Who are they? | The Founder | Other Leaders | Court cases | False teachings | False name for God | False Christ | False altar | False Holy Spirit | False prophets | False salvation | False resurrection | False judgement | False Bible | Firstborn | Trinity | Occult | Egypt | Watchtower | Other |
The Jehovah's Witnesses - in denying the Trinity - must obviously deny the deity of Christ, teaching that he is Michael the archangel whom God adopted as His Son. As this is the key issue of all there are several approaches to answering this. (with some overlapping of information)
 Who said He was
God? |
 Could Michael
be Jesus? |
 God's Glory |
 Why did
they want to stone Jesus? |
 A debate |
| God | "But about the son He says, "Your throne, O God, will last forever" Hebrews 1:8 |
| Thomas | "Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God" John 20:28 |
| Paul | "Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is
traced the human ancestry of Christ who is God over all, for ever praised. Amen"
Romans 9:5 "..while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and saviour Jesus Christ" Titus 2:13 |
| Peter | "To those who through righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious a ours" 2nd Peter 1:1 |
| John | "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" John 1:1 |
| Isaiah | "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and will call Him Emmanuel (God with us)" Isaiah 7:14 |
| The early church fathers | |
| Justin Martyr | "For Christ is King, and Priest, and God and Lord, and Angel* and man, and Captain, and stone and a son born and first made subject to suffering, then returning to heaven, and again coming with glory, and he is preached as having the everlasting Kingdom so I prove from all the scriptures" Dialogue with Trypho Ch.34 *note Angel with capitol 'A' - Angel of the Lord - the pre-incarnate appearances of God (known as Theophanies) |
| Iraneus | "In order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, "every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess Him" Iranaeus against heresies. page 330 |
| Ignatius | For our God Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God,
conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost." Epistle
of Ignatius to the Ephesians Ch. 18 "Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, first did and then taught, as Luke testifies.." Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians Ch. 15 |
Jesus still asks each of us "Who do you say that I am?" |
|
The Bible clearly says Michael when it means Michael and it says Jesus when it means Jesus. Michael and Jesus are both mentioned in the same short book of Jude - clearly as two separate people.
Michael is mentioned by name only 4 times in the Bible.
One of the chief princes....your prince.......protector of
Israel......great prince......and once by implication ...shout of the archangel*
Jehovah's Witnesses use 1 Thess. 4:16 as a ‘proof’ verse,
where it says that 'the Lord
will descend ‘with a loud command ,with the voice of the archangel, and with
the trumpet call of God.! '
This simply refers to the drama when the angels (- including Michael) come back with
Jesus ! The sun darkens, heavens shaken, stars fall, shouts, trumpets, clouds,
angels, all eyes watching, people weeping, the dead rising up in the air
followed by the living. - see Matthew 24 : 31 & 25 ; 31 etc..
It is the accompanying angels who sound the trumpet. ‘AND HE WILL SEND HIS ANGELS WITH A LOUD TRUMPET CALL
AND THEY WILL GATHER HIS ELECT..’
If Michael is Jesus adopted by God and now sits at God's right hand then scripture is
lying when it states clearly in Hebrews 1: 13 “To which of the angels did God ever say “Sit at My right
hand”
Angels know not to receive worship.!!!
John fell down to worship at the angel’s feet, only to be
rebuked and told, “Do not worship me, worship God” Yet Jesus received Thomas' worship of
"My Lord and my God" No angel - in any
manifested shape or form - could have received this worship and remained with God in the
highest heaven. Lucifer
the archangel (as is supposed) wanted this worship that only God can have.
And again when God brings His Firstborn into the world, He
says
“Let ALL God’s angels worship HIM” (All God's angels includes Michael)
“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another..” (Isaiah 42:8, NIV).
God has stated again and again that He will not give His Glory to another. If Jesus was 'another' (that is anyone other than God) He could not and would not be given the Glory of God as scripture clearly shows He has been given.
| The Glory of the 'first and the last' | ||||
|
||||
|
||||
| The Glory of 'God and Savior' | ||||
|
||||
In fact there are so many scriptures where the Glory applied to God the Father is equally applied to God the Son.
| Divine title | - applied to God the Father | - applied to God the Son |
| God | Genesis 18:1&14 - Isaiah 44:24 - Isaiah 45:22 - Isaiah 43:10 - Jeremiah 32:18 | Isaiah 9:6 - John 1:1 - John 20:28 - 2nd Peter 1:1 - Titus 2:13 - Jeremiah 23:6 - Hebrews 1:8 - 1st John 5:20 |
| Lord of Lords King of Kings | Deuteronomy 10:17 - Psalm 136: 1-3 | Revelation 17:14 - Revelation 19:18 -1st Timothy 6: 14-16 |
| Creator | Job 33:4 - Isaiah 60:29 - Psalm 27:1 | John 1:3 - Colossians 1:15-17 - Hebrews 1:10 |
| Light | Psalm 27:1 - Isaiah 60:20 - Micah 7: 8 | John 1:9 - John 8:12 - Luke 2:32 |
| Judge | Genesis 18:25 - Joel 3:12 | Romans 14:10 - 2nd Corinthians 5:10 - 2nd Timothy 4:1 |
| Savior | Psalm 106: 21 - Hosea 13:4 - Isaiah 45:21 - Isaiah 43: 3 & 11 | Acts 2:21 - Acts 4:12 - Romans 10:9 - Jude 25 |
| Rock | Exodus 17:6 - Isaiah 17:10 - 2nd Samuel 22;32 - Deuteronomy 32;4 | 1st Corinthians 10:4 - Isaiah 8:14 - 1st Peter 2:6 |
| First and Last | Isaiah 41:4 - Isaiah 48:12 - Isaiah 44:6 | Revelation 1:17 - Revelation 2:8 - Revelation 22:13 |
| I Am | Isaiah Exodus 3:13-14 - Deuteronomy 32:39 - Isaiah 43:19 | John 8:24 & 58 - John 13:19 - John 18:5 - |
| Remember: God will not share His Glory with 'another' - If -as a Jehovah's Witness - you agree with even one of these matches you must fall on your knees and proclaim as Thomas did, "My Lord and my God!" | ||
Why they
wanted to stone Jesus
In Isaiah 43 verses 10b &11 - the verses from which Jehovah's Witnesses take their
name 'Witnesses' from we read where God tells us clearly that "before
Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I am the Lord, and apart
from Me there is no Savior"
To claim such a title as 'God' or 'Savior', or even to accept it from others is the
deepest blasphemy.
We know what happened to Lucifer who wanted to be 'like the most High'
We know what happened to Adam and Eve when they responded to the serpents invitation to eat the forbidden fruit so that they 'could be like God'
We read in Daniel 4 verses 28 - 37 what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar when he does
not give glory majesty and power to God, but takes it upon himself.
We read in Acts 12 verses 21 - 23 about the death of King Herod. The people called him a
god and not a man, and as he was not quick to give the glory on to God and God promptly
demonstrated His anger by having him struck dead, and eaten by worms.
In Revelation 22 verses 8 & 9 we read where John fell down to worship at the
angel’s feet, only to be rebuked by the angel and told, “Do
not worship me, worship God.”
In Acts 10 verse 25 we read where, in similar vein, Cornelius fell down at Peter’s
feet to worship him, and Peter quickly corrected him, “Stand
up; I too am a man”
Again in Acts 14 verses 11 - 18 we read of where the crowds in the city of Lystra
acclaim Paul and Barnabas as ‘gods come down amongst us as men’, and tried to
worship them. Paul immediately and forcefully put them right. “We
also are men, of like nature with you..”
Now we move to Jesus striding through the pages of the Gospel.
Matthew 15 verse 33
The disciples worship Jesus, and He does not reject their worship.
John 20 verses 28
John worships Jesus as ‘My Lord and my God’
and Jesus receives this worship.
Only God can receive such worship. Where prophets had said (and say today) "Thus saith the Lord", we read where Jesus would simply say "I say unto you.."
That is why the religious leaders wanted to stone Jesus.
"We are not stoning you for any of these" replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God" John 10:32
They religious leaders knew only too well what He was laying claim to - even though
Jehovah's Witnesses will state that Jesus never claimed to be God
Let's look at the book of Ezekiel for a stunning revelation of who Jesus is..
In Chapter 34: 11-16 God said ‘I MYSELF’
will be the shepherd and seek out my sheep, the lost sheep.
“For thus says The Lord God, Behold, I MYSELF will
search for my sheep, and will seek them out..
I MYSELF will be the shepherd of my sheep..I will seek the lost..bind up the crippled, I will strengthen the weak..”
And in verse 31 God states: “And you are My sheep,
the sheep of my pasture, and I AM your God, says the Lord GOD.
God having been so specific that He Himself would search for His lost sheep would not send
an angel - or just a good man - to do the job.
Only Jesus could stand up and declare the word of God fulfilled when He stated clearly
“I AM the good shepherd..I know My sheep,
and My sheep know me..” John 10 14
“Feed MY sheep..” John 21 1
Let's move back a bit to the book of Isaiah.
God declares again that He is God and that there is no other. He goes on to say..
By Myself I have sworn, from My mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall
not return.
‘To Me..(God)..every knee shall bow , every tongue shall swear.’ Isaiah 45
verse 22
We see in the New Testament this declaration repeated stating that every knee will
bow..every tongue will swear at the very Name of Jesus
that Jesus Christ is Lord..
..at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God.
Philippians 2 verses 10 & 11
A knee bowed to Jesus is a knee bowed to God. A tongue swearing
to Jesus is a tongue swearing to God. No adopted 'angel' would ever be able to do
this. To God alone will every knee bow. To God alone will every tongue confess.
In Isaiah 44 verse 6 we read where God says, “I am the
first and the last” adding ‘besides Me there is no other
God’
Again in Isaiah 48 verse 12 God says, “I am the first
and the last”
Safe conclusion? Only God Himself is the first and the Last.
In Revelation 1 verse 17 we read where Jesus says “I am
the First and the Last”
And in Revelation 2 verse 8 Jesus is re-affirmed as “The
First and the Last”
And towards the close of scripture, in Revelation 22 verse 13 we read where he 'soon to
come again' Jesus calls Himself again “The First and
the Last”..Here He also gives Himself similar Divine titles “The Alpha and the Omega” and “The beginning and the end”
It is almost unanimously accepted that in Revelation 1 verse 8 we read it is Jesus who
says to John on Patmos states, “I am the Alpha and the
Omega, says the Lord God" (same Greek words used when
Thomas addressed Jesus as ‘my Lord and my God’ in
John 20 verse 28).. who is and who was and who is to come, The
Almighty” The words will usually be in red type to signify the words of
Jesus.
There is no argument however that nine verses later it is Jesus who states boldly to
John, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
I am the Living One, In was dead, and behold I am alive for ever! And I hold the keys of
death and Hades"
Again we read in Revelation 21 verse 6 that it is He who sits upon the Throne who states “I am the Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the
End...”
Only the LORD GOD is the First and the Last. He will not share even a crumb of His
Glory. If Jesus was not the Lord God this could not be said of Him.
Once more we go back to Isaiah for more evidence.
In Isaiah 43 verse 12b & 13 “You are My witnesses
declares the Lord, that I am God, yes and from ancient days..I AM HE”
Only God can utter those words and have them carry Divine power.
In Deuteronomy 32 verse 39.."I AM HE"
In Isaiah 41 verse 4.."I AM HE"
In Isaiah 43 verse 10.."I AM HE"
Isaiah 46 verse 4.."I AM HE"
In John 18 verses 4 - 6 Jesus speaks the words “I AM HE” one time only - and the
soldiers all fall down on their backs!
In Isaiah 48 verse 12 we read where God uses two titles that Jesus used of Himself.
"..I am He, I am the First and the Last"
In John 1 verses 1 - 3 we read the famous portion of scripture written by John the beloved
disciple.
"In the Beginning was the Word..and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God"
[Jehovah's Witnesses Bible states 'a god' and this is well dealt
with in another section].
John 14 verse 14
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us".
Colossians 1 verses 15 - 20
He is the image (or the manifestation) of the invisible God..(15)
in Him ALL things were created (16a)..
..ALL things were created through Him and for Him (16b)
He is before ALL things (17)
[Jehovah's Witnesses Bible add the word (other) after ALL in
these verses in Colossians as a 'help note'' to their readers..e.g. in Him all (other)
things were created ..and this is well dealt with in another section].
He is the head..He is the Beginning..He is the Firstborn from the
dead (18)
[Jehovah's Witnesses try to use the word 'firstborn' to show that Jesus was a created being and this is well dealt with in another section]
He was as One indivisible Person fully God and fully man - not any combination of part
angel, part man, part God.
..for in Him ALL the FULLNESS of GOD was pleased to dwell (19)
and through Him to reconcile to Himself ALL things whether on earth
or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross (20)
Jehovah's Witnesses claim the Jesus was one with the Father just as we are one with Jesus
or one with each other. That is moving Divine things unto an earthly plane!
The unique and mysterious 'oneness' is described in John 14 verses 7 - 11
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also;
henceforth you have known Him and have seen Him” Philip said, “Lord show us the
Father and we will be satisfied” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so
long, and yet you do not know Me Philip He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How
can you say show us the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father
is in Me......believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in
Me”
While truly born again believers are indeed united with the Lord in spirit (1st
Corinthians 6:17) and we are truly 'in Christ' in position and that Christ is 'in us' (see
the section on the Holy Spirit for more details) - no one on
earth could truly say to another on earth 'when you have seen me you have seen Jesus. I
and Jesus are one''. The 'oneness' that Jesus talks about is - as evidenced by
all the scriptures above - a Divine and truly mysterious oneness. The oneness of the Trinity. To bring it onto an earthy plane is to truly deny the
Divinity of Jesus Christ
John 10 verse 30
I and the Father are ONE.
We come back to where we started.
"We are not stoning you for any of these" replied the
Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God" John
10:32
The Jehovah's Witnesses still stone Him for making the same claim.
return to top
Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jesus is none other than Michael the archangel
Quote to them..
The promise of Emmanuel - Isaiah 7 :14 & 8: 6
‘A young woman who is pregnant, will have a son, and will name
Him ‘Emmanuel’ (God with us)
‘A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And He will be our ruler
He will be called ...Wonderful Counselor,... Mighty God...
Everlasting Father... Prince of Peace’
Jehovah’s Witnesses will reply.
‘Ah it says Mighty God not Almighty God’!!
On the following page (Isaiah 10:21) show the scripture referring to ‘God’ as
‘Mighty God’. i.e. ‘remnant shall return to Mighty
God’
in fact scripture records 'Mighty God' as a Divine title again and again
Gen.49 24 - by hands of Mighty God of Jacob
Deut. 7 21 - Lord is among you, a Mighty God
Psalm 50 1 - The Mighty God hath spoken
Psalm 132: 2 - he vowed to Mighty God of Jacob
Psalm 132 5 - till I find an habitation for Mighty God
Isa. 9 6 - His name shall be called Mighty God
Isa 10 21 - remnant shall return to Mighty God
Jer 32 18 - Mighty God the Lord of Hosts
Hab 1 12 - O Mighty God thou hast
Scriptures that Jehovah's Witnesses take their title from are Isaiah 43:10& 12 &
Isaiah 44:8 ..’you are my witnesses’
Important! Important! Important! Go with them to these
chapters and get them to agree with you that God declares the following truths in it.
Write these truths down if necessary. They will be 100% in agreement.
1 ”Besides Me there is no god - there never was and never will
be. I alone am God, the only one who can save you”. Isaiah 43: 10
2. “I am the First, the Last, the only God. There is no other
God but Me” Isaiah 44:6.
Agree with them now on some other titles of God in scripture..
3.“For the Lord your God is God of gods, Lord
of Lords, The great, the MIGHTY, and the terrible God” Deut 10:17
4. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord
God Almighty, who is and who was, and who is to come” Rev. 1: 8
5. “I am the Lord. I will not
give My glory to another..” Isaiah 42:8
You will now have agreed that God is one God - that there is no other God but Him, that
there never has been and never will be any other God but Him. That God will not share His
glory with another. That God is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega
and the Lord of Lords.
Having established this, you may now move on to the battlefield and expose their
errors!
Quote..
‘The Lamb (Jesus) will conquer them for He is the Lord of Lords and
King of Kings..and the name by which He is called is the Word of God’ Rev. 17:19
‘Behold I (Jesus) am coming soon, bringing My recompense, to repay everyone for what he has
done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the end’
Rev, 22:12-13
Jehovah's Witnesses’s will now try to separate this one
sentence with its two “I am’s”- to say that Jesus said the first
part but the second part is God. Have none of it!
Agree with them that God is indeed speaking when HE says ‘I
am the Alpha and the Omega the First and the Last, the Beginning and the end’ and
then take them to Rev. 1:17-18
“Fear not, I (Jesus) am the First
and the Last, and the living One. I died, and am alive for evermore”
Stop at this point and seek agreement from the above scriptures that there are not two or
three Gods. Agree/disagree?
Only God is the First and the Last . Agree/disagree?
There are not two ‘First and Lasts’ Agree/disagree?
Jesus is the First and the Last. Rev. 1:17 & 22:13
Only God is the Beginning and the end. Agree/disagree?
There are not two ‘Beginning and Ends’ Agree/disagree?
Jesus is the Beginning and the End Rev. 22:13
Only God is the Alpha and Omega. Agree/disagree?
There are not two Alpha’s and Omegas’ Agree/disagree?
Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega Rev.22:13
Only God is Lord of Lords. Agree/disagree?
There are not two ‘Lord of Lords’ Agree/disagree?
Jesus is Lord of Lords. Rev.19:16 1 Tim.6:14
Quote..
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the
Word was God. He was with God in the Beginning. John 1:1
The Jehovah's Witnesses’s will reply that the Word ‘was a
god’. !!!!
Now go back to your earlier agreement from Isaiah 43 & 44 that there is no other God,
never has been and never will be. Are they now saying that there is ‘another
god’.
Quote..
“He is called the Word of God..on His robe and on His right
thigh He has a name inscribed ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’ Rev.19:16
Quote..
‘..and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of
Lords and King of Kings’
Rev. 17:14
Quote..
“I charge you to keep the commandments unstained and free from
reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at
the proper time by the blessed and only
Sovereign, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in
unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see” 1st Tim. 6: 14-16
Go back to your earlier agreement that that there are not two or more Gods and that God
will not share His glory with another.
God declared in Isaiah 45:22-23 that, “..I am God, and there is
no other. Before ME, every knee will bow every tongue will swear”
and Paul declares in Phil. 2:10 “That at the name of JESUS,
every knee should bow
and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord”
God said to Moses from the burning bush..“say this to the
people of Israel “I am has sent you”. Ex. 3:13-14
Jesus said to the descendants of Moses “Before Abraham was, I
AM” John 8:58
Isaiah saw God’s glory in Isaiah 6: 1-3 “I saw the Lord,
seated upon the throne..”
John tells us in John 12:41 -(NIV) “Isaiah said this because he
saw JESUS’ glory and spoke about Him”
There is one marriage supper!! not two.
“Then the angel said to me”, write blessed are those who
are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb” Rev. 19: 9
“I saw an angel who cried..”Come, gather together for the
great supper of God” Rev. 19:17
Now we begin to see what Jesus was saying when He said to His listeners..
“I and the Father are One”* “When you’ve
seen Me you’ve seen the Father”
and we see something of what Paul meant when he said
“For in Him, the WHOLE FULLNESS OF DEITY dwells bodily” 1
Col. 2:9
and ..
“Christ Jesus, who being in the very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped” Phil.2:5
*Jehovah's Witnesses’s will try to say here that this being
‘one with the Father’ only means they were one - just as ‘the
disciples’ were ‘one with Him’
...but this is only part of the full revelation. It was because He claimed to
‘equality with God’ that the Jews twice at least sought to kill Him.
“We stone you, not for your good works, but because you, being
a man, make yourself equal with God” (John 5:18
& 10:33)
They understood perfectly well what Jesus was claiming!
In Deut.32:39, Isaiah 41:4 & 43:10,13 God declares “I am
He”
In John 17:6 when Jesus said those words “I am He”
and the soldiers ‘drew back and fell to the ground!
Finally, even 'doubting' Thomas realized the incredible truth...
“My Lord..and my God! ” John 20 :28
‘A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And He
will be our ruler
He will be called ...Wonderful Counselor,... Mighty God... Everlasting Father... Prince of
Peace’..
“That all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who
does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent Him”.
He is equally honored in heaven.- Rev 5:12 with Rev 7:11 (& Rev. 5:13)
There is One God, One Savior.
“The righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus
Christ” 2 Peter 1:1
“..the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us” Titus 2:13
There is One God and therefore One Creator.
He is the image of the invisible God, for in Him, ALL
things were created..
ALL things were created through Him, and for Him, He is before ALL
things.
Col 2:9
Jehovah's Witnesses’s doctrine will of course not cope with
this truth so they add, in brackets, the word ‘(other)’ after the word ALL.in
their own translation of the Bible.
The Father and Son cannot be separated in the creation.
“..through whom He made the Universe” Heb. 1: 2
“sustaining ALL things through His powerful word” Heb.1:3
We’ll let God have the last words on the matter of His Son..
But about the Son He says..
“Your Throne O GOD, will last for ever and ever,
Your righteousness will be the scepter of Your Kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness
therefore God, Your God, has set You above Your companions
by anointing You with the oil of joy.
He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord,
You laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain.
They will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe,
like a garment they will be changed.
But You remain the same and Your years will never end”
To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies
a footstool for your feet”
Heb.1:8-13
The ‘Father and one of the chief angels’ is not the
‘Father and Son’
Who is it who denies this ‘Father and Son’ oneness?
Such a man is the anti Christ - he who denies the Father and Son.
1 John 2:22-23