Should True Christians Worship Jesus Christ?
What does the Watchtower Society teach NOW? What DID the Watchtower Society teach?
I challenge any Jehovah's Witnesses to explain to me very clearly exactly WHAT they believe about worshiping Jesus Christ.
Also, why did the older editions of the New World Translation contain the word "Worship" in Hebrews 1:6, but the latest edition of 1984 says "do obeisance to" instead?
Here is a timeline of Watchtower quotes about this subject:
"Make Sure of All Things" Book, Page 85, Column 1: Christ to Be Worshiped as a Glorious Spirit, Victorious over Death on the Torture Stake
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The Watchtower, January 1, 1954, Pages 30-31
Questions from Readers
· Should we worship Jesus? -- G. B., Ethiopia.
When Satan the Devil tempted Jesus to try to have him worship the adversary, Jesus did not say to the Tempter, 'Worship me,' but said, "It is Jehovah your God you must worship [proskyne´o], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service [latreu´o]." (Matt. 4:10, NW; Luke 4:8) Jesus, speaking and including himself, said to the Samaritan woman: "You worship [proskyne´o] what you do not know; we worship [proskyne´o] what we know, because salvation originates with the Jews. . . . the genuine worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth. . . . God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth." (John 4:22-24, NW) Jesus, even after his glorification in heaven, did not change from directing worship to God his Father rather than to himself. In the Revelation, which God gave Jesus, the pure worship is shown as due to be given to the Most High God, Jehovah. (See Revelation 4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 14:7; 15:4; 19:4, 10.) And when John fell down at the feet of the angel whom Jesus sent to deliver the revelation, the angel said to John: "Worship God." (Rev. 19:10; 22:9) Thus the worship was to be rendered to Jehovah God, although blessing, glory and praise were to be ascribed to the glorified Jesus, the Lamb, as well as to God his Father.
Worship is not asked to be [...] Jesus Christ, but due submission and respect [...] This agrees with the recognition that the apostle Paul says must yet be given to the glorified Jesus by all living creation, at Philippians 2:9-11 (NW): "God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." The knee is bent in the name of Jesus as Lord and in worship to the Father as God, and the tongue confesses openly that Jesus Christ is Lord, but this is done to the glory of God the Father, all this showing the superiority of the Father. Thus, "all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father."-John 5:22, 23, NW.
[...] the answer to the above question must be that no distinct worship is to be rendered to Jesus Christ now glorified in heaven. Our worship is to go to Jehovah God. [...] we offer prayer in the name of Jesus Christ in obedience to his own directions (John 15:16; 16:23-26), but the prayer itself is addressed, not to Jesus, but to God his Father. In this way we keep things in their relative positions.
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The Watchtower, May 15, 1954, Pages 317-319:
In reply to the several questions on this point in a few letters received, we ask: Are you an angel of God in heaven? If you are, then Hebrews 1:6 applies to you. If you are not one of God's angels in heaven, then Hebrews 1:6 is not directed to you, for at Hebrews 1:6 and its two preceding verses the writer says concerning the gloried Jesus: "So he has become better than the angels to the extent that he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs. For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father'? And again: 'I shall be a Father to him, and he will be a Son to me'? [6] But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: 'And let all God's angels worship him.'" (Heb. 1:4-6, NW) Here the apostle Paul quotes from Psalm 97:7, which, in the words of An American Translation, reads: "All who serve wrought images are put to shame, they who prided themselves on their nonentities. Worship him, all you gods!" In the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX) these italicized words read: "Worship [pros·ky·ne´o] him, all ye his angels." (Bagster's edition; also Thomson) The apostle may also have been quoting from the Septuagint Version of Deuteronomy 32:43, the opening part of which reads: "Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him; rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; . . ." (Bagster; similarly Thomson) By examining the context of both Psalm 97:7 and Deuteronomy 32:43 we note that the reference is to Jehovah God as the one to be worshiped. Does this mean that Jesus is the same as Jehovah because of how the writer of Hebrews 1:6 applies the quotation?
[...] The New World Translation says: "And let all God's angels worship him." Is the New World Translation inferior here, or has it violated its general rule of endeavoring as far as possible to render each Greek word of the Christian Greek Scriptures by one English equivalent? The answer to these questions is No! What, then, is the reason for its saying "worship" instead of "bow down" or "do obeisance"?
[...] in the New World Translation pros·ky·ne´o is rendered "do obeisance" and "worship." For example, the magi from the east and King Herod said they wanted to "do obeisance to" (pros·ky·ne´o) the babe that had been born king of the Jews. "Do obeisance" is preferable here because neither the magi nor King Herod meant to worship the babe as God. (Matt. 2:2, 8, 11) [...] Other examples, such as Revelation 3:9, could be given where pros·ky·ne´o is not properly rendered "worship" but should be rendered "bow down" or "do obeisance."
[...] In the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures when this word pros·ky·ne´o is directed toward God, then it is properly rendered "worship,"
[...] In the New World Translation we note that when this Greek verb pros·ky·ne´o is applied to Jesus as a man on earth or materializing as a man after his resurrection, it is translated "do obeisance." However, when referring to the glorified Jesus in the invisible heavens in the presence of the holy angels, the New World Translation makes a change and renders pros·ky·ne´o as applied to him by the English word "worship." (Heb. 1:6)
So in the book of Hebrews pros·ky·ne´o is [...] rendered "worship" and the angels of God are instructed to "worship" the glorified Jesus. Why is this? Because Jesus has been made so much higher than the angels, even higher than he was before he became a man on earth. (Phil. 2:5-11) It is the command of Jehovah God that they do this toward his Son. What does this mean? This, that even the angels are to render their worship of Jehovah God through Jesus Christ, whom Jehovah God has made the Head of his universal organization. That is why it is stated on page 85 of the book "Make Sure of All Things", column 1: "Christ to Be Worshiped as a Glorious Spirit, Victorious over Death on the Torture Stake," with three scriptures accompanying to prove that he is now a glorified spirit, and now no more flesh.
[...] Psalm 97:7 and Deuteronomy 32:43, which, according to their context, evidently refer to Jehovah God, are applied by the writer of Hebrews to Jehovah's Son Jesus Christ.
[...] Well, then, since the angels are commanded to worship the glorified Jesus at his second coming, should not we, who, as humans, are so much less than angels, likewise worship him? In answer we say, We must render to him what God's Word says we must.
[...] Jehovah God the Father of Jesus. That is the One whom Jehovah's witnesses worship. But we remember that such worship has to be rendered to Jehovah God through his High Priest Jesus Christ.
[...] Jehovah's witnesses "honor the Son just as they honor the Father," for, "he that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." (John 5:23, NW) Jehovah's witnesses give to Jesus all the honor, respect, consideration, obedience, imitation, love and loyalty that Jehovah God calls upon them to render to his Son Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name they render their prayers and worship to Jehovah God. And the angels of heaven obey the command of God and "worship" his Son only as their worship of the Son is related to the worship of his Father Jehovah God. But, keeping things in their relative positions, angels and Jehovah's witnesses worship Jehovah God as the one Almighty God, uncreated, unbegotten, "from everlasting to everlasting."-Ps. 90:2.
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The Watchtower, July 15, 1959, Page 421:
Do not erroneously conclude that Christians are to worship Christ; that is not what he taught. True, he is a god, a mighty one, but he did not worship himself and he did not teach his disciples to worship him.
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The Watchtower, November 15, 1970, Pages 702-704:
Questions from Readers
· How are we to understand Hebrews 1:6, which says that all the angels are commanded to worship Jesus? -- F. C; U.S.A.
Hebrews 1:6 reads: "But when he again brings his First-born into the inhabited earth, he says: 'And let all God's angels worship him.'" The writer of Hebrews is here quoting from Psalm 97:7, which reads (in part): "Bow down to him, all you gods." The Septuagint Version, from which this writer evidently quoted, reads: "Worship Him all ye His angels." -- C. Thomson.
These texts seem to raise a problem because they appear to conflict with Jesus' plain statement to Satan the Devil: "It is written, 'It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.'" -- Matt 4:10.
[...] bowing to anyone other than Jehovah as a deity was prohibited by God. (Ex. 23:24; 34:14) Similarly, the worshipful bowing down to [...] any created thing was positively condemned. (Ex. 20:4, 5; Lev. 26:1; Deut. 4:15-19) Thus, in the Hebrew Scriptures, when certain of Jehovah's servants prostrated themselves before angels, they only did so as recognizing that these were God's representatives, not as rendering obeisance to them as deities. -- Josh. 5:13-15; Gen. 18:1-3.
[...] the context must be considered to determine whether pro·sky·neo refers to obeisance solely in the form of deep respect or obeisance in the form of religious worship. Where reference is directly to God (John 4:20-24; 1 Cor. 14:25) or to false gods and their idols (Acts 7:43; Rev. 9:20), it is evident that the obeisance goes beyond that acceptably or customarily rendered to men and enters the field of worship.
[...] Peter stopped Cornelius from rendering such to him. And the angel (or angels) of John's vision twice stopped John from doing so, referring to himself as a "fellow slave" and concluding with the exhortation to "worship God." -- Acts 10:25, 26; Rev. 19:10; 22:8, 9.
[...] On the other hand, Christ Jesus has been exalted by his Father to a position second only to God
[...] In view of all this, how are we to understand Hebrews 1:6, which shows that even the angels render "worship" to the resurrected Jesus Christ? [...] the understanding of what it is that the angels render to Christ must accord with the rest of the Scriptures.
[...] it must be understood that such "worship" is only of a relative kind. For Jesus himself emphatically stated to Satan that "it is Jehovah your God you must worship [form of pro·sky·neo], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Matt. 4:8-10; Luke 4:7, 8) True, Psalm 97, which the apostle evidently quotes at Hebrews 1:6, refers to Jehovah God as the object of the 'bowing down,' and still this text was applied to Christ Jesus. (Ps. 97:1, 7) However, the apostle previously had shown that the resurrected Christ became the "reflection of [God's] glory and the exact representation of his very being." (Heb. 1:1-3) Hence, if what we understand as "worship" is apparently directed to the Son by angels, it is in reality being directed through him to Jehovah God, the Sovereign Ruler, "the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." -- Rev. 14:7; 4:10, 11; 7:11, 12; 11:16, 17; compare 1 Chronicles 29:20; Revelation 5:13, 14.
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The Watchtower, February 15, 1983, Page 18:Paul employed the Greek word proskynéo [...] It may also signify "worship," which is how some Bibles read at Hebrews 1:6. If that is the correct sense here, it evidently means a relative worship, a worship of Jehovah God directed through his glorified Son.
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The Watchtower, September 1, 1984, Page 29:Although "a god," Jesus "did not count equality with God [Jehovah] a thing to be grasped." (Philippians 2:6, RS, both editions) His submission to Jehovah is clear, now and in the future. (1 Corinthians 15:27, 28) He willingly recognized his Father's superiority. (John 14:28; compare 1 Corinthians 11:3.) At his resurrection, he was "made alive in the spirit," "crowned with glory and honor" and "exalted," "so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth." (1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:9, 10) This being the case, Jehovah's Witnesses are not surprised to read in Hebrews 1:6 that the angels are invited to [...] "worship him [JB]." (Compare Revelation 5:11, 12.) This in no way contradicts Matthew 4:10, where Jesus -- quoting Deuteronomy -- says that only Jehovah God must be worshiped.
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Awake!, December 22, 1987, Page 22:Jehovah's Witnesses do not worship Jesus. Rather, they worship Almighty God
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Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, Pages 523-524 ("Obeisance") (1988):bowing to anyone other than Jehovah as a deity was prohibited by God. (Ex 23:24; 34:14) Similarly, the worshipful bowing down to [...] any created thing was positively condemned. (Ex 20:4, 5; Le 26:1; De 4:15-19; Isa 2:8, 9, 20, 21)[...] the context must be considered to determine whether pro·sky·ne´o refers to obeisance solely in the form of deep respect or obeisance in the form of religious worship.[...] Peter stopped Cornelius from rendering such to him, and the angel or angels of John's vision twice stopped John from doing so, referring to himself as "a fellow slave" and concluding with the exhortation to "worship God [toi The·oi´ pro·sky´ne·son]." (Ac 10:25, 26; Re 19:10; 22:8, 9)[...] On the other hand, Christ Jesus has been exalted by his Father to a position second only to God, so that "in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Php 2:9-11; compare Da 7:13, 14, 27.) Hebrews 1:6 also shows that even the angels render obeisance to the resurrected Jesus Christ. Many translations of this text here render pro·sky·ne´o as "worship" [...] Jesus himself emphatically stated to Satan that "it is Jehovah your God you must worship [form of pro·sky·ne´o], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Mt 4:8-10; Lu 4:7, 8) Similarly, the angel(s) told John to "worship God" (Re 19:10; 22:9), and this injunction came after Jesus' resurrection and exaltation, showing that matters had not changed in this regard. [...] "worship" is apparently directed to the Son by angels, it is in reality being directed through him to Jehovah God, the Sovereign Ruler, "the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." (Re 14:7; 4:10, 11; 7:11, 12; 11:16, 17; compare 1Ch 29:20; Re 5:13, 14; 21:22.)
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"Reasoning From the Scriptures" Book (1989), Pages 214-215:Does the fact that worship is given to Jesus prove that he is God?At Hebrews 1:6, the angels are instructed to "worship" Jesus, according to the rendering of RS, TEV, KJ, JB, and NAB. NW says "do obeisance to." At Matthew 14:33, Jesus' disciples are said to have "worshiped" him, according to RS, TEV, KJ; other translations say that they "showed him reverence" (NAB), "bowed down before him" (JB), "fell at his feet" (NE), "did obeisance to him" (NW).The Greek word rendered "worship" is pro·sky·ne´o, [...] This is the term used at Matthew 14:33 to express what the disciples did toward Jesus; at Hebrews 1:6 to indicate what the angels are to do toward Jesus; at Genesis 22:5 in the Greek Septuagint to describe what Abraham did toward Jehovah and at Genesis 23:7 to describe what Abraham did, in harmony with the custom of the time, toward people with whom he was doing business; at 1 Kings 1:23 in the Septuagint to describe the prophet Nathan's action on approaching King David.At Matthew 4:10 (RS), Jesus said: "You shall worship [from pro·sky·ne´o] the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." (At Deuteronomy 6:13, which Jesus is evidently here quoting, appears the personal name of God, the Tetragrammaton.) In harmony with that, we must understand that it is pro·sky·ne´o with a particular attitude of heart and mind that should be directed only toward God.
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The Watchtower, January 15, 1992, Page 23:Do Angels Worship Jesus?CERTAIN translations of Hebrews 1:6 say: "Let all the angels of God worship him [Jesus]." (King James Version; The Jerusalem Bible) The apostle Paul evidently quoted the Septuagint, which says at Psalm 97:7: "Worship Him [God] all ye His angels." -- C. Thomson.[...] Hebrews 1:6 relates to Jesus' position under God. (Philippians 2:9-11) [...] such worship is relative, for Jesus told Satan: "It is Jehovah your God you must worship [form of pro·sky·ne´o], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." -- Matthew 4:8-10.Though Psalm 97:7, which speaks about worshiping God, was applied to Christ at Hebrews 1:6, Paul had shown that the resurrected Jesus is "the reflection of [God's] glory and the exact representation of his very being." (Hebrews 1:1-3) So any "worship" the angels give God's Son is relative and is directed through him to Jehovah.
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The Watchtower, November 1, 1993, Page 4:millions mistakenly worship Jesus
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Awake!, April 8, 2000, Pages 26-27:The Bible's ViewpointIs It Proper to Worship Jesus?THROUGHOUT the centuries, many in Christendom have worshiped Jesus Christ as if he were Almighty God. Jesus himself, however, directed attention and worship only to Jehovah God. For example, when prodded to do an act of worship to the Devil, Jesus said: "It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Matthew 4:10)[...] Yes, reverent adoration should be expressed only to God. To render worship to anyone or anything else would be a form of idolatry, which is condemned in both the Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures. -- Exodus 20:4, 5; Galatians 5:19, 20.'But,' some may counter, 'does the Bible not indicate that we must also worship Jesus? Did Paul not say at Hebrews 1:6: "Let all the angels of God worship him [Jesus]"?' (King James Version) How can we understand this scripture in the light of what the Bible says about idolatry?[...] Clearly, then, the word pro·sky·ne´o, rendered "worship" in some Bible translations, is not reserved exclusively for the type of adoration due Jehovah God. It can also refer to the respect and honor shown to another person. In an effort to avoid any misunderstanding, some Bible translations render the word pro·sky·ne´o at Hebrews 1:6 as "pay him homage" (New Jerusalem Bible), "honour him" (The Complete Bible in Modern English), "bow down before him" (Twentieth Century New Testament), or "do obeisance to him" (New World Translation). [...] Is Jesus worthy of such obeisance? Most decidedly, yes![...] The Bible clearly indicates, however, that our worship -- in the sense of religious reverence and devotion -- must be addressed solely to God. Moses described him as "a God exacting exclusive devotion." And the Bible exhorts us to "worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." -- Deuteronomy 4:24; Revelation 14:7.[...] true Christians do well to direct their worship only to Jehovah God, the Almighty.
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"The Greatest Name" Tract (2001):millions mistakenly worship Jesus
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So, the Watchtower Society teaches that people and angels can give Jesus Christ "RELATIVE WORSHIP".
What does the Watchtower Society teach about "RELATIVE WORSHIP"?
The Watchtower, July 1, 1953, Page 395:
the angel would not permit John to give him even "relative" worship. [...] Peter did not allow even a "relative" worship. [...] neither Peter nor an angel could be given "relative" worship [...] True worship bows down only to Jehovah God. It directs its prayers only to him, even as commanded by Christ Jesus.
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The Watchtower, October 1, 1955, Page 582:
The bowing to and kissing of molten images as "relative" worship was abominable in the sight of God. -- Ex. 32:5, NW.
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The Watchtower, November 15, 1956, Page 682:
Nor is even relative worship to be given [...] When John bowed before even a living angel he was reproved: "Do not do that! . . . Worship God." -- Ex. 20:4, 5, NW; Isa. 42:8, AS; Rev. 19:10, NW.
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The Watchtower, February 15, 1967, Page 121:
relative worship. This is contrary to God's law, which [...] forbids relative worship even through men. (1 John 5:21; Rev. 19:10)
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The Watchtower, June 1, 1967, Page 344:
This angel would not permit even what might be termed "relative worship." He reminded John that only the great Source of the revelation, Jehovah God, was to be worshiped and that all prophecy was inspired to bear witness to Jehovah's Son and anointed King, Jesus Christ, who is the Truth
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Awake!, February 22, 1970, Page 28:
Yet God's straightforward commands bar even such relative worship [...].
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The Watchtower, May 15, 1972, Page 295:
Even though the claim was made that the golden calves represented Jehovah, this did not make the relative worship given to them acceptable. (1 Ki. 12:28; 14:7-9)
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Awake!, January 8, 1973, Page 28:
Even if it were just a matter of relative worship, would that make it right? The Bible shows that we should worship God alone. No Scriptural basis exists for the belief that there are various degrees of adoration. Jesus Christ, in resisting the Devil's temptation, stated: "It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Matt. 4:10) When the apostle John fell down to worship before the angel who had been instrumental in giving the revelation to him, the angel told him: "Be careful! Do not do that! . . . Worship God." -- Rev. 19:10.
If a lower form of adoration could have been given to angels, there would have been no reason for the angel to caution John about his act. Since it was improper for John to fall down before an angel to worship, obviously it would also be wrong for a person to bow to an image of an angel or of anyone else.
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The Watchtower, July 1, 1974, Page 395:
IS "RELATIVE" WORSHIP IDOLATRY [...] Does God approve of [...] relative worship of himself? When the Israelites set up an image for "relative" worship of Jehovah, God expressed his strong disapproval, saying that they had "apostasised." -- Ex. 32:7, Je.
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Bible Topics For Discussion (in the back of the New World Translation, 1984 Edition), 18C:
"Relative" worship unauthorized
God refused to allow "relative" worship of himself. Isa 42:8
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The Watchtower, August 1, 1988, Page 6:
Jehovah, however, did not tolerate this "relative" worship, this blatant reversion to Egyptian religion. (Acts 7:39-41) It directly violated the covenant they had entered into at Sinai, and it brought Israel into danger of obliteration. -- Exodus 32:9, 10, 30-35; Deuteronomy 4:23.
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"Revelation -- Its Grand Climax At Hand!" Book (1988), Page 278:
angels [...] are no more than humble slaves of God. There is no room in pure worship for worship of the angels or even for relative worship, directing worship to God via some [...] angel. (Colossians 2:18) Christians worship only Jehovah, making their petitions to him in Jesus' name. -- John 14:12, 13.
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Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1993, Page 4:
"Relative" Worship Is Not Authorized by God