Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
The Names and Titles of God (The Beginning of the Creation of God)
Revelation 3:14
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;
King James Version
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At a very young age, I became very conscious of being the "First Born". Perhaps this was because Mom had six kids in eleven years, so I was always involved in baby care. Mom had some health issues back in the sixties, and so I ended up having a lot of responsibilities. In modern parlance, I would be said to have an "Alpha" personality, with all the positive and negative connotations. In those days I was just being a Big Sister.
To this day, I have a great relationship with my younger siblings, but I still have a tendency to want to run things. Once a First Born, always a First Born, I guess.
In this Passage, Jesus is called "The Beginning (or Firstborn) of God's Creation". This has caused some confusion and even the formation of false religious groups, because, in translation to English, this title seems to imply that Jesus was a created being. This confusion is not evident in the original Greek Text.
The word for "Beginning" in this context is ἀρχή (Strong's 746)
This doesn't mean "the first in a series of created beings" as some poor translators would read it. Instead, it means Preeminence, Majesty, and Authority. We see the Greek word in English words like "Archenemy", "Archbishop", and "Archangel". These usages show that we are not talking about a plain enemy, bishop, or angel. The addition of the "Arch" elevates these to a position of authority over the others.
Scripture uses this Greek word in other instances where it talks about "The Beginning" as an exalted rank rather than an ordinal number. Jesus is The First and the Last, The Alpha and the Omega, and the FIRSTBORN (rank, not order) of all Creation. He is the BEGINNING and the END.
Just because the guy at the door has a decent haircut and a nice suit, doesn't mean he's got his Christology correct.
Whenever there is a problem with the Translation, it is best to go back to the original language, culture, and laws that were in place at the time.
PS. Being the firstborn in our own culture doesn't mean much more than being the OLDEST. I don't mind that so much.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS