One of the main teachings of The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society that differs from traditional historical and orthodox Christianity is that Jesus is a created being. The Watchtower teaches that Jesus was the first ‘thing’ that Jehovah God created and then Jesus, or Michael as he was first called according to the Watchtower, created all ‘other’ things. In this respect, Jehovah’s Witnesses recognize Jesus as the Son of God. He is considered to have all the same attributes as Jehovah just as any son would have of his father, yet he is not equal to Jehovah in deity. Jesus may be considered “The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived” but he is not God according to the Watchtower. The Watchtower quotes a number of Scripture passages to back this up. In order to understand how and why our Jehovah’s Witness friends understand this, we’ll need to see what Scriptures the Watchtower writers use and how they present them.

John 1:1

“In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”, So renders the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures of John 1:1 published by The Watchtower Bible and tract Society. I recall asking about this verse in one of my very first meetings with a Jehovah’s Witness. He told me that there were at least six other modern translations of the New Testament that agreed with this translation. When I showed him my shelves with over thirty different translations I asked him if he could show me which ones they were. He couldn’t offer me one. I helped him out by offering him one that did agree with the NWT in this verse and that was one translated by Jonhannes Greber who translated the New Testament with the aid of a ’spirit guide’ that helped him while under the influence of drugs. [1]

It is obvious that John 1:1 refers to the person of Jesus Christ. It seems that the ‘Translation Committee’ of the NWT has something in common with the drug induced spirit-medium Johannes Greber in trying to demote Jesus by inserting the word ‘a’ in front of ‘god’ with a little ‘g.’ I’d first like to note that there are no ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ case characters in the original Greek so using the lower case ‘g’ is an obvious preference of the translators rather than something required by the original text. Also, should anyone question whether or not the word ‘a’ was really part of the original Greek manuscripts or inserted by translators, one need go no further than the Watchtower’s own admission of insertion in their own publication The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the GREEK SCRIPTURES (1985) where on page 401, the word-for-word rendering of John 1:1 reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward the God, and god was the Word.”

“Well,” your Jehovah’s Witness friend may respond, “that’s not the only verse in Scripture that proves Jesus was a created being. What about Scriptures like Colossians 1:15 (Jesus is the firstborn of every creature) and Revelation 3:14 (Jesus is … the beginning of the creation by God) and Proverbs 8:24, of which most scholars agree this points to Jesus Christ? (Jesus was … brought forth)?” So let’s look at these verses and see what the Watchtower has to say about them.

Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;” NWT

The Watchtower teaches that this verse clearly shows that Jesus was created at some point in time as an angel. The publishers reason that “firstborn” in this verse means “first created.” [2] The Watchtower writers also reason in the book Reasoning from the Scriptures, that the word “firstborn” means that “Jesus is the eldest in Jehovah’s family of sons.” [3] The Watchtower’s Reasoning book also tells us that the term “firstborn” occurs over thirty times in the Bible. Just as the “firstborn” of Pharaoh refers to the first one born to Pharaoh, so is Jesus the first one “born” or created by Jehovah. Indeed, Jesus is “ranked with God’s creation, being first among them and also most beloved and most favored among them.” [3] Another book published by the Watchtower reinforces this teaching. In the book The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived we read Jesus was “a very special person because he was created by God before all other things.” [5]

Now on the surface, this seems reasonable to any thinking person. That is, it is reasonable if we are only looking at 20th century English words used by 20th century English speaking people. The Bible however was not written by 20th century English speaking people. The Watchtower writers however are 20th century English speaking people so they impose their own meanings into ancient Hebrew and Greek Scriptures without consideration for the meanings and purpose and usage of the original Hebrew and Greek words at the time they were written. We must always consider the original writer and the times and customs they lived in to understand the intention of the words he or she used. The word “firstborn” here is one that means something different to the Bible writers than what it means to us today.

“Firstborn” to the Hebrews refered to the son in the family who was in the “preeminent position” whether or not he was the literal first son born to the family. The term “firstborn” was used as a ‘rank’ or ‘title’ to describe the sons standing in the fathers eyes. It was a title given to indicate that everything that belonged to the father also belonged to the son. The “firstborn” son was equal to his father.

We see this meaning illustrated in the life of David. He was the youngest son of Jesse (last-born). Even so, we read in Psalm 89:27 concerning David, “Also, I myself shall place him as firstborn, the most high of the kings of the earth.” NWT Even though David was the last-born in his family, God gave him the preeminent position of ‘firstborn.’

We see another example of this meaning of “firstborn” in comparing Genesis 41:50,51 with Jeremiah 31:9. Manasseh was actually the first son born to Joseph, and Ephraim was born some time later. Nevertheless, Ephraim is called the “firstborn” in Jeremiah 31:9 because of his preeminent position. We also see this in the case of Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was thirteen years older than Isaac, but Isaac is called the firstborn. Another example is when Jacob claims the title of firstborn over his older brother Esau.

Before we move on to the next verse that our Jehovah’s Witness friend has challenged us with, let’s see what a Bible scholar has to say on the subject of the word “firstborn.”

Bible scholar F.F. Bruce tells us, “The word first-born had long since ceased to be used exclusively in its literal sense, just as ‘prime’ (from the Latin word primus - ‘first’) with us. The Prime Minister is not the first minister we have had; he is the most preeminent …. Similarly, first-born came to denote [among the ancients] not priority in time but pre-eminence in rank.” [6] he goes on to explain that if Paul had meant ‘first created’ in this verse, he would have used the word ‘protoktisis’ which means “first-created” instead of ‘prototokos’ which means “firstborn.” The word protoktisis meaning ‘first-created’ is term that is not even once used in reference to Christ in the New Testament [7]

Questions for our Jehovah’s Witness friend:

1.) In view of the fact that David was the last-born son of Jesse, what do you think Scripture means when it calls him the firstborn (Psalm 89:27)?

2.) In view of the fact that Ephraim was born to Joseph after Manasseh, what do you think Scripture means when it calls him the firstborn (Jeremiah 31:9)?

3.) Why didn’t the apostle Paul use the term “first-created” (protoktisis) in Colossians 1:15 if he intended to communicate that Christ was the first one created by Jehovah?

Revelation 3:14
“And to the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write: These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God,” NWT

This is another verse that the Watchtower uses to ‘prove’ that Jesus is a created being. Indeed, Jesus was “the first of Jehovah-God’s creations.” [8] The Watchtower writers relate this verse to passages like John 1:14, where we are told that Jesus is the “only begotten” of the Father. [9]

The Watchtower further supports this interpretation in their publication Should You Believe in the Trinity? where they have written, ” ‘Beginning’ [Greek: arche] cannot rightly be interpreted to mean that Jesus was the ‘beginner’ of God’s creation. In his Bible writings, John uses various forms of the Greek word arche more than 20 times, and these always have the common meaning of ‘beginning.’ Yes, Jesus was created by God as the beginning of God’s invisible creations.” [10]

In contrast to the Watchtower writer’s contention that the Greek word ‘arche’ always has “the common meaning of ‘beginning’ ” real Bible scholars [11] agree that the Greek word ‘arche’ is a truly unique word that can mean ‘beginning’ but can also carry the more important active meaning of “one who begins,” “origin,” “source,” “creator,” or “first cause.” Bible scholars agree that this is the intended meaning of the word in Revelation 3:14. [12]

The authoritative Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Christian Literature by William Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich says the meaning of ‘arche’ in Revelation 3:14 is “first cause.” [13] Furthermore, the word ‘arche in Revelation 3:14 is used to refer to “the active beginning of the creation, the One who caused the creation, referring to Jesus Christ not as a created being, but the One who created all things (John 1:3).” [14] Other Bibles, translated by qualified and educated translators, translate the word ‘arche’ in this verse as “the ultimate source,” “the prime source,” ” the moving cause,” “the source,” and as “the beginner” (of God’s creation). [15]

It’s also important to notice that the only other times arche is used in the Book of Revelation, it is used to describe God as “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). Certainly the use of arche with God Almighty does not mean that He had a created beginning. Instead, these verses tell us that God is both the beginner and consummation of creation. He is the first cause of creation; He is its final goal. The Greek word arche is used in the same sense in Revelation 3:14: Christ is the beginner of God’s creation (compare with John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). [16]

Based on this study of recognized and qualified scholars, it would seem appropriate to accept the primary meaning of arche in Revelation 3:14 as being “beginner,” first cause.” or “originator” of God’s creation. Some scholars have also translated this word as “ruler.” The New International Version translators demonstrate that Christ is the “ruler of God’s creation.” It is more probable that both senses are intended here since we see Christ portrayed in elsewhere in Scripture as both Creator (Hebrews 1:2) and Ruler (Revelation 19:16) of all things.

As we can see, the interpretation and translation of this word ‘arche’ as ‘beginner’ of God’s creation referring to Jesus harmonizes perfectly with other New Testament passages about Christ as Creator, whereas the Watchtower rendering of the word as ‘beginning’ simply doesn’t fit the whole of Scripture.

One thing that is very important to keep in mind when interpreting Scripture and that is that God does not contradict Himself. Scripture cannot contradict Scripture. So if we are to accept the Watchtower’s rendering of ‘arche’ as ‘beginning,’ then we will have trouble understanding Isaiah 44:24 where Jehovah says, “I, Jehovah, am doing everything, stretching out the heavens by myself, laying out the earth. Who was with me?”NWT Here Jehovah is telling us that He alone is the Creator, yet we see in other Scriptures (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2) that Christ is the Creator of all things. These Scriptures may ’seem’ to e contradicting each other but they are not. They are in perfect harmony because God is perfect. They are only contradicting Watchtower teaching.

Questions for our Jehovah’s Witness friend.

1.) Since we can see the use of the word ‘arche’ does not mean that God Almighty had a created beginning (Revelation 1:8; 21:6: 22:13), then why go against John’s intended usage in Revelation and insist that when used of Christ the word ‘arche’ indicates a created beginning?

2.) Did you know that the same John who wrote Revelation 3:14 also wrote John 1:3 - “All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.” NWT?

3.) Jehovah says in Isaiah 44:24, “I, Jehovah, am doing everything, stretching out the heavens by myself, laying out the earth. Who was with me?” How do you reconcile this with the Watchtower teaching that Jehovah first created Christ and then Christ created everything else?

Proverbs 8:22-24
“Jehovah himself produced me as the beginning of his way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago. From time indefinite I was installed, from the start, from times earlier than the earth. When there were no watery deeps I was brought forth as with labor pains, when there were no springs heavily charged with water.” NWT

Watchtower writers have used these verses to reinforce the teaching that Jesus was a created being. We can read in Should You Believe in the Trinity? the following, “most scholars agree that it [Wisdom] is actually a figure of speech for Jesus as a spirit creature prior to his human existence.” [17] Furthermore in Aid to Bible Understanding we can read, “Many professed Christian writers of the Common Era understood this section [in Proverbs 8] to refer symbolically to God’s Son in his prehuman state. … There can be no denying that the Son was ‘produced’ by Jehovah ‘at the beginning of his way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago,’ nor that the Son was ‘beside [Jehovah] as a master worker’ during the earth’s creation.” [18]

As is common in Watchtower teaching, these verses are taken out of context. When the Watchtower writers use phrases like “most scholars agree” and “many professed Christian writers understood” what they are really trying to do is mislead the reader into believing that this is common knowledge and so it would be foolish to question it. Strangely absent are any names for these “scholars” and “professed Christians.”

When we read these verses in context of the whole book of Proverbs we see that the first nine chapters of Proverbs deal with wisdom personified. A personification is a rhetorical figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract concepts are endowed with human qualities or are possessing human form. [19] In Proverbs chapters 1-9, wisdom is figuratively endowed with human qualities. [20]

Seeing that these chapters are referring to wisdom being personified, there is no indication or reason for us to believe that Solomon was referring to Jesus in chapter 8 but not in 1-7 and 9. If chapter 8 refers to Jesus then so must the other chapters. If this is the case then we must also assume that Christ is a woman who cries in the streets (1:20-21), and who lives with someone named ‘Prudence’ (8:12) in a house with seven pillars (9:1). So we can see that as soon as we try to read Jesus into chapter 8 of Proverbs, then none of Proverbs 1-9 makes any sense. This is why it is important to read Scriptures in the context of the entire verse, chapter, book and the whole Bible and not cut and paste them the way the Watchtower writers do.

To sum up then, Proverbs 8:22-24 is speaking metaphorically of God’s eternal wisdom and how it was “brought forth” (verse 24) to take part in the creation of the universe. Proverbs 8 is not saying that wisdom came into being at a point in time. And it certainly is not saying that Jesus is a created being, since the passage is not dealing with Jesus but with wisdom personified. [21]

Questions for our Jehovah’s Witness friend.

1.) If “wisdom” in Proverbs 8 is referring to Christ, and if the “wisdom” in Proverbs 8 is the same “wisdom” as in the first nine chapters of Proverbs (as the context clearly indicates), then who is the “Prudence” that Jesus lives with (Proverbs 8:12)?

2.) Do you believe that Jesus is a woman who cries in the streets (Proverbs 1:20,21)?

3.) If ‘wisdom” in Proverbs 8 was created by God at a certain time, doesn’t this mean then that there was a time that God didn’t have wisdom? What kind of a God is that?

The Apologetic Response

There are many more examples of how the Watchtower has consistently used Scriptures out of context to teach doctrines that are contrary to Christianity. We must always remember that the Jehovah’s Witness at our door is not our enemy, Satan is. These folks coming to our doors are eagerly and sincerely trying to please God. It’s not their fault that they have been deceived. Let us always be prepared to ‘reason from the Scriptures’ with these folks. Jesus died for them too.

Notes:
————————–
1.) The Watchtower writers have used Johannes Greber for years to support their teachings even though they knew he used a spirit-medium. At one point, the Watchtower did renounce Johannes Greber as a spiritualist but then later on continued to use his writings to support their own. For a reference list to verify this, click here.

2.) Aid To Bible Understanding, (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1971), pg. 918

3.) Reasoning from the Scriptures (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1989), pg. 408

4.) Let God Be True, (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1946), pg. 33

5.) The Greatest man Who Ever Lived, (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1991), Introduction

6.) F.F. Bruce, in Inerrancy, ed. Norman L. Geisler (Grand Rapids: Zondervon, 1979).

7.) Ibid.

8.) Let God Be True, pg. 200

9.) Ibid., pg. 107

10.) Should You Believe in the Trinity? (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1989), pg. 14.

11.) In his book ‘Crisis of Conscience,’ former Governing Body member Raymond Franz reveals the names and photos of all the members of the ‘Translation Committee’ for the NWT and also reveals that none of them had any formal education in either Hebrew or Greek. That is, none of them were qualified to translate the Scriptures in the first place. This is really why the translators are not named, not because ‘they are humble men who want all the glory to go to Jehovah’ as they would have their members believe. Regular readers of the Watchtower magazines will note that often times the Watchtower will quote ‘real Bible scholars’ by name when it suits the writer’s purpose. Should any Watchtower reader take the time to look up the names of these men who the Watchtower quotes to support them, they would discover that these scholars are not Watchtower scholars but actually ordained Trinitarian Christians of various denominations.

12.) Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1992), pg. 260.

13.) William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Christian Literature (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957), pg. 112.

14.) Zodhiates, pg. 261.

15.) See The Jerusalem Bible, The New English Bible, Barclay’s, Knox’s, Williams’s and Goodspeed’s translations of the New Testament.

16.) Notice in Colossians 1:16 how the Watchtower ‘translators’ inserted the word ‘other’ in reference to Christ creating things indicated by the square brackets [ ]. The original manuscripts do not contain this word. Even the Watchtower interlinear translation demonstrates this.

17.) Should You Believe in the Trinity?, pg. 14

18.) Aid to Bible Understanding (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1971), pg. 918

19.) The American Heritage Dictionary (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1978).

20.) The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), pg. 922.

21.) Ron Rhodes, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1993), pg. 129.

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