“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation”
Revelation 3:14 NLT
Jesus’ message through John moves on to address the “angel of the church in Laodicea”.This was the last of the seven churches addressed by Jesus in these early chapters in Revelation. Laodicea was another Western Turkey church established, it is thought, by Epaphras, one of the Apostle Paul’s disciples. Laodicea was a wealthy city, active in textiles and banking, as well as being located on important trade routes.
Jesus, in declaring His credentials, said He was the “Amen” and the “faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation”. There are several thoughts to unpack in this verse. Firstly, what does being an “Amen” mean? The word “Amen” has within its meaning concepts such as truth and certainty. We use it at the end of a prayer or hymn as a concluding word, meaning “so be it” or “it is so”. So when Jesus described Himself as the “Amen“, He was declaring that He was the final Word. That what He said was truth and would certainly happen and He would be faithful to all His promises. There is nothing to add to Jesus. He is everything.
Jesus also described Himself as the “faithful and true witness”. A witness is a person who has observed an event and is prepared to announce what he witnessed. In a court of law, a witness will tell the court about something that happened when he or she was watching. But this statement can be subjective because the event or situation being described will only be from the witness’s perspective and could be filtered through their prejudices or affected by external factors such as bad lighting. Not the case with Jesus. His witness statement is both “faithful and true”. Faithful because that quality is who He is. In 2 Timothy 2:13 we read, “If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is“. And Jesus is true – He said so Himself in John 14:6, “…“I am the way, the truth, and the life…“. So Jesus is the ultimate, absolute witness, faithful and true.
Jesus also said He was the “beginning of God’s new creation”. We read in Colossians 1:18, “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy”. In Romans 8:29, the Apostle Paul said that Jesus was the firstborn of many siblings. Through Jesus, the world as we know it was created, but one day He will come again, at the forefront of the new creation. Because He is the new creation.
So to our pilgrim plodding through life, is there any relevance in this verse? There is of course, because we have on record the words of Jesus, post resurrection, declaring that he is still alive and active, getting things ready for the new order, the new world, to come. Jesus is so dependable. He is unchanging. He is faithful and true. He is our Lord and Saviour.
Dear Lord. We thank You that You came to this world bringing salvation and hope to all who believe in You. And we thank You, in faith-inspired anticipation of our lives in the world to come. We echo the words at the end of Revelation, “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 