Radical attack on Jesus Christ by Jehovah’s Witnesses

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The Jehovah’s Witnesses form a religious community with strange teachings. If one could overlook some of the exclusivity of their dogmas, the radical attack against Jesus Christ plays a central role. It was not always like that. A transformation seems to have taken place.

Jesus Christ is just an angel

Jehovah’s Witnesses spread numerous teachings that deviate from the gospel. If it were about sometimes idiosyncratic interpretations of prophecies, then it would only be “half as dramatic”. But one of the most notable and fatal deviations is the depicted nature of Jesus Christ. According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus Christ has no divinity. He may have divine qualities, but he is a created angelic being in the highest position. Therefore, according to this religious community, Jesus Christ himself cannot be God.

This reduction of Jesus Christ is anything but a “blossom of style”. It is an all-important doctrine of salvation. A created angel named Jesus Christ, as represented by Jehovah’s Witnesses, would not have the position to open up a path to salvation while preserving God’s justice.

The community of Jehovah’s Witnesses see themselves officially positioned as opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. They recognize the traditional paganism in the church of Rome, the blasphemies and occult practices. But, whether Jehovah’s Witnesses like it or not, their teaching about Jesus Christ puts them in solidarity with the Roman Catholic Church. It doesn’t matter at all whether one reduces Jesus Christ to an angel or connects his incarnation with a “mystical body” based on the “immaculate Mary” (Info). In both cases they both deny Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God and the incarnate Word (not “mouthpiece”!) of God.

New World Translation

The New World Translation, the Bible of Jehovah’s Witnesses, shows numerous striking changes compared to the original translation or the original Greek majority text (textus receptus). One focus is on reducing Jeus Christ to a created angel, as is the teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The following is an excerpt of examples (not exhaustive) with clear adaptations of the biblical statements concerning the true nature of Jesus Christ.

The King James Version is used as a template (KJV) gemäß dem textus receptus (1550). In contrast to this is the study Bible of the New World Translation (NWT) of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Philippians 2:5-8

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: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

NWT: “Maintain the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Although he existed in the form of God, he had no desire at all to try to be equal to God. No, rather, he gave up everything he had, took the form of a slave and became human*. More than that, when he came as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a torture stake.“

At this point in the NWT the statement is changed to say that although Jesus Christ was in the form of God, he did not seek to be equal to God. In addition, there is the peculiarity of Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jesus is said to have been executed on a stake instead of a cross. The extra-biblical records also speak of the use of crosses by the Romans to execute the condemned.

Another edition of the NWT says “Although he existed in the form of God, he did not think of usurping what was not his due, namely, being equal to God.“

Luke 1:35

KJV: “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

NWT: “The angel answered her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will rest on you. Therefore he who is born will be holy and will be called the Son of God.“

The “small” but striking difference lies in the sacred. While in the King James Version, which corresponds to the textus receptus, Jesus Christ is already “holy” at conception (by the Holy Spirit), this is not the case in the NWT of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Rather, it depicts a state of initial “non-holiness” and a later process of sanctification.

John 1:1-4;14

KJV: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

NWT: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God. This word was with God in the beginning. Everything came into existence through the Word and without the Word nothing came into existence. What came into existence through the Word was life, and life was the light of men.
So the Word became man and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory – a glory such as an only-begotten Son has from his Father – and he was full of divine approval and truth.“

Here the NWT changed the first verse to include an additional “a” for God. Accordingly, the Word is not God, but “a god”. How this can be explained, since only one God exists for Jehovah’s Witnesses, remains a mystery. Either the one or the same God, or with “one God” an “additional God”. The reason given here is that the article before God (“theos”) is missing in Greek and therefore the “a” has to be inserted. However, this is not valid, since in other places in Greek the word “God” is listed without an article, but here no “a” was inserted.

Added to this is the contradiction evident in the NWT. Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus Christ was created. Nevertheless, the NWT also contains the statement that “without the word nothing came into existence.” In verse 14 it can be seen that Jehovah’s Witnesses also recognize Jesus Christ as the Word. But did he thereby create himself, because without the word “nothing came into existence”?

Hebrews 1:7-9;13

KJV: “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 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. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

NWT: “He also says of the angels: “He makes his angels spirits and his servants a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says: “God is your throne for ever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of Right. You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness, more than your companions.
And about which angel did he ever say, “Sit at my right side until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?“

God (Father) speaks about His Son and calls Him “O God” (King James Version). It is evident in the KJV and also in the NWT that there was no angel whom God asked to sit at His right hand. The NWT changed the direct address from “O God” to “Throne of God”.

Psalm 2:7 and Acts 13:32-33

KJV: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
“And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”

NWT: “I hereby declare Jehovah’s decision. He said to me: “You are my son. Today I became your father.”
“So we proclaim to you the good news of the promise made to our ancestors. God has fully fulfilled it for us, their children, by resurrecting Jesus, as it says in the second Psalm: ‘You are my son, today I became your father.“

Here, too, there is no variant of the translation based on synonyms, but rather a change in the content of the statement. The “begetting of Jesus Christ” is not to be taken literally, nor is the term “firstborn.” The “firstborn” is not the biologically first born, but rather it is a position, a priority.

So Jacob is the younger brother of Esau, but Jacob received the “birthright.” Although it was due to fraud, the title or position was still retained. Even today’s German commercial law recognizes “birth” in the sense of a founding. The NWT’s statement, “Today I have become your father,” merely supports the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ version that God created Jesus Christ, but denies that this relationship has existed for eternity. The “begetting” (King James Version) expresses nothing other than the new (glorified) position of Jesus Christ after the completion of His work of redemption.

Matthew 28:17

KJV: “And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.”

NWT: “When they saw him they bowed, but some had doubts.“

At this point the NWT took away the worship of Jesus Christ. An angel may not be worshiped and according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus was a conceived angel and not God or God incarnate. There must therefore be no worship and hence the falsification of this passage.

The same changes are also present in Luke 24:51-52 and John 9:37-38.

John 10:17

KJV: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.”

NWT: “This is why the Father loves me: because I give my life to get it back.“

Here Jehovah’s Witnesses deny Jesus’ divine status by denying His ability to resume life itself. According to the NWT, Jesus must receive life again because he himself cannot take it again.

1 Timothy 3:16

KJV: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

NWT: “Yes, the holy mystery of this godly devotion is undeniably great: “He was revealed as a man and declared righteous as a spirit. He appeared to angels and was preached among the nations. He was believed in in the world and received in glory.“

One of the most important statements about the true nature of Jesus Christ. “God was revealed in the flesh,” says the majority text. In the NWT it became “He was revealed as a man.” The “He” here refers to Jesus Christ, but without reference to His divinity.

The verse excerpt 1 Timothy 3:16 from the basic text “textus receptus” from 1550 clearly shows the use of the word “Theos”, i.e. “God”. The change to “He” is therefore arbitrary and obscures the true nature of Jesus Christ.

This change is also part of the general “modern Bibles”, which ultimately have the same goal. The reduction of Jesus Christ.

John 20:28

KJV: “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

NWT: “Thomas then exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”

At this point, Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that (unbelieving) Thomas’s exclamation was an expression of his “shocked astonishment” but not confirmation that he called Jesus Christ God.

Isaiah 9:6:

KJV: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

NWT: “For to us a child has been born, your son has been given to us. He will have the right to rule. His name will be: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.“

At this point, the authors of the NWT obviously did not make changes consistently enough. Although “a son” became “your son”, the characteristics for the clearly described Jesus Christ were retained even with “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father”. A conflict situation when one claims that Jesus Christ is not God, but a created angel.

Own Bible relatively late

It is noteworthy that the New World Translation of Jehovah’s Witnesses came into use relatively late. The New Testament was translated between 1947 and 1949 and the first edition was available in 1950. The Old Testament followed around 10 years later. Until then, Jehovah’s Witnesses in English-speaking countries particularly used the King James Version and the American Standard Version. The Luther edition and the Elberfelder were common in German-speaking countries.

The New World Translation of Jehovah’s Witnesses is not the only so-called Bible, with some massive changes in statements and contexts. There appears to have been a wave of “Bible adaptations” in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The (old) Elberfelder (German Bible) was still based on the majority text until it was published at the end of the 1930s, and with the so-called Revised Elberfelder the basic texts according to Nestle and Aland were used. The English King James is also based on the majority text, while the New King James is based on Nestle-Aland texts.

No matter how extensive the changes (forgeries) in the New World Translation of Jehovah’s Witnesses may be, today they only represent an apparent insignificance compared to the massive changes in the editions sold as “normal” Bibles. The extent of Bible forgeries is enormous (Info). Like the teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jesus Christ is merely a created being, the “modern Bibles” also aim to reduce the Son of God in order to achieve compatibility within ecumenism.

In all cases, Jesus Christ, God’s Son and God himself, is denied, with fatal consequences for those who follow this error (Info). Only God Himself could die a vicarious death on behalf of His creatures because of sins and thus eliminate the mutual exclusion of grace and justice. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus, the “created angel,” is of such great value that his sacrifice compensates for people’s sins. The literal ransom in the form of a third party, rather than the person responsible for creation (the Creator himself).

Jehovah’s Witnesses founder a Freemason?

It cannot be determined with absolute certainty whether the founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Charles Taze Russell, who was initially called “Bible Students”, was a member of a Masonic lodge. The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon has a page dedicated to Russell and quotes him as follows (Source): “Now, I am a free and accepted mason. I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our masonic brethren”. Russell is said to have later revised this statement: “I have never been a mason”.

You should not know them by their words, but by their fruits, is an important statement of the Gospel. Here the “tree” seems to have exchanged fruit over the course of the history of the former Bible Students and later Jehovah’s Witnesses. Although this religious group recognizes the Roman Catholic Church as a community that is distant from (also) the gospel, it does not recognize it as the Antichrist described in the Bible (Info). However, things used to be completely different and this is proven by old writings and books from this predecessor organization of today’s “Watchtower Society”. In the 1889 textbook “The Time is at Hand” an entire chapter is devoted to the Antichrist and is clearly identified with the papacy or the Roman Catholic Church. This means that Jehovah’s Witnesses were once on the same line as the original reformers.

The Time is at Hand, 1889, page 296:

“Henceforth, we deal with the Antichrist, whose gradual development and organization from secretly working ambition are a fitting prelude to the terrible character displayed after the coveted power had been grasped – from 539 AD to 1799 AD, 1260 years. Of this period the first three hundred years mark the rise of this temporal power; the last three mark its waning under the influences of the Reformation and civilization; and the intermediate period of seven centuries embraces Papacy’s glory-time and the ‘dark ages’ of the world, full of frauds and deceptions in the name of Christ and true religion.“

Mind you. This is the statement of the “early” Jehovah’s Witnesses. And what is left of it today? Nothing! Why? Well, the members of this religious community should quickly explore this for their own interest!

Notices of strangeness among Jehovah’s Witnesses occurred at an early stage. Study editions are decorated with signs and symbols that can be found less in Christianity or the Gospel, but rather in ancient Egyptian polytheism, such as Horus and Osiris.