I disgree Jesus himself did not deny any of the then established hebrew canon as false books which he would if one was. He accepted all of the jewish canon of inspired books. "Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon" were always included in the "poetry collection". By quoting one book from the collection, it verifies the entire collection. Which Jesus did quote.
Yes, the Jewish canon was established, but in no way had the Jews drawn the line and said no more scripture would be accepted. There were books in the early Christian canon that no longer appear in our canon. The book of Revelation came dangerously close to being dumped by the Roman church, but it was let in at almost the 11th hour. Apocalypes were difficult to understand and some of the Old Testament apocalypses had been accepted by many, but they were ultimately rejected. Even today, many in the Eastern Orthodox faith don't accept Revelation.
Although attributed to Solomon, the Song of Solomon was almost certainly not written by Solomon. And even if it was, it was written long after he had fallen out of favor with God. Revelation to him had ceased later in life and the Spirit no longer guided him. He was a bitter old man, and many say he went senile. (Why else would he allow his pagan wives to bring their corrupt religions into Israel?) Whoever wrote Ecclesiastes needed a stiff dose of anti-deppresents! It was not an eschatological writing but a philosophic one. The JWs have made a huge error in interpreting it as the former, and it's their main showpiece to prove that man sleeps at death. It certainly isn't in harmony with the gospel message. Instead, the author states repeatedly that nothing ever changes -- that everything is the same "under the sun." We know that the early Christians believed that man was animated by a spirit, and that he didn't sleep at death. I personally believe that even animals have spirits.
Jesus is not Jehovah! Jesus himself tells who is God quite clearly.
He tells us who the Father is, and there's considerable evidence that the Father is not Jehovah. Jehovah is the intercessor between Man and the Father. When God spoke to Moses, it was Jehovah, not the Father. When He spoke to Abraham, it was Jesus (Jehovah). Read Margaret Barker's book, The Great Angel, which identifies early Hebrew traditions that Jehovah was God's eldest Son. Even the Jews in Jesus' day didn't flinch when Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God. In Psalms 110:1-2, it reads, "The LORD saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand til I make thine enemies thy footstool." Well, who was David's Lord? Jehovah. Who was speaking to David's Lord? The Father. God, also known as Elyon or Elohim. In the book of Genesis, Elohim said, "Man has become as one of us."
When the Fall happened, Elyon could no longer communicate with Man because of his sin. Thus, man needed an intercessor, and that was Christ, or Jehovah as He was known in His premortal life. When Jesus told the Jews, "Before Abraham was, I Am," was a bold declaration that He was Jehovah, the great I Am. And though you may not grasp that meaning, it's clear that the Jews had no problem understanding what Jesus was saying, for they immediately took up stones to stone Him. And in Zachariah, Jehovah talks about appearing to the Jews. And He says, "And they shall look upon ME whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for His Only Son." And Zachariah writes: "Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west...."
Now will it be Jesus, or Jehovah, whose feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives? The scriptures state that it is Jehovah's feet, but since it's talking about the Second Coming of Christ, are we to believe that the Father will come and that the Father's feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives? If you guys believe that the Father is a spirit, how will that work out?
Jesus, or Jehovah, is subservient to the Father. When praying to the Father, Jesus said concerning the apostles "...that they may be one even as WE are ONE." Jesus acknowledges that the Father is the only true God, and yet, in the Book of Revelation, it is clear that Jesus is Jehovah, for they act as one and the same. And though the angel rejects the worship of John, Jesus doesn't. He accepts it as is His due.
Since you have no problem using every other single English name in the bible like Jesus, david etc then your quibbling over Jehovah is foolishness the bible is written in multiple languages showing Jehovah understands how names get transliterated from one language to another. I always find it ironic that someone will happily uses J-esus and in the same breath refuse to use J-ehovah both are the English versions of their original ancient hebrew names.
The JWs have always been a bit off on the identity of Jehovah, claiming instead that Jesus was Michael. In the Gospel of the Twelve Apostles, a writing that Origen says is older than the Gospel of Luke, Satan rails against Adam: " O Adam, I was cast forth from my glory because of thee, and behold I have caused thee to be expelled from paradise...because thou didst cause me to become a stranger to my home in heaven. Know thou that I shall never cease to contend against thee and all those who shall come after thee...until I have taken them all down into Amente with me!"
One wonders how Satan could have been expelled from his "home in heaven" when it didn't take place until 1914? Or maybe someone in Bethel was mistaken, or wrong. If Jesus was Michael, shouldn't Satan have been contending with Him, not Adam? But Satan was clearly blaming Adam for being thrown out of heaven!
In the book of Revelation, it reads: " Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (1:7-8) Jesus is clearly the Alpha and Omega. Basic Christianity. And here he's called "the Almighty." Is this appropriate for Michael? And who is it who will come in the clouds? Jehovah or Jesus? Continuing on with verses 17-18: "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."
Many things need to be answered here. First, Jesus is saying that He is the "first and the last" (alpha and omega). But lest one think this is Jehovah, He adds that he "was dead...am alive for evermore." The second is, Jesus "laid his right hand upon me" and instead of lifting him up and saying he was a "fellow servant" as the other angel does, He delivers an entirely different message! Why does the other angel forbid John to worship him, while Jesus does not??? Most curious if Jesus is Michael, the archangel.
Jehovah, too, is said to come to judge the nations, yet John says, "...the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son."
You see, this all only works out if the two are one and the same Being. Clearly Jesus is Jehovah. You have yet to prove otherwise, and nearly every other Christian sect realizes this. Even the term "Lord" is applied mostly to either Jesus or Jehovah, very rarely, if ever, to the Father.
Once one reads the scriptures with this realization, many things will begin to change. But if the Witnesses got this point wrong, it's difficult to see how they'd get much else right. Just my view, though.
