Sunday, February 24, 2008

#20 - Honoring the Father and the Son

Definitions:

even adj. 1 constantly or completely flat. 2 on the same level or line. 3 free from variation. 4 equal in measure or quantity. 5 divisible by two. 6 exactly expressible without fractional parts. 7 leaving no balance or debt on either side….. 9 still or yet…. 11 just or exactly…. 12 fully or quite. 13 indeed….

as adv. 1 to such a degree or extent. 2 for example…. 5 in the degree, manner, etc., of or that….

honor n. 1 high public esteem…. 3 a source of credit or distinction. 4 high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank. 5 such respect manifested…. 10 to hold in high respect. 11 to confer honor or distinction upon. 12 to show a courteous regard for….

worship n. 1 reverent honor given to a deity. 2 the expression of such honor, as by prayers. 3 great admiration or regard…. 5 to show religious worship to. 6 to feel admiration or regard for. –vt. 7 to take part in worship.

(The Random House Dictionary, 1980, Random House, Inc., pp. 299, 46-47, 420, 1008)

Most believers of monotheistic religions know that they should honor God. The Jews believe in God, and worship Him. They know Him as the ‘Father’. Muslims also believe in one God, whom they call Allah. They also know Him as the ‘Father’. But neither the Jews nor the Muslims honor the ‘Son’, Jesus the Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses seemingly give to the Father full honor, but to His Son they give far less. Christians in general are followers of Christ. They know the Father as God, but not all Christians are sure just how much honor they should give to the Son.

It is a lack of understanding of the Bible that keeps many Christians in the dark about the true nature of Jesus Christ and His relationship to the Father. How much honor should we give to the Son? The Bible provides us with an answer in John 5:23. Here, Jesus Himself informs us “That all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father.” (KJV)

How should we honor the Son?

This verse contains powerful evidence of the deity of Jesus Christ. The focal point of this power rests on two key words, “even as”. To grasp a full understanding of the meaning of this verse, we need to know exactly what these two words mean. Their definitions are given above. Let’s apply these definitions to the verse:

…even…

By definition 1:

We should give to the Son, honor that—together with our honor of the Father—is flatly homogeneous, constantly even in all areas and instances.

By definition 2:

We should give to the Son, honor that is on the same level or line as that which we give to the Father.

By definition 3:

We should give to the Son, honor that is free from variation from that which we give to the Father (identical without any difference).

By definition 4:

We should give to the Son, honor that is equal in measure or quantity as that which we give to the Father.

By definition 6:

We should give to the Son, honor that is expressed exactly as that which is expressed to the Father, without any fractional part of it left over.

By definition 7:

We should give to the Son, honor that—when compared to that given to the Father—is equal and balanced and leaves no debt (either more or less) on either side.

By definition 9:

We should give to the Son, honor that is, no matter what, yet as that of the Father.

By definition 11:

We should give to the Son, honor that is just as that given to the Father; exactly as that given to the Father.

By definition 13:

We should give to the Son, honor that is indeed as that given to the Father.

…as…

By definition 1:

We should give to the Son, honor that is to a degree as such: as the honor given to the Father; and to the same extent that we give to the Father, we must give also to the Son.

By definition 2:

We should give to the Son, honor that is exemplified by that given to the Father. In other words, how much honor should we give to the Son? Let us use, as an example, the exact same honor given to the Father.

By definition 5:

We should give to the Son, honor that is in the same degree, in the same manner, as that given to the Father.

By applying the definitions of the two key words to the verse, it becomes clear that the honor given to the Son must be identical to the honor given to the Father. And now, in case anyone might ask, we will pose the following question:

How should we honor the Father?

Throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, God has been known as the ‘Father’. Likewise, this ‘Father’ in the heavens, has always been called GOD. God, the only TRUE deity, is the highest being in existence. He is above ALL creation. And because of this fact, we must give Him honor, which is above ALL honor—the highest form of honor, called worship. God the Father—as distinct from God the Son and God the Holy Spirit—is most recognized by monotheistic religions as God. Only Christianity recognizes the Son as God also—and even in this religion there is debate among its denominations as to this. Clearly, though, the Father in the heavens must be worshipped. Most, if not all monotheistic religions accept this as true.

Once again: How should we honor the Son?

With this fact in mind, we must now put one and one together. God the Father must be honored in the highest way possible—with worship. The Son, as we have seen, must be honored the same exact way as the Father. Therefore, if we follow logic to its ultimate conclusion, what answer will we surely find? That the Son, Jesus Christ, must be honored in the same exact way as the Father—with WORSHIP.

But what if we don’t?

John 5:23 concludes by saying that, “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” This is very serious! In essence, this verse is instructing us to worship the Son exactly as we worship the Father. But he that doesn’t worship the Son doesn’t worship the Father either—and this is truly blasphemy. What a rude awakening this must surely be to those who are just now understanding it! The Son is God just as the Father is God, and this is why we should worship our Lord Jesus Christ as our God and Savior; and with the Father and the Holy Spirit together as the One Composite Triune GOD.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

#19 - Christian Targets of The Watchtower

Since 1874, the missiles have been launching, the warheads have been striking, and the targets have been reeling from the blasts. Satan’s modern-day weapon has grown in size and strength and has been battering the bride of Christ for over a century. The church, its doctrines, its traditions and its clergy have been locked onto the cross-hairs of the devil’s hatred; and these sacred elements of our Christian faith, passed down to us from the apostles and Jesus Christ Himself, have become bombarded bulls eyes ever since.

What exactly are these missiles, and what exactly is this weapon? The weapon is the Watchtower society, and the missiles are its publications. Two of their most popular magazines, The Watchtower, and Awake! are designed especially for targets outside the Watchtower organization—that means Christians!

The Watchtower has waged psychological warfare on Christians of every denomination. A typical salvo of hatred includes clergy-bashing, faith-bashing and religion-bashing. Through their publications, the organization uses several strategies of attack. One strategy, which might accurately be called the “Corrupted Clergy” offense, is used to convince Christians that its clergy is corrupt. The goal of this offense is to create, within the Christian mind, a feeling of distrust and disrespect towards priests, monks, nuns, bishops, archbishops, etc. The result of this offense leaves the Christian with the following thought: “Priests are corrupt, so why should I listen to what these hypocrites have to say?”

A second strategy is the “Declining Faith” offense. This strategy is used to convince Christians that, in general, Christian faith in the Church and in its beliefs is on the decline. Also, that Christian participation in church services is declining too. The goal of this offense is to create, within the Christian mind, a feeling that there must be something wrong with his religion, and with Christianity in general. When the Christian begins to doubt his faith, he is left open to Watchtower suggestions and teachings.

Clergy-Bashing

Examples of the “Corrupted Clergy” strategy can be found in the Awake! magazine, usually in a section in the back called “Watching the World”. A typical Watchtower technique is to mix “Corrupted Clergy” articles among other unrelated articles containing interesting facts and figures. This gives the reader the impression that the “Corrupted Clergy” articles are also facts. The following is one such article entitled, “The Clergy and Sexual Abuse”:

Australian National Television recently broadcast a documentary entitled, “The Ultimate Betrayal.” The program claimed that 15 percent of clergymen in Australia had committed sexual offenses, ranging from the molestation of children to the rape of women parishioners. Within hours of the television program, various centers set up to handle complaints of sexual assault were inundated with telephone calls from alleged victims. Many callers said they had kept their experiences secret for many years! One women said that she was speaking about her ordeal as a child for the first time in 40 years! Another said that after her clergyman had sexually abused her as a child, he threatened her with hellfire punishment if she dared to tell anyone. Spokesmen for various church groups disagreed with the 15-percent figure but did admit that the sexual misconduct of clergymen was a serious problem. (Awake!, 8/9/92, pg. 28)

Another article entitled, “The Price of Celibacy” blames this type of priestly misconduct on sexual frustration:

Forcing priests to remain single “leads to paternity suits, to mistresses, to increased levels of homosexual activity among clergy and seminaries, to loneliness and in some cases to pedophilia.” That, according to the National Catholic Reporter, is the substance of a warning that Joe Sternak, a former Catholic priest of the Chicago archdiocese in the United States, issued on the subject of celibacy at a recent annual conference. Sternak, who is currently writing a book on pedophilia, charges that dioceses in over 20 states use church donations to pay for lawsuits and out-of-court settlements in cases of priestly sexual abuse of children. (Awake!, 8/22/91, pg. 28)

With this kind of religious propaganda, is it any wonder that so many people believe that priests are selfish, sexually-deviant, woman-beating, child-molesting monsters?

A September 22, 1991 article in Awake! entitled “Pocket-Size Electronic Bibles”, speaks of an article found in Newsweek which describes the electronic gadget made by a New Jersey, U.S.A. firm. “The firm ‘may have struck the absent-minded-clergy market’, says the article.” This is also a part of the “Corrupted Clergy” strategy. It makes Christian priests look like stupid, inept, bungling idiots. Not a very respectful image.

In the December 8, 1992 issue of Awake!, the article “Corruption in the Vestry” tells of a high-ranking priest in Turin, Italy, Rodolfo Reviglio, who recently denounced widespread “corruption in the Vestry”. The article speaks of “cases of priests who have accepted gifts and favors from politicians and candidates in exchange for open or hidden campaigning in their [the politicians’] behalf.” And that “such corruption is not limited to election periods…that it is common to ‘hear of illicit dealings between priests and public officials in handling paperwork, applying for permits,’ and other practices, all of which Reviglio likens to ‘Mafia methods.’”

Faith-Bashing

The Faith-Bashing strategy is identical to the Clergy-Bashing strategy, but with a different intended target. The December 8, 1992 article in Awake! titled “Church Decline in Ireland” says “the number of people in the Republic of Ireland who are now taking up a religious vocation is declining rapidly.” This, and the following articles are examples of the “Declining-Faith” offense.

Awake! of July 22, 1992, contains the article “New Factors of Instability”, which poses the question, “Has the newfound freedom of religion in Eastern Europe brought a measure of peace and harmony to the political turmoil in that area?” It then goes on to imply an answer. “The Roman Catholic and Orthodox clergy in Romania, Ukraine, and along Poland’s eastern border are fighting over ownership of churches…. These hints of a war of religion floating again over Europe…are creating new factors of instability and forebode nothing good.” The obvious implication is that Christianity cannot bring peace on earth, but only the Watchtower can. Some things need not be said to be understood.

Finally, an article entitled, “Germany a Pagan Country”, in the May 22, 1993 issue of Awake! states: “The Federal Republic [of Germany] has become a pagan country with a Christian residue. Six million have lost their faith in God. The number of people who do not belong to any religion is greater than those who go to church. Just 10 percent attend church each Sunday.” Those were the findings of a survey commissioned by the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel. Answers were compared with those given in a similar survey in 1967.

The Watchtower conveniently failed to mention that in 1967, Germany was still divided into East and West, therefore the “Federal Republic of Germany” did not yet exist. Also, being under communist rule since 1949, East Germany has had little freedom of religion. What the Watchtower has done, in effect, is compared the 1967 church-going population of the more religiously-free West, to the current 1993 population of the unified Germany with its added non-religious population from the East. So, the percentage of people attending church, from the newly increased total population seems dramatically reduced. Yet the Watchtower would rather have us believe that this decline is due to the failure of Christianity.

Religion-Bashing

Finally, Religion-Bashing is the third and most widely used of the three warheads of the Watchtower salvo. The strategy here might be called the “Correct Doctrine” offense. This strategy questions most, if not all of the doctrines taught by Christianity throughout the centuries. It accuses the Christian religion of being defiled by satanic influences, and paints it as a twisted wreckage of the intended Truth. The Watchtower then purports to be the only true religion left on earth—backing up its claims with doctrines formed by contextually misquoted Scripture.

The Divinity of Jesus Christ, the nature of the Holy Spirit, the existence of the Holy Trinity, the existence and immortality of the soul, the Holy Cross of Christ, the God-inspired Christ-like saints, the miraculous icons—all these elements of the Christian faith, as well as a myriad of others, have been and continue to be attacked by written missiles, fired with the gunpowder of hatred from the weapon of Satan called the Watchtower organization.

#18 - The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity is a confusing concept to many Christians, yet it is one of the most basic doctrines of Christianity. Many questions arise in the mind of the unlearned Christian, such as “If there is only one God, then how can God be three? Does this mean that there are three Gods?” and the ever-popular “Where does the bible say that God is three persons? I’ve read that God said He is the one true God and there shall be no other Gods beside Him.” It is confusion that weakens the Christian’s faith and leaves him exposed to the dangerous heresies of non-Christian cults with their false beliefs. This article should clear up some of the confusion about the Holy Trinity.

To answer one of the above questions, the bible does indeed speak of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity appears in the New Testament at the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. This is mentioned in Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” and in Mark 1:10-11, “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”, and also in Luke 3:21-22, “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased”. Here, we have three separate accounts of the same incident, as testified by Matthew, Mark and Luke; the Son, the Holy spirit descending upon him, and the Father who is well pleased in him—the appearance of the three.

Jesus Christ, showing himself, before his disciples, to be the almighty God, “came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”, and he continues “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:18-19). Here, again, we see the Holy Trinity, mentioned this time by Christ himself. If you were to baptize someone, wouldn’t it make sense to baptize him in the name of the highest being in existence? In the name of God Himself? Yes, it would. And, we are instructed by Jesus to baptize them in the name of the Father, AND in the name of the Son, AND in the name of the Holy Spirit. In other words, in the name of the three.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a favorite argument against this Christian doctrine. They like to ask the unsuspecting Christian, “What does the word ‘trinity’ mean? It means three. Therefore it cannot mean one. And God is One, therefore He cannot be Three.” This is just a play on words. And if we’re going to play with words, then we should also consider that the word ‘trinity’ is one word that means three. In other words, the meaning of three is described by one word. How is it then, that our One God cannot be three persons, or that three persons cannot be One composite God? If this is not enough evidence to support the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity, then here comes the clincher! 1 John 5:7 describes the triune nature of our One God as follows: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” There are three individual entities mentioned above. The identity of each one of the three is clearly stated. One is the Father, one is the Son, and the other one is the Holy Spirit. These three bear record in unison, as One. And most importantly, we are told that THESE ARE ONE!

Non-Christians, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, believe that only the Father is God, that the Son is inferior to the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is merely an energy. This is illogical. Since the Father is God, and the word and the Holy Spirit are together with the Father as one, then the Word and the Holy Spirit must also be God. This is logical. For if one of these entities is God, and God is perfect, then the other two entities must also be God, and perfect. The One God is perfection as a whole, and the whole of perfection, and cannot have any lesser parts (so to speak).

God can be thought of as the flame of a candle. The fire is the Father, the light is the Son, and the heat is the Holy Spirit. The fire begets the light, as the Father begets the Son. The heat proceeds from the fire, as the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The three are co-existent, and co-equal. One entity cannot exist without the other two. If you eliminate the light, then there can be no fire and no heat. If you eliminate the heat, then there can be no fire and no light. And if you eliminate the fire, there can be no light and no heat.

To say that the Holy Trinity is not God, or that God is not a Trinity, is to deny God’s inspired word—the Holy Scriptures. Can we deny what the Scriptures say? Can we deny that there are three that bear record in heaven, as the Scriptures say? Can we deny that these three are the Father, the Word Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, as the Scriptures say? Can we deny that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, as the Scriptures say? If we deny the Scriptures, then we are denying the truth, and we are only fooling ourselves.

#17 - What Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe

‘In some areas, of course, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe much the same as orthodox Christians—for example, their rejection, as sin, of sex outside marriage; their acceptance of the Bible’s creation account, as opposed to the evolution theory; and their belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. But, in many other areas, their doctrines set them apart and mark them as a pseudo-Christian cult—especially the sect’s teachings on the following matters…

Armageddon: God will soon wage war against mankind, destroying everyone on earth except Jehovah’s Witnesses. The churches of Christendom, they say, will be the first to be destroyed.

Birthdays: Celebrating a birthday in any manner is strictly forbidden. Even sending a birthday card can bring swift action against the offender by an official “judicial committee”. The punishment is “disfellowshiping”.

Blood Transfusions: In actual practice, JW’s view accepting a blood transfusion as a sin more serious than theft or adultery. Thieves and adulterers are more quickly forgiven by Watchtower judicial committees than individuals found guilty of taking blood. A Witness must refuse blood in all circumstances, even when this is certain to result in death. The organization also requires adults to refuse transfusions for their minor children.

Christianity: Except for a few scattered individuals who kept the faith, true Christianity vanished from the face of the earth shortly after the death of the twelve apostles—according to Jehovah’s Witnesses. It was not restored until Charles Taze Russell set up the Watchtower organization in the late 1870’s. When Christ returned invisibly in 1914, he found Russell’s group doing the work of the “faithful and wise servant” (Matt. 24:45) and appointed them over all his belongings. All other churches and professed Christians are actually tools of the devil.

Christ’s Return: The Lord returned invisibly in the year 1914 and has been present ever since, ruling as King on earth through the Watchtower Society. References to the second “coming” are rendered as “presence” in the Jehovah’s Witness Bible. The generation of people who witnessed Christ’s invisible return in 1914 will not pass away before Armageddon comes.

Chronology: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God has a precise timetable for all past and present future events, tied together by simple mathematical formulae and revealed to mankind through the Watchtower Society. The seven “days” of the Genesis creation account were each seven thousand years long, for a total “week” of forty-nine thousand years. God created Adam in the year 4026 B.C. His creation of Eve a short time later marked the end of the Sixth Creative Day and the beginning of the Seventh. Therefore, we are now approximately 6,000 years into that 7,000-year period—which means that Armageddon will soon put an end to 6,000 years of human toil, making way for a Sabbath-like thousand-year reign of Christ. On the basis of this chronology, the JW organization has promulgated a number of specific end-times prophecies.

Cross: According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, the cross is a pagan religious symbol adopted by the church when Satan, the devil, took control of ecclesiastical authority. It had nothing to do with Christ’s death, since JW’s maintain that he was nailed to a straight upright pole without a crossbeam. Witnesses abhor the cross, and new converts are expected to destroy any crosses they may have, rather than simply dispose of them.

Deity: The Father alone is God, and true worshippers must call him by the name Jehovah. Witnesses are taught that Jesus Christ was merely a manifestation of Michael the archangel in human form—not God, but a mere created being. The Holy Spirit is presented as neither God nor a person but, rather, as an “active force.”

Disfellowshiping: This is the punishment for any infraction of Watchtower organizational regulations. It consists of a public decree, announced to the audience at a Kingdom Hall meeting and prohibiting all association or fellowship with the offender. Other Witnesses are forbidden even to say “Hello” if they encounter the offender on the street. The only exceptions are that family members may conduct “necessary business” with a disfellowshiped person, and elders may speak to him if he approaches them repentantly to seek reinstatement.

Heaven: Only 144,000 individuals go to heaven. This “little flock” began with the twelve apostles, and the number was filled by the year 1935. Approximately 9,000 elderly JW’s are the only remaining ones on earth today who will go to heaven, with the rest of the Jehovah’s Witnesses hoping to live on earth forever.

Hell: Following the lead of its founder, Charles T. Russell, the Watchtower Society still teaches that Hades is merely the grave, that the fire of Gehenna instantly disintegrates its victims into nothingness, and that there is no conscious existence for the dead until the time of their bodily resurrection.

Holidays: Celebration of any “worldly holiday” is strictly forbidden for Jehovah’s Witnesses. This prohibition applies to U.S. presidents’ birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, Easter, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Good Friday, and so on—even Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Even if a “pagan origin” cannot be researched as the basis for banning a particular observance, the simple fact that “worldly people” celebrate it is sufficient reason for the JW’s not to celebrate it.

Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is neither God nor a person, according to Watchtower teaching. “It” is simply an impersonal “active force” that God uses in doing his will.

Hope: JW’s believe that God stopped calling Christians to a heavenly hope back in 1935. Since then, he has been offering people the opportunity to live forever on this earth (“Millions now living will never die!” is a familiar Jehovah’s Witness slogan.) God will destroy everyone else on the planet, leaving only Jehovah’s Witnesses, and he will restore a Garden-of-Eden paradise for them worldwide.

Jesus Christ: In Watchtower theology, Jesus Christ is a mere angel—the first one that God created when he started creating angels. Witnesses identify Christ as Michael the archangel, although they call Jesus “the Son of God”—because “the first spirit God made was like a firstborn son to him” (1982 Watchtower booklet, Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! pg. 14). They also call him “a god,” and translate John 1:1 accordingly in their Bible.

Organization: Witnesses believe that God set up the Watchtower organization as his channel of communication to gather together those of mankind who will be saved. As the visible agency of the kingdom of God on earth, this organization exercises full governmental authority over believers—it promulgates laws, puts violators on trial, operates Kingdom schools, and so on—parallel to the secular government. If there is a conflict between the two, the organization is to be obeyed, rather than the secular rulers. (In the Witnesses’ minds, they are “obeying God rather than men,” Acts 5:29)

Resurrection: Concerning Christ, JW’s believe that he became nonexistent when he died and that he was raised three days later as a “spirit”—an angel. They deny his bodily resurrection. Going along with their teaching that Christ returned invisibly in 1914.

Salvation: After giving lip service to salvation through faith in Christ, Witnesses actually believe that salvation is impossible apart from full obedience to the Watchtower Society and vigorous participation in its prescribed works program. Even individual JW’s who are not sufficiently zealous for the organization may not survive Armageddon, and those who do make their way into the earthly paradise must maintain good works before they can be sealed for life.

The Bible That Jehovah’s Witnesses Use

Christians embarking on discussions with Jehovah’s Witnesses should be aware that the so-called Bible the Witnesses use contains a number of changes introduced to the text for the sole purpose of supporting Watchtower doctrines.

The apostle Peter said concerning Paul’s inspired letters that “There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16, RSV). Usually such “twisting” of Scripture is confined to interpretation—and that is what the Watchtower Society did for three-quarters of a century. They issued followers copies of the King James Version (or, later on, the American Standard Version, because it features the name “Jehovah” throughout the Old Testament), along with detailed instructions on how to make Scriptures appear to teach that God outlawed vaccinations, that Abraham and the faithful prophets would be resurrected to this earth in 1925, that God inspired the Great Pyramid of Egypt, and so on. But there were some doctrines that were very difficult to derive from the King James Version and the American Standard Version, no matter how much twisting was applied to the text.

So, during the 1950’s Watchtower leaders went beyond interpretation by producing their own version of the Bible, with hundreds of verses changed to fit Watchtower doctrines. And, their New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures continues to be rewritten every few years, with additional changes made to bring God’s word into closer agreement with what the organization teaches.

For example, instead of “the cross,” the New World Translation substitutes “torture stake”—to support the JW teaching that Jesus was nailed to an upright pole without a crossbeam. Instead of “the Holy Spirit,” we find reference to “holy spirit” or “active force,” in agreement with their denial of the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. Christ speaks, not of his “coming” again, but of his “presence” (which Witnesses believe to be invisible).

The New World Translation systematically sets out to eliminate evidence for the deity of Christ. Instead of falling at Jesus’ feet to worship him, people did “obeisance” to him. John 1:1 no longer says that “the Word was God”; here it reads “the Word was a god.” Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Rather, to avoid association with the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14, Jesus’ statement becomes: “Before Abraham came into existence, I have been.”

But the most widespread change in the Watchtower Bible is the insertion of the name Jehovah 237 times in the New Testament. Of course, it is appropriate for a translator to choose to use the divine name Jehovah or Yahweh in the Old Testament where the Tetragrammaton YHWH actually appears in the Hebrew text. But the Watchtower has gone beyond this by inserting the name Jehovah in the New Testament, where it does not appear in Greek manuscripts. One need only look at the word-for-word English that appears under the Greek text in the Society’s own Kingdom Interlinear Translation, to see that the name Jehovah is not there in the Greek….

Two outstanding cases that are useful in demonstrating the doctrinal bias of the JW Bible are Romans 14:8-9 (where the insertion of “Jehovah” produces a logical non sequitur in the English text) and Hebrews 1:6 (where early editions say the angels “worship” the Son of God, but later editions change this to “obeisance”).

For a more detailed discussion, see The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New Testament by Robert H. Countess (1982, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 136 pages).[1]

In actuality, it is NOT appropriate for a translator, or any other person for that matter, to choose to use the name Jehovah, when it is a proven fact that this is NOT the real name of God, but rather a grammatically incorrect combination of two words—the true name of God YHWH (or Yahweh) and ADONAY (my Lord). The word Jehovah did not exist in the old biblical times, and did not come into existence until the 15th century A.D. This word makes no sense in the Hebrew language; it was not revealed to Moses as the real name of God, and therefore should NOT be used as God’s name. It is more proper to refer to Him as LORD, since this is what the ancient Israelites did to protect the real name of God from this type of blasphemous distortion. Otherwise, the entire above quoted text is accurate.

Glancing at the above quoted information, it is immediately obvious that these doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not according to what the church has taught over the centuries. These anti-Christian beliefs mark the Watchtower organization as a pseudo-Christian cult. These doctrines were formed from contextually misquoted Scripture—they are truth mixed with lies. And that is what makes a Jehovah’s Witness’s arguments so believable. David A. Reed is a former Jehovah’s Witness Elder and Presiding Minister, and presently is a member of the first Baptist Church in N. Abington, Massachusetts.



[1] Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse; 1986; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49506; by David A. Reed, pp. 11-19.