Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

The speaker identifies himself by a threefold affirmation: “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” “Amen” means the acknowledgment of that which is sure and valid. It is a word of human response to the divine verity or action (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the “Amen” in the sense that he is the perfect human response of obedience and suffering to the divine promises (cf. Isaiah 65:16); he is the “faithful and true witness” (cf. comments on 1:5, 9; 2:13). The “ruler” (GK 794; also means “source,” “origin”) further amplifies the Amen statement. Paul used this word in Col 1:18 to describe Christ as the source or origin of all creation (cf. Proverbs 8:22; John 1:3), no doubt to correct a heresy. Since Colosse was a neighboring city of Laodicea, it is not improbable that the same heresy was affecting the sister church at Laodicea. When Christ addresses a church that is failing in loyalty and obedience, he is to them the “Amen” of God in faithfulness and in true witness, and he is the only one who has absolute power over the world because he is the source of all creation (1:17; 2:8; 22:13).