὴ … τῆς ἐκκλησίας. The proximity of ἡ κεφαλὴ … ἐκκλησίας with ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος is considered evidence that all three expressions refer somehow to the new creation. On this basis Beale thinks that we should look for the same referent in ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ Rev. 3:14.

Beale’s development of this is somewhat confusing and there appear to be some problems with his treatment of the evidence.  The mere proximity of descriptive expressions in clusters of two and three does not suggest similar meaning. That is the major flaw in his argument.     

 “Despite what most commentators think, the titles in 3:14 do not link Jesus to the original creation, but are an interpretation of Jesus’ resurrection drawn from 1:5. His resurrection is viewed as the beginning of the new creation, which is parallel with Col. 1:15b, 18b, cf. ‘first‐born of all creation in Col. 1:15b, which may refer to the original creation in Genesis, and ‘the beginning, the firstborn from the dead’ in v 18. The latter phrase refers to the resurrection as a new cosmic beginning (as evident from the link not only with Col. 1:15–17 but also with 1:19–20, 23). ... Christ as ‘firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth’ in 1:5 is interpreted in 3:14 as designating Christ as the sovereign inaugurator of the new creation. Consequently, the title ‘beginning of the creation of God’ refers not to Jesus’ sovereignty over the original creation but to his resurrection as demonstrating that he is the inauguration of and sovereign over the new creation.”

—  G.K. Beale [1] 

The final step in Beale’s argument “ … the title ‘beginning of the creation of God’ refers not to Jesus’ sovereignty over the original creation but to his resurrection as demonstrating that he is the inauguration of and sovereign over the new creation” sounds a little too “creative” for my tastes. If John had intended to say something about the new creation, the phrase  ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ would not serve his purpose. The expression τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ  is first of all a reference to a foundational affirmation about the divine identity. It is the reason given for worship by the twenty four elders Rev. 4:11 … ὅτι σὺ ἔκτισας τὰ πάντα it is the first action attributed to ὁ λόγος in John 1:3 πάντα δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο. Taking into account the total fabric of John’s theology, τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ can have only one referent: the creation of the cosmos.


[1] G. K. Beale, Revelation NIGTC pp. 298-301, You may be able to read this section in Google Books but using a Google search: "rev 3:14" Beale "new Creation"