The Deity of Christ can be substantiated by individual Biblical passages and by comparing Old Testament Scripture with New Testament Scripture. The Watchtower Society has mishandled rules of Greek grammar and has manipulated the wording of numerous Biblical passages that reveal the Deity of Christ.
Another line of supportive evidence exists in the writings of the Early Church Fathers - specifically during the centuries preceding the infamous Council of Nicea. Without exception, they all confirm the absolute Deity of Jesus Christ.
Biblical texts in this article are taken from the King James Version (KJV) and the New World Translation (NWT). Also, references will be made to the Society's Kingdom Interlinear (Greek-English) Translation (KIT).
MICAH 5:2
PSALM 90:2
Micah 5:2
(KJV) "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
(NWT)"And you, O Bethleáhem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of timeindefinite."
This prophetic verse from the Old Testament discloses the duration of the pre-existence of the pre-incarnate Christ:
The Hebrew word here for "time indefinite" is OLAM, a word that is never used for a created being when preceded by the prepositions "from" or "to." In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX), the word for "time indefinite is "aionos," which always means "eternity."
Compare Micah 5:2 withPsalm 90:2 -
Psalm 90:2
(KJV)"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."
(NWT)"Before the mountains themselves were born,Or you proceeded to bring forth as with labor pains the earth and the productive land,Even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God."
This verse uses the exact same sentence structure as in Micah 5:2. Again, the Hebrew term "olam" is used as well as the Greek "aionos."
SUMMARY:
Psalm 90:2 - God existed from eternity past and will exist to eternity future.
Micah 5:2 - Jesus existed as the "Logos/Word" from eternity past and will exist to eternity future.
ZECHARIAH 11:12,13
ZECHARIAH 12:10
This is an Old testament example of how the Watchtower Society so subtly, yet deviously alters Biblical passages to suit their own theology. Study this comparison VERY carefully! These passages apply to the pre-incarnate Christ but the Society did some word changing to conceal this fact.
Zechariah 11:12,13:<
(KJV) "And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD."
(NWT) "Then I said to them: "If it is good in YOUR eyes, give [me] my wages; but if not, refrain." And they proceeded to pay my wages, thirty pieces of silver. At that, Jehovah said to me: "Throw it to the treasury-the majestic value with which I have been valued from their standpoint." Accordingly I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the treasury at the house of Jehovah.
ZECHARIAH 12:10
(KJV) "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon ME whom they have pierced,"
(NWT) "And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of favor and entreaties, and they will certainly look to THE ONE whom they pierced through,"
In Zechariah 11:12,13 both the KJV and the NWT agree that Jehovah had 30 shekels of silver weighed out for HIM.
BUT - In Zechariah 12:10 the Witnesses changed the word "ME" to "THE ONE" in this verse.
Both the Greek Septuagint (LXX) and ANY Hebrew Interlinear says "ME." This word change was done to obscure the fact that Jesus is Jehovah!
Who was sold for 30 pieces of silver and who was pierced?
Matthew 26:14,15 - JESUS was sold for 30 pieces of silver.
John 19:37 - JESUS was pierced.
JOHN 1:1
(KJV) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
(NWT) "In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god."
The Society claims that the Greek word for the last word "god" (Theos) in the verse is without the definite article (THE - Greek "O") which they claim can refer only to the Almighty God. Yet it renders "Theos" in John 1:6,12,13, and 18 as "God" (not "a god") when the Greek word "Theos" appears but without the definite article.
There are over 280 instances in the New Testament where "Theos" appears without the definite article and the Translating Committee, in the vast majority, still renders it as "God."
John 13:3 - has "Theos" written once WITH and once WITHOUT the definite article and the word is translated in both cases as "God."
II Corinthians 4:4 - The NWT renders this verse, which refers to Satan, as "the god of this system of things." But "Theos" has the definite article. If we follow the grammatical guidelines of the Society, then does this mean that Satan is Jehovah?
Actually, the most revealing words in John 1:1 are "WAS" because they are in the imperfect past tense in the Greek which denotes "a continuous and unceasing past action." So to paraphrase the verse would be like saying:
"In the beginning was always being the Word, and the Word was always being with God, and the Word was always being God."
A SUBSTITUTION EXERCISE OF JOHN 1:1 IN THE NWT:
(NWT) "In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god."
If "Word" is the same as "a god," then we can substitute "a god" wherever we see "Word." The verse would then read like this:
"In the beginning a god was, and a god was with God, and a god was a god."
The middle phrase says -
**and a god was with God**
BUT - this is an impossibility because in Deuteronomy 32:39 God says -
"See now that I - I am he. And there are no gods together with me." (NWT)
Jehovah God Himself says that there are NO gods with Him - ever!
JOHN 5:18
(NWT) "On this account, indeed, the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God."
The sentence structure of this verse shows that John said these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for "equal," (ison) means "the same in quality or nature."
JOHN 8:58
(KJV) "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM."
(NWT) "Jesus said to them, Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I HAVE BEEN."
Why the obvious contrast in wording?
From the time that the first edition of the NWT was published in 1950, the Society has gone to great lengths to avoid translating this verse properly. All other Bibles end this verse with the words "I am," which, in the Greek, is "ego eimi."
Footnotes at this verse offered these 'grammatical' reasons for the "I have been" translation. The Society said that "ego eimi" was in the:
1950 perfect indefinite tense - [There is no such tense in ANY language!]
1969 perfect tense - [This is impossible for the verb "to be"]
1985 perfect indicative tense - [This is also wrong - it's in the simple present tense.]
In every instance in the Gospel of John where the Greek "ego eimi" appears, the NWT properly translates it as "I am," EXCEPT in John 8:58. Why? Because the Society knows that all reputable translators and Bible scholars cross reference this verse with Exodus 3:14 which reveals the Divine Name for God as "I AM." This was the Hebrew expression for absolute eternal existence. The Watchtower "translators" had to hide this fact.
In John 8:58 Jesus took the divine name of God and applied it to Himself. We know this because in the very next verse(John 8:59) the Jews picked up stones and tried to kill Him for blasphemy.
The specific phrase "ego eimi" occurs 27 times in the Gospel of John. Seventeen of these times it is followed by a clear predicate. What is left are 7 usages that have been described as "absolute", i.e., the phrase stands alone. The next section will focus on 4 of these phrases.
In ENGLISH they are: (KJV) John 8:58 - Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 13:19 - Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
John 18:5,6 - Jesus saith unto them, I am he....... As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
In the GREEK, these same verses are: (Kingdom Interlinear Translation)
John 8:58 - prin Abraam genethai ego eimi
John 13:19 - hina piseusete hoti genetai ego eimi
John 18:5 - legei autois Ego eimi
John 18:6 - hos oun eipen autois Ego eimi
The closest and most logical connection between John's usage of "ego eimi" and the Old Testament is found in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) rendering of the Hebrew phrase "ani hu" in the writings primarily of Isaiah. The usage of "ani hu" is as a euphemism for the very name of God Himself.
It is common for many to go directly to Exodus 3:14 for the background, but I feel that unless one first establishes the connection with the direct quotation of "ego eimi" in the LXX, the connection with Exodus 3:14 will be somewhat insignificant.
The Greek Septuagint translates the Hebrew phrase "ani hu" as "ego eimi" in - Isaiah 41:4 - kai eis ta eperhomena ego eimi
Isaiah 43:10 - hina gnote kai pisteusete kai sinite hoti ego eimi
These same verses in ENGLISH are: (KJV)
Isaiah 41:4 - "Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he."
Isaiah 43:10 - "that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he."
Now look at these GREEK parallels:
Isaiah 43:10 - hina gnote kai pisteusete kai sinite hoti ego eimi
John 13:19 "hina piseusete hoti genetai ego eimi."
When we remove the extraneous words, this is the result:
Isaiah 43:10 - hina pisteusete......hoti ego eimi - (spoken by Yahweh)
John 13:19 - hina pisteusete......hoti ego eimi - (spoken by Jesus)
Even if one were to theorize that Jesus Himself did not make an attempt to make such an obvious connection between Himself and Yahweh, one must answer the question of why John, being obviously familiar with the LXX, would so intentionally insert this kind of parallelism.
Another parallel can be found in the verse context:
Isaiah 41:4 - "Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he."
John 13:19 - "Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he."
In John 13:19 Jesus is telling them the future - one of the very challenges to the false gods thrown down by Yahweh in Isaiah 41:4. Here, the "calling forth" of the generations - time itself - is part of the usage of "ani hu."
John 8:58,59 - The phrase and significance of "ego eimi" was understood by the early Christian Church as well. Chrysostom wrote:
"As the Father used this expression, "I Am," so also doth Christ; for it signifieth continuous being, irrespective of time. On which account the expression seemed to them [the Jews] to be blasphemous."
John 18: 5,6 -
John repeats the phrase "I Am" in verse 6 to make sure that the reader understands the reason for the soldiers' falling backwards. Why would the soldiers fall backwards if not for the awesomeness of the words of Jesus? John's meaning cannot be mistaken.
B.F. Westcott, whose Greek text is used by the Watchtower Society as a base for the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, had this to say about the usage of "I Am" in John 8:58:
"The phrase marks a timeless existence. Thus there is in the phrase the contrast between the created and the uncreated; the temporal and the eternal."
The Gospel According to St. John , Brooke Foss Westcott, 1980, p.28
JOHN 10:28-29
28: "And I (Jesus) give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
29: "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Jesus has given me eternal life.
Verse 28 says that no one can pluck me out of Jesus' hand.
Verse 29 says that I am also in the Father's hand and no one can pluck me out of His hand either.
The problem is: If the Father and the Son are two completely separated beings, then I would somehow have to become 2 separate persons: one to be in the Son's hand and another to be in the Father's hand.
But there is no problem at all if we agree that the Father and the Son are the same in nature and essence, even though they remain two distinct (NOT separated) persons.
JOHN 10:30
(KJV)
30: I and my Father are one.
31: Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32: Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33: The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
The New World Translation renders verse 33 this way:
"The Jews answered him: "We are stoning you, not for a fine work, but for blasphemy, even because you, although being a man, make yourself a god."
If Jesus was claiming to be just "a god," the Jews would have just laughed at him because there were all kinds of lunatics running around the landscape claiming the same thing.
But the Jews knew full well what Jesus meant by the term "one." In the original Greek it denoted "one thing" - the same essence and nature as the Father. We know that the Jews considered what Jesus said to be blasphemy because they picked up stones to kill Him. They wouldn't have done this if Jesus was only making Himself to be merely "a god."
JOHN 20:28
(KJV) "And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God."
(NWT) "In answer Thomas said to him: "My Lord and my God!"
Note that Thomas said these words to JESUS; not to the air, ground or himself!
In the Greek it reads word for word:
"The Lord of me and the God of me."
The word "God" (O Theos) is with the definite article "O". This is, according to the Watchtower, an indicator that the Almighty God is meant.
ROMANS 9:5
(KJV) "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."
(NWT) "to whom the forefathers belong and from whom the Christ [sprang] according to the flesh: God, who is over all, [be] blessed forever. Amen."
A doxology in both Old and New Testaments always placed the word "blessed" BEFORE the name of God. Here, Paul uses the reverse form, God blessed, indicating beyond doubt that he intentionally equates Christ with God. The antecedent of God is who, and the antecedent of who is Christ.
ROMANS 10:9
(KJV) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
(NWT) "For if you publicly declare that 'word in your own mouth,' that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead, you will be saved."
In a footnote for this verse, the NWT refers to the Hebrew translations known as the "J" documents, specifically, "J" 12-14, 16-18, 22. These documents use Jehovah's name (Ha Adohn) at the part of the verse that says "the Lord Jesus." But the footnote flatly states "Not Jehovah" without any explanation.
However, the NWT Appendix 1H p.1568 emphatically states:
The use of the definite article 'Ha' before the title 'Adohn' limits the application of this title exclusively to Jehovah God."
Therefore, if the Society followed its own rule, the verse should read:
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that Jesus is Jehovah....."
PHILIPPIANS 2:6,7
(KJV) "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:"
(NWT) "who, although he was existing in God's form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. No, but he emptied himself and took a slave's form and came to be in the likeness of men."
The word "being" in the Greek means "never ceased being." Christ Jesus never stopped "being in the form of God," as cited in the KJV. He IS God in nature and substance. By putting on the form of a servant, He emptied Himself of the right to act as God and He relied completely on God the Father for all supernatural information and power. The definition of "morphe" (form) refers to the nature or essence of someone; not in the abstract, but as actually subsisting in the individual and retained as long as the individual itself exists. (Vine's Dictionary, p.463)
John 1:14 tells us that "the Word became flesh." This is how Jesus took upon the form of a servant. Did he become how Jesus took upon the form of a servant. Did he become FULLY human or PARTIALLY human? The Son of God became a complete man! The word "form" in verse 6, to allude to Vine's Dictionary, means that Jesus was subsisting in the actual and complete "form" of God.
God the Word emptied Himself to become one of us. He had no desire to strive for what was already His by nature. In the person of Christ there are 2 natures: true Deity and true humanity. These 2 natures and their functions are never confused with each other and Jesus will have this hypostatic union from the day he assumed it in the manger until throughout all eternity.
This dualistic union is the key to understanding why he said what he said in the Gospels. He sometimes spoke with reference to His Deity (John 10:30). But most of the time He spoke from His humanity (John 14:28)
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COLOSSIANS 1:15
(KJV) "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:"
(NWT) "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;"
Although the Greek word "prototokos" can mean firstborn chronologically, it refers primarily to position or rank. In both Jewish and Greek culture, the firstborn was the son who had the right of inheritance. He was not necessarily the first one born. Here are some specific examples:
Genesis 41:51 - "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh......"
Genesis 41:52 - "And the name of the second called he Ephraim......"
Jeremiah 31:9 - ".....for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn."
Even though Manasseh was the first child born to Joseph, Jacob bestowed the "firstborn" blessings upon Ephraim. Ephraim received the right of the inferitance.
Exodus 4:22 - Israel is called the "firstborn" among the nations. Does this mean that Israel was the first nation that was created? No. There were other nations in existence before God in sovereignty chose Israel to be His chosen people - they BECAME the firstborn of all nations.
Psalm 89:20 - "I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him....."
Psalm 89:27 - "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth."
David was the youngest of all his brothers, yet it was HE who received the title of "firstborn," which was the position of preeminence.
Romans 8:29 - refers to Christ as the "firstborn" in relation to the Church.
Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5 - Jesus is called the firstborn of the dead, even though He was not the first person to be resurrected chronologically. Of all ever raised He is the "preeminent" One.
In ALL the above cases, "firstborn" clearly means highest in rank and position; not the first created.
There are many other reasons for rejecting the idea that the use of "firstborn" makes Jesus a created being. Such an interpretation cannot be harmonized with the description of Jesus as 'monogenes' in John 1:18 ("only begotten" or "unique"). If Christ was the ONLY-begotten, could He be FIRST-begotten? And how, if He were FIRST-begotten could He be ONLY-begotten? How could He be the "first" of many in His class and at the same time be the "only" member of His class? Yet such confusion is inevitable if we assign the meaning "first created" to firstborn.
Finally, if Paul meant to convey that Christ was the first created being, he had a Greek word available to him: "protoktistos," which means "first created." But instead he used "firstborn" because Jesus is the One with the right to the inheritance of all creation.
COLOSSIANS 1:16
(KJV) "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, all things were created by him, and for him:"
(NWT) "because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, All [other] things have been created through him and for him."
The first major contradiction that must be pointed out here is that the Watchtower translators have inserted the word "other" 2 times in this verse. The words are NOT in the original Greek texts and the Society attempts to make itself look better by claiming that the words were placed in brackets.
Even so, the addition of these words drastically changes the meaning and intent of what this Scripture is saying.
It is also significant to be aware that when the Society uses this verse in any of its other publications, it doesn't always put the words "other" in brackets. This can be dangerously misleading to the unwary reader.
Jehovah's Witnesses claim that Jesus is not the Creator and that according to Colossians 1:16 "all things were created through him."
In the following verses that deal with creation are the extracted portions that use the phrase "THROUGH him" or "BY him." The Kingdom Interlinear under the Greek side of the text is being used. The Greek prepositional phrase "di' autou" can mean "by him" or "through him." The expressions are identical in meaning as various translations use both renderings.
John 1:3 - "All things came into existence THROUGH him..."
(Greek 'di' autou' = 'through')
John 1:10 - "...the world came into existence THROUGH him..."
(Greek 'di' autou' = 'through')
I Corinth. 8:6 - "...Jesus Christ, THROUGH whom all things are..."
(Greek 'di' autou' = 'through')
Colossians 1:16 - "...All things have been created THROUGH him..."
(Greek 'di' autou' = 'through')
Now we come to a verse in which the subject is GOD:
Romans 11:36 - "Because from him and BY him and for him are all things..."
(Greek 'di' autou' = "through" in the KIT)
Who is this superlative being that is doing the creating THROUGH God?
COLOSSIANS 1:17
(KJV) "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."
(NWT) "Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist,"
As in verse 16, the Society translators inserted the word "other" twice into the text. This is deliberate manipulation to change the significance of the verse and this is dishonest.
What is the very first thing that God created?
TIME
God needed to create TIME in order to "house" His creation. God had to set the clock ticking because He existed above and beyond time. The Watchtower book, "Reasoning From the Scriptures" admits that TIME had a beginning (p.148). Anything existing before time is uncreated. And the only being that is uncreated is God!
Jesus was "before all things." A "thing" is anything that has been created, whether visible or invisible.
The Apostolic Fathers and Early Church Fathers of the 2nd century, Ignatius and Justin Martyr, stated in their writings that the existence of Christ was "before the ages" and "before time began." The only "being" that existed BEFORE TIME was God!
COLOSSIANS 2:9
(KJV) "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
(NWT) "because it is in him that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily."
The words "divine quality" really mean nothing because all men have a divine quality about them since they are a creation of God.
The Greek word "theotetos" means "godship" or "godhead," which refers to Deity. Here is how other Bibles compare with their readings at this verse:
"For in Him dwells the fullness of the ______ bodily":
KJV and NKJV - Godhead
NASB - Deity
NWT - divine quality
In the KIT 1969 edition - under the Greek it says "godship"
In the 1985 edition - under the Greek it says "divinity"
There are definite word games being played here and it is done deliberately to hide the true identity of Jesus Christ.
I TIMOTHY 3:16
(KJV) "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh,..."
(NWT) "Indeed, the sacred secret of this godly devotion is admittedly great: 'He was made manifest in flesh,..."
The New World Translation uses the word "He" instead of the word "God." (Due to the use of a different Greek manuscript source) "He" is a personal pronoun that, according to Greek grammar, must agree in gender (masculine) to its antecedent (noun) in the previous verse (v.15) shown as follows.
I Timothy 3:15"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
In verse 15 there are 3 nouns:
"church" ("ecclesia" - feminine)
"God" ("Theou" - masculine)
"truth" ("aletheias" - feminine)
Only the word "God" is masculine and agrees with the word "Who" in gender. Therefore, it was the living God who became "manifest in the flesh."
TITUS 2:13
(KJV) "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
(NWT) "while we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of [the] Savior of us, Christ Jesus,"
The NWT added the words "of the" which are NOT found in the Greek text. It was done to change the impact of the true intent of the verse.
Titus 2:13 uses the GRANVILLE- SHARP RULE of Greek grammar which is:
"When the word "and" (Gr. "kai") connects two or more contributive nouns, i.e., nouns significative of character, relation or dignity in the singular number, and the Greek article "ho" in any of its cases, is inserted before the first only of such nouns, then they are all of them assured of the same person or thing."
God the Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ IS the same person.
Perhaps, most importantly, the New Testament nowhere speaks of the appearing or the Second Coming of God the Father but only of the Son.
HEBREWS 1:8
(KJV) "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
(NWT) "But with reference to the Son: "God is your throne forever and ever, and [the] scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness."
What a difference!
This verse is a quotation from Psalm 45:6. Even the NWT mentions this in a footnote.
But by twisting the words around, the Society is trying to say that God is the source of Christ's rule. Yet "throne" is never used in this sense in the Bible but means "a place or the rule itself."
The Watchtower thinks it can get away with this in the Greek, but it is impossible to do in the Hebrew language. Yet they did this very thing in Psalm 45:6 as well.
JESUS IS JEHOVAH
"COMPARING SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE"
**GOD said:
I Kings 8:39 ".....and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou ONLY, knowest the hearts of all the children of men)"
**JESUS said:
Rev. 2:23 ".....and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts...."
Since Jesus the Son can do what ONLY the Father is alleged to do, then Jesus is also Jehovah.
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Psalm 47:5 God is gone up with a shout; with the sound of a trumpet.
I Thess. 4:16 The return of Christ is with a shout and the sound of a trumpet.
Acts 1:11,12 At the ascension from Mt. Olivet, the disciples were told that Jesus will return in like manner.
Zechariah 14:4 In that day His (God) feet will stand on the Mt. of Olives.
The exact same references pertain to both God and Jesus! For God to "ascend on high" means He first must have had to DESCEND to earth! How many beings ascended to heaven? Zechariah says that literal feet are going to touch the earth. God is a Spirit who has no feet, so the verse must be applying to Jesus, who ascended from the Mount of Olives and will one day return "in like manner."
From the writings of the early Christian Church:
"Moreover, in the diapsalm of the forty-sixth Psalm, reference is thus made to Christ: 'God went up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet." Justin Martyr - Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 37
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Ecclesiastes 12:7 says - "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
(At death, man's spirit returns to the one true God.)
Acts 7:59 "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
[Stephen knew that he was about to die and prayed that JESUS would receive his spirit! As seen in Ecclesiastes, only God can receive man's spirit at death.]
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Isaiah 6:1-10 (Use the New World Translation)
v.1 Isaiah got to see JEHOVAH.
v.5 Confirms that Isaiah saw JEHOVAH.
v.8 Isaiah begins to hear the voice of JEHOVAH.
Isaiah 6:10 (Jehovah said:) "Make the heart of thus people unreceptive, and make their very ears unresponsive, and paste their very eyes together, that they may not see with their eyes, and with their ears they may not hear, and that their own heart may not understand and that they may not actually turn back and get healing for themselves."
In John 12:39-41 Jesus speaks to a crowd of people who question what He is saying but didn't understand the signs he performed and didn't put faith in Him. So this was a fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah said:
"He has blinded their eyes and he has made their hearts hard, that they should not see with their eyes and get the thought with their hearts and turn around and I should heal them." Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and he spoke about him."
Isaiah spoke about WHO? About JESUS!
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Isaiah 60:19 "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory."
Revelation 21:23 "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light."
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**Refers to God**:
Psalm 68:18 "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them."
**Refers to Jesus**:
Ephesians 4:8-10 "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
Who "led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men?" Only ONE being did. God!
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THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA;
THE FIRST AND THE LAST
This presentation proves that Jesus Christ is Almighty God manifest in the flesh It uses the book of Revelation and is called "The First and Last" presentation because it uses the first and last chapters of Revelation and also uses the term "First and Last" when applied to Jesus.
**Use the New World Translation throughout this presentation.
Revelation 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says Jehovah God, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
Who is this verse speaking about? The Witnesses will say "Jehovah because that's what it says in their Bible. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation shows that the word "Jehovah" is not under the Greek text. Instead, it says "Lord God." Nevertheless, it is the "Almighty" who is speaking and He calls Himself the "Alpha and Omega."
Let's see if the "Alpha and the Omega" is known by any other names.
Revelation 21:6"And he said to me: "They have come to pass! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
So the Alpha and the Omega is also called the "Beginning and the End."
Revelation - Chapter 22
There are 4 speakers in this chapter, but we want to focus on the Alpha and Omega. This speaker begins to speak in verse 12 with a double quotation mark. We need to read to the other end of the closing double quotation marks. Context is important.
Revelation 22:12 16
12: This is the Alpha and Omega because he is "coming quickly" (Rev. 1:8)
13: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end
14,15: The apostle John tells us who will be inside and outside the kingdom
16: The speaker in vv. 12 and 13 identifies Himself as "I, Jesus."
Jehovah's Witnesses will object and try to say that the speaker changes back and forth from Jehovah to Jesus. Keep in mind about the importance of the quotation marks and that they would have changed if the speaker also changed.
Also, for those who follow Red-letter editions of the Bible will notice that the texts in both verses 12 and 13 are in RED - making Jesus the speaker.
Nevertheless, what we do learn from verse 13 is that the "Alpha and Omega" has an additional title: "the First and the Last."
Return to Chapter 1 to further identify who the "First and the Last" really is.
Revelaion 1:13- 18
This is a vision of the Son of Man. Who is "the Son of Man?" The correct answer is "Jesus." Read on down through the vision, but concentrate on:
vv. 17,18
17: "And when I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. And he laid his right hand upon me and said: "Do not be fearful. I am the First and the Last,
18: and the living one; and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."
The Almighty "Alpha and Omega" from verse 8 is also known as the Almighty "First and the Last" from Rev. 22:13.
Revelation 1:18 says that the "First and the Last" became dead!
When did Jehovah die?
There can only be ONE First and ONE Last - not two!
There is no other logical answer but to say that the Almighty who is referred to in Rev 1:8 is JESUS.
Before the Witnesses published their own Kingdom Interlinear, they published The Emphatic Diaglott. In the Appendix of this book under the entry 'ALMIGHTY' is listed the name of Jesus and referring to Revelation 1:8!
Remarkably, during the Watchtower's early history, it was believed that although Jesus was a created being, He was considered 'Almighty,' as according to Revelation 1:8--
. "It is since his resurrection that the message has gone forth - "All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me." (Matt. 28:18) Consequently it is only since then that he could be called the Almighty (as in Rev. 1:8). - Zion's Watchtower, 4/15/1893 and The Finished Mystery, 1917, p.15
PEACE