JW's & Diety of Jesus

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Deity of Jesus

Well, hello, and thank you for joining the Reform Rookie. My name is Anthony Avinio, and today I'll be doing a quick video on the Jehovah's Witnesses, and this is what we commonly call counter-cult apologetics.

Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Jesus, and for Christians, the deity of Jesus is an orthodox belief. We recognize that Jesus not only is God, but he is God in the flesh. So today I want to do something a little unique and try to give you some tips on how to witness to Jehovah's Witnesses using their own materials.

In fact, if you go online, you can go to JW .org and pull up their Bible. I'm going to put a link. This is the link if you wanted to type it in yourself, but I'm also going to post a link in the video itself and in the comments so that you can click on it if you want to use this when a Jehovah's Witness comes knocking on your door.

John 1:1 and the New World Translation

So today, before we go forward, I want you to know we're going to be using their materials to show them that even in their own Bibles, that Jesus can be considered, and not can be considered, but is God in the flesh.

So let's begin by starting with John 1 .1. Now, this is probably one of the most famous verses for Christians because we know it as, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Now, in their New World Translation, if you look at verse 1, they say the Word was a God. So to them, Jesus is a God with a little g. He is God's Son. He is not Jehovah or God Almighty, which we as Christians would hold to.

So what we can do, the Jehovah's Witnesses also have something called the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, where they have the actual Greek words put up on online, and the English translation right above them.

And wouldn't you know it, in John 1 .1, it says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward the God, and God was the Word. So here we see a seeming contradiction between the New World Translation and their Kingdom Interlinear.

Remember, the Kingdom Interlinear is the literal translation. So we can point them back to their own translation and say, God was the Word. And what does that mean? Well, come verse 14, we know the Word became flesh and dwelled with us.

They say, tented in us. So if God was the Word, which would mean that God is the Word, and the Word is Jesus, then Jesus is God. So we started off with John 1 .1, and I think that's a real good start for us, because they cite our translations as a mistranslation.

Again, all we have to do is point them to their own translation, the Kingdom Interlinear, and say, and read it, and say, God was the Word. Okay, let's move on to John 8 .58, which says, Jesus said to them, most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.

Now in all of our translations, it says, before Abraham was, I am. And that I am points back to Exodus 3, where God reveals himself to Moses as, I am that I am. So when Jesus says, before Abraham was, I am, it's pointing to his divinity.

However, in the New World Translation,.

They.

Translated as, I have been. So what we're gonna do, is open their Kingdom Interlinear Translation, and look at that. Before Abraham to become, I am. So again, it seems like we have a mistranslation between the New World Translation, and the Kingdom Interlinear.

Again, I would point them to their own literature, and say, Jesus is saying, I am. And if he is the I am, Jesus would go on later to say, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. So, so far we have John 1 .1, and John 8 .58.

John 20:28 and Thomas’s Confession

Let's move on to.

John.

20 and 28. And this is when Thomas comes in to see Jesus. He doesn't believe that Jesus is alive, and he says, you know, if he's alive, I'd like to put my fingers into the marks in his hands and his feet.

So, this is exactly what happens. Jesus comes and says, put your finger here, and see my hands, and take your hand, and stick it into my side. And Thomas is astonished, and in verse 28, he says to Jesus, my Lord and my God.

Now, this is an exact translation that we would have in our Bibles, but Jehovah's Witnesses try to explain it away by saying that this was just excitement on Thomas's part. He wasn't claiming that Jesus was God at this point, and it's a point of contention.

However, let's look at the Kingdom Interlinear and see how it translates it. So, you go down to verse 28, and Thomas said to him, the Lord of me and the God of me. So, this is very pointed and telling.

Again, if you read in the Greek, underneath that word God is the word theos, which, if you go to John 1 .1, you'll see theos is the word for God. So, you can simply point to Jehovah's Witness, back to his Kingdom Interlinear translation, showing that Thomas said that Jesus was the God, the God.

You see the definite article in front of God? It's the word the, okay? It's the definite article, the God of me. This was not a mistake on Thomas's part. In fact, Thomas was quoting Psalm 35. Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord.

It's translated the exact same way in the New World Translation and in translations that we would hold as true, like the ESV and the NASB. So, there you have three verses, and we're going to go through them real quickly again.

You have John 1 .1, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, not a God. In the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, they say God was the word. In John 8 .58, the translation says, before Abraham was, I have been.

However, in their New World Translation, it says, before Abraham was, I am. Again, a reference to Jesus's divinity. And finally, in John 20 and 28, Thomas says, the Lord and the God of me. Referring to Jesus, pointing to the fact that Jesus was his God.

Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses with Gentleness and Respect

So really, what we have to do is point them to their New World Translation, compare it to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, and hopefully sow some seeds of doubt in their mind. It's so important that when you're witnessing to do a Jehovah's Witness, that you are gentle and respectful.

Most Jehovah's Witnesses that end up coming out of the Watchtower, never go to a Christian church afterwards, because of the way they were treated at the door. Of a Christian, who maybe slammed the door in their face, or was rude with them.

So it's very important that we remain calm. Remember, we are witnessing to people who are created in God's image. We are called, we are commanded by Scripture to be gentle and respectful. So let's make a defense for the true faith, pointing to Jesus as God Almighty, and then pray for these souls that God would do something in their hearts.

Well, thanks again for joining us on the Reform Rookie. Please be sure to look us up online at www .reformrookie .com. Thanks again for joining us, and be sure to check back for more great videos on the reformrookie .com.