Revelation 3:14 BSB

Revelation 3:14

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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:

KJV

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;

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Commentary

4 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,.... Of the city of Laodicea; see Gill on Rev 1:11; there was a church here in the times of the Apostle Paul; by whom it was founded is not known; mention is made of it in Col 2:1, who was now the angel, or pastor of it, whether Epaphras, who is there named, or another, is not certain. According to the Apostolical Constitutions (t), Archippus was ordained bishop of it by the apostles; see Col 4:

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The body of this epistle. There is this observable in it, that whereas in the other epistles Christ begins with commending what is good in the churches, and then proceeds to tell them what is amiss, in this (and in the epistle to Laodicea) he begins, 1.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

These things saith the Amen - That is, He who is true or faithful; from אמן aman, he was tree; immediately interpreted, The faithful and true witness. See Rev 1:5. The beginning of the creation of God - That is, the head and governor of all creatures: the king of the creation. See on Col 1:15 (note). By his titles, here, he prepares them for the humiliating and awful truths which he was about to declare, and the authority on which the declaration was founded.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

"Faithful," that is, trustworthy (2Ti 2:11, 13). "True" is here (Greek, "alethinos") not truth-speaking (Greek, "alethes"), but "perfectly realizing all that is comprehended in the name Witness" (1Ti 6:13).

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

24 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Καὶ	Kai	And	G2532 →
τῷ	tō	to the	G3588 →
ἀγγέλῳ	angelō	angel	G32 →
τῆς	tēs	of the	G3588 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
Λαοδικείᾳ	Laodikeia	Laodicea	G2993 →
ἐκκλησίας	ekklēsias	church	G1577 →
γράψον·	grapson	do write:	G1125 →
τάδε	tade	These things	G3592 →
λέγει	legei	says	G3004 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
ἀμήν,	amēn	Amen,	G281 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
μάρτυς	martus	Witness	G3144 →
ὁ	ho	<the>	G3588 →
πιστὸς	pistos	faithful	G4103 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἀληθινός,	alēthinos	true,	G228 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
ἀρχὴ	archē	Beginning	G746 →
τῆς	tēs	of the	G3588 →
κτίσεως	ktiseōs	creation	G2937 →
τοῦ	tou	<the>	G3588 →
θεοῦ·	theou	of God;	G2316 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Colossians 1:15
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
leads to
- Hebrews 1:3
  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the…
- John 14:9
  Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the…
- John 1:1
  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Through
Revelation 3:7
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut,…
leads to
- Isaiah 22:22
  I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Through
Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
leads to
- Psalms 89:27
  I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
- Hebrews 9:14
  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
Through
Colossians 1:18
And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.
leads to
- Ephesians 1:22–23
  And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 3:14

The Seven Churches of Revelation

Asia Minor, late 1st century. Seven cities along a clockwise postal route — Ephesus to Laodicea — each receiving a letter from the risen Christ. Praises, rebukes, promises. A Matt-13 parallel reading discoverable for those who want it.

Open the study →