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The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is a created being with a separate personality to God, that his existence is separate to God. To support this idea they use various scriptures, one of their favorite verses is as follows. Where talking of Jesus the King James version says:
… the beginning of the creation of God Rev 3:14
This can be confusing because it sounds like Jesus was the first created being. But as we will see this is not the case. The Greek word translated beginning is as follows (from Strongs):
G746
archē
ar-khay'
From G756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank): - beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.
You will notice the word has various meanings and we will discus some of them. Take
“I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me” - Act 11:5
The word corner in the verse above also uses the word archē, an archē can be a corner. We will discuss why this is relevant later. Also, note
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him”: ,Col 1:16
The word archē is used above for ruler or power. Why, well let's discuss some English words, arch and archangel are English words that have their root in archē. But what is an arch, it is similar to a triangular shape, as is a corner in Acts 11:5. Why is ruler a valid expression from the word, well a ruler is the topmost piece under which you find others, rulership is like a triangle too, the top point is the King or supreme ruler, the lower you go in the triangle are princes, governors, then at the bottom the common man. So you see the word in revelation does not need to mean the first creation, it can mean “the ruler of the creation of God”, or the “Origin of the creation of God”, both translations fit perfectly with the view that Jesus is God, he both rules, and is the originator of creation, as Col 1:16 says “For by him were all things created”, and note they were created “for him”, and we know the creation was created for God.
… the beginning of the creation of God Rev 3:14
This can be confusing because it sounds like Jesus was the first created being. But as we will see this is not the case. The Greek word translated beginning is as follows (from Strongs):
G746
archē
ar-khay'
From G756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank): - beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.
You will notice the word has various meanings and we will discus some of them. Take
“I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me” - Act 11:5
The word corner in the verse above also uses the word archē, an archē can be a corner. We will discuss why this is relevant later. Also, note
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him”: ,Col 1:16
The word archē is used above for ruler or power. Why, well let's discuss some English words, arch and archangel are English words that have their root in archē. But what is an arch, it is similar to a triangular shape, as is a corner in Acts 11:5. Why is ruler a valid expression from the word, well a ruler is the topmost piece under which you find others, rulership is like a triangle too, the top point is the King or supreme ruler, the lower you go in the triangle are princes, governors, then at the bottom the common man. So you see the word in revelation does not need to mean the first creation, it can mean “the ruler of the creation of God”, or the “Origin of the creation of God”, both translations fit perfectly with the view that Jesus is God, he both rules, and is the originator of creation, as Col 1:16 says “For by him were all things created”, and note they were created “for him”, and we know the creation was created for God.
