Part 1. Jehovah Witnesses.
When Jehovah witnesses come knocking on your door, be polite, be prepared, have a plan, and plant a seed of truth, so they may now question their own teachings, and organizations leadership. We as children of God are commanded to share, and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are to contest with false teachers, and/or explain Scripture to those who have never heard the Gospel. There are many Witnesses who were brought up in that organization, who have never heard the true gospel. Each of us is to have a full knowledge, and understanding of Christian doctrines. The Holy Spirit will guide your words, for He is our greatest weapon.
If you are NOT skilled in the Scriptures, do not begin any form of dialog with them, they have been well schooled, and can twist certain verses making them appear to be correct. Witnesses study hard, and are put through a form of indoctrination, making them a very dangerous adversary. Again if you are not well schooled in the Gospel of Christ, do not debate with them, but do be courteous.
What are the major differences between the Jehovah Witnesses, and orthodox Christianity? Christians worship Jesus as God, this to the glory of the Father.
Witnesses worship the Father, and not Jesus. They refer to Jesus as, “a god,” note lower case, implying He had a beginning, and is created as are all men.
They teach that Jesus was Michael the arch-angel before His physical birth, and after His death, the Father annihilated his body, and he again became Michael the arch-angel. Witnesses teach that Jesus did not resurrect from the dead, that the Father destroyed His earthly body in the tomb, recreating Michael again. They claim that Jesus returned to the earth in 1914, and is now leading their organization.
They do not believe in the Holy Spirit as a separate entity. Here is where the great differences in fundamental Christian doctrine begins, and ends. They teach that the Holy Spirit is some kind of a power force, coming from the Father, having no life in Himself, as in (inanimate,) something like the “Force,” in Star Wars.
Scripture teach, if we do not receive the Holy Spirit as our teacher; or communicator; or mediator; or helper; or comforter, there will be no other way to the truth. In this, they are led by false spirits, false Christ’s, workers of iniquity. The organization of the Watchtower Bible and tract society is their false teacher, an enemy of Christ, and of the body of Christ.
God’s name, Jehovah, or Yahweh, is taken from YHWH. These four letters which represent the name of God, are known as the “tetragrammation.” It means, Jehovah, the self- existent, or eternal one. Other name’s by which the God of the Old Testament is referred to, are Jah, Lord, the I Am, the Almighty, etc. The word Jehovah is not God’s proper name, but implies the wonderful and incommunicable name of His Divine nature and essence. This God was manifest in the flesh for us, and His name is called Jesus.
Jehovah is sometimes rendered, He who is, who was, and who is to come. The sovereign authority resides in the name Jehovah, He who governs the world. This name never forms a verb, assumes a plural form, takes on an article, = (the, a, or an) or takes an affix, meaning, nothing is attached, united, or connected with it, such as a name affixed to ideas.
Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is a separate being. He comes from the Father, given to the Son, then sent by Christ to the church. Three Divine persons, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, one God, one will, one work, one purpose, one goal, that one goal being, “To seek and to save the lost, and to destroy forever, death, and hell;” thus the three are said to be one!
The Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is the breath of the Father, an active force, and is not a separate entity, or divine Person, it having no life in itself.
In their Bible, “The New World Translation, N.W.T. Genesis 1:2, has been changed, “The Spirit of God moved upon the surface of the waters,” to, “God’s active force was moving to and fro.” They teach that the Father’s breath was moving to and fro across the waters.
Christians teach that it was Jesus, the eternal Word, who spoke all things into existence. They claim that after Jesus was created, He then created “All other things.” My Bible states that He is without beginning, and without end, “The Alpha and Omega.”
Because Genesis 1:1, teaches that God created all things, than Jesus Christ has to be that Creator.
1. Colossians 1:16, “For by Him, = (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.
2. John 1:3, “All things were made by Him = (Jesus;) and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
3. The Father said of His Son, Heb. 1:10, “Thou, LORD, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.”
These verses can be understood by a third grader, but for what-ever reason the Witnesses can not understand, or grasp there simple meaning is obvious, they have embraced false teachers, having itching ears, and blinded eyes, who are led by demon spirits.
What’s the best way to destroy Jesus character, reputation, accomplishments, His person, and the work of the Holy Spirit?
1. They look for members who are not knowledgeable about the Scriptures. They go after the poor, the sick, the discouraged, or those who have recently left another cult, or church that did not teach the gospel. Most of their success today in new memberships comes from third world countries. Those who do join, have now taken a giant leap from the frying pan, into the fire.
2. They have now gathered together an army of foot soldiers. They are hard working, zealot, study regularly, and read every piece of literature the Witnesses put out. They accept without question, the organizations teaching, and authority without challenging either.
This is their army of disciples. They descend upon neighborhoods, in a methodical, orderly way. They recruit; canvass; solicit finances; and hand out Watch Tower magazines, where ever, and when ever possible.
Their goal, to overcome 2000 years of documented Christian history, rewrite eye witness accounts, and destroy the glory that belongs to Jesus alone. The have mounted a campaign to destroy any Christian writers works, both past and present. Men and women have and will continue to dedicate their lives proving the gospel of Jesus, and His finished work on the cross.
They have a goal, having learned by their past mistakes, and the mistakes of other false teachers, cults, and religions groups who have failed.
Now they have constructed a maze of deceptions and errors that twist the truth; but now appears to be the truth. They will never admit error, referring to any past errors, and new teaching as having been corrected by a “New light from God.” They publish a mountain of material, constantly re-write history; and repeat a lie until it gives the impression of being the truth.
Those who write the articles in the Watch Tower magazine, and other papers, use their skills to re-write the Who; What; and Why of Jesus Christ and the church. No other Christian material is to be read by their followers, this keeping alive the lie. Now they refer to their new rewritten history, without having to explain its origin. These goals have been met by the Watchtower, and its leaders.
A new Bible, published and written by them, is their crowning achievement. Its called the New World Translation, Copy-write, 1961.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have intentionally rewritten the record books concerning Jesus Christ, ignoring the obvious evidence. Over the past 140 years, they have lied, deceiving millions, vehemently claiming that only through their organization can salvation be had.
When the Witnesses can not provide proof of their teaching, they will flat out lie, deny, or walk away, pretending to be insulted, or having lost patience with you, calling you a part of the fallen world. If asked a question concerning their teaching, and cannot provide an answer except by their material, they will not return to your home.
Part 2.
The Jehovah Witnesses organization is called the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc.. The founder Charles Taze Russell, was born in 1852, and died in 1916.
The original name of the organization was called the Dawn Bible Students and Layman Home Missionary. In 1870 at the early age of 18, Russell organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He was elected pastor in 1876. Several years later, he resigned as pastor because of a controversy within the organization.
Russell founded the Watch Tower in 1879, its’ membership growing to about 6000. He began to publish a series called “Studies in Scripture,” the last volume was published in 1917. He also published a magazine called Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence. Russell made many predictions concerning the return of Christ to the earth. His predictions proved an embarrassment, causing another split in the organization.
He also taught that the Pyramids were built in order to document the coming of Messiah. He formulated inches and feet, as representing years, and from this, the return of Christ could be foretold. Of course this was proven false. This part of their history is denied by the Witnesses today, but it can be documented by their own material. Witnesses are not taught about this early history, this foundational history that their organization rests upon. A house built on sand, a house of cards. Todays witnesses are either ignorance of it, or flat out deny it.
Following are some of the teachings of Russell, (Some are still current beliefs.)
Ironically, modern day Witnesses deny Russell as their founder, and categorically deny his teachings. This is a lie! A large portion of Russell’s teachings, are taught by the Witnesses today. They proudly boast of over 100 years of enlightenment, yet they deny Russell. Russell has to be included in the 100 years, because he was pastor until 1914. Russell is their founder, and his teachings run parallel with their teachings today.
Russell taught that it would be better for a person to study from his books, “Studies in Scripture” rather than the Bible. He claimed that his material was well researched. Today the Witnesses teach from the Watch Tower, and Awake publications which they produce, and only in passing will they use the Bible. They only quote from their Bible, and will never use another Bible, except when challenged. This is one of Russell’s tricks for keeping his flock together.
In March of 1913, Russell filed a libel suit against a Reverend Ross. While under oath, Russell had sworn that he knew how to read and write Greek. But when confronted with the Greek alphabet in court, he changed his testimony. He recanted his old testimony, and stated that he was not a student of the Greek language. Having been caught in a lie, the libel suit was tossed out.
J.F. Rutherford a judge, followed Russell as leader. He was born in 1869 and died in 1942. Rutherford was a close associate of Russell from about 1910. But he challenged some of Russell’s teaching, and a split occurred in the organization. He than began his own group called, the Russellites, these eventually became the group we know today as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Rutherford served in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in 1918 for violations of the Espionage act. His organization took on it’s present character of a publishing house, rather than a church.
The third president of the society was Nathan H. Knorr. He spent most of his life as a Jehovah Witness. Among the society, he was not well known. He opened the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in New York.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses state that both the Protestant’s and Catholic’s have conspired together in order to defraud men, and sell out the Christian hope, this in favor of the world’s hopes, and dreams.
If this was a conspiracy then why did the Catholic Church persecute Protestants, killing tens of thousands? The Witnesses forget to mention how very different the teachings of the Protestant’s are from the Catholics. Witnesses have totally alienated themselves from traditional Christianity; and similarly, they show the same contempt for government, lumping both fundamental Christianity and government together.
Today their membership attracts those who have been alienated and are at some disadvantage. Many of their members are from middle to low income, third world countries, people who mostly live in hunger and poverty, have little or no hope, and little, or no education. They do not encourage the development of personal interests and talents, and they frown on any one getting a higher education. If a witness does have an education it was usually gained before they joined the organization. If a person is loyal to the teaching of the organization, they will move up quickly.
They state, without any historical, or Biblical evidence that their teachings go back to the time of Christ. I agree with them on this issue, for John the apostle, writes about “Anti-Christ’s,” ” liars,” and “deceivers.” 1 John 2:22, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is anti-Christ that denies the Father and the Son.”
After their literature is printed, it is distributed to their local congregations. These are located in buildings called, “Kingdom Halls.” They meet on Sunday, and gather on two other days of the week. Their time is spent on theological discussion, practical training, public speaking, and canvassing. Each Witness is considered a minister. The ordinary Witness is known as a Publisher, and the full-time worker as a Pioneer.
They divide a city or town into districts, and systematically visit every home in an area, talking about their beliefs, leaving literature when possible. They keep careful records of this work, recording every hour served. Each Witness is to fulfill their quota, as delegated from higher ranking members of the organization.
They are told, that the work credited to an individual, will bring them into God’s grace, assuring them of a higher position in the organization. They believe in a work based salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
The Jehovah Witnesses do boast, they are full of pride, having a haughty spirit, and a dislike for the Christian community at large, and reject Fundamental Christian teachings. Their attitude concerning both the country and society is as follows.
1. They will not salute the flag
2. They will not recite the pledge of allegiance.
3. They will not serve in the military, yet reap the profits of a free society.
4. They will not vote, yet complain about bad government.
5. They refuse to hold any public office, downgrading all public servants.
6. They do not belong, or help in any of the social services.
Their teachings on other issues are as follows:
7. They do not give or receive blood transfusions, in any case, even if it means the death of that person.
8. They do not celebrate, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, New Years, or any holidays, yet they take the days off, and put company money given for the holidays in their pockets.
9. They do not acknowledge or celebrate birthdays.10. Members are to follow blindly the organization’s teaching. The doctrines put forth, are not put forth as Biblical arguments, but because the organization decrees their teaching to be true. This is why they caution against outside material. In many cases, they have changed their doctrine or teachings.
10. Between 1968 and 1980 the Society taught its followers to refuse organ transplants. Since 1980 they have made transplants an option. To bad, many Witnesses could have had their health restored, but lost that opportunity by following the initial teaching.
11. Between 1930 and 1940, they encouraged young people not to marry, or to at least wait a few years. Why? They said, wait until the fiery storm of Armageddon has passed. They have since backed off from this teaching.
12. They do not acknowledge that Jesus died on a cross. Excuse me! up until 1927, they did teach Christ’s death on a cross, and even featured art work = (pictures) depicting the event. Since then, they teach that Jesus died on a pole, or tree. Go to a library and find the Watchtower publication titled “Creation” on page 209, or page 265 in later editions.
13. If a Witness was not born before 1935, they cannot partake in Communion. = (taking of bread and wine in remembrance of Christ.) If they were born before 1935, they still had better be sure they are of the 144,000. How do they know who is of the chosen 144,000? I don’t know and neither do they. Originally, they did teach that part of the 144,000 were born prior to 1920, but as the years passed, they had to cover themselves and added 15 years changing the requirement to 1935. They said God gave them new light.
14. They teach, the only people who are going to heaven are the 144,000. And if you were not born before 1935, you are definitely out. This teaching is a lie.
15. Witnesses were told NOT to seek after a higher education (college.) See Watchtower 3/15/1969. They have recently softened their policy on this matter.
16. From 1930 to 1940, they denounced vaccinations. Read, “Golden Age” previously called “Awake” 2/4/1931, page 293. They eventually dropped the ban on vaccinations.
17. They taught that Christ returned in 1914, and is now leading their organization.
18. Russell taught that Armageddon began in 1874 and would end 40 years later in 1914. This was later changed to 1915, 1917, 1925, 1945, and the last date set was 1975. They no longer set dates, and deny their false predictions of yes-ter-years.
Deuteronomy 18: 20, “The prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my = (God’s) name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
19. They teach that only through their organization can a person be saved.
20. Jesus after his death has returned again to be Michael the Arch-angel.
21. That God is using their organization to give new light to the Gospel teaching, and to them alone is given these new prophecies.
22. Except for the 144,000, all other witnesses are part of the great crowd that do not receive justification through the blood of Christ, but are considered righteous only because like Abraham, they are considered friends of God. This is from the Watchtower, Dec.1, 1985, page 17.
Part 3.
Can this organization be considered anti-Christian? This study will focus on two main themes.
1. Jesus is a created being, and not “God,” but, “a god.”
2. The Holy Spirit is not a person, but a wind, or force a breath from the Father.
Following is information concerning the evolution of the organization’s use of the Bible. Up until 1961, the organization used the King James Version. They must have found it extremely difficult to support their teaching; therefore, something had to be done. A more convenient and friendly version of the Bible had to be written and published. This new version needed to be friendlier to their teaching. It would be modified in every verse where Jesus is shown to be God manifest in the flesh;
1 Tim.3:16. Verses concerning the Holy Spirit would also be adjusted. Therefore a more user friendly Bible was written and published.
Here is a quote from their title page concerning the Revised 1984 New World Translation edition of their Bible. It reads, this edition is “Rendered from the Original Languages by the New World Bible Translation Committee.” They brought their own people together, formed a committee, which they say translated what they call the Divine Library = (the Bible.)
They never publish the names of the people who did the translating, or what their credentials were concerning Greek, and Hebrew. No information on their formal education, if any, and on what grounds they considered themselves qualified. This is still a mystery. I am going to assume that this committee consisted of hand picked, dyed in the wool Jehovah Witness members. Now because the writers, translators, etc., are not known, they say this work is God inspired.
I believe history to be the great teacher. Those who do not study history, seem to repeat the mistakes of the past. Remember their founder Taze Russell? Do you recall reading what Mr. Russell had swore under oath? He declared that he was a student of the Greek language.
Well he lied, and committed perjury in a legal court setting. Mr. Russell did not know how to read, or write in the Greek. It most likely is possible that those who wrote the New World Translation of the Bible, if put under oath, may be found to be cut from the same cloth concerning their credentials? So were they, or were they not qualified? We will never know because they never released their names, or there credentials concerning languages.
In the introduction page of their Bible, they quote over 140 sources of ancient manuscripts that were used in their translation, both in the Hebrew and Greek. Of the 140 plus, 3 are repeated, and 4 are from their own publishing house. I do not question their source material, but I challenge their blending and mixing of one ancient text, one with another, so as to create from the various texts a false “authenticity,” a Frankenstein monster, a man created version. Contrary to their Bible is the King James Bible, the N.I.V., Revised Version, N.A.S.V. New Contemporary version and most other well recognized versions of the Bible.
The K.J.V. consists solely of the Masoretic Text, for the Old Testament, and the Received Text, for the New Testament. This has remained consistent for 400 years.
The N.I.V., Revised Version, N.A.S.V. New Contemporary Version, and most other legit modern Bibles are taken from the Codices Vaticanus, or B. text, and the Codex Sinaiticus, or A. text. These are New Testament Documents, and have stayed somewhat consistent. Yet even some of these have begun to evolve.
The Watchtower Organization however has mixed one text with another text. They use both the Masoretic text, with their own interpretations, for the Old Testament, and the Received text of the King James Version, with the A. and the B. text of the N.I.V.
Not only do they mix and match different text, they add their own spin concerning certain verses where it best suits them. They add and subtract words and phrases in order to give their false views the look of authenticity. This is done in order to support their teachings. They give their version a look of authority with the use of many footnotes, commentary’s, their version of a dictionary, and very twisted appendix.
The A. and B. text are both dated to the fourth century, and are the base text for the N.I.V. and most other Bibles. The King James Version of the Bible has been received by the Christian community, having been declared by the people as the Authorized Version. The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest Old Testament documents, and agree totally with the Masoretic text, (Old Testament) of the King James Version. The Catholic community uses the Latin Vulgate, which agrees mostly with the King James.
And because the A. and B. documents are two of the oldest surviving manuscripts known, some scholars believe them to be the best. In this case oldest is not the best. Why, because these two Manuscripts owe their preservation to a lack of use. The Witnesses prefer to use these two texts for the most part, because this text makes it is easier to manipulate the verses in order to say what they want them to say.
Let’s reflect back to a 4th century character who’s name was Arian. He was a Bishop in the early Catholic Church. This man’s doctrines were the for-runner to the Jehovah Witnesses teachings. The fourth century was the time of Archaism. Arian a bishop of the early church taught and wrote that Jesus was a created being, inferior to the Father, and not the God of the Bible, but a god. This teaching reached it’s peak in the fourth century, splitting the established church. The church at Constantinople adopted this teaching for a short time, (about 50 years) but eventually recanted. This was the forth century teaching of Arian.
Co-incidentally the A. and B. were written in this period, the 4th century. It may be possible that these manuscripts were from students, or disciples of Arian. I don’t know and neither does anyone else. This may answer why they were found in a Catholic church, Arian being a Catholic Bishop. The manuscripts were well preserved, being unused; and when found, were in the process of being destroyed, they having little authority.
The church at Constantinople eventually returned to the orthodox teaching, that Jesus Christ is God, is eternal, and is equal to the Father. The Jehovah Witnesses have in recent years picked up on this ancient pagan teaching, and have fine tuned it, to what it is today.
The Witnesses by intermixing one text with another, those of the A. and B. text, with the Received text, have re-written God’s word.
Rev.22:18-19, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written.”
In their creation, they have systematically destroyed the power, the authority of Christ, and His work of salvation.
Besides the interweaving of ancient documents, they use as another source material, their “Emphatic Diaglott,” and their “Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures.” These two works are written and published by their own people. Naturally this work agrees with what they teach, but not everywhere. This can be compared with asking Stalin, is communism a good way of life, or asking Darwin, is evolution a fact? They prove themselves by themselves.
Part 4:
Following are some verses concerning these two teachings of the Witnesses, which they have totally corrupted. I will compare King James verses with the Jehovah Witnesses Bible, the New World Translation. The letters K.J.V., represent the King James Version. The letters N.W.T. represent, New World Translation. Keep in mind the Witnesses teach that Jesus is not God. Let’s examine their hypocrisy and contradictions. Compare the following verses.
Matthew 1:23 with Isaiah 40:3
K.J.V. Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
N.W.T. Matthew 1:23, “Look! The virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, which means, when translated, “With us is God.”
In Matthew’s Gospel, N.W.T. it reads, “The child to be born of the virgin, will be, “God with us,” or “with us is God.” The Greek for God here is “theos.” It means LORD, the Supreme Divinity, Jehovah. because it is upper case, or capital (G) and not lower case (g,) it points directly to the Supreme Creator, Jehovah. Even though their own translation states that the child to be born of a virgin is God Himself, they continue to deny that Jesus is God, or Jehovah. This is hypocrisy.
John the Baptist preached repentance, baptism, and the coming of Messiah. John most likely went to the desert because it was an emblem of the corrupted state of the Jewish religion. It had become destitute of all righteous cultivation, and of both spiritual and holy practices. John prepared the people in the way of repentance, and water baptism. It was Jesus Christ, “with us is God,” that John the Baptist was speaking of when he quoted the following verses from Isaiah.
Isaiah 40:3, K.J.V. “The voice of him = (John the Baptist) that cries in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the LORD” = (Jehovah.) This is also quoted in Matt. 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23.
N.W.T. Isaiah 40:3, “Listen! Someone is calling out in the wilderness: “Clear up the way of Jehovah, you people! The Witnesses have changed the word LORD, to Jehovah in all four New Testament Gospels that repeat Isaiah. They had to do this in order to protect their teaching. If they admitted that John the Baptist was speaking about Jesus, this would prove that Jesus was Jehovah, because the word LORD in Isaiah 40:3 means Jehovah.
In both Matthew, and Isaiah, the Witnesses say these verses are speaking of the Father, and not about Christ. Is this right?
John the Baptist was heralding in the coming Messiah; so what is the idea of a herald? Monarchs who, whenever they entered upon an expedition, or took a journey through a country, would sent a herald before them to prepare all things for their Journey. In this case, Jesus represents the coming Monarch, and John represents the herald. Because Jesus is King, and Lord of the New Covenant, it was he that both Isaiah and John were pointing to.
The Witnesses will tell you that Jesus is Lord, but is not God. = (Jehovah) They Have changed Lord to Jehovah in the New Testament by, and through their authority. There is not one know scroll, parchment, manuscript, document, fragment, no ancient verse of the New Testament writing, no known Song’s composed from the New Testament verses, the total of which there are over 80,000, that the name Jehovah has ever been found replacing the word Lord in these New Testament verses.
Again I ask, on what authority do they have the right to change the written word of God? I can answer that question. It’s on Satan’s authority that they have imposed their own agenda over God’s written word. Every recognized commentator, translator, teacher, etc., acknowledges that John is speaking about the coming of Messiah. The Lord, Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah, come in the flesh. You Jehovah Witnesses should read and understand fully the following verse.
Colossians 1:16, K.J.V. “For by him = (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” Compare to,
Col.1:16, N.W.T. “Because by means of him all (other) things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All (other) things have been created through him and for him.” They admit that the word (other) is inserted here by them, and has no support documents, yet they continue in their lie, this in order to deflect the truth, thus, they deceive many. 1 John 4:1, “Many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
1. Ver.16 is supposed to be a new sentence, the beginning of a new thought. But the witnesses have started it with the word “because,” which follows a comma in verse 15, instead of a period. “Because” is used when you are about to explain a previous thought with another thought. Now by reason of their false teachings, in verse 15, they now continue the lie in verse 16. Verse 15, of their Bible reads, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation,” they have changed “every creature,” with, “all creation.”
Their teaching of verse 15 is this, they say the word, “firstborn” means that Jesus was the first to be created by the Father, and than Jesus went on to create all (other) things.
This word (other) in parenthesis has no authority whatsoever in the text. In their older edition, 1951, they inserted (other) without the parenthesis. There was so much negative press, they added the parenthesis. They contend there was a period of time when the Lord Jesus did not exist. This is a lie, and a teaching of anti-christ. The title, first-born in the Greek is “prototokos.” It has a duel meaning, the first is,
1. A person is the first born of a father and mother, this includes the first-born of animals, a physical birth.
2. The second meaning should be applied to Christ. When the phrase “first born,” is speaking of the Lord Jesus, means, He is chief, highly distinguished. He is superior in excellence, distinguished, honorable, first in rank, and the Only Begotten Son of the Father. This interpretation is agreed to by every linguist, scholar, teacher, translator, etc., except the cults.
Only the cults will twist Scripture, implying that Jesus had a beginning, therefore cannot be God. How can someone that is created, be the Creator?
John 1:3, states, “All things were made by him; and without him (Jesus) was not any thing made that was made.” The Bible teaches that Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting, He was without beginning, and without end, He is the Alpha and Omega, He is Immortal, Eternal, All-knowing Jehovah.
In the Old Testament text of Isaiah, “LORD” in Hebrew is, “Yehovah” or in English, “Jehovah” the self-Existent or Eternal. Notice, Isaiah is giving a future prophesy concerning the Lord Jesus.
Isaiah 9:6, K.J.V. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given——-and his name shall be called ———– The mighty God.” Their version states the same thing.
Isaiah being a Jew, believed in One God. He writes that the One to be born of a virgin is the Might God. Notice the definite article “The,” and the name of “God,” is in upper case. This means the One and Only true God, will appear to us in the flesh of man, and His name shall be called Jesus, Matthew 1:25.
If Isaiah had meant that this was not the Creator Jehovah, he would not have used the definite article “the,” but an indefinite article, (a,) which means one of many. Also Isaiah would have said, a might god; god being in lower case, would have been born to man. For a Jew to acknowledge any other God, or gods, that person would have been guilty of blasphemy, and put to death under law, rightfully. Because Isaiah used the upper case (G) for God, he was pointing to the One True God of Scriptures.
How do the Witnesses try to get around this verse? They say that the word “mighty,” is applied to the Lord Jesus, and the word “Almighty,” is applied to only the Father. Is this true? Keep in mind a noun = (God) always dominates a sentence and not the adjective = (Mighty.) Weather God is mighty or Almighty, He is still God, or Jehovah.
Revelation 1:1, K.J.V. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 1:1, N.W.T. “A revelation by Jesus Christ.”
At first glance there does not appear to be any great discrepancy between the two translations. But when you know the mind set of the organization, the difference is huge. They believe and teach that they are the modern day prophets of Jehovah. Therefore when new revelations are to be revealed, they are the instruments that God will use.
By changing, “The Revelation,” to “a revelation,” they insinuate that more revelations are to come. This gives them the authority to be the new beacon of light that comes from heaven.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15. “No marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the minister of righteousness.”
The definite article “The” refers to a one and only, one of a kind revelation concerning our Lord. A revelation, infers that further revealing of the Lord are forthcoming. When questioned about the changes in their doctrines, they first show you their Bible, then state, “we are Jehovah’s anointed, and have been given this new light.”
Back to Revelation 1:1. Another change they have made is, “(of) Jesus Christ,” to, “(by) Jesus Christ.: Again they make Jesus to appear only as an errand boy, and not the inheritor of all things. So by changing “of,” to “by,” they teach that the Revelation is not about Jesus Christ, but of the Father.
This strips Jesus of all his titles, offices, and authority mentioned throughout the book. Titles like the Almighty, Alpha and Omega, First and Last, the One who is to come, the One who has been pierced, the One that lives and was dead, the one who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the one who is to judge, etc. to mean the Father and not Jesus.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com