Jehovah’s Witnesses:
Who is Jesus?
By
Kelly Powers
Ever had a knock on the door from a Jehovah’s
Witness? It is very probable that you have had an encounter with
a Jehovah’s Witness but did not know what to say in response to
what they had to share. Jehovah’s Witnesses go door to door
sharing what they believe to be the Word of God, however what
they have been taught is heretical.
When encountering a Jehovah’s Witness it is
important to stay on one topic at a time. Jehovah’s
Witnesses are trained through the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society publications on how to stump Christians on various
topics and to jump from one place to another. It is very
important to be prepared when dialoguing with a Jehovah’s
Witness because you want to be able to plant solid spiritual
seeds that will cause him or her to come to know Christ
personally.
What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe concerning
Jesus Christ? There are important issues that need to be
addressed when you encounter a Jehovah’s Witness.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is the
first creation of Jehovah God. Quote: "Jesus, in his
pre-human existence, was 'the firstborn of all creation.'
(Colossians 1:15, NJB) He was 'the beginning of God's
creation.’ (Revelation 3:14,RS)" (Should You
Believe In The Trinity, page 14, 1989)
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is a
created god. Quote: “In [the] beginning was Word was, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” (New
World Translation, John 1:1)
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is
Michael the archangel. Quote: "The
foremost angel, both in power and authority is the
archangel, Jesus Christ, also called Michael." (Watchtower,
Nov. 1, 1995, p. 8)
These issues are extremely important to know
when dialoguing with Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is upon the
identification of who Jesus is that demonstrates who is of
Christ and who is not of Christ. To effectively respond to
Jehovah’s Witnesses one must have some basic guidelines.
First, it is important to see the context of
what is being stated. Second, it is important to examine what
words mean. Third, it is important to look at the totality of
what the Scriptures teach. By doing these three steps you can
effectively respond to what the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been
taught and Lord willing help plant spiritual seeds.
The Watchtower teaches that Jesus is the only
creation of God directly and that all other things
were created through Jesus. The word of contention is the Greek
word Prototokos which is translated “firstborn”
in Colossians 1:15. The Watchtower has given this word the
meaning of first to be created. Also, the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society have added a word that theologically
changes the context of Colossians 1:16-17: “because by means
of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and
upon the earth, the things visible and things invisible, no
matter whether they are thrones or lord-ships or governments or
authorities. All [other] things have been created through
him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things
and by means of him all [other] things were made to
exist”. (New World Translation, Col. 1:16-17) Why did
the Watchtower insert the word “[other]” four times when
it is not there in the Greek? What does firstborn mean?
Prototokos in the Scriptures is used in
various ways. It is used of those who were born first, those who
were given preeminence, those given a higher rank. Consider the
following on the word firstborn.
“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, `Thus
says the LORD, "Israel is My son, My firstborn.”
(Exodus 4:22 NASB)
“With weeping they will come, And by
supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by
streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will
not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim
is My firstborn.”
(Jeremiah 31:9 NASB)
In these two passages we see the word
firstborn used in a way of preeminence. The LORD calls both
Israel and Ephraim His firstborn, thus showing that being called
firstborn does not mean first to be born or created.
Scholarly resources on Prototokos and
Colossians 1:15:
Prototokos according Strongs
Greek Lexicon means: "first in time or place in any
succession of things or persons; first in rank
influence, honour, chief, principal; first, at the first;
firstborn, first-begotten." (Strongs Greek
Lexicon #4413 & 4416)
Spiros Zodhiates states: "In
Colossians 1:15 Christ holds the same relation to
all creation not that He is included as part of the
creation, but the relation of the whole creation
to Him is determined by the fact that He is
prototokos, the firstborn, pases(3956), of all,
ktiseos(2937), creation, so that without Him
creation could not be (see v. 16). It is not said of
Christ that He was ktistheis, created, and not of the
creation that it was techtheisa, born or brought forth."
(Lexical Aids To The New Testament, Dr. Spiros
Zodhiates, Prototokos)
W. E. Vines states: "First-begotten,
Firstborn <1,,4416,prototokos> "firstborn"
(from protos, "first," and tikto, "to beget"), is used
of Christ as born of the Virgin Mary, Luke 2:7; further,
in His relationship to the Father, expressing His
priority to, and preeminence over, creation, not in the
sense of being the "first" to be born. It is used
occasionally of superiority of position in the OT; see
Exod. 4:22; Deut. 21:16,17, the prohibition being
against the evil of assigning the privileged position of
the "firstborn" to one born subsequently to the "first"
child...(a) Col. 1:15, where His eternal
relationship with the Father is in view, and the clause
means both that He was the "Firstborn" before all
creation and that He Himself produced creation (the
genitive case being objective, as ver. 16 makes clear)"
(Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,
Prototokos)
These resources provide solid Biblical evidence
that Jesus was not the first to be created, but rather the very
One who created all things. Colossians 1:15 has to be
interpreted within it’s context.
Examining the context of Colossians 1:15-17 it
is clear that the Watchtower has added their theological
interpretation to the text with their misuse of adding the word
“[other]” four times. Not one Greek text has the word
“[other]”, thus showing the Watchtower Scripture twisting.
Also, there is not one English translation that has the word
“[other]” in Colossians 1:16-17. By adding the word
“[other]” four times it changes the context of what
Colossians 1:15-17 is teaching. See how it reads without the
word “[other]” in it:
“15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in
the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all
things have been created through Him and for Him. 17
He is before all things, and in Him all things
hold together.” (Col. 1:15-17 NASB)
According to the apostle Paul Jesus was the very
image of the invisible God manifested in the flesh, through Him
all things have been created, and He is before all things.
Common sense says if Jesus created all things than He was not a
part of creation. Therefore the Watchtower is wrong in how they
view Jesus and their misuse of changing what the Scriptures say.
The Watchtower teaches that Revelation 3:14
means Jesus was the first of God’s creation. The word for
“beginning” in the Greek is Arche. Arche
means: "beginning, origin the person or thing that
commences, the first person or thing in a series, the
leader that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the
active cause the extremity of a thing, of the corners of a
sail, the first place, principality, rule, magistracy, of
angels and demons." (Strongs Greek Lexicon, Arche)
According to what Arche means it is clear that Jesus is
the Origin or the Cause of all creation, not that He was
the first to be created. Greek scholar Dr. Spiros Zodhiates
makes the following observation:
"The word archee,
"beginning," then, can mean either the result or the
cause of something. The beginning of a line, for
instance, can mean either the point where the pencil
first touched the paper, or the person's decision or
intent to draw the line. Lets look at some passages
other than John 1:1 which throw light on the subject.
One of the most important of these in Rev. 3:14,
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and
true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."
Does John here refer to Jesus Christ as the first
result of the creation of God or as the First Cause, the
Creator? By virtue of other Scriptures, we are forced to
adopt the active meaning of the word archee, that Jesus
Christ was the Cause of God's creation and not the first
result of it." (Spiros Zodhiates, Was Christ
God, pp. 45-46)
If Arche means first in the sense to be
created than the same meaning would apply to God being called
“the beginning and the end” in Revelation 22:13! The same
Greek word Arche is used of God in Revelation 22:13 as
Revelation 3:14, but no Jehovah’s Witness will say that God was
first to be created. The proper interpretation of Revelation
3:14 is to examine what Arche means and the context of
the Scriptures. Jesus is the One who created all things and not
one thing came into existence without Him. (John 1:3, Colossians
1:16-17, Revelation 3:14)
The Watchtower not only teaches that Jesus was
the first to be created but that Jesus was created a god. This
theological position comes from the way they have interpreted
John 1:1. In the New World Translation it reads this way: “In
[the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was a god.” The contention is on the letter
“a” and if it should be there. In the Greek text there is no
“a” but the Watchtower has added this letter to fit their
theological position. There are various ways this can be
refuted.
First, to say Jesus is a created god you have to
be able to prove God was wrong in Isaiah 43:10. In Isaiah 43:10
God says: “"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD,
"And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and
believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was
no God formed, And there will be none after Me.”
This one passage of Scripture proves that Jesus could not be a
created god. Jehovah’s Witnesses acknowledge Jesus being a
God but reject Him being Jehovah God. However, God states
two things that dismantle Watchtower theology. The Hebrew word
for “formed” is Yastar which means to be made,
to be created, to be formed, to be fashioned. (Strongs
Hebrew Lexicon, Yastar) This means that there were no
created or formed Gods/gods before the LORD and that there would
be no created or formed Gods/gods after Him. Therefore Jesus
is not a created god as the Watchtower teaches and their
rendering of John 1:1 would be incorrect theologically making
the apostle John a polytheist.
The apostle John knowing the Hebrew Scriptures
knows there is only one eternal God and that all other so called
gods are either false or not genuine. Therefore for John to be
implying that Jesus was a god in John 1:1 he would be going
against what the Old Testament Scriptures taught, thus making
John a false teacher and polytheist. But John was not a
polytheist and he did not imply Jesus being a created God. John
in various places shows the eternal Deity of Jesus, thus proving
John 1:1 is to be translated “and the Word was God.”
Remember in Isaiah 43:10 the LORD identifies
Himself as the “I am He”. This is extremely important to
see what John wrote in regards to the identity of Jesus. For
example:
“I am He who testifies
about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about
Me.” (John 8:18 NASB)
“Therefore I said to you that you
will die in your sins; for unless you believe that
I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John
8:24 NASB)
“"Surely You are not greater than
our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too;
whom do You make Yourself out to be?"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is
nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you
say, `He is our God'; and you have not come to know Him,
but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I
will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His
word. "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day,
and he saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to
Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You
seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly,
I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him,
but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” (John
8:53-59 NASB)
“So Jesus, knowing all the things
that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them,
"Whom do you seek?" They answered Him, "Jesus
the Nazarene." He said to them, "I am He."
And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with
them. So when He said to them, "I am He," they
drew back and fell to the ground.”
(John 18:4-6 NASB)
Within these Scriptures it is clear that Jesus
was claiming something about Himself in a Divine way. Jesus
states He is “I am He” in John 8:18, that people will
dies in their sins unless they believe He is the “I am He”
in John 8:24, that He is the Eternal One (I am) in
John 8:58, and in John 18 He is “I am He”. This shows
John knew the eternal identification of Jesus being God
manifested in the flesh, not a created god as the Watchtower
teaches. Also, compare Isaiah 41:4 with Jesus’ “I am He’s” and
see that there is no doubt Jesus was God in the flesh.
“Who has performed and accomplished
it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? `I,
the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’”
(Isaiah 41:4 NASB)
The Watchtower teaches that Jesus is also known
as Michael the archangel. According to the Watchtower Michael is
the “foremost angel” in authority. Do these teachings line up in
Scripture? No they do not!
No where in the Bible is there any indication of
Jesus being called Michael. No where in any of the Gospel
accounts does Jesus ever speak of Him being a chief angel. None
of the apostles teach that Jesus is Michael. Jesus repeatedly
identified Himself as the Son of Man, the Son of God, the
Lord of the Sabbath, Messiah, I am He, etc., thus showing
the Watchtower has added their own theological spin upon what
the Scriptures teach concerning Jesus.
As to Michael being the “foremost prince”
we read the following: “But the prince of the kingdom of
Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold,
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I
had been left there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel
10:13 NASB) The Watchtower said Jesus is the “foremost
angel”, meaning He is the highest in rank among the angels.
However, Michael is not ‘the’ chief prince but is
“one of the chief princes.” Michael is “one
of”, meaning there are other angels who are chief princes
(angels) along with Michael. This shows Biblically that Jesus is
not Michael because Jesus is above all the angels, including
Michael.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been taught that Jesus
is Michael the archangel in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Here is what
Paul wrote: “For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet of God,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.” Jehovah’s Witnesses
have been deceived into believing that “the voice of the
archangel” is Jesus. Simply reading this in context it is
clear that is not the case. Notice the word with used
three times. If Jesus is the archangel in this passage then
Jesus is also a trumpet and God! However, there are three things
happening here at the same time. Jesus descends with a shout,
along with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God.
This is all Paul is stating. The Watchtower has added their
theological views into this text and it has no warrant.
The Jesus of the Watchtower is not the Jesus of
the Bible. Knowing the Jesus of the Bible means everything. If
you have the wrong Jesus you are wrong for all eternity. Jesus
said, “unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your
sins.” If you have any comments or questions please contact
us. May God bless you and guide you.