What to say to a Jehovah's Witness (Part 3)

By Andre Holwerda

Continued from Part 2

The third and final argument requires the following verses:

Thus says the Lord (i.e. Jehovah), the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord (Jehovah) of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. (Isaiah 44:6)

Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. (Isaiah 48:12)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.” (Revelation 21:5-6)

"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Revelation 22:13)

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." (Revelation 22:16)

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)

In Isaiah 44 and 48, as well as in many other parts of Isaiah, Jehovah identifies Himself as ‘the first and the last’. A similar title appears in Revelation 1:8 where, in the New World Translation, it reads: “I am Alpha and Omega”, says Jehovah God…”. This is seen again in Revelation 21:5-6, where the one sitting on the throne of God says: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end”. So, ‘Alpha and Omega’, ‘the first and the last’ and ‘the beginning and the end’ are all titles of Jehovah. You cannot have two alphas and two omegas, or two firsts and two lasts, or two beginnings and two endings. Therefore, these titles belong only to Jehovah and nobody else!

Now, in Revelation 22:13, someone speaks and declares Himself to be ‘the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end’. He also says, in this verse, that He is ‘coming quickly’. So who is this person who claims the titles that belong only to Jehovah and says that He is coming quickly? Revelation 22:20 answers this question with the words, ‘He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’ The one who is coming, who claims the titles of Jehovah for Himself, is none other than Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus Christ is Jehovah!

Notice also that in Revelation 1:17-18, this person who calls Himself ‘the first and the last’ also mentions that He died and is now alive again. We have established that Jehovah alone is the first and the last. So that brings up the question, ‘when did Jehovah die and rise again?’ If Jesus Christ is not Jehovah, then this question remains unanswered and the statement made in these verses makes absolutely no sense and is therefore an error in the Bible. Either Jesus is Jehovah or the Biblical author was wrong or lying at this point. There simply are no other options.

Some other useful arguments:

-          Isaiah 48:11 and John 17:5: In John 17:5, Jesus asks the Father to glorify Him with the glory He had with the Father before the world existed. So Jesus shared the Father’s glory before He came to earth. But in Isaiah 48:11 Jehovah God says He ‘will not give His glory to another’. He gave His glory to Jesus. Therefore, either Jesus is Jehovah or Jehovah lied when He said He would not give His glory to another. Since the latter is unacceptable, Jesus must be Jehovah.

-          Hebrews 1:8: This verse quotes the Father saying to the Son, ‘your throne O God, is forever and ever.’ Thus, the Father Himself calls the Son God.

-          Colossians 2:9: This verse clearly states that ‘all the fullness of deity’ dwelt in Jesus bodily. In other words, everything God is dwelt in Jesus. The NWT mistranslates the word ‘deity’ as ‘divine quality’ but the Watchtower’s own Kingdom Interlinear Translation correctly translates it as ‘deity’ or ‘divinity’.

-          John 20:27 – 28: In verse 27 Jesus appears to Thomas and proves to Him that He really has risen from the dead. Verse 28 is Thomas’ response in which he says, ‘my Lord and my God.’ The Greek ‘ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou’ is literally rendered ‘The Lord of me and The God of me.’ The definite article is present for emphasis, so that we don’t miss the fact that Thomas was calling Jesus ‘The God’ (i.e. Jehovah). Now, had that been merely Thomas’ opinion and not the truth, Jesus, as a good rabbi, would have immediately rebuked him for blasphemy. Instead He commended Thomas! Thus, Jesus confirmed Thomas’ statement.

John 5:17 – 18: In verse 17 Jesus calls God His Father. In verse 18 John makes a comment in which he mentions that by calling God His Father Jesus was ‘making Himself equal with God.’ Thus, John teaches us that calling yourself the Son of God is no different to calling yourself God.

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