Beginning

A starting point, origin or source. The beginning often refers to the time of or before the creation of the world. God is described as the Beginning and the End, denoting the eternity of his existence. Jesus Christ's coming marks a new beginning both for God's people and, finally, for all creation.

Beginning as the starting point

As the source

Psalm 111:10 See also Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10; Micah 1:13 the source of Israel's sin; Colossians 1:18 Jesus Christ as the source of the church's life

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!

As the origin

Job 8:7; Acts 26:4; Hebrews 7:3

As the commencement

Leviticus 23:5; Judges 7:19; 1 Kings 6:1 parallel 2 Chronicles 3:1; Luke 23:54; 1 John 2:7; 2 John 1:5

The beginning: before the creation

Proverbs 8:22–23

The LORD created me as His first course, before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began.

Jesus Christ's existence predates the creation

John 17:5 See also John 1:1–2, John 8:58; Colossians 1:15–17; 1 John 1:1, 1 John 2:13–14

And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

Salvation planned before the creation

Ephesians 1:3–4 See also 1 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love

The beginning: the creation

Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 1:10 See also Psalm 102:25; Isaiah 40:21; Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21 parallel Mark 13:19

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

Marriage ordained from the beginning

Matthew 19:4–6 parallel Mark 10:6–9 See also Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24

Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

The beginning of Israel's nationhood

Exodus 12:2 See also 2 Samuel 7:10 parallel 1 Chronicles 17:9; Isaiah 52:4; Jeremiah 2:2–3

“This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.

New beginnings for God's people

For Israel

Hosea 2:14–15 See also Isaiah 1:26, Isaiah 43:18–19, Isaiah 44:26, Isaiah 61:4; Jeremiah 33:7–9

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly. There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

For believers

2 Corinthians 5:17 See also 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 2:10

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

A new creation

Isaiah 65:17 See also Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1

For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Beginnings of significant events

The rebuilding of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 2:18; Haggai 1:14

Jesus Christ's ministry

Matthew 4:17 See also Mark 1:1, Mark 1:15; Luke 3:23; Acts 1:1

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

The beginning of signs of the end

Matthew 24:7–8 parallel Mark 13:8; Luke 21:28

The beginning and the end

being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God as the Beginning and the End

Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 21:6 See also Isaiah 41:4, Isaiah 48:12; Revelation 1:17, Revelation 2:8, Revelation 22:13

Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.

And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

Satan as sinful from the beginning

John 8:44 See also 1 John 3:8

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.