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#10 The Facts on Jehovah's Witnesses
The Theology of the Jehovah's Witnesses
10. What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe
about Jesus?
The Jehovah's Witnesses teach
that Jesus Christ was the first creation of God, the Archangel Michael. They
believe that he "had a beginning" and "was actually a creature of God." By so
believing, the Witnesses reject the Bible's teaching about Jesus.
The Bible teaches that although Christ is fully man, He is
also fully God (John 1:1; John 5:18; John 10:30; John 20:28; Titus 2:13;
Colossians 2:9: Philippians 2:1-8). It teaches that, as God, Christ is eternal,
not created (Micah 5:2; John 1:1-3). All these verses the New World
Translation dishonestly mistranslates to sustain its views (for examples,
see Question 14).
The Witnesses wrongly teach that "Christ Jesus received
immortality as a reward for his faithful course of action [on earth]. . ." This
is because "any failure on his part would have meant eternal death [extinction]
for him."
However, the Bible teaches something completely different. It
teaches that, as God, Jesus was already immortal and could never have ceased to
exist; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Neither did
He have to earn His own salvation because He was always sinless (Hebrews 4:15)
and immortal (Isaiah 9:6), and needed no salvation.
According to the Witnesses, the fundamental identity of Jesus
has been altered. They believe that the angel Michael was changed into the
mortal man Jesus, thus ceasing to be an angel. Later the man Jesus was changed
into an improved and immortal version of the angel Michael. This happened when
God re-created the man Jesus after His death. The Jehovah's Witnesses deny the
physical resurrection of Christ (John 2:19-21; 1st Corinthians 15:2-4,17,35-49),
teaching instead that when God "re-created" Jesus He made Him an immortal angel.
Jesus no longer existed and Michael had no access to Jesus' earthly body. As
Russell wrote, "the man Jesus is dead, forever dead."
But the apostle Paul disagrees. Writing long after Jesus'
death and resurrection, Paul taught there "is one God and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1st Timothy 2:5).
Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses deny the biblical teaching that
Jesus is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Finally, because the Witnesses teach that After Jesus' death
He was re-created a spirit creature (an angel), it is impossible that He could
ever return to earth visibly and physically. Therefore, they teach that Michael
returned invisibly in 1914. But the Bible does not teach that Michael has
or will return to the earth. Rather, the Bible reveals that someday Jesus will
return in a cataclysmic event and the entire world will recognize Him (Matthew
24:1-35). The Bible says Jesus will appear visibly, not invisibly, and
physically, not spiritually, to all the world. The Bible says Jesus will appear
in the same body He had while on the earth, although now glorified (John
20:24-28; Acts 1:9-11; Zechariah 12:19).
The Christ of the Jehovah's Witnesses is not the Christ of
the Bible.
John Ankerberg & John Weldon
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