Encounters between Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses typically revolve around a discussion

of deity. The reason for this is twofold. First, this is the area where Watchtower theology deviates
most dramatically from orthodox Christianity. In contrast to the Trinitarian concept of one God in
three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--the JWs have been taught to believe that God the
Father alone is “Jehovah,” the only true God; that Jesus Christ is Michael the archangel, the first
angelic being created by God; and that the Holy Spirit is neither God nor a person, but rather
God's impersonal “active force.” Second, the subject of deity is a frequent confrontational focus
because both Jehovah's Witnesses and Christians (at least those who like to witness to JWs) feel
confident and well-prepared to defend their stand and attack the opposing viewpoint.

Due to the profound theological differences, such discussions often take the form of spiritual
trench warfare--a long series of arguments and counterarguments, getting nowhere and ending in
mutual frustration. But this need not be the case, especially if the Christian will "become all things
to all men" by taking a moment to put himself in the Witnesss shoes, so to speak (see 1
Corinthians 9:22). In the JW's mind he himself is a worshiper of the true God of the Bible, while
you are a lost soul who has been misled by the devil into worshiping a pagan three-headed deity.
He is, no doubt, quite sincere in these beliefs and feels both threatened and offended by the
doctrine of the Trinity. To give any serious consideration to your arguments in support of the
Trinity is simply unthinkable to the JW; he would be sinning against Jehovah God to entertain
such a thought.

So, in order to make any headway with the Witness, it is necessary to bridge the gap--to find
common ground that will enable him to rethink his theology. Rather than plunging into a defense
of "the doctrine of the Trinity," which can be mind-boggling even to a Christian, take things one
step at a time.

A good first step would be to consider the question, "Is Jesus Christ really an angel?" It will be
frightening to the Jehovah's Witness to open this cherished belief of his to critical re-examination,
but no nearly as frightening as to start off discussing evidence that God is triune.

Since the Watchtower Society speaks of "Jesus Christ, whom we understand from the Scriptures
to be Michael the archangel" (The Watchtower, February 15, 1979, p. 31), put the JW on the spot
and ask him to show you “the Scriptures” that say Jesus is Michael. There are none. The
Watchtower Society New World Translation (NWT) mentions Michael five times as: 1) "one of the
foremost princes" (Dan. 10:13); 2) "the prince of [Daniel's] people" (Dan. 10:21); 3) "the great
prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of [Daniel's] people" (Dan. 12:1); 4) “the archangel”
who "had a difference with the devil and was disputing about Moses body" but "did not dare to
bring a judgment against him in abusive terms" (Jude 9); and 5) a participant in heavenly conflict
when "Michael and his angels battled with the dragon" (Rev. 12:7).

Ask the Jehovah's Witness which one of these verses says that Michael is Jesus Christ. Help him
to see that it is necessary to read Scripture plus a complicated Watchtower argument to reach
that conclusion. Rather than being merely "one of the foremost princes," Jesus Christ is "Lord of
lords and King of kings" (Rev. 17:14, NWT) and is "far above every government and authority and
power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to
come" (Ephesians 1:21, NWT). And, unlike "Michael who did not dare condemn the Devil with
insulting words, but said, The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 9, Today's English Version), Jesus Christ
displayed His authority over the devil when He freely commanded him, "Go away, Satan!"
(Matthew 4:10, NWT).

In arguing that Jesus is Michael the archangel, the Watchtower Society also points to another
verse that does not use the name Michael but says that "the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a commanding call, with an archangels voice and with God's trumpet…" (1
Thessalonians 4:16, NWT).

However, the expression "with an archangels voice" simply means that the archangel, like God's
trumpet, will herald the coming of the Lord, not that the Lord is an archangel. Point out to the JW
that none of the verses he has attempted to use as proof-texts even comes close to stating that
Jesus Christ is Michael the archangel. In fact, Scripture clearly teaches the opposite: namely, that
the Son of God is superior to the angels. The entire first chapter of Hebrews is devoted to this
theme. Have the Witness read Hebrews chapter one aloud with you, and, as you do so, interrupt
to point out the sharp contrast between angels and the Son of God. "For to what angel did God
ever say, Thou are my Son…? And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says,
Let all Gods angels worship him" (vv. 5,6, Revised Standard Version).

Remind the JW that angels consistently refuse worship ("Be careful! Do not do that! …Worship
God," Revelation 22:8,9, NWT), but the Fathers command concerning the Son is, "Let all Gods
angels worship him" (Hebrews 1:6). That is how the Watchtowers own New World Translation
read for some 20 years until, in 1970, the Society changed it to read "do obeisance to him"
instead of “worship him”--part of their consistent campaign to eliminate from their Bible all
references to the deity of Christ. (See John 10:36 comment.)

True, you have not yet proved the "doctrine of the Trinity" in this discussion. But you have laid a
good foundation by giving the Jehovah's Witness convincing evidence that Jesus Christ is not an
angel (he is now faced with the question of who Jesus really is), and you have shown that the
Watchtower Society has misled him, even resorting to altering Scripture to do so. Now you are in
a much better position to go on to present the gospel.

Author: David A. Reed, Ex-Jehovah's Witness elder. Excerpted from The Evidence Bible by Ray
Comfort

How do Jehovah’s Witnesses’ teachings

about Christ compare with Scriptures?
Many people are confused about the Jehovah’s Witnesses. People have written to ask if
they are Christians or do they worship a different God? The following article may help to
answer this important questions.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christians have some things in common. For example, they
share common concerns about religious apostasy, and they teach against Evolution.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christians do, however, differ on many important doctrines. In
an attempt to keep this article to a reasonable length, let us not concentrate on ALL the
differences. Rather…

…LET US INVESTIGATE THE MOST IMPORTANT

ISSUE, THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.
JW’s believe that Jesus Christ was a perfect man, and that He is a person distinct from
God the Father. However, they also teach that before His earthly life, Jesus was a spirit
creature, Michael the archangel, who was created by God and became the Messiah at His
baptism. According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus is a mighty one, although not almighty
as Jehovah God is. According to John 1:1 in their Bible, The New World Translation,
Christ is “a god,” but not “the God.” They teach that Jesus “was and is and always will be
beneath Jehovah” and that “Christ and God are not coequal”.
Does the Bible confirm their beliefs, or does it teach the orthodox Christian concept that
Christ is God? This is an extremely important question. Consider the following points:
The Christ of the New Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.

• Isaiah wrote about seeing Jehovah in Isaiah 6:1-10.

• In John 12:31-42, we are told that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke of Him

• In Exodus 34:14 we are to worship no one but Jehovah.

• In Hebrews 1:6 the angels worship Christ.

• In Isaiah 44:6 Jehovah is called the first and the last (confirmed in Revelation
1:8),

• but in Revelation 22:13 Christ is the first and the last.

These verses demonstrate that the name “Jehovah” is used for both God the Father and of
God the Son. Although they are distinct persons they are each called “Jehovah” because
they each possess deity.
The deity of Christ is taught in Scripture.
In Matthew 1:23, Christ is called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
When Thomas touched Jesus' wounds, after the resurrection, he exclaimed, “My
Lord and my God” (John 20:28). There is no basis whatsoever for saying, as some
JW’s say, that Thomas was referring to Christ when he said “my Lord,” but was
referring to God (Jehovah) when he said “my God.” Instead, Thomas called Christ
both his Lord and his God. And Christ did not correct him! Colossians 2:9 clearly
confirms the deity of Christ when it states that in Him “all the fullness of the
divine quality dwells bodily” (New World Translation). Stephen called Jesus
“Lord” (Acts 7:59,60), and we are to confess Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9; I Cor.
12:3). “Lord” in these verses is Kurios, which is the Greek word for Jehovah in
the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament. It is evident from this that
Christ the Lord (kurios) is Jehovah God.
Attributes of Christ show that He is God
Jesus Christ knows all things (John 1:48; 2:25; 6:64; 14:30; 21:17). He is all-
powerful (Matt. 28:18; Heb. 1:3), sinless (John 8:46), eternal (Mic. 5:2), and
unchanging (Heb. 13:8). Since only God possesses these attributes, Christ must be
God.
Certain works of Christ show that He is God.
Jesus Christ has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:5-7; Eph. 1:7), give eternal life
(John 10:28; 17:2), judge the world (John 5:22, 27), and control nature (Matt.
 8:26). Since only God can do these things, Christ must be God.
Christ received worship as God.
Jesus is worshipped by the angels (Heb. 1:6) and by man (Matt. 14:33), and yet
only God is to be worshipped (Ex. 34:14). Christ Himself said that worship is due
to God alone (Matt. 4:10), and yet He accepted worship. If Jesus in His pre-
existent state were the archangel Michael, how could He have received worship,
since angels are not allowed to receive worship (Rev. 19:10)? If Christ were not
God, then worshipping Him would be idolatrous.
Jesus Christ is called “the mighty God” in Isaiah 9:6.
JW’s have a ready answer for this verse. They explain that Christ is “the mighty
god.” but not “the almighty.” They say that Christ is the mighty, never the
almighty and that Jehovah is the almighty God, never the mighty. However,
Jeremiah 32:18 shows that Jehovah is the mighty One. Therefore, since Christ is
the mighty God (Isaiah 9:6) and Jehovah is the mighty God (Jer. 32:18), they are
both God. They both possess full deity.
Christ is God, the Creator of all things according to Colossians 1:15-17.
JW’s refer to this passage to support their teaching that Christ was created by
Jehovah (for example, Let God Be True, p.35). This is based primarily on the
words, “the firstborn of all creation,” in verse 15. However, if this verse was
teaching that Jesus Christ is the first created being made by God, the word “first-
created” would have been used of Christ, not the word “firstborn.” These are two
different words in the Greek, with two different meanings. “First-created” is
protoktistos, and “firstborn” is prototokos. Colossians 1:15 does not use the
protoktistos, “first-created.” Instead it uses prototokos, which means an heir, a
begotten one, the first in rank. The teaching of Colossians 1:15 is that Christ is
first in rank above all creation; He is the Heir of all things. He is prior to all
creation and superior over it.
The JW’s New World Translation adds the word “other” four times in Colossians
1:15-17, so that the passage states that Christ created “all other things,”
everything except Himself. However, there is no basis for adding “other.” It
certainly does not occur in the Greek manuscripts. The translators of the New
World Translation admit this by putting “other” in brackets. This “translation”
attempts to comply with the assumption that firstborn means first-created. But, as
shown, this is not the meaning of firstborn, and therefore it is also wrong to add
the word “other.” There is no verse in the entire Bible that states that Christ was
created by Jehovah!
Christ claimed to be equal with God in John 10:30.
JW’s believe that this verse, “I and the Father are one,” means that Christ was one
with God the Father in purpose and not in nature and essence. However, if that
was all Christ was saying, why did the Jews want to stone Him? They themselves
thought His purpose was the same as God’s. Verse 33 of John 10 explains that
they wanted to stone Him because of blasphemy, because He claimed to be God!
The deity of Christ is the central point of the Scriptures. It clearly teaches that Christ is
God. The teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness' concerning Jesus Christ clearly contradict
the teachings of the Bible. Passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 tell us that Jesus Christ,
who existed as God, took the bodily form of a humble servant so that He could die on the
cross in our place. “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (kurios), to the glory of God the Father.”

More information on-line

• The Trinity

• How can one God be three persons? Answer

• SON OF MAN - If Jesus was the Son of God, why did He call Himself the Son of
Man? Answer

• Is Jesus Christ God? Answer

• Τη ε Ωο ρ δ

• Σον οφ Γο δ

• Τη ε ο π η α ν ψ

• Αβ ο υ τ ϑεσ υ σ Χη ρ ι σ τ

Ινχαρ ν α τ ι ο ν
[ If this information has been helpful, please prayerfully consider a donation to help pay
the expenses for making this faith-building service available to you and your family!
Donations are tax-deductible. ]
Author: Mark Van Bebber of Eden Communications

Should John 1:1 be translated, “The

Word was God” or “The Word was a
god”?
Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Christ, and claim that John 1:1 merely calls him “a
god,” but not full deity. They rest their case on three facts of Greek grammar:
There is no such word as “a” or “an” in Greek, so we sometimes have to add “a” to
translate into English, (Acts 28:6).
The Greek word used here (theos) has two meanings: usually the supreme God
 revealed in Scripture, but sometimes lesser beings like the gods of Greek
mythology.
The Greek word “the” is often attached to the word “God” or theos, but it does not
appear in John 1:1. Hiding behind the Witness rendering of the verse is an
unspoken equation: God + “the” (ho theos) = Jehovah, the Almighty God, God -
“the” (theos) = a created being with divine qualities. Witnesses claim that the
apostle John deliberately omitted a “the” in the final phrase to show the difference
between God and the Word. As the New World Translation (p. 775) explains:
John's inspired writings and those of his fellow disciples show
what the true idea is, namely, the Word or Logos is not God or the
God, but is the Son of God, and hence is a god. That is why, at
John 1:1,2, the apostle refers to God as the God and to the Word or
Logos as a god, to show the difference between the Two.
Is this the proper translation?
No. The equation underlying the Witness rendering breaks down within a few
verses. John 1:18 contains theos twice, without “the” either time. According to
Watchtower assumptions, we would expect to translate both as “god” or “a god.”
Instead, the New World Translation says “God” the first time and “god” the
second time. The context overrules their rule.
Why did John choose not to put “the” on the word “God”?
To show which word was the subject of the sentence. In English, we can
recognize the subject of a sentence by looking at word order. In Greek, we
must look at the word endings. John 1:1 is trickier than most verses,
because both “God” (theos) and “Word” (logos) have the same ending.
The usual way to mark off the subject clearly was to add “the” to the
subject and leave it off the direct object. That is precisely what John did
here.
To conform to standard Greek grammar. E.C. Colwell demonstrated in an
article in the Journal of Biblical Literature in 1933 that it was normal
practice to omit “the” in this type of sentence. John was simply using good
grammar, and making it clear that he intended to say, “The Word was
God” rather than “God was the Word,” a statement with some theological
drawbacks. John constructed his sentence in the one way that would
preserve proper grammar and sound doctrine, declaring that “the Word
was God.”
Author: Dr. John Bechtle

More information
• Was Jesus God, manifest in human form? Answer
 • Is Jesus Christ God? Answer

• If Jesus was the Son of God, why did He call Himself the Son of Man? Answer

• Ινχαρ ν α τ ι ο ν

• How can one God be three persons - a Trinity? Answer

Τη ε Ωο ρ δ

Was Jesus God, manifest in human form?

The Jehovah's Witnesses are among those who claim that the Bible does not teach that
Jesus Christ was God, manifest in human form. Here are some of the many biblical
problems with that erroneous view.
The Bible tells us:
As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and
worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a
man.
—Acts 10:25,26
Peter refused worship in light of the Law that said,
You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.
In Revelation 19:10, when the apostle John saw an angel, he said,
I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See you do it not: I am your
fellow-servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship
God.
Even the angel of the Lord refused to be worshipped.
However, here are many more verses showing that Jesus allowed Himself to be
worshipped, simply because He was God "manifest in the flesh":
While he spoke these things to them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and
worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay your
hand upon her, and she shall live
—Matthew 9:18
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth you
are the Son of God
—Matthew 14:33
Then she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me
—Matthew 15:25
 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him
—Matthew 28:9
When they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted
—Matthew 28:17
He received their worship because He was…
…the image of the invisible God…
—Colossians 1:15) …God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen
of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory…
—1 Timothy 3:16, (emphasis added)
Author: Ray Comfort of Living Waters Publications. Excerpted from The Evidence Bible.
Web page Copyright © 2002, Living Waters Publications, All Rights Reserved - except
as noted on attached “Usage and Copyright” page that grants ChristianAnswers.Net users
generous rights for putting this page to work in their homes, personal witnessing,
churches and schools.

If Jesus was the Son of God, why did He

call Himself the Son of Man?
This sounds like some kind of contradiction at first glance, but in fact there is no
contradiction. An examination of Scripture reveals that the phrase "Son of Man" carries
broad significance.
First of all, even if the phrase “Son of Man” is a reference to Jesus' humanity, it is not a
denial of His deity. By becoming a man, Jesus did not cease being God. The incarnation
of Christ did not involve the subtraction of deity, but the addition of humanity. Jesus
clearly claimed to be God on many occasions (Matthew 16:16,17; John 8:58; 10:30). But
in addition to being divine, He was also human (see Philippians 2:6-8). He had two
natures (divine and human) conjoined in one person.
Further, Scripture indicates that Jesus was not denying His deity by referring to Himself
as the Son of Man. In fact, it is highly revealing that the term “Son of Man” is used in
Scripture in contexts of Christ's deity. For example, the Bible says that only God can
forgive sins (Isaiah 43:25; Mark 2:7). But as the “Son of Man,” Jesus had the power to
forgive sins (Mark 2:10). Likewise, Christ will return to Earth as the “Son of Man” in
clouds of glory to reign on Earth (Matthew 26:63-64). In this passage, Jesus is citing
Daniel 7:13 where the Messiah is described as the "Ancient of Days," a phrase used to
indicate His deity (cf. Daniel 7:9).
Further, when Jesus was asked by the high priest whether He was the “Son of God”
(Matthew 26:63), He responded affirmatively, declaring that He was the “Son of Man”
who would come in power and great glory (verse 64). This indicated that Jesus Himself
used the phrase “Son of Man” to indicate His deity as the Son of God.
Finally, the phrase “Son of Man” also emphasizes who Jesus is in relation to His
incarnation and His work of salvation. In the Old Testament (Leviticus 25:25-26, 48-49;
Ruth 2:20), the next of kin (one related by blood) always functioned as the "kinsman-
redeemer" of a family member who needed redemption from jail. Jesus became related to
us “by blood” (that is, He became a man) so He could function as our Kinsman-
Redeemer and rescue us from sin.
[ If this information has been helpful, please prayerfully consider a donation to help pay
the expenses for making this faith-building service available to you and your family!
Donations are tax-deductible. ]
Author: Dr. Ron Rhodes of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries.