In this post I will employ the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revision) to prove that Jesus Christ is identified as Jehovah God Almighty in the flesh.
A. Jesus is the Jehovah who comes to repay every person according to what s/he has earned.
B. Jesus is the Jehovah who searches the hearts and minds of every person.
JEHOVAH
“then may you hear from the heavens, your dwelling place, and may you forgive and take action; and reward each one according to all his ways, for you know his heart (you alone truly know every human heart),” 1 Kings 8:39
“Will not God discover this? He is aware of the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21
“Also loyal love is yours, O Jehovah, For you repay each one according to his deeds.” Psalm 62:12
“If you say, ‘But we did not know about this,’ Does not the One who examines hearts discern it? Yes, the One who watches you will know And will repay each man according to his activity.” Proverbs 24:12
“Look! The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will come with power, And his arm will rule for him. Look! His reward is with him, And the wage he pays is before him.” Isaiah 40:10
“Look! Jehovah has proclaimed to the ends of the earth: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, “Look! Your salvation is coming. Look! His reward is with him, And the wage he pays is before him.”’” Isaiah 62:11
“But Jehovah of armies judges with righteousness; He examines the innermost thoughts and the heart. Let me see your vengeance on them, For to you I have committed my legal case.” Jeremiah 11:20
“‘for they have acted disgracefully in Israel, committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking false words in my name that I did not command them. I am the One who knows, and I am a witness,’ declares Jehovah.” Jeremiah 29:23
“I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, Examining the innermost thoughts, To give to each one according to his ways, According to the fruitage of his works.” Jeremiah 17:10
JESUS
“For the Son of man is to come in the glory of HIS Father with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his behavior.” Matthew 16:27
“To the angel of the congregation in Thy·a·tiʹra write: These are the things that the Son of God says, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine copper: ‘I KNOW your deeds, and your love and faith and ministry and endurance, and that your deeds of late are more than those you did at first. Nevertheless, I do hold this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezʹe·bel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.And I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. Look! I am about to throw her into a sickbed, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with deadly plague, so that all the congregations will know that I am the one who searches the innermost thoughts and hearts, and I will give to you individually according to your deeds.’” Revelation 2:18-23
C. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
JEHOVAH
“Who has acted and done this, Summoning the generations from the beginning? I Jehovah, am the First One; And with the last ones I am the same.” Isaiah 41:4
“For my own sake, for my own sake I will act, For how could I let myself be profaned? I give my glory to no one else. Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called. I am the same One. I am the first; I am also the last.” Isaiah 48:11-12 – Cf. 44:6
“And the One seated on the throne said: ‘Look! I am making all things new.’ Also he says: ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ And he said to me: ‘They have come to pass! I am the Alʹpha and the O·meʹga, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the spring of the water of life free. Anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’” Revelation 21:5-7
JESUS
“When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right: ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.’” Matthew 25:31-34
“For the Father judges NO ONE AT ALL, but he has entrusted all the judging to the Son,so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:22-23
Note that the Father judges no one since it is Jesus who comes to judge all creation. And Jesus is also the One who gives to those who believe in him the spring of living waters:
“In answer Jesus said to her: ‘If you had known of the free gift of God and who it is who says to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’…In answer Jesus said to her: ‘Everyone drinking from this water will get thirsty again. Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.’” John 4:10, 13-14
“On the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood up and he called out: ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever puts faith in me, just as the scripture has said: “From deep within him streams of living water will flow.”’ However, he said this concerning the spirit, which those who put faith in him were about to receive; for as yet there was no spirit, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:37-39
“because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17
This, therefore, proves that it is Jesus that is speaking in the following passage:
“‘Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to repay each one according to his work. I am the Alʹpha and the O·meʹga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you about these things for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star.’… The one who bears witness of these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.’ May the undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus be with the holy ones.” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20-21
D. Jesus is the Jehovah Whom Children Praise.
E. Hosanna to Jehovah Jesus.
JEHOVAH
“O Jehovah our Lord, how majestic your name is throughout the earth; You have set your splendor even higher than the heavens!Out of the mouth of children and infants you have established strength On account of your adversaries, To silence the enemy and the avenger.” Psalm 8:1-2
“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them and praise Jah. This is the gate of Jehovah. The righteous will enter through it. I will praise you, for you answered me And you became my salvation.The stone that the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This has come from Jehovah; It is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day that Jehovah has made; We will be joyful and rejoice in it.Jehovah, save us, please (hoshiah na), we beg! Jehovah, grant us victory, please!Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Jehovah; We bless you from the house of Jehovah.Jehovah is God; He gives us light. Join in the festival procession with branches in hand, Up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; My God, I will exalt you. Give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good; His loyal love endures forever.” Psalm 118:19-29
JESUS
Not only did the risen Lord cite Psalm 118:25-26 in relation to the Jewish rejection of himself,
“‘Lastly he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” On seeing the son, the cultivators said among themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and get his inheritance!” So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those cultivators?’ They said to him: ‘Because they are evil, he will bring a terrible destruction on them and will lease the vineyard to other cultivators, who will give him the fruits when they become due.’ Jesus said to them: ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, “The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone. This has come from Jehovah, and it is marvelous in our eyes”?’” Matthew 21:37-42
He also permitted children to praise him by attributing the words hoshiah na (Greek hosanna) to his very own Person, and justified doing so by quoting Psalm 8:2!
“Moreover, the crowds going ahead of him and those following him kept shouting: ‘Save, we pray (hosanna), the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in Jehovah’s name! Save him, we pray, in the heights above!’ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying: ‘Who is this?’ The crowds kept saying: ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazʹa·reth of Galʹi·lee!’ Jesus entered the temple and threw out all those selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.And he said to them: ‘It is written, “My house will be called a house of prayer,” but you are making it a cave of robbers.’Also, blind and lame people came to him in the temple, and he cured them. When the chief priests and the scribes saw the marvelous things he did and the boys who were shouting in the temple, ‘Save, we pray (hosanna), the Son of David!’ they became indignant and said to him: ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ Jesus said to them: ‘Yes. Did you never read this, “Out of the mouth of children and infants, you have brought forth praise”?’” Matthew 21:9-16
The only way Christ could accept the very worship attributed to Jehovah to silence his enemies is if Jesus believed that he is Jehovah God in the flesh, and therefore deserving of such honor.
F. The God Whom The OT Prophets Beheld.
It gets more astonishing:
“The next day the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and they began to shout: ‘Save, we pray you (hosanna)! Blessed is the one who comes in Jehovah’s name, the King of Israel!’ When Jesus found a young donkey, he sat on it, just as it is written: ‘Have no fear, daughter of Zion. Look! Your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’ These things his disciples did not understand at first, but when Jesus was glorified, they recalled that these things were written about him and that they did these things to him.” John 12:12-16
The inspired Apostle has not only attributed hoshiah na to the Son, he has also cited Zechariah’s prophecy as having been fulfilled when the Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Look! Your KING is coming to you. He is righteous, bringing salvation, Humble and riding on a donkey, On a colt, the foal of a female donkey. I will take away the war chariot from Eʹphra·im And the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be taken away. And he will proclaim peace to the nations; His rulership will be from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9:9-10
The reason why this is a remarkable prediction is because the context of Zechariah shows that the King who comes riding on a foal is none other than Jehovah God Almighty himself!
“Look! The day is coming, a day belonging to Jehovah, when the spoil from you will be divided in your midst. I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for the war; and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women raped. And half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining ones of the people will not be cut off from the city.Jehovah will go out and war against those nations as when he fights in the day of a battle. In that day HIS FEET will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half, from east to west, forming a very great valley; and half of the mountain will move to the north, and half of it to the south. You will flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains will extend all the way to Aʹzel. You will have to flee, just as you fled because of the earthquake in the days of King Uz·ziʹah of Judah. And Jehovah my God will come, and all the holy ones will be with him… And Jehovah will be KING OVER ALL THE EARTH. In that day Jehovah WILL BE ONE, and his name ONE… Everyone who is left remaining out of all the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to bow down to THE KING, Jehovah of armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.But if anyone among the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to THE KING, Jehovah of armies, no rain will fall on them.” Zechariah 14:1-5, 9, 16-17
The prophet unambiguously affirms that Jehovah his God will physically descend upon the Mount of Olives with his holy ones for the express purpose of reigning over the whole earth from Jerusalem as the sole universal King!
The fact that the Mount of Olives physically split in half from the touch of Jehovah’s feet, and the fact that Jehovah is the King who physically mounts on a donkey, presuppose that Jehovah is actually appearing in the flesh, that Jehovah who is Spirit by nature has become a physically embodied Being.
Zechariah’s depiction of Jehovah makes perfect sense when we realize that it is Jesus who physically descends to the Mount of Olives from heaven with all his holy ones:
“After he had said these things, while they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud caught him up from their sight. And as they were gazing into the sky while he was on his way, suddenly two men in white garments stood beside them and said: ‘Men of Galʹi·lee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who was taken up from you into the sky will come in the same manner as you have seen him going into the sky.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from a mountain called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, only a sabbath day’s journey away.” Acts 1:9-12
“so that he may make your hearts firm, blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the presence of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13
This means that Jesus is being described as the physical embodiment, the human enfleshment of Jehovah God Almighty!
John further identifies Christ as the One who not only gives light, but as the very divine Being whom the prophets and Israel beheld:
“So Jesus said to them: ‘The light will be among you a little while longer. Walk while you still have the light, so that darkness does not overpower you; whoever walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, exercise faith in the light, so that you may become sons of light.’ Jesus said these things and went off and hid from them. Although he had performed so many signs before them, they were not putting faith in him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, who said: ‘Jehovah, who has put faith in the thing heard from us? And as for the arm of Jehovah, to whom has it been revealed?’ The reason why they were not able to believe is that again Isaiah said: ‘He has blinded their eyes and has made their hearts hard, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts and turn around and I heal them.’ Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory, and he spoke about him. All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him, but they would not acknowledge him because of the Pharisees, so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue;for they loved the glory of men even more than the glory of God… I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone putting faith in me may not remain in the darkness.’” John 12:35-43, 46
Remarkably, the inspired Evangelist has attributed to Christ the complaint that Jehovah lodged to Moses against his covenant people:
“Then Jehovah said to Moses: ‘How much longer will this people treat me without respect, and how much longer will they not put faith in me in spite of all the signs that I performed among them?’” Numbers 14:11
For John, Jesus is the very OT God whose covenant community have been rejecting ever since the time of Moses despite the host of miracles he performed in their midst.
The Apostle then follows this up with a quotation from Isaiah 6:10, and states that Isaiah wrote this after seeing the glory of the prehuman Christ.
Here is the context of that particular citation:
“In the year that King Uz·ziʹah died, I saw Jehovah sitting on a lofty and elevated throne, and the skirts of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were standing above him; each had six wings. Each covered his face with two and covered his feet with two, and each of them would fly about with two. And one called to the other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The whole earth is filled with his glory.’ And the pivots of the thresholds quivered at the sound of the shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said: ‘Woe to me! I am as good as dead, For I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For MY EYES have seen the King, Jehovah of armies himself!’ At that, one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth and said: ‘Look! This has touched your lips. Your guilt is removed, And your sin is atoned for.’ Then I heard the voice of Jehovah saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said: ‘Here I am! Send me!’ And he replied, ‘Go, and say to this people: “You will hear again and again, But you will not understand; You will see again and again, But you will not get any knowledge.” Make the heart of this people unreceptive, Make their ears unresponsive, And paste their eyes together, So that they may not see with their eyes And hear with their ears, So that their heart may not understand And they may not turn back and be healed.’” Isaiah 6:1-10
Astonishingly, the prophet beholds Jehovah appearing in a visible form and seated on a visible throne!
And yet according to John, the Jehovah whom the prophet saw with his very own physical eyes was none other than Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence!
This raises a major problem for the Jehovah’s Witnesses since one of the arguments their society uses to deny the Deity of Christ is the fact that the Holy Bible says no one has ever seen God:
“Hence, the phrase ‘Son of God’ refers to Jesus as a separate created being, not as part of a Trinity. As the Son of God, he could not be God himself, for John 1:18 says: ‘No one has ever seen God.’—RS, Catholic edition.” (Should You Believe in the Trinity?, What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus?, Was Jesus Considered to Be God?, p. 16)
When we actually read the entire verse which the Society has only partially referenced, we better appreciate the point John was intending to make:
“No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god (monogenes Theos) who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.” John 1:18
The Apostle’s position is much more nuanced than merely claiming that no person has ever beheld God. Rather, the point that the inspired Evangelist was actually making is that no one has seen God apart from the revelation of the only-begotten God, i.e., the Son.
In other words, John is arguing is that it is the Son, who resides and springs forth from the Father’s side (Greek kolpon – literally “bosom”), that has been making God known to all who hear and believe in him:
“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone fully know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son is willing to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for yourselves. For my yoke is kindly, and my load is light.” Matthew 11:27-30
The reason why the Son (in union with the Holy Spirit [Cf. John 14:26; 16:12-15]) has been revealing God to mankind is because he is the exact representation of God’s infinite, uncreated Being,
“Now at the end of these days he has spoken to us by means of a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power. And after he had made a purification for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:2-3
Who remains in complete inseparable union with the Father, and therefore perfectly expresses the Father in all that the Father says and does:
“For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things during the Sabbath. But he answered them: ‘My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working.’ This is why the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God. Therefore, in response Jesus said to them: ‘Most truly I say to you, the Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things that One does, these things the Son does also in like manner. For the Father has affection for the Son and shows him all the things he himself does, and he will show him works greater than these, so that you may marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also makes alive whomever he wants to. For the Father judges no one at all, but he has entrusted all the judging to the Son, so that all may honor the Son JUST AS they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Most truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes the One who sent me has everlasting life, and he does not come into judgment but has passed over from death to life. Most truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD, and those who have paid attention will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because he is the Son of man. Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear HIS (the Son’s) VOICE and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment. I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.’” John 5:16-30
“Jesus then said: ‘After you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing of my own initiative; but just as the Father taught me, I speak these things. And the One who sent me is with me; he did not abandon me to myself, because I always do the things pleasing to him.’” John 8:28-29
“However, Jesus called out and said: ‘Whoever puts faith in me puts faith not only in me but also in him who sent me; and whoever sees me sees also the One who sent me… For I have not spoken of my own initiative, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment means everlasting life.’” John 12:44-45, 49-50
“Jesus said to him: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you men had known me, you would have known my Father also; from this moment on you know him and have seen him.’ Philip said to him: ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him: ‘Even after I have been with you men for such a long time, Philip, have you not come to know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father also. How is it you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in union with the Father and the Father is in union with me? The things I say to you I do not speak of my own originality, but the Father who remains in union with me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in union with the Father and the Father is in union with me; otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.’” John 14:6-11
Here’s how the Society’s own Greek interlinear translates the relevant part of the foregoing words of our Lord:
“Not you are believing that I IN the Father and the Father IN me is (ego en to Patri kai ho Patri en emoi estin)?… the but Father IN me remaining (ho de Pater en emoi menon) is doing the works of him. Be you believing to me that I IN the Father and the Father is IN me (ego en to Patri kai ho pater en emoi)…” John 14:10-11 (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures)
This is why whenever God wants to reveal himself to an individual he leads that person to the Son:
“‘All those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and I will never drive away the one who comes to me; for I have come down from heaven to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none out of all those whom he has given me, but that I should resurrect them on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who recognizes the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day.’ Then the Jews began to murmur about him because he had said: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ And they began saying: ‘Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ In response Jesus said to them: ‘Stop murmuring among yourselves.No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him, and I will resurrect him on the last day. It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by Jehovah.” Everyone who has listened to the Father and has learned comes to me. Not that any man has seen the Father except the one who is from God; this one has seen the Father.” John 6:37-46
In light of the foregoing, it only makes sense that John would say that the Jehovah whom Isaiah beheld with his own physical eyes was actually the Lord Jesus Christ in his preincarnate state.
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