Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 3:14

"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:" — Revelation 3:14 (ASV)

Laodicea.—Situated halfway between Philadelphia and Colossae, and not far from Hierapolis. It received its name from Laodice, wife of Antiochus the Second, king of Syria, by whom it was rebuilt and beautified. It had previously borne the names of Diospolis and afterwards Rhoas. It shared with Thyatira and Sardis in the dye trade; the wood grown in the neighbourhood was famous for its quality and the rich blackness of its colour.

Prosperity in trade had so enriched the population that when their city suffered in the great earthquake (A.D. 60), they were able to carry on the work of rebuilding without applying, as many of the neighbouring towns were compelled to do, to the Imperial Treasury for aid.

The language of St. Paul (Colossians 1:5–8) suggests that the churches of Colossae and the neighbourhood first received Christianity from the preaching of Epaphras. Though it seems strange that such an important city, lying directly on the great Roman road from Ephesus to the east, should have been overlooked by St. Paul in his journeys throughout Phrygia (Acts 18:23); yet, on the other hand, Phrygia was a vague term, and the language of Colossians 2:1 is most generally understood to imply that the Apostle had never personally visited either Colossae or Laodicea. (See Note on Colossians 2:1.)

But it was a church in which St. Paul took the deepest possible interest; the believers there were constantly in his mind. He knew their special temptations to the worship of inferior mediators and to spiritual paralysis springing from worldly prosperity and intellectual pride.

He had great spiritual conflict for those of Laodicea (Colossians 3:1), and in proof of his earnest concern he addressed a letter to them (Colossians 4:16), in all probability the epistle we call the Epistle to the Ephesians. From the Epistle to the Colossians we may gather that when St. Paul wrote, the Christians at Laodicea assembled for worship in the house of Nymphas (Colossians 4:15), probably under the presidency of Archippus (Revelation 3:17).

To the angel of the church (or, congregation) of the Laodiceans.—Better, in Laodicea. By “the angel” we understand the presiding pastor. There is some ground for identifying him with Archippus. It is too much to dismiss this as a baseless supposition. (See Note in Trench.) It is a well-supported view that understands the passage (Colossians 4:17) to mean that Archippus was a minister or office-bearer in the Church at Laodicea.

These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness.—The “Amen,” used only here as a personal name. It is the Hebrew word for verily, and may have some reference to Isaiah 65:16; but more certainly it seems chosen to recall the frequent use of it by our Lord Himself. He who so often prefaced His solemn utterance by “Verily, verily,” now reveals Himself as the source of all certainty and truth.

In Him is Yea, and in Him Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20). In Him there is no conjecture or guesswork; for He is (and the Greek equivalents of the Hebrew Amen are used following) the faithful and true witness, who speaks what He knows, and testifies what He has seen (John 3:11). “Faithful” is to be taken here as meaning trustworthy. The word sometimes means trustful (John 20:27; Acts 14:1), at other times, trustworthy (2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:24).

In the Arian controversy, the application of the word to Christ was used as an argument against His divinity; it was enough to show in reply that the same word was applied to God and expressed His faithfulness to His word and promise (1 Thessalonians 5:21). “True”—He is not only trustworthy as a witness, but He combines in Himself all those qualifications that a witness ought to possess. The same word is used here as in Revelation 3:7, where see Note.

Trench suggests the three things necessary to constitute a true witness: He must have been an eyewitness of what He relates, possess competence to relate what He has seen, and be willing to do so.

The beginning (better, the origination) of the creation of God.—This title of our Lord does not occur in the Epistles to the other churches, but very closely resembles the language used by St. Paul in writing to the Colossians (Colossians 1:15–18). The “beginning,” not meaning that Christ was the first among the created, but that He was the origination, or primary source, of all creation. By Him were all things made (John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:18), not with Him, but by Him creation began.

In short, the word “beginning” (like the word “faithful”) must be understood in an active sense. He has originating power (Acts 3:14) as well as priority of existence. The appropriateness of its use will be seen when we remember that the Laodicean Church was exposed to the temptation of worshipping inferior principalities (Colossians 2:15, where the plural of the word here rendered “beginning,” or origin, is used, and is translated “principalities”).