Tag: god

JWS AGREE: ISAIAH SAW CHRIST!

According to the inspired Scriptures, the prophet Isaiah was allowed to see Jehovah God Almighty in a visible form, where he appeared to be visibly seated on a visible throne wearing a robe:

“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

On the other hand, John’s Gospel teaches that this is the time when Isaiah actually saw Jesus in his prehuman existence:   

“Then the crowd answered him: ‘We heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?’ 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. 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. I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone putting faith in me may not remain in the darkness.’” John 12:34-46

The Apostle cites Isaiah 6:10 and states that Isaiah said these words because he had seen Jesus Christ’s glory and spoke of him. John then immediately follows this up by quoting the Lord himself clearly stating that to see him is to see the One who sent him, meaning, the Father.

Nor is this the only place where Jesus made such a remarkable claim:

“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

The inspired Apostle himself wrote that no one has seen or could ever see God apart from the only begotten God making him known:

“No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.” John 1:18

What this means is that Isaiah must have beheld the glory of the prehuman Christ since the prophet could not have looked upon or even heard from Jehovah apart from the Son revealing God to him.

To put this in simpler terms, the Jehovah whose glory Isaiah saw was none other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Astonishingly, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of the Jehovah’s Witnesses agrees with this fact since it candidly admits that Jesus was present during the time the prophet saw Jehovah (whom the Society identifies as the Father). They base this on the words of Isaiah 6:8 where the Voice of the Lord asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for US (lanu)?”.

The Society explains the reason why Jehovah’s Voice spoke in the plural “Us,” is because Jehovah was speaking to his only-begotten Son and Word, the very One who later became the Man Christ Jesus:

13 Let us listen with Isaiah. “I began to hear the voice of Jehovah saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I proceeded to say: ‘Here I am! Send me.’”(Isaiah 6:8) The question propounded by Jehovah is clearly designed to elicit a response from Isaiah, as no other human prophet appears in the vision. It is unmistakably an invitation for Isaiah to be Jehovah’s messenger. But why does Jehovah ask, “Who will go for us?” By switching from the singular personal pronoun “I” to the plural pronoun “us,” Jehovah now includes at least one other person with himself. Who? Was this not his only-begotten Son, who later became the man Jesus Christ? Indeed, it was this same Son to whom God said, “Let us make man in our image.” (Genesis 1:26; Proverbs 8:30, 31) Yes, alongside Jehovah in the heavenly courts is his only-begotten Son.​—John 1:14. (Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind, Chapter Eight. Chapter Eight Jehovah God Is in His Holy Temple, pp. 93-94 https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Isaiahs-Prophecy-Light-for-All-Mankind-I/Jehovah-God-Is-in-His-Holy-Temple/; emphasis mine)

And:

In 778 B.C.E., the year Judean King Uzziah died, God’s prophet Isaiah beheld a vision of Jehovah on his lofty throne. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” asked Jehovah. Isaiah volunteered, but Jehovah warned him that his fellow Israelites would be unresponsive to his declarations. The apostle John compared the unbelieving Jews of the first century to the people of Isaiah’s day, and noted: “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory.” Whose glory? That of Jehovah AND OF THE PREHUMAN JESUS ALONGSIDE HIM in the heavenly courts.—Isaiah 6:1, 8-10; John 12:37-41. (Jesus—The Ruler “Whose Origin Is From Early Times,” The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom—1998, p. 24 https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1998445; emphasis mine)

Again:

3 Did this Greater Isaiah need a miraculous vision of Jehovah enthroned in his temple with seraphs attending upon him, such as the original Isaiah had had? No, for he had been the heavenly Son of God and had beheld “the King, Jehovah of armies,” on his heavenly throne itself, and enjoyed heavenly glory with Jehovah. (John 17:5, 11, 20-24) By laying aside his heavenly glory and by having his life force transferred from heaven to earth by Jehovah’s miraculous power, he had become the man Jesus Christ. (Luke 1:26-38; Phil. 2:5-11) The human name that Jehovah God commanded to be given his Son on earth was Jesus, which is the shortened form for Jehoshua. Its meaning corresponds with that of the name Isaiah, only in reverse order. Jesus (or Jehoshua) means “Jehovah Is Salvation,” whereas Isaiah means “Salvation of Jah (Jehovah).” This circumstance goes well with the fact that Jesus Christ is the Greater Isaiah. Before becoming a man, he as the heavenly Son of God had been with Jehovah at the time that He said to the prophet Isaiah in the temple vision: “Who will go for us?” that is, ‘for me Jehovah and FOR my only-begotten Son.’—Isa. 6:8. (Have You Said: “Here I Am! Send Me”? The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom—1966, p. 753 https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1966922; emphasis mine)

Once more:

What “things” did Isaiah say “because he saw his glory”? Well, John quotes Isaiah here twice, first quoting Isaiah 53:1 concerning the ‘arm of Jehovah’ and then quoting Isaiah 6:10 concerning the temple vision. At Isaiah 53:1 the ‘arm of Jehovah’ is Christ Jesus. At Isaiah 6:10 the speaker at the temple is Jehovah, but HE INCLUDES HIS SON with him when he says: “Who will go for us?” that is, for me AND MY SON. Thus we see that the prehuman Jesus WAS ASSOCIATED WITH JEHOVAH IN HIS GLORY at the temple, and hence John could rightly say Isaiah here saw his glory and spoke about him, “the arm of Jehovah.” Certainly Jesus the Greater Isaiah had not sent himself, but Jehovah at the temple did so, for John here applies Isaiah 6:10 to Jesus as the Sent One toward whom this prophecy was first fulfilled, after Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem and offered himself as King and had cleansed the temple. … Especially since his resurrection, Jesus is the reflection of Jehovah’s glory.—Heb. 1:2, 3; 2 Cor. 4:6. (“Commissioning of Witnesses in the Time of the End,” The Watchtower, April 1, 1951, p. 219; emphasis mine)

Finally:

The Jews’ lack of faith in Jesus fulfills the words of Isaiah about the ‘eyes of people being blinded and their hearts being hardened so that they do not turn around to be healed.’ Isaiah saw in vision the heavenly courts of Jehovah, including Jesus in his prehuman glory along with Jehovah. Yet, the Jews, in fulfillment of what Isaiah wrote, stubbornly reject the evidence that this One is their promised Deliverer…

▪ How did the prophet Isaiah see Jesus’ glory? (The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, Chapter 104. God’s Voice Heard a Third Time https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/The-Greatest-Man-Who-Ever-Lived/Gods-Voice-Heard-a-Third-Time/; https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1989882; emphasis mine)

The Society’s candid acknowledgement that Isaiah beheld the glory of Jehovah and his preexistent, prehuman Son, and that it was with/to the Son whom Jehovah spoke in Genesis 1:26 in the creation of mankind raises serious problems for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Isaiah 6 emphatically testifies that the prophet saw Jehovah’s glory alone, not the glory of God and a creature. Moreover, the context of Genesis 1:26 makes it explicitly clear that God alone created mankind in his own image and after his own likeness:

“Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every creeping animal that is moving on the earth.’   And God went on to create the man in HIS image, in God’s image HE created him; male and female HE created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

“This is the book of Adam’s history. In the day that God created Adam, HE made himin the likeness of God. Male and female HE created them. On the day they were created, HE blessed them and named them Man.” Genesis 5:1-2

“This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven. No bush of the field was yet on the earth and no vegetation of the field had begun sprouting, because Jehovah God had not made it rain on the earth and there was no man to cultivate the ground.  But a mist would go up from the earth, and it watered the entire surface of the ground. And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living person. Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in Eʹden, toward the east; and there HE put the man whom HE had formed… Now Jehovah God had been forming from the ground every wild animal of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man would call each living creature, that became its name.   So the man named all the domestic animals and the flying creatures of the heavens and every wild animal of the field, but for man there was no helper as a complement of him. So Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, HE took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. And Jehovah God built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and HE brought her to the man. Then the man said: ‘This is at last bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, Because from man she was taken.’ That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he will stick to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:4-8, 19-24

Therefore, these others whom God called upon to create humanity in their image and after their likeness, could not have been created beings. Rather, these other individuals who assisted God in creating male and female as the one Adam, could only have been eternal divine Persons who are essentially coequal with God the Father.     

And since the Society admits that it was the prehuman Jesus that Jehovah spoke with/to, this means that Christ is not a creation of the Father, but is the uncreated Son of God who is equal to the Father in essence, power, glory and majesty (Cf. John 5:18, 22-23; 10:27-33; 8:50, 54; Rev. 5:13-14).

As such, the JWs are simply wrong to assert that Christ is the first creature whom Jehovah produced, being the archangel Michael both in his prehuman and post mortem existence.

Instead, the God-breathed Scriptures describe Jesus Christ as the uncreated Word of the Father who became flesh, the Son that has been eternally existing in God’s form who later took on human nature from the holy, consecrated womb of the Virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, and will forever exist as the God-Man (Cf. Matt. 1:18-25; 2:1-6, 11; Luke 1:26-35; 2:4-15; John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14; Acts 2:24-36; 17:30-31; John 1:1-14; Phil. 2:5-11; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 6:14-16; Col. 1:13-20; 2:2-3, 9-10; Heb. 1:1-3, 8-13; 2:9-18; Rev. 1:12-18; 2:8; 5:5; 22:12-16, 20-21).

Scriptural references taken from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition).

FURTHER READING

Jesus Christ: The God Whose Glory Isaiah Beheld

WHO DID THE PROPHETS SEE? A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS DILEMMA

JWS ADMIT: JESUS IS THE ETERNAL CREATOR!

Jesus Christ: The God of the Patriarchs and Prophets

Who Did Abraham See?

JWS, PETER & CHRIST’S DEITY

In this article I will show readers how to employ the Jehovah’s Witnesses very own (per)version of the Holy Bible to prove that Peter in his inspired epistles identified Jesus Christ as Jehovah God in the flesh. I will demonstrate that the blessed Apostle ascribes to the risen Lord specific functions, titles, glory and/or characteristics which the Hebrew Bible attributes to Jehovah alone.

I will be referencing the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revision).

REVERENCING JEHOVAH JESUS

Peter writes to spiritual babes that have tasted the kindness of the Lord, and who have come to believe that he is the living Stone whom men have rejected

“As newborn infants, form a longing for the unadulterated milk of the word, so that by means of it you may grow to salvation, provided you have tasted that the Lord is kind. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen, precious to God… and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word. To this very end they were appointed.” 1 Peter 2:2-4, 8

The Apostle further exhorts Christians not to fear what unbelievers are frightened by, but rather to set apart Christ as the Lord whom they have to trust and hope in:

“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are happy. However, do not fear what they fear, nor be disturbed. But sanctify the Christ as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone who demands of you a reason for the hope you have, but doing so with a mild temper and deep respect.” 1 Peter 3:14-15 

Remarkably, Peter has described Christ in the same way that the Psalmist refers to Jehovah:

“ט [Teth] Taste and see that Jehovah is good; Happy is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

He has also applied to the risen Lord the very language, which the prophet Isaiah employs for Jehovah!

“You should not call a conspiracy what this people calls a conspiracy! Do not fear what they fear; Do not tremble at it.  Jehovah of armies—he is the One you should regard as holy, He is the One you should fear, And he is the One who should cause you to tremble. He will become as a sanctuary, But as a stone to strike against And as a rock to stumble over To both houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare To the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Isaiah 8:12-14

What this means is that, for Peter, Jesus is the very Jehovah whose goodness believers have come to taste, and who is to be regarded as holy. It also shows that it is God’s Son who is that very Jehovah that Isaiah states is a Stone and Rock which causes unbelievers to stumble over!

To say that this is astonishing would be to put it mildly.

MAGNIFYING JEHOVAH JESUS

Just as astonishing is the fact that Peter concludes his 2nd letter with a doxology, an ascription of eternal praise to the risen Christ:  

“that you should remember the sayings previously spoken by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior (tou kyriou kai soteros) through your apostles… No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou). To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:2, 18

In the Hebrew Bible, doxologies are never offered to any other heavenly being besides Jehovah. And yet both here in 2 Peter, and elsewhere,

“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his manifestation and his Kingdom… From this time on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day, yet not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his manifestation… The Lord will rescue me from every wicked work and will save me for his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, 18

“and from Jesus Christ, ‘the Faithful Witness,’ ‘the firstborn from the dead,’ and ‘the Ruler of the kings of the earth.’ To him who loves us and who set us free from our sins by means of his own blood—and he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—yes, to him be the glory and the might forever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6

“When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, and each one had a harp and golden bowls that were full of incense. (The incense means the prayers of the holy ones.)   And they sing a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slaughtered and with your blood you bought people for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,  and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.’ And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, and they were saying with a loud voice: ‘The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy to receive the power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’” Revelation 5:8-12

Ascriptions of praise are offered to the Son in the same exact way that they are offered to the Father, whether by Peter or others:

“If anyone speaks, let him do so as speaking pronouncements from God; if anyone ministers, let him do so as depending on the strength that God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The glory and the might are his forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

“But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all undeserved kindness, who called you to his everlasting glory in union with Christ, will himself finish your training. He will make you firm, he will make you strong, he will firmly ground you. To him be the might forever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

“After this I saw, and look! an opened door in heaven, and the first voice that I heard speaking with me was like a trumpet, saying: ‘Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place.’ After this I immediately came to be in the power of the spirit, and look! a throne was in its position in heaven, and someone was seated on the throne. And the One seated had the appearance of a jasper stone and a sardius stone, and all around the throne was a rainbow like an emerald in appearance. All around the throne were 24 thrones, and on these thrones I saw seated 24 elders dressed in white garments, and on their heads golden crowns.  From the throne were coming lightning and voices and thunders; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, and these mean the seven spirits of God. 

“Before the throne was something resembling a glassy sea, like crystal. In the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures that were full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature was like a young bull, and the third living creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. As for the four living creatures, each one of them had six wings; they were full of eyes all around and underneath. And continuously, day and night, they say: ‘Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming.’

“Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne and worship the One who lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, Jehovah our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they came into existence and were created.’” Revelation 4:1-11

“All the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God, saying: ‘Amen! Let the praise and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honor and the power and the strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’” Revelation 7:11-12

There’s even a scene in Revelation where John sees every created being in the whole entire creation offering to the risen Lamb the exact same worship that the Father receives, and for the exact same duration!

“And I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and underneath the earth and on the sea, and ALL THE THINGS IN THEM, saying: ‘To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.’ The four living creatures were saying: ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshipped.” Revelation 5:13-14

These examples prove beyond any reasonable doubt that, as far as the inspired writers of the Scriptures are concerned, Jesus is not a created being. Rather, Christ is the uncreated Son of God who became Man for the redemption of creation, being equal to the Father (and the Holy Spirit) in essence, glory, power, honor and majesty.

SLAVING FOR JEHOVAH JESUS

Peter is not through just yet.

The Apostle starts off his 2nd epistle by referring to himself as the slave of the heavenly Jesus, who eternally reigns as the Lord and Savior of all believers. He also writes that favor and peace are granted to all those who continue to grow in their intimate knowledge of God and Christ:

“Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ. May undeserved kindness and peace be increased to you by an accurate knowledge of God and OF Jesus our Lord…  In fact, in this way you will be richly granted entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou).” 2 Peter 1:1a-2, 11

“Certainly if after escaping from the defilements of the world by an accurate knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou), they get involved again with these very things and are overcome, their final state has become worse for them than the first.” 2 Peter 2:20

“No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge OF our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” 2 Peter 3:18a

However, the Hebrew Bible states that the heavenly Lord whom believers are to look to for favor is Jehovah:

“To you I raise my eyes, You who are enthroned in the heavens. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, And the eyes of a servant girl to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to Jehovah our God Until he shows us favor.   Show us favor, O Jehovah, show us favor, For we have had our full share of contempt.” Psalm 123:1-3

Jesus himself warned against serving/slaving over two lords/masters, since it is not possible for one to love both equally:

“No one can slave for two masters (dysi kyriois); for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot slave for God and for Riches.” Matthew 6:24

And yet both Peter and the other Apostles/NT writers unashamedly speak of themselves as being the slaves of both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They also have no qualms stating that spiritually blessings such as unmerited favor come from both of them equally!

“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus and called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who came to be from the offspring of David according to the flesh, but who with power was declared God’s Son according to the spirit of holiness by means of resurrection from the dead—yes, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received undeserved kindness and an apostleship with a view to obedience by faith among all the nations respecting his name, among which nations you also have been called to belong to Jesus Christ— to all those who are in Rome as God’s beloved ones, called to be holy ones: May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:1-7

“James, a slave of God AND OF the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes that are scattered about: Greetings!” James 1:1

“Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to the called ones who are loved by God the Father and preserved for Jesus Christ:” Jude 1:1

Once again, the only way that these monotheistic Jews could ever identify themselves as the slaves of two heavenly figures, namely of God and of Christ, and address Jesus as the Lord that reigns in/from heaven, while also stating that favor comes from both of them equally, is if they truly believed that God and his Son are equal in essence, power, glory and divinity.

THE JUSTICE OF JEHOVAH ALONE

Another way in which the inspired Apostle affirms Christ’s Deity is by claiming that the faith which believers were/are enabled to have for salvation came/comes through the justice or righteousness of God and Jesus Christ our Savior. I.e., it is because God and Christ are perfectly just and impartial that they do not discriminate when it comes to issue of who can be saved through faith:

“Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have acquired a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God AND the Savior Jesus Christ:” 2 Peter 1:1

I will not make a case here that this is another gross mistranslation of the Greek, which explicitly refers to Christ as both God and Savior. Rather, I will simply assume that Peter is distinguishing God from the Savior Jesus Christ, since this would still prove the divinity of the risen Lord.

The Hebrew Bible expressly teaches that Jehovah is the only righteous God and Savior, and that he alone justifies or makes a person righteous. This is why Jehovah commands all the ends of earth to turn to him in order to be saved:   

“Make your report, present your case. Let them consult together in unity. Who foretold this long ago And declared it from times past? Is it not I, Jehovah? There is no other God but me; A righteous God and a Savior, there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, For I am God, and there is no one else. By myself I have sworn; The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, And it will not return: To me every knee will bend, Every tongue will swear loyalty And say, ‘Surely IN Jehovah are true righteousness and strength. All those enraged against him will come before him in shame. IN Jehovah all the offspring of Israel will prove to be right, And in him they will make their boast.’” Isaiah 45:21-25

Therefore, the only way that saving faith could come about through the righteousness or impartiality of both God and Jesus Christ is if the inspired Apostle is operating under the belief that the Father and his beloved Son are essentially coequal, which is why they together form a single Source of salvation and all spiritual blessings.

This point comes out even more clearly when Acts records Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, declaring to the religious authorities that there is no other Person or name by which a person can ever be saved besides that of the risen Christ:

“While the two were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came up to them. These were annoyed because the apostles were teaching the people and were openly declaring the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So they seized them and took them into custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who had listened to the speech believed, and the number of the men became about 5,000. The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, along with Anʹnas the chief priest, Caʹia·phas, John, Alexander, and all who were relatives of the chief priest. They stood Peter and John in their midst and began to question them: “By what power or in whose name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with holy spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today about a good deed to a crippled man, and you want to know who made this man well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ the Naz·a·reneʹ, whom you executed on a stake but whom God raised up from the dead, by means of him this man stands here healthy in front of you. This is “the stone that was treated by you builders as of no account that has become the chief cornerstone.” Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.’ Now when they saw the outspokenness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were astonished. And they began to realize that they had been with Jesus. As they were looking at the man who had been cured standing with them, they had nothing to say in answer to this.” Acts 4:1-14

Peter and the Jews knew that it is Jehovah’s name alone that brings about the salvation of the world, which means that the Jewish council would have no doubt understood that the holy Apostle was deliberately proclaiming Christ as that very Jehovah God who had become flesh for the salvation of the world.

There’s simply no way of getting around these inspired truths of the God-breathed Scriptures.

FURTHER READING

PETER & THE DEITY OF CHRIST

NWT: A PERVERTED TRANSLATION

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Deity of Christ

THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION PROVES JESUS IS UNCREATED!

The New World Translation Proves Jesus Reigns as Jehovah in Heaven!

New World Translation On Jehovah Becoming Flesh

NWT: A PERVERTED TRANSLATION

In this post I will furnish another example how the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is a perversion of God’s Word, a diabolical translation produced for the express purpose of robbing Christ of his Deity and undermining the Trinity.

THE HOLY SPIRIT OF JEHOVAH JESUS

The Apostle Peter writes that it was actually the Spirit of Christ who inspired the [O]ld [T]estament prophets to announce his coming to suffer for the salvation of the world and the subsequent glories that would follow:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, inquiring to know what time or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.” 1 Peter 1:10-12 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

To say that the prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit of Christ to speak and record the revelations of his coming is truly astonishing in light of the fact that the Hebrew Bible is emphatically clear that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah’s Spirit. The OT is also emphatic that it was the Spirit of Jehovah who instructed the prophets, and not the Spirit of another!

“So Pharʹaoh said to his servants: ‘Can another man be found like this one in whom there is the spirit of God?’” Genesis 41:38

“These are the last words of David: ‘The word of David the son of Jesʹse, And the word of the man who was raised on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, The pleasant singer of the songs of Israel. The spirit of Jehovah spoke through me; His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke; To me the Rock of Israel said: “When the one ruling over mankind is righteous, Ruling in the fear of God,”’” 2 Samuel 23:1-3

“And you gave your good spirit to give them insight, and you did not hold back your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water when they were thirsty… You extended patience to them for many years and kept warning them by your spirit through your prophets, but they refused to listen. Finally you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” Nehemiah 9:20, 30

“Do not cast me out from your presence; And do not take your holy spirit away from me.” Psalm 51:11

“‘Come near to me, and hear this. From the very start I have not spoken in secret. From the time it happened I was there.’ And now the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has sent me, and his spirit.” Isaiah 48:16

“The spirit of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah is upon me, Because Jehovah anointed me to declare good news to the meek. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And the wide opening of the eyes to the prisoners,” Isaiah 61:1

“But they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit. He then turned into their enemy, And he fought against them. And they remembered the days of old, The days of Moses his servant: ‘Where is the One who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is the One who put within him His holy spirit… Just like livestock when they go down into the valley plain, The spirit of Jehovah made them rest.’ This is how you led your people, To make a majestic name for yourself.” Isaiah 63:10-11, 14

“And you will have to know that I am in the midst of Israel And that I am Jehovah your God—there is no other! My people will never again be put to shame. After that I will pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh, And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, And your young men will see visions.  And even on my male slaves and female slaves I will pour out my spirit in those days.” Joel 2:27-29

“As for me, I am filled with power by the spirit of Jehovah, And with justice and might, To tell to Jacob his revolt and to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8

“They made their heart like a diamond and would not obey the law and the words that Jehovah of armies sent by his spirit through the former prophets. So there came great indignation from Jehovah of armies.” Zechariah 7:12

Nor is this the only place where the Holy Spirit is said to be the Spirit of Jesus Christ, God’s Son:

“Moreover, they traveled through Phrygʹi·a and the country of Ga·laʹti·a, because they were forbidden by the holy spirit to speak the word in the province of Asia. Further, when they came down to Mysʹi·a, they made efforts to go into Bi·thynʹi·a, but the spirit of Jesus did not permit them.” Acts 16:6-7

“However, you are in harmony, not with the flesh, but with the spirit, if God’s spirit truly dwells in you. But if anyone does not have Christ’s spirit, this person does not belong to him. But if Christ is in union with you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness.  If, now, the spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his spirit that resides in you. So, then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh; for if you live according to the flesh, you are sure to die; but if you put the practices of the body to death by the spirit, you will live. For all who are led by God’s spirit are indeed God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again, but you received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: “Abba, Father!’ The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. If, then, we are children, we are also heirs—heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ—provided we suffer together so that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:9-17

“But when the full limit of the time arrived, God sent his Son, who was born of a woman and who was under law, that he might release by purchase those under law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons. Now because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, and it cries out: ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, then you are also an heir through God.” Galatians 4:4-7

“for I know that this will result in my salvation through your supplication and with the support of the spirit of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:19

With the foregoing in view, the only way that Jewish believers such as Peter could ever identify the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ, and state that it was Christ’s own Spirit who inspired the prophets, is if these monotheistic Jews actually thought of and confessed Jesus as Jehovah God Almighty who became a human being.  

Note the logic behind my argument:

  1. The Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets is the Spirit of Jehovah, and of no other.
  2. The Spirit of Christ is the One who inspired the prophets.
  3. Jesus is, therefore, Jehovah God who became flesh (even though he is not the Father or the Holy Spirit).

Since both premises are biblically valid the conclusion, therefore, is valid as well.

Knowing this, the Society has deliberately mistranslated the verse in 1 Peter by rendering the Greek sentence where the Spirit is expressly said to be that of Christ in such a way as to disconnect the Holy Spirit from Christ.

Here’s their translation of the text in question:

“They kept on investigating what particular time or what season the spirit within them was indicating concerning Christ as it testified beforehand about the sufferings meant for Christ and about the glory that would follow.” 1 Peter 1:11

That the Society has deliberately perverted what Peter actually wrote can be easily proven from their very own Greek Interlinear and the other Bible versions that they make available on their own website. I quote these sources here for the benefit of the readers:

ἐραυνῶντες εἰς ποῖον καιρὸν ἐδήλου τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ προμαρτυρόμενον τὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας

eraunontes eis tina e poion kairon edelou to en autois pneuma Christou promartyromenon ta eis Christon pathemata kai tas meta tauta doxas  

“searching into what or what sort of appointed time was making evident THE IN THEM SPIRIT OF CHRIST witnessing beforehand about the into Christ sufferings and the after these things glories.” (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/kingdom-interlinear-greek-translation/books/1-peter/1/#v60001011)

“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (King James Version https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/king-james-version/books/1-peter/1/#v60001011)

“searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them.” (American Standard Version https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/american-standard-version/books/1-peter/1/#v60001011)

“searching to find out what time or what sort of time Christ’s spirit in them was pointing to in testifying beforehand the sufferings to which Christ was destined and the glory after these;” (The Bible in Living English https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/byington/books/1-peter/1/#v60001011)

“Searching into what particular or what manner of season the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to when witnessing beforehand as to—The sufferings for Christ And the glories after these,—” (The Emphasized Bible https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/rotherham/Bible-Navigation/1-peter/1/#v60001011)

It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that the the Society chose to willfully mistranslate the inspired words of the blessed apostle because they did not want their members to come to the realization that Peter was identifying Jesus Christ as Jehovah Incarnate.

Such a deliberate perversion of God’s inspired Scriptures is a clear-cut sign that the NWT is a diabolical version produced for the express purpose of hiding the explicit, unambiguous testimony of Scripture that the true God is Triune in nature, and that Jesus is Jehovah God the Son who is essentially coequal to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revision).

FURTHER READING

THE NWT BIBLE: A DIABOLICAL PERVERSION OF SCRIPTURE, PT. 2

PETER & THE DEITY OF CHRIST

ADDENDUM

I post a slew of mainstream and lesser known English translations of 1 Peter 1:11 in order to help the readers appreciate the travesty of the NWT in hiding the inspired Apostle’s explicit testimony to the Deity of Christ.

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” CSB

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” CEB

“… the Spirit of the Messiah in them…” CJB

“The Spirit of Christ was in them…” CEV

“… the Spirit of Christ in them…” DLNT

“… the Spirit of Christ in them…” DRA

“The Spirit of Christ was in those prophets…” ERV

“… Christ’s Spirit showed those prophets…” EASY

“… the Spirit of Christ in them…” EHV

“… the Spirit of Christ in them…” ESV

“The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets…” EXB

“… the Spirit of Christ kept referring to…”GW

“… Christ’s Spirit in them…” GNT

“The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets…” ICB

“… the Spirit of the Messiah in them…” ISV

“… the Spirit of Christ working in them…” PHILLIPS

“… the Spirit of Christ in them…” LEB

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” TLB

“… The Messiah’s Spirit let them in on some of it…” MSG

“… the Spirit of Christ, who was within them…” MEV

“… the Spirit of Christ who was in them…” MOUNCE

“… the Spirit of Christ kept referring to…” NOG

“…the Spirit of Christ within them…”NABRE

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” NASB

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…”NCB

“The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets…” NCV

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” NET

“… the Spirit of Christ in them…” NIV

“… the Spirit of Christ who was in them…” NKJV

“The Spirit of Christ in them…” NLV

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” NLT

“… the Spirit of Christ that was in them…” NMB

“… that the Spirit of Christ within them…” NRSVUE

“… the Messiah’s spirit within them…” NTFE

“… the Ruach of Moshiach in them…” OJB

“… the Spirit of Christ (Who testified before) was in them…” RGT

“… the Spirit of Christ within them…” RSV

“… the Ruach of Messiah within them…” TLV

“… the indwelling Spirit of the Anointed…” VOICE

“… the Spirit of Christ, which was in them…” WEB

“The Spirit of Christ in them…” WE

“… the Spirit of Christ signified in them…” WYC

“… the Spirit of Christ that was in them…” YLT

PETER & THE DEITY OF CHRIST

In this post I will furnish another case to illustrate why translations matter. I will be focusing on the inspired witness of the letters that the Spirit moved Peter to compose, commonly known as the Petrine Epistles.

These letters explicitly state that they were composed by Peter, and that the blessed Apostle even used an amanuensis (secretary/scribe) for at least one of them:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen.” 1 Peter 1:1

“Through Silvanus, our faithful brother as I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and bearing witness that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.” 1 Peter 5:12-13 

“Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:” 2 Peter 1:1

“This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,” 2 Peter 3:1

The 2nd letter also refers to the time when Peter saw Christ transfigured on the Mountain:

“For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly devised myths, but being eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” 2 Peter 1:16-18 – Cf. Matt. 17:1-13; Mark 9:1-9; Luke 9:29-36

Unless noted otherwise, the translation I will be employing is the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) since this version is based on the critical Greek NT text, collated from the earlier papyri and major codices. I call this the Critical Text (CT). It is not based on the Byzantine or Majority Text (MT), or even the Received Text (Textus Receptus [TR]), from which the King James Version was produced. In the conclusion, I will mention the major variant reading which impacts the Christology of one specific verse from Peter’s epistles.   

SPIRIT OF YHWH JESUS

To begin with, Peter identifies the Holy Spirit who spoke to and through the prophets in revealing the future sufferings and glorification of the Messiah as the Spirit of Christ:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, inquiring to know what time or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.” 1 Peter 1:10-12

For a Jew to describe the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of a fellow Jew is truly astonishing seeing that the Holy Spirit who inspired the OT prophets is clearly identified as the Spirit of YHWH God Almighty!

“You gave Your good Spirit to give them insight, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst… However, You bore with them for many years, And testified to them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. So You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” Nehemiah 9:20, 30

“The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘He who rules over men as a righteous one, Who rules in the fear of God,’” 2 Samuel 23:2-3 

“Draw near to Me, hear this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. So now Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit.”” Isaiah 48:16

“The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners,” Isaiah 61:1

“On the other hand I am filled with power— With the Spirit of Yahweh— And with justice and might To declare to Jacob his transgression, Even to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8

“And they made their hearts diamond-hard so that they could not hear the law and the words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts.” Zechariah 7:12

In light of the above, the only way that Peter could say that the Holy Spirit is Christ’s Spirit is if he believed that Jesus is indeed YHWH God Incarnate.

TASTING THE KINDNESS OF YHWH JESUS

The Apostle speaks to the believers who have tasted the kindness of the Lord Jesus in contrast to those that had rejected Him, the living Stone chosen by and precious to God:   

“if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord (egeusasthe hoti chrestos ho Kyrios). And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,” 1 Peter 2:3-4 

Here, Peter has applied to the risen Jesus the very language of the Psalmist, who invites mankind to taste for themselves how good YHWH truly is:

“O taste and see that Yahweh is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8

“Taste and see that the Lord is good (geusasthe… hoti chrestos ho Kyrios): blessed is the man who hopes in him.” Psalm 33:9 LXX

Once again, the only way that a Jewish monotheist could ascribe a text about YHWH to the Man Jesus is if that Jewish believer had become convinced of the fact that the risen Christ was no mere Jewish Man. Rather, this simply hammers the point that the blessed Apostle must have believed that Jesus is in actual fact YHWH God who became a human being.

THE JUST GOD WHO SAVES

The foregoing helps us appreciate why Peter in his second epistle could speak of Jesus being the God and Savior of believers:

“Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (dikaiosyne tou Theou hemon kai Soteros ‘Iesou Christou):” 2 Peter 1:1

The inspired Apostle is again (are the readers surprised at this point?) alluding to an OT text where YHWH is said to be the only just God and Savior of the world:

“Declare and draw near with your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has made this heard from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21-22

Note what the Greek says:

“If they will declare, let them draw nigh, that they may know together, who has caused these things to be heard from the beginning: then was it told you. I am God (ego ho Theos), and there is not another beside me; a just [God] and a Saviour (dikaios kai Soter); there is none but me.” Isaiah 45:21 LXX

Peter employs the same Greek grammatical construction in several places throughout his inspired letter, which no one seriously doubts are references to the risen Christ:

“for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou Kyriou hemon kai Soteros ‘Iesou Christou) will be abundantly supplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:11

“For if they are overcome, having both escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou Kyriou hemon kai Soteros ‘Iesou Christou) and having again been entangled in them, then the last state has become worse for them than the first.” 2 Peter 2:20 – Cf. 3:2, 18

The language employed in the aforementioned texts echoes the way the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible describes YHWH God:

“Then when she had become majestic, after calling upon the all-seeing God and savior (Theon kai sotera), she took along two of her attendants;” D:2 

“Then, when she had become majestic, and after calling upon the all-knowing One and savior God, she took along with her two attendants;” 5:2 (Esther, translated by Karen H. Jobes, in A New English Translation of the Septuagint [NETS], including corrections and emendations made in the second printing (2009) and corrections and emendations [Oxford University Press , 2014], p. 433; emphasis mine)

“[A Psalm] of David, before he was anointed.] The Lord (Kyrios) is my light and my Saviour (soter mou); whom shall I fear? the Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?… Turn not thy face away from me, turn not thou away from thy servant in anger: be thou my helper, forsake me not; and, O God my Saviour (ho Theos ho soter mou), overlook me not.” Psalm 26:1, 9 LXX

“Behold, the Lord is my God, my savior (ho Theos mou soter mou Kyrios); I will trust in him and will not be afraid, because the Lord is my glory and my praise and he has become my salvation (soterian).” Isaiah 12:2 (Esaias, translated by Moisés Silva, in NETS, p. 834; emphasis mine)

“So Jacob ate and was filled, and the beloved one kicked; he grew fat, he became thick and broad: then he forsook the God that made him, and departed from God his Saviour (Theou soteros autou).” Deuteronomy 32:15 LXX

I again reiterate this point. The only way that Jewish monotheists such as Peter would dare to confess Christ as the Lord, God and Savior of the believers is if they/he had become convinced that Jesus is YHWH God in the flesh.

THE LORD WHO IS ETERNALLY PRAISED

Seeing that the Apostle clearly viewed Jesus as YHWH God who became Man, it should therefore not surprise the readers that he concludes his second epistle with a doxology to the risen Lord, which is an ascription of eternal glory and praise that one is supposed to give to God alone:

“that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior (tou Kyriou kai Soteros) spoken by your apostles… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou Kyriou hemon kai Soteros ‘Iesou Christou). To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:2, 18

Contrast this with the doxologies that Peter offers to God the Father:

“whoever speaks, as one speaking the oracles of God; whoever serves, as one serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

“And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, strengthen, confirm, and ground you. To Him be might forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

This again highlights the fact that Peter must have viewed Christ as being essentially coequal with the Father, and therefore worthy of the same glory, honor and praise which the Father is supposed to receive from all believers.

REVERENCING YHWH JESUS

The next examples are also remarkable:

“For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.’ This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief corner stone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this stumbling they were also appointed.” 1 Peter 2:6-8

“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their fear, and do not be troubled (ton de phobon auton me phobethete mede tarachthete), but sanctify Christ as Lord (Kyrion de, ton Christon hagiasate) in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear,” 1 Peter 3:14-15 

Peter has taken (surprise!) the very description which Isaiah attributes to YHWH, and applied it to the risen Christ.

Note what the blessed prophet wrote in regards to reverencing YHWH, the Stone and Rock that causes unbelievers to stumble:

“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy; And you are not to fear what they fear, and you shall not tremble. It is Yahweh of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your cause of trembling. Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Isaiah 8:12-14

Now compare the way the Greek versions (known as the Septuagint [LXX]) render the Hebrew of Isaiah:

“Let them not say, [It is] hard, for whatsoever this people says, is hard: but fear not ye their fear, neither be dismayed (ton de phobon autou ou me phobethete oude me tarachthete). Sanctify ye the Lord himself (Kyrion auton hagiasate); and he shall be thy fear. And if thou shalt trust in him, he shall be to thee for a sanctuary; and ye shall not come against [him] as against a stumbling-stone, neither as against the falling of a rock: but the houses of Jacob are in a snare, and the dwellers in Jerusalem in a pit.” Isaiah 8:12-14 LXX

The Greek of both Isaiah and Peter are virtually identical, making the identification of Jesus as YHWH absolutely certain and inescapable… unless, of course, one takes into consideration the fact that there is a variant reading, which affects the meaning of this citation from Peter.

This now brings me to my final point.

A VARIANT THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

As noted, 1 Pete 3:15 is a passage which is affected by a variant reading, one that directly impact the issue of whether Christ is being identified as YHWH.

I will cite a slew of translations from both the Critical Text (CT) stream, and the Majority Text/Received Text (MT/TR), which will help the readers see the difference that exists in the manuscripts (MSS).

CT

“but treat the Messiah as holy, as Lord in your hearts; while remaining always ready to give a reasoned answer to anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you — yet with humility and fear,” CJB

“But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have.” ERV

“Instead, always remember that Christ is your Lord. Let him rule how you live. People may ask you, ‘Why do you trust God to help you?’ You must always be ready to answer them about that.” EASY

“But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.” EHV

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” ESV

“Instead, exalt the Messiah as Lord in your lives. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have.” ISV

“But dedicate your lives to Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence in God when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect.” NOG

“But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have,” NCV

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” NIV

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” NLT

“But reverence in your levavot Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach as Adoneinu, prepared always for a hitstaddekut (an apologetic defense) to everyone coming to you with a she’elah (question), ready with a word concerning the tikvah in you,” OJB

“but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence;” RSV

“But hallow ye the Lord Christ in your hearts, and evermore be ye ready to [do] satisfaction to each man asking you reason of that faith and hope that is in you, but with mildness and dread,” WYC

MT/TR

“but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” AKJV

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and fear.” MEV

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” NKJV

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear,” WEB

As the readers can see, English versions based on the CT all have Christ as the Lord whom believers are to regard and revere as holy. On the other hand, the reading found in the MT/TR have the term God (Theon) as opposed to the word Christ (Christon). Therefore, according to the MT/TR it is the Lord God whom believers are to revere.

The NET has a textual note here explaining the MSS evidence for the two variants:

tc Most later mss, including some significant ones (P 5 81 436 442 1735 2344 2492 M) have θεόν (theon, “God”) instead of Χριστόν (Christon; “Christ”) here. But Χριστόν is widely supported by excellent and early witnesses (P א A B C Ψ 33 1175 1243 1611 1739 1852 latt sy co), and as a less common idiom better explains the rise of the other reading. (NET Bible https://netbible.org/bible/1+Peter+3; emphasis mine)

Hence, whether 1 Peter 3:15 is a place in the Petrine writings where Christ is identified as YHWH God Almighty depends on whether a person believes that the original readings of the inspired autographs are to be found in the CT. If so, then this is another case where Peter identifies his Lord as YHWH God Incarnate.

If, however, the individual believes that the original inspired words are located within the MT/TR then 1 Peter 3:15 must be jettisoned since according to these MSS this verse does not describe the risen Christ as YHWH.

Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references are from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).

FURTHER READING

TEXTUAL CRITICISM & CHRIST’S DEITY