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© Confident Christians – www.confidentchristians.org

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Is the Jesus of the Jehovah’s Witnesses the Real Christ?


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What are the end results of spiritual deception?

One of the most frightening verses in all the Bible:

“Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)

Notice that the deceiver and the deceived meet the same end result. Jesus follows this up later with this statement:“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)


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Apostasy (departure from the truth) is nothing new• Paul addressed it in his letters to the Corinthians, Galatians,

Colossians, plus he warned Timothy about it. • Peter warned about it in his second letter. • John pointed it out in his letters.• Jude wrote about it in his short letter.

The lie has been repackaged, modernized and is in vogue today. What are its characteristics?


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The silver linings running through apostate movements:

1. A rewritten Bible and/or texts that are considered equal or superior to the Bible.

2. Charismatic founder(s) who are obeyed as prophets of God

3. A works-based salvation.

4. A denial of the divinity of Jesus.

Does the Jehovah’s Witnesses movement fit the above description? How do they depict Jesus?


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The steps to discovering the truth behind the Watchtower’s Christ:

1. Understand their portrayal of Jesus.

2. Understand the biblical representation of Christ.

3. See if they match.

If they don’t, then you must then figure out a way to determine which (if either) is the true Jesus.


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Where does the Christ of the Watchtower come from?

• The New World Translation – the JW’s rewritten bible.• Rewritten to “remove influence of paganism”.• No translator was schooled in Hebrew or Greek.• Translators perjured themselves in court and lied about

this fact (see transcripts in Walter Martin’s Kingdom of the Cults book).

• Aim was to get the Bible to match the teachings of the founder – Charles Taze Russell.

Notice silver lining – A rewritten Bible.


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The Christ of the Jehovah’s Witnesses:

• Jesus is a “mighty god” but not God Almighty.• Jesus is the first and direct creation of God.• Jesus made “all other things” for God.• Jesus was/is the chief angel, Michael.• Jesus was raised a spirit creature, not bodily.• Jesus invisibly returned to the earth in 1914 and expelled

Satan.

Notice the key silver lining – Jesus is not God.


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The Jesus pictured in the Word of God is:• Fully God and fully man (John 1:1-3,14; 8:58).• Not a created being (Revelation 1:17).• The One who made all things (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:6).• Better than the angels (Hebrews 1:5-8).• Raised from the dead in a physical body (Luke 24:39).• Returning one day to judge all mankind (Matthew 25:31-46).

The law of non-contradiction says that something cannot be “A” and “Non-A” at the same time and in the same sense. The Jesus of the Watchtower and the Christ of the Bible couldn’t be more different…


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How do we determine which (if either) Jesus is valid?

If the Watchtower bible has been shown to be in error (and it has) and if the historical Bible is the best source of Christ’s true identity, then…

1. We must validate the accuracy of the Gospel accounts.2. We validate its portrayal of Jesus.3. We respond to the Watchtower’s contrary arguments.


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Quick facts on New Testament’s historical accuracy: • More manuscripts than any other ancient document.

• 5,000+ (next in line: Homer’s Iliad at 600).

• Earlier writings than any other ancient document.• All within 20-30 years of Christ’s life.• During lifetime of eyewitnesses.• No case in history where myth has developed within two

generations.

• More accurate writings than any other ancient document.• No archeological finding has ever disproved the Bible.• Hundreds of proven details in Acts alone.


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Quick facts on New Testament’s historical accuracy:

Using skeptic David Hume’s own criteria for written accuracy:

1. Do the witnesses contradict each other? No. 2. Are the witnesses many in number? Yes. 3. Are the witnesses truthful? Yes.4. Are the witnesses non-prejudicial? Yes.

No contradictions; 9 eyewitness authors/27 books; authors with the highest commitment to truth; authors who initially didn’t believe but changed their direction. Bottom line: we can trust they recorded the truth.


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Main arguments for Christ’s Deity:

1. Jesus’ own words.2. Jesus’ actions.3. Jesus’ miracles. 4. The testimony of the New Testament Writers.

Since the New Testament documents are historically reliable, if they record that Jesus thought He was God, if He acted like He was God, if He proved Himself as God through miracles and fulfilled prophecy, and if those who knew Him best testified that He is God, then He must be God.


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Did Jesus think He was God?Look at how Jesus compared Himself to God in the Old Testament:

God in the Old Testament Jesus Comparison to Himself

I AM (Exodus 3:14-15; Isaiah 48:12) I AM (John 8:58; John 8:18)

The Shepherd (Psalm 23:1) The Shepherd (John 10:11)

The Light (Psalm 27:1) The Light (John 8:12)

Ruler of all (Isaiah 9:6) Ruler of all (Matthew 28:18)

Judge of all nations (Joel 3:12) Judge of all (John 5:12)

The Bridegroom (Isaiah 62:5; Hosea 2:16) The Bridegroom (Matthew 25:1)

First and the Last (Isaiah 48:12) First and the Last (Revelation 1:17-18)


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Did Jesus act like He was God?Consider Jesus’ words and actions:

• Jesus accepted worship nine times in the gospels.• Jesus forgave sins (Mark 2).• Jesus said to pray in His name (John 16:23-24).• Jesus never said “Thus says the Lord”, but rather “I say”.• Jesus said to baptize in His name (Matthew 28).

Jesus clearly thought He was God and acted like it.


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The testimony/proof of Jesus’ miracles: Luke 7:19, 22 – Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Jesus also fulfilled prophecies about God coming in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, Zechariah 11:13). And, of course, His resurrection…


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The testimony of the New Testament writers: Witness Verse Statement

John John 1:1-3,14 God became flesh

Thomas John 20:28 “My Lord and my God!”

Paul Romans 9:5 Jesus is God over all

Paul Philippians 2:5-8 Jesus set aside His right as God

Paul Colossians 1:16-19, 2:9-10 Created all things including angels; all fullness of Deity dwells

Paul 1 Timothy 6:15 King of kings, Lord of Lords

Peter 2 Peter 1:1 Jesus our God and Savior

Writer of Hebrews Hebrews 1:8, 13:8 Has everlasting throne and is immutable


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The verdict on Christ being God:

1. Jesus’ proclaimed Himself to be God.2. Jesus proved Himself to be God through miracles and

fulfilled prophecy.3. Jesus acted like God. 4. The New Testament writers testified that He was God.

Since we can trust the historicity of the New Testament, the only conclusion is that Jesus is God and not the Christ proclaimed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.


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Answering the Top Three Watchtower Objections:

1. Colossians 1:15 says Jesus is the “firstborn” of all creation and Revelation 3:14 says the Jesus is the “Beginning of the creation of God.”

2. John 14:28 has Jesus saying, “The Father is greater than I”.

3. Luke 18:19 states Jesus as saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

In brief, the arguments are that Jesus is the first creation of God and less than God.


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Answering the Top Three Watchtower Objections:1. Colossians 1:15 says Jesus is the “firstborn” of all creation

and Revelation 3:14 says the Jesus is the “Beginning of the creation of God.”

“firstborn” signifies preeminence. For example, David is called the firstborn of Jesse (Psalm 89:27) even though he was not the “first born” in the family.

“Beginning” comes from the Greek word arche, which is where the word “architect” comes from. Jesus is the ruler/architect of all creation.


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Answering the Top Three Watchtower Objections:2. John 14:28 has Jesus saying, “The Father is greater than I”

Christ is of the same essence and nature as God, but holds a different office/role in the Trinity. Philippians 2:7 describes how Jesus laid aside His godly form and chose to become a man during His incarnation. Ontological equality and functional hierarchy are two different things. Jesus holds a lesser office than the Father, but is equal to Him in nature.


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Answering the Top Three Watchtower Objections:3. Luke 18:19 states Jesus as saying, “Why do you call me

good? No one is good but God alone.”

Jesus is in essence asking the young rich ruler to examine his words. Either Jesus is good, and therefore God, or not good and not God. Jesus Himself said that He was good when he stated in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd”. Christ is asking the man to think about what he is asking – in other words, “Are you calling me God?”


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Three reasons why believing in the true identity of Jesus matters:

1. Enables a true salvation experience.

2. Enables a true reconciliation between God and man.

3. Enables a true view of God and affects how we live.

… and if the above three points are true and valid, it means that the reverse is true for those who don’t put their trust in the real Jesus.


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It is critical to believe in the one, true Jesus

• Your salvation, relationship, and experience with God depends on it.

• Understand the enemy won’t deny Jesus – he’ll just try and alter Him. As R.C. Lensky said, “The worst forms of wickedness consist in perversions of the truth”.

• Being sincerely wrong can have eternal consequences.

"So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are constantly being mistaken for each another. It takes a sharp eye these days to know which brother is Cain and which Abel." - A.W. Tozer, “How to Avoid Serious Error”

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