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It will be observed that in the above quotation, time as such does not enter into the
definition; what is uppermost is the commencement of an action or of a series. When we
add to this the Scriptural concept of a `firstfruits', a prematurely ripened pledge of a full
harvest to come, Gen. 1: 1 takes on a richer meaning.
The reference to wisdom in Prov. 8: 22-27 must not be omitted here.
"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was
set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was . . . . . when He
prepared the heavens, I was there."
Wisdom is here personified, and is practically the same as the Logos of John 1: 1-3.
This leads to the last and most important revelation of the meaning of the word
"beginning" when applied to creation. In the book of Revelation the word arche
`beginning' is found four times, and never used in any other way than a title of the
Saviour Himself.
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1: 8).
"These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God" (Rev. 3: 14).
"And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end"
(Rev. 21: 6).
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Rev. 22: 13).
When the sacred volume opens, the words `in the beginning' are left unexplained, but
when it closes, we discover that they imply not only a time, a commencement, but a
Person, a Firstfruits and a Pledge, indeed the Alpha and the Omega, the Yea and the
Amen (II Cor. 1: 20). There is no article "the" in the Hebrew phrase "In the beginning",
the word being bereshith `In beginning' or `to begin with' or `as a commencement'
implying a goal that was in mind, a firstfruits, something future which was pledged in the
opening act. Three great passages in the N.T. ascribe creation to the Saviour, namely
John 1:, Heb. 1:, and Col. 1:, but as these passages are of fundamental importance we
will reserve their study for a future article.
It may be a useful appendix to the present examination to give the translations of
arche found in the N.T. other than the word `beginning':
(1)
Magistrates (Luke 12: 11). Power (of authority) (Luke 20: 20).
(2)
Corner (Acts 10: 11; 11: 5).
(3)
First (Acts 26: 4). At the first (Heb. 2: 3). First adj. (Heb. 6: 1). First estate (Jude 6).
(4)
Principality (Rom. 8: 38; Eph. 1: 21; 3: 10; 6: 12; Col. 1: 16; 2: 10, 15; Titus 3: 1).
(5)
Rule (I Cor. 15: 24).
Some of these references must appear again when the N.T. references to creation are
before us. Meanwhile we have attained to one all covering and wondrous idea, namely
that creation was a first step towards a goal, the creation of heaven and earth being `a
kind of firstfruits' pledging the harvest, and ultimately seen to be vested in the Person of
Him Who takes to Himself the title The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
Ending, the Amen, the Beginning of the creation of God.