In Revelation 3:14 (King James Version)it says:
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;
In the NIV, this concept was so problematic for Christian interpreters that they rendered it:
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.
However The Message translation renders it:
Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God's Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God's creation, says:
This Christian theologically problematic statement has lead the Jehovah's Witnesses to declare that JESUS is a created being (Watchtower, 2005, para. 10).
Well, in that Bible study on Wednesday night, February 24, 2010, at Milborough, Jamaica, when this passage was read, I raised the point to the group's leader, that obviously, JESUS' existence came from the Father.
I went on to say, that there are only two ways that a person could be a son, either through birth or adoption. G-d declares in the scriptures that someone (who I believe is JESUS) became his son. Psalm 2:7 (King James Version) says:
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
If Jesus lived independently of the Father prior to creation, then G-d have no need to say "this day have I begotten thee [as my Son]". It would be more reasonable for G-d to say "this day have I adopted thee [JESUS as my son]". However, the first born or begotten obviously implies that one proceeded from the other. Clearly, the person in Psalm 2:7 became G-d's son through birth, or else, the L-RD would have used the term "have adopted thee" in place of "begotten".
I even went on to explain that JESUS is described as the Word (John 1). The Word implies that there is a source. Word can even be translated as message or communication, which implies an author or source. The question:
How can Jesus come from a source yet still be described as the source itself?
Going back to the idea of the word. A word can exist with the source before it is expressed. JESUS was in God before he was expressed by the Father. However, the word can exist in one's mind prior to being expressed or manifested. The message or information that an author wants to communicate or express, could exist within the author or communicator long before it is expressed. This fits well with the description or definition of the Word (logos) as described in Vine, Unger and White (1996) as the "expression of thought" (p. 683).
JESUS therefore existed and was expressed long before anything was created. When G-d spoke the world into existence, His Word brought forth everything. The Word preceded the establishment of the universe and creation. In fact the Word was always present with G-d, and was expressed and reflected in creation. Further its the Word that sustains the current creation and order of the universe. As Hebrews 1:2-3 (King James Version)says:
[G-d] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
G-d's Word (JESUS), now speaks for him. G-d has nothing else to say or communicate or express outside of his son, the Word that proceeded from him, while existed with him in the beginning. In fact, this word is also the last word or the Amen (Revelation 3:14).
References:
Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W. (1996). Vine's complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words: With topical index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
Watchtower.(2005). Who is Jesus Christ? What Does the Bible Really Teach? (Chapter 4). WatchTower.org: Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site. Retrieved from http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_04.htm
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