Introduction:
One of the core beliefs of Christianity is the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this belief separates Christianity from all other religions that claim to know who Jesus is. Whether they call him a prophet or incorporate him into a legion of other deities, all other religions seek to deny the unique status of Jesus as the Incarnate God, and the same is true of Jehovah’s Witnesses. According to them, Jesus is the incarnation of Michael the archangel, the first and greatest creation of Jehovah. Understanding proper theology, Christology, and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, we as Christians should be motivated by such gross mischaracterizations of our Lord Jesus to prepare ourselves for encounters with these heretics, and that's precisely what we intend to do in this article.
Key JW Beliefs and How to Engage:
There is no argument or rhetorical parlor trick which can substitute for simply knowing their beliefs and history. This article simply provides you with some ammunition for discussing the divinity of Christ with them. As mentioned before, JWs claim that Jesus is the physical incarnation of Michael the Archangel, and before and after Jesus came to earth, he existed as Michael. This is how they explain it in their own words:
At times, individuals are known by more than one name. For example, the patriarch Jacob is also known as Israel, and the apostle Peter, as Simon. (Genesis 49:1, 2; Matthew 10:2) Likewise, the Bible indicates that Michael is another name for Jesus Christ, before and after his life on earth.1
Those familiar with church history will recognize this as basically a repackaging of the Arian heresy from the 4th century, which denied the full divinity of the Son.
A further divide between Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses is the JWs’ English “translation” of the Bible called the New World Translation. The NWT was published in its entirety in 1961 by an anonymous translation committee “anointed by God”, and they regard it as the most, if not the only, accurate English translation of the Bible. The committee claims that they translated the Holy Scriptures directly from the original languages, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, but it is evident the translators had little knowledge of these languages. What is important to understand about the NWT is that in order to make the Scriptures appear consistent with their theology, the original committee altered many key verses which show Jesus is God.
One of the most notable verses changed is found in the prologue of the Gospel according to John. In the ESV, John 1:1 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and as the rest of the chapter makes clear, Jesus is the Word. However, the NWT reads the same verse as “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” A god? I can’t imagine these “scholars anointed by God” would forget that the Greek word Θεὸς (theos) has no indefinite article in front of it.2
But despite the “translator’s” best efforts, there are still ways to clearly demonstrate from the NWT that Jesus is God. We’re going to look at three pairs of verses, all of which involve an Old Testament verse referring to Yahweh being applied by New Testament writers to Jesus. It’s best to use these texts in a three-step process. First, ask them if Jehovah is being referred to in the Old Testament passages. They’ll most likely agree that it’s indeed referring to Jehovah. Second, ask them who the New Testament text is referring to. Again, they’ll likely agree it’s referring to Jesus. Third, simply ask them something along the lines of, “If the original text is talking about Jehovah and the Apostles are using that text to talk about Jesus, what does that make Jesus?” By creating agreement on the first two premises, you make it much harder for them to back out of the conclusion.
Isaiah 6/John 12:
The first passage to examine is Isaiah 6, specifically with its connection to John 12. As we go over these passages in the NWT, keep in mind that the divine name of God given in the Old Testament, YHWH (Yahweh), is always shown as “Jehovah” because JWs claim that Jehovah is how the proper English translation reads. This is not true as most scholars and linguists attribute “Jehovah” to a Germanic pronunciation of the Latin transliteration of the Hebrew word “YHWH.”3 In Isaiah 6 we have a stunning account of the prophet Isaiah receiving a vision from God as He sits on His throne. The chapter is introduced in the NWT as such:
In the year that King Uzziah 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.” (Isaiah 6:1-3; New World Translation)
The JWs should agree that Jehovah is the one Isaiah saw on the throne (since that’s what the text explicitly says). In the New Testament, specifically, the Apostle John records in John 12 Jesus prophesying his impending death, and the crowd to which he spoke did not believe he was the promised Christ. Verses 39-41 say:
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. (New World Translation)
The question presents itself: who is the him John is referring to in this passage? Well, a brief scan of the passage will show the only him in this passage is Jesus. But didn’t Isaiah see Jehovah? Absolutely, and the Apostle John says Isaiah saw “him,” which obviously refers to Jesus. Therefore, we can clearly deduce that Jesus is Jehovah.
Psalm 102/Hebrews 1:
The next set of passages proving the divinity of Christ in the NWT is Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1. The writer of Hebrews begins his letter discussing the absolutely unique nature of Jesus and His lordship. In fact, we see God the Father refers to Jesus, the Son, as God:
But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8 quoting from Psalm 45:6; English Standard Version)
Of course the NWT perverts this direct quotation from Psalm 45 and renders it, “God is your throne forever and ever…” However, just after this verse, the writer of Hebrews further supports his case for Christ’s superiority by quoting a particular section from Psalm 102. The first half of the psalm is a prayer of affliction, and the latter half devoted to praising God. The psalmist writes:
Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth, And the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain;
Just like a garment they will all wear out.
Just like clothing you will replace them, and they will pass away. But you are the same, and your years will never end. (Psalm 102:25-27; New World Translation)
While we know the psalmist is explicitly speaking of God, the reader can also see that the attributes the psalmist ascribes to this character can only belong to God. YHWH is the one who created everything and laid the foundations of Heaven and earth. We know one day Heaven and earth will pass away, but YHWH will remain forever and He is never changing. Yet when the writer of Hebrews directly quotes this passage, he is still talking about the Son, Jesus Christ:
And: “At the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; and just like a garment, they will all wear out, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as a garment, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never come to an end. (Hebrews 1:10-12, NWT)
The divinity of Christ is beautifully and seamlessly woven into the text.
Psalm 68/Ephesians 4:
The final pair of passages is the 68th Psalm paraphrased by Paul in Ephesians 4. The entire Psalm is dedicated to praising God for his strength and many victories throughout Israel’s history thus far. David continues extolling God and his might:
The war chariots of God are tens of thousands, thousands upon thousands.
Jehovah has come from Sinai into the holy place.
You ascended on high;
You carried away captives;
You took gifts in the form of men,
Yes, even stubborn ones, to reside among them, O Jah God. (Psalm 68:17-18; New World Translation)
Again, there should be no debate that David is speaking about YHWH here, and this is very significant because of who is discussed in its quotation in the New Testament.
In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul has finished revealing to the church in Ephesus the “mystery” of the gospel, how the Gentiles too are included in the new covenant. Paul then describes many wonderful gifts given by God to those who believe in him, and keeping all this in mind, he introduces chapter 4 urging the Ephesian church to “...walk worthily of the calling with which you were called…” (Ephesians 4:1; New World Translation) Then beginning in verse 7 Paul describes the true grace of Jesus Christ through gifts he gives to members of his church:
Now undeserved kindness was given to each one of us according to how the Christ measured out the free gift. For it says: ‘When he ascended on high he carried away captives; he gave gifts in men’.... (Ephesians 4:7-8; from the New World Translation)
Notice how the quote from Psalm 68, a passage talking about YHWH, is attributed to Jesus and his giving of gifts to certain members of the church in order to build up the church. This is yet another passage that can be read in the NWT that inexorably shows Jesus is YHWH.
Conclusion:
As false as their theology may be, the zeal and discipline JWs possess far outstrips even the most fervent Christians. It’s unfortunate that what they do for a false gospel we won’t do for the true gospel. Some JWs will spend up to 130 hours a month going door to door. However, this means that more often than not, the JWs will be coming to you, and you won’t have time to catch up on JW apologetics when you hear the knock on your door. Prior study and preparation is key, and this article is just a first step. If you want to dive deeper into trinitarian apologetics, one of the best resources is “The Forgotten Trinity” by Dr. James White. Not only is he a skilled apologist, but he also has expertise in the original languages (which the JWs will throw at you from time to time). Here’s to JW apologetics to the glory of the Triune God. God bless.
From https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel-jesus/
https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/general-apologetics/the-prologue-of-the-gospel-of-john/
Taking a complex discussion and distilling it down to a few key points is not easy. Nicely done with the "conversation starters". What I especially respect is that your approach is not an attack, but dialog-based.