Jehovah's Witness

Who is Jesus?

The Witnesses believe that in the beginning, God’s first creation was Michael the archangel who helped create the world. Then, Michael became a man known as Jesus. Jesus was a perfect man, but was not God in the flesh. He then died at the stake, not on the cross. Finally, he was resurrected as a spirit, not as human with a physical body. So if Jesus is not God, should He be worshiped? Here is what Witnesses say:

Yes
“Question: The fact that our Lord received worship is claimed by some to be an evidence that while on earth he was God the Father disguised in a body of flesh and not really a man. Was he really worshiped or is the translation faulty? Answer: Yes, we believe our Lord Jesus while on earth was really worshiped, and properly so […] It was proper for our Lord to receive worship in view of his having been the only begotten of the Father, and his agent in the creation of all things, including man” – The Watchtower, July 15, 1898, p. 216

No
“He taught men, not to worship him, but to worship Jehovah his Father […] I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God” – Make Sure of All Things, 1965, p. 283

Yes
“For example, to which one of the angels did he ever day: ‘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?’ But when he again brings his Freeborn into the inhabited earth, he says: ‘And let all God’s angels worship him,” – New Heavens and a New Earth, 1953, p.27-28

No
“What I learned was so different from what I had heard at the ‘Christian’ school I had attended. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not worship Jesus. Rather, they worship Almighty God, the One that Jesus himself worshiped,” – Awake!, Dec. 22, 1987, p. 22

Their publications contradict themselves. Sometimes they say Jesus should be worshiped, and other times they say Jesus should not be worshiped. So, how can we believe an organization that contradicts themselves about such an important topic? This is important because they believe that Jesus was not God, and the Bible says that only God should be worshiped:

Exodus 20:3-5 – Thou hast no other Gods before Me. Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which [is] in the heavens above, or which [is] in the earth benearth, or which [is] in the waters under the earth. Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, [am] a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third [generation], and on the fourth , of those hating Me, (YLT)

The Deity of Christ

Witnesses use the Bible to argue that Jesus was not God. One verse they use is John 14:

John 14:28 – ye heard that I said to you – I go away, and I come unto you; if ye did love me, ye would have rejoiced that I said – I go on to the Father, because my Father is greater than I. (YLT)

Jesus said that God the Father was greater than Him in terms of rank and position, not in terms of nature.

Hebrews 2:9 – and him who was made some little less than messengers we see – Jesus – because of the suffering of the death, with glory and honour having been crowned, that by the grace of God for every one he might taste of death. (YLT)

Hebrews says that Jesus was ranked lower than the angels (messengers) so that He was able to experience death. This does not contradict his nature as God. Look at these verses:

Matthew 28:18 – And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying, Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth (YLT)

John 10:30 – I and the Father are one. (YLT)

John 20:27-29 – then he saith to Thomas, Bring thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring thy hand, and put [it] to my side, and become not unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God (YLT)

In Matthew, Jesus said that He was given authority of all of heaven and Earth. Only God can have this authority. In John 10, Jesus says that He and God the Father are one, which means they are the same being. In John 20, Thomas touches Jesus on His side, and then calls Him “My Lord and my God.” So not only does Thomas call Jesus God, he touches Him which proves that Jesus had a physical body after His resurrection. Remember that the Witnesses believe that Jesus only had a spiritual body after the resurrection. I briefly mentioned this in my article on the Rapture, where I talked about how Jesus could switch between a spiritual body and a physical body, and that the overcomers will have this ability as well when ruling with Christ.

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