by cofty 148 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Exactly. And thanks for that WT quote irondork, it really makes the point that the JWs see "Jehovah" when the NT sometimes says "Jesus". I'm reminded of that Simpsons episode where they go to Australia and Marge tries to order a coffee at a pub:
Marge: I'll just have a cup of coffee.
Bartender: Beer, it is.
Marge: No, I said "coffee".
Bartender: "Beer"?
Marge: [slowly] Coff-ee.
Bartender: Be-er?
Marge: C -- O --
Bartender: B -- E --
That's a very apt illustration.
hey that reminds me i thought the simpsons where to do a sparlock episode, what happened?
This illustrates the big differences between Watchtower Jesus and Bible Jesus.
A beauty mate, thanks Cofty.
@kurtbethel - who knew Jesus was actually Steven Seagal?
Point 7 in the OP is...
7] Early Christians CALLED ON THE NAME of Jesus
Here is a bit I missed out on the Old Testament context of the phrase "calling on the name"...
That Christians would speak about calling on the name of Jesus is truly remarkable when we consider the Old Testament background to this expression.
When Jehovah appeared to Abraham in the land of Canaan
"He built an alter there to Jehovah and began to call on the name of Jehovah." (Gen.12:8)
When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a showdown he said;
"You must call upon the name of your god and I for my part shall call upon the name of Jehovah." (1Kings18:24)
When Naaman went to Elisha seeking a cure from leprosy he expected Elisha to;
"Stand and call upon the name of Jehovah his God." (2Kings5:11)
The Psalmist Asaph implored Jehovah to;
"Preserve us alive that we may call upon your own name." (Ps.80:18)
Through the prophet Zephaniah Jehovah promised to;
"Give the peoples a change to a pure language in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah." (Zeph.3:9)
Regarding the faithful remnant of the Jews, Jehovah inspired Zechariah to prophesy that he would refine them and;
"It for it's part will call upon my name and I for my part will answer it. I will say, it is my people, and it for it's part will say Jehovah is my God." (Zech.13:9)
For an Old Testament Jew "calling on the name" of Jehovah involved aspects of prayer and worship, and yet the early Christians called upon the name of Jesus Christ. It is impossible that a Jehovah's Witness would even think about calling on the name of Jesus in the same sense.
Thank you Cofty for sharing this excellent research.
Cofty wrote -
1] Early Christians were WITNESSES of Jesus.
On his last evening with his disciples Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit who would;
"Bear witness about me, and you in turn are to bear witness, because you have been with me from when I began." (Jhn.15:26,27)
Yes, early Christians were Witnesses of Jesus...but they were at the same time Witnesses of Jehovah. In fact, you CANNOT be a true Witness of Jesus without being a Jehovah's Witness. The NT writings clearly bear that out. The early Christian Congregation were originally made up Jews who were Jehovah's Witnesses (Isa. 43:10-12). But as followers of Jesus, they followed his example, given testimony to the Kingdom of God, making Jehovah God the Father's name known, and yes, preaching the Jesus was God's Son who was resurrected by his Father.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 but put to death the [ b ] Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
English Standard Version (ESV)
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
42 And every day, in the temple and [ a ] from house to house, they [ b ] kept right on teaching and [ c ] preaching Jesus as the [ d ] Christ.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly andfrom house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and [ a ] perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. 15 With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 ‘ After these things I will return,
And I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen ,
And I will rebuild its ruins ,
And I will restore it ,
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord ,
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name ,’
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 [Jesus] saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren ,
In the midst of the con gregation I will sing Your praise .”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Isaiah 43:10-12
Darby Translation (DARBY)
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah , and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] HE: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11 I, I [am] Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour.
12 It is I that have declared, and have saved, and have shewed, when there was no strange [god] among you; and ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, that I [am] God.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins [ a ] by His blood—
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
43 But He [Jesus] said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
48 He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 [a ] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [ b ] author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His [ a ] servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 but put to death the [ b ] Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even foundto be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
Other quotes NASB (unless otherwise indicated)
Acts 8:12
But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdomof God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.
Acts 28:23
When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying aboutthe kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.
Acts 28:31
preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [a] in us, that God has sent His [b] only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seenand testify that the Father has sent the Son to be theSavior of the world.
Yes, the first Christian Congregation were Jehovah’s Witnesses following the example of Jesus, and also testified that Jesus was SENT by God to save the world and that God resurrected Jesus. In short, you cannot be a true Witness to Jesus if you’re not a Jehovah’s Christian Witness. They also worshipped the same God and ONLY true God, which Jesus worshipped and praised. True Christians have the same God as Jesus does:
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ?” that is, “ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me ?”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on the earth, [ b ] having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”
New Century Version (NCV)
7 While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and his prayer was heard because he trusted God. 8 Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned obedience by what he suffered.
New Century Version (NCV)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 so that with one accord you may with one [ a ] voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 yet for us there isbut one God, the Father,from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we existthrough Him.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
28 You heard Me tell you, I am going away and I am coming [back] to you. If you [really] loved Me, you would have been glad, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater and mightier than I am.
Mark 15:34
At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” which is translated, “MYGOD, MYGOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 He who overcomes, I [Jesus] will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God,and My new name.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 And [now] they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 And You have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth!
Well done Cofty! Once I read the Bible without Watchtower goggles on, I realized that Christianity was the regular Christianity we were warned against.
