The Watchtower Answers Its Critics (Part 6) 9 Pag

8/8/2019 The Watchtower Answers Its Critics (Part 6) 9 Pag

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Questions 51-60

51. If the NWT is the most accurate word for word translation of the Bible,

why does it translate the very simple Greek phrase en autos as in him in

Col 2:7, Col 2:9, Mt 14:2, Mk 6:14, Lk 23:22, Jn 4:14, Acts 20:10, 1Cor 2:11,

Eph 1:10, Col 1:19, Heb 10:38, 1Jn 2:15, 3:5, 3:15, etc. but translates this

same Greek phrase as by means of him in 2Cor 1:20, 5:21, and Col 2:10,

by relationship with him in Col 2:11, in his case in 2Cor 1:19, 1Jn 2:8,

10, and in union with him in Jn 14:11, 2Cor 13:5, Eph 1:4, Phil 3:9, Col

2:6, 2Thess 1:12, 1Jn 1:5, 2:5, 2:27, 2:28, 3:6, 4:13, 4:15, and 4:16? See Gr-

Engl Interlinear. What is the reason for the addition of words in these verses

and for the inconsistency in translation of this very simple Greek phrase enautos? If the NWT was consistent and translated this very simple Greek

phrase en autos as in him in all the above verses, how would they read?

Is the WTS trying to obscure the point of the author that the Christian life

consists of a supernatural relationship with Christ?

There are dozens of Bible translations, if only for the simple reason thatthere is more than one way to say the same thing. Translators are notbound by some universal law to always translate each word the same wayevery time it appears. No translation does that. Words have meaningaccording to their usage in each context.

As for the "supernatural relationship" you suppose the Watchtower istrying to obscure, it is more likely the case that the questioner issupposing that the Bible should support his notion of some sort ofmetaphysical, mystical Christ. We will leave that for the questioner toclarify.

52. Jn 1:3 says that Jesus created "ALL things". What does the word all

mean to you? In Isa 44:24, God says that he "BY MYSELF created the

heavens and the earth and asks the question "Who was with me?" when the

heavens and the earth were created. If what the WTS teaches about the

nature of Christ is correct, how could God have been by myself when the

heavens and the earth were created if Christ had been created first? If Jesus

had been created by God, wouldnt he have been with God when everything

else was created? Likewise, if Jesus was a created being, then according to Jn

1:3, Jesus would have had to create himself. How would that have been

possible?


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While the questioner obviously possesses a thorough understanding ofbasic words like "all," he demonstrates a gross lack of spiritualcomprehension.

The context of Isaiah has to do with Jehovah asserting his superiority over

idol gods. Elsewhere, though, it is apparent that someone was withJehovah in the beginning. John 1:1, in fact, reveals that an entity called"the Word" was with God in the beginning. And, of course, informedreaders are aware of the invitation that God extended to a-then-unnamedpersonage when he said: "Let usmake man in our image, according toour likeness." What do words like "us" and "our" mean to you?Obviously, Jehovah God was not muttering to himself. There wassomeone closely associated with Jehovah during creation. However, itwas not the impotent false gods and idols that Jehovah was denouncingin Isaiah. The Scriptures reveal that the someone whom God referred toas being in his own likeness is none other than Christ.

53. If Christ was created by God and was the wisdom of God (Prov 8:1-4, 12,

22-31), then before Jesus would have been created, God would have had to

have been without wisdom. How is it possible that God could have ever been

without wisdom? In Prov 8:2, the feminine form of the Hebrew verb

natsab is used. This can only be translated as SHE stands. Similarly, in

Prov 8:3, the feminine form of the Hebrew verb ranan is used. This can

only be translated as SHE cries. If the NWT is the most accurate word forword translation of the Bible, why does it use the neuter pronoun it in

these verses when the feminine pronoun she is called for? How could

Christ be the wisdom of God in Prov 8, if the feminine form of the verbs are

used? In addition, why does the NWT use the neuter pronoun it in Prov

8:2-3, when wisdom is called sister in Prov 7:4 and she in Prov 9:4?

Jesus once said that "wisdom is proved righteous by works."Or in otherwords, wisdom is judged by what it produces. Reasoning on that principle,it should be self-evident that before God engaged in any creative work

there would have been no basis for gauging God's wisdom. Not only that,but obviously before creation there were no intelligent minds to evenobserve and judge the works of Godso in that sense wisdom did notexist because there was no one to appreciate the wisdom Godpossessed. As the Firstborn of all creatures, Jesus became the verypersonification of God's inherent wisdom. Paul wrote at Colossians 2:3,saying that all the treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge had beencarefully concealed by God in Christ.

As for feminine and neuter pronouns, wisdom is a quality not an actualperson, therefore, even though wisdom is personified as a person, it is stilla thing and as such it is proper to refer to a thing as "it."


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54. The Bible says that: The heavens are the work of Gods hands (Ps

102:25), the heavens are the work of Jesus hand (Heb 1:10); God laid thefoundations of the earth (Isa 48:13), Jesus laid the foundations of the earth

(Heb 1:10); God is our judge (Ps 50:6, Eccl 12:14, 1Chron 16:33), Jesus is

our judge (2Tim 4:1, Rev 20:12); God is the temple of the New Jerusalem

(Rev 21:22), Jesus (the Lamb) is the temple of the New Jerusalem (Rev

21:22); God is the alpha and omega (Rev 1:8), Jesus is the alpha and omega

(Rev 22:13); God is the first and last (Isa 44:6, 48:12), Jesus is the first and

last (Rev 22:13); God is the beginning and the end (Rev 21:6), Jesus is the

beginning and the end (Rev 22:13); Only God can forgive sins (Lk 5:21),

Jesus forgives sins (Lk 5:20); God is our hope (Ps 71:5), Jesus is our hope

(1Tim 1:1); God is eternal (Deut 33:27), Jesus is eternal (Isa 9:6, Heb 1:10-

11); God will come with all the holy ones (Zech 14:5), Jesus will come with

all the holy ones (1Thess 3:13); Only God is our savior (Isa 43:11), Jesus is

our savior (Tit 2:13, 2Pet 1:1); God is the creator of the universe (Isa 44:24,

Jer 27:5), Jesus is the creator of the universe (Jn 1:3); To God, every knee

will bow and every tongue confess (Isa 45:22-23), to Jesus, every knee will

bow and every tongue confess (Phil 2:10-11); God is the same and his years

will have no end (Ps 102:27), Jesus is the same and his years will have no end

(Heb 1:12); God is immutable (Mal 3:6), Jesus is immutable (Heb 13:8); God

is over all (Ps 97:9), Jesus is over all (Jn 3:31); the spirit of God dwells in us

(Rom 8:9), the spirit of Jesus dwells in us (Gal 4:6); God is a stone of offense

and a stumbling block (Isa 8:14), Jesus is a stone of offense and a stumblingblock (1Pet 2:8); God was valued at 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12-13), Jesus

was valued at 30 pieces of silver (Mt 26:14-16); God is our shepherd (Ps

23:1), Jesus is our shepherd (Jn 10:11, 1Pet 5:4, Heb 13:20); God is Mighty

God (Isa 10:21), Jesus is Mighty God (Isa 9:6); God is Lord of Lords (Deut

10:17, Ps 136:3), Jesus is Lord of Lords (Rev 17:14); God is our only Rock

(Isa 44:8, Ps 18:2, 94:22), Jesus is our rock (1 Cor 10:4); God is our owner

(Isa 54:5), Jesus is our only owner (Jude 4); No one can snatch us out of

Gods hand (Deut 32:39), no one can snatch us out of Jesus hand (Jn 10:28);

God is the horn of salvation (2Sam 22:3), Jesus is the horn of salvation (Lk

1:68-9); God renders according to our works (Ps 62:12), Jesus renders

according to our works (Mt 16:27, Rev 22:12); God loves and corrects (Prov3:12), Jesus loves and corrects (Rev 3:19); Gods words will stand forever

(Isa 40:8), Jesus words will stand forever (Mt 24:35); God is the eternal

light (Isa 60:19), Jesus is the eternal light (Jn 8:12, Rev 21:23); God seeks to

save the lost (Ezek 34:16), Jesus seeks to save the lost (Lk 19:10); Paul is a

slave of God (Tit 1:1), Paul is a slave of Jesus (Rom 1:1) even though no man

can slave for two masters (Mt 6:24); God raised Jesus from the dead (Gal

1:1), Jesus raised himself from the dead (Jn 2:19-21); God is our guide (Ps

48:14), Jesus is our guide (Lk 1:79); God is our deliverer (Ps 70:5, 2Sam

22:2), Jesus is our deliverer (Rom 11:26); God is called God (Isa 44:8), Jesus

is called God (Isa 9:6, Jn 20:28); God is the King of Israel (Isa 44:6), Jesus is

the King of Israel (Mt 27:42, Jn 1:49). Since the Bible does not contradict


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itself, how can all these things be true if Jesus is not God?

Long convoluted questions that seem intended to overwhelm the readerare best answered simply. The Bible's simple teaching is that Jesus is

Jehovah's Son. Being the firstborn of all creation, God generously gaveJesus the privilege of creating the universe and he also appointed his sonto represent him in all things. It is not a complicated concept. Humanfathers, especially during the days of the great patriarchs, usually favoredtheir firstborn sons. Under Jewish Law, the firstborn received a doubleinheritance. Why should it seem untoward that Jehovah allows hisfirstborn son all the privileges of God? Or should we suppose that beingJehovah's firstborn is something ordinary?

55. In Col 2:8, Paul condemns the traditions of men and in Mt 15:6, Jesus

condemns the tradition of the Pharisees that makes the word of God

invalid, since their traditions were making null and void the commandment

to Honor your father and mother (Mt 15:4). However, in 2Thess 2:15, the

Bible commands us to stand firm and maintain your hold on the

TRADITIONS that you were taught, in 2Thess 3:6 we are told of the

TRADITION you received from us, and 1Cor 11:2 says that the

Corinthians are holding fast to the TRADITIONS just as I handed [them]

on to you. By definition, the word tradition refers to the unwrittenteachings that have been handed down by word of mouth from one

generation to the next. See also 2Tim 2:2, 1Cor 11:2, 1Thess 2:13, 1Cor

11:23, 1Cor 15:3, and 1Tim 6:20-21. Since the WTS claims that the Bible is

its supreme authority, then in accordance with biblical commands, what

traditions do Witnesses maintain?

Paul encouraged the early Christians to observe the traditions passedonto them directly from the apostles of Christ. However, in time the oraltraditions of the apostles were written down in what we now know as theChristian Greek Scriptures. Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognize anyoral traditions that take precedence over the written Word of God.

56. Does the WTS claim "apostolic succession"? If so, can it trace its roots all

the way back to Christ (Mt 16:18)? Who was it then, that "passed the torch

of God's spirit" to C. T. Russell when he founded the organization? What

was the name of this individual or individuals? Similarly, since the anointedbelievers as an organization are claimed to be God's collective "faithful and


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discreet slave" that alone guides people in their understanding of Scripture,

and since this organization did not come into existence until the late-

nineteenth century, does this mean God had no true representatives on earth

for many, many centuries? If he did, who were they? What were their

names? Can you name one Jehovahs Witness who lived before 1800?

The Watchtower does not claim to have received any such grant ofauthority by means of apostolic succession. That is a Catholic doctrine,and an unscriptural one at that.

The apostles taught that they would nothave any sort of successor. Paulstated at Acts 20:29: "I know that after my going away oppressivewolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock withtenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speaktwisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves."

Paul also was inspired to reveal what some of the twisted teachings wouldbe. At 1ST Timothy 4:1-3, the apostle wrote: "However, the inspiredutterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fallaway from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspiredutterances and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of men whospeak lies, marked in their conscience as with a brandingiron; forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods whichGod created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who havefaith and accurately know the truth."This prophecy points an accusing finger directly at the Vatican, whichundeniably fits the prophecy's profile of teaching demonically-inspiredcommands, doctrines such as priestly celibacy and various dietaryprohibitions, such as the sanction against eating meat on Friday, andother similar restrictions associated with Lent.

Rather than receiving authority through apostolic succession, Jehovah'sWitnesses derive our authority directly from Christ by virtue of the fact thatthe core of the organization is composed of anointed Christians who are ina covenant with Jehovah through Christ, as were the original apostles and

first Century Christians. Also, Christ foretold that he would directly appointcertain of his slaves over his household of servants and that they wouldeventually be judged as men put in charge.

57. The NWT translates Jn 1:1 as "... and the Word was WITH God, and the

word was a god." How can the Word (Jesus) be "a god' if God says in Deut

32:39, "See now that I -- I am he, and there are NO gods together with

me..."? Similarly, the Greek word Theos does not have an article in Jn

1:1c and the NWT supplies the indefinite article a, rendering it and the


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Word was a god. If the NWT is the most accurate word for word

translation of the Bible, why doesnt the NWT add the indefinite article a

in other verses where the Greek word Theos does not have an article (eg

Jn 1:6, 12, 13, 18, etc)? What is the reason for this inconsistency in

translation? In addition, how could Jesus be a god since Jesus says that he

came against those whom the prophet called gods (Jn 10:35)? Is there anysuch things as a true god? If the WTS teaches this, then doesnt that make

them polytheists?

The Greek language did not have an indefinite articlewords such as "a"and "an." To distinguish between a general thing and a specific thing theGreek language used the definitearticle to denote something specific. Inthe verse in question, in the original language the definite article is usedbefore one God but not before the god that John 1:1 calls the Word. So, itliterally says that the Word was with the God and the word was God.English translations do not use the definite article before Godas if to saytheGod. But, in order to translate the idea embodied in the verse, it isnecessary for translators to use some device to let the reader know thatthe original language made a vital distinction between the two Godsmentioned in that context. Most translations fail in that, although not all.Here is a link to an article that lists all the various translations that renderJohn 1:1 differently than the common Trinitarian-produced Bibles.

To imply that the NWT was somehow tampering with the Bible byinserting the indefinite article "a" is deceptive. All translations liberally

supply the indefinite article in various texts even though it does not appearin the original Greek text. They do it to make a distinction betweenJehovah God and other godsthe same as the NWT does at John 1:1.For example, Acts 28:6 says in the NIV: "The people expected him toswell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time andseeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their mindsand said he was a god."

In the above verse, the translators inserted the indefinite article "a" eventhough it does not appear in the Greek. If they had not done so the readerwould have been given the impression that the Maltese people thought

Paul was God Almighty. That, of course, is not what they thought at all.But, the point is, that the translators were justified in adding that little letter"a" in order to make the verse conform to the meaning of the Greek.

The fact is that John 1:1 clearly refers to two separate entities, since thepoint of the verse is to show that the Word was with God; the honesttranslators are obligated to impart to the reader the distinction that existsin the Greek language. The NWT has done that.

But, rather than disputing over minute articles of the alphabet, truthseekers would do well to reason upon John 1:18, which says in the New

American Standard: "No one has seen God at any time; the onlybegotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained
http://hector3000.future.easyspace.com/wisdom.htmhttp://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=ACTS+28&language=english&version=NIVhttp://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=JOHN%2B1&showfn=on&showxref=on&language=english&version=NASB&x=14&y=11http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=JOHN%2B1&showfn=on&showxref=on&language=english&version=NASB&x=14&y=11http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=JOHN%2B1&showfn=on&showxref=on&language=english&version=NASB&x=14&y=11http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=JOHN%2B1&showfn=on&showxref=on&language=english&version=NASB&x=14&y=11http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=ACTS+28&language=english&version=NIVhttp://hector3000.future.easyspace.com/wisdom.htm


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Him." Jesus is not a competing false god like the gods of the nations.Jesus is a god who is in complete harmony with Jehovah. According toJohn 1:18, Jesus is a god by virtue of the fact that Jehovah God, theFather, begot him, or fathered him. After all, isn't that what a father does?The fact that no one on earth has ever seen God rules out Jesus being

God since Jesus was obviously seen by men.

It is noteworthy that for all the hand-waving and Bible-thumbingdogmatism of Trinitarians, Jesus never once claimed to be Godnotonce. Instead, he always said that he was God's Son. And John 1:1agrees with all Scripture; that Jesus has been with God since thebeginninghisbeginning that isthe beginning of creation.

58. The WTS teaches that the 144,000 of Rev 7:4 and Rev 14:3 is to be taken

literally. If these passages in scripture are to be taken literally, then the

144,000 are all literally male (Rev 14:4), Jewish (Rev 7:4-8), virgins (Rev

14:4). Was Charles Taze Russell a Jewish virgin? Are all women excluded

from this number? Are any of the other 144,000 people included in this

number Jewish virgins? If not, then how can this passage, including the

number 144,000, be taken literally? What justification is there for switching

methods of interpretation from literal, in the case of Rev 7:4 and 14:3, to

figurative in the very next verse(s)?

Discerning readers of the Bible recognize that the Scriptures are notalways speaking in strictly literal terms; nor are they always to beunderstood as being symbolic and allegorical. The unreasonable mind,however, insists that if the 144,000 are literal, than all the prophecy ofRevelation must be taken literally too. However, it is foolish to approachthe Bible in such a manner. It is not a matter of switching interpretations. Itis a matter of intelligently deciphering God's Word, which Jehovah'sWitnesses have done, in this instance.

The 144,000 are the spiritual organization that is built upon the 12

apostles. Are the 12 apostles symbolic? How about the 12 tribes thatdescended from the 12 sons of Israel? The millions of churchgoers whohave been indoctrinated with the idea that it is their birthright to go toheaven have very little comprehension what the kingdom of God actuallyis. According to Revelation, the 144,000 are Christians who are boughtfrom all tribes and nationalities and they are to be kings and priests andrule with Christ for the 1,000 years. That is what the kingdom of God is.

59. Jesus uses the phrase "Truly I say to you," over 50 times in the Bible. In


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the NWT, the comma is placed after the word "you" every time except in Lk

23:43, where the comma is placed after the word "today". Why is the comma

placed after "today" instead of after "you" in this verse? According to

Strongs Greek Dictionary, the word paradise (Gr-paradeisos Strongs

#3857) refers to the part of Hades which was thought by the later Jews to be

the abode of the souls of the pious until the resurrection, where Jesus wouldgo in order to preach after his death (1Pet 3:18-20, 1Pet 4:5-6). By using this

word instead of the Greek word for heaven, wasnt Luke showing that

Jesus was not referring to heaven when he made this statement? If the

translation of this phrase in Lk 23:43 was consistent with the translation of

this phrase in every other verse in which it appears (see concordance), and

the comma was placed after the word "you", how would this verse read?

Jesus may have frequently used the expression "truly I tell you,"but heonly once used the expression "truly I tell you today." The Questionerimplies that the NWT is inconsistent in punctuating that phrase, when thetruth of the matter is that Jesus only used that exact phrase on oneoccasion. The questioner appears to be either ignorant of his subject orintentionally deceptive.

As regards the big commaissue: There was no punctuation in the original,so it is up to the translator to determine how best to make sense of it.Since a doctrinal matter involving the nature of the soul and theresurrection is involved, the NWT translators placed the comma after"today," so as to read: "Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in

Paradise." Other translations, though, place the comma after the first"you," which causes the sentence to read as if Christ was promising theimpaled evildoer that he would be in paradise that very day. Whichtranslation is correct? The NWT is correct because Christ simply could nothave been in paradise that day, nor the day after that, nor the day afterthat. Jesus died that day. And just like Jonah was in the belly of the hugefish for three days, so Jesus was entombed in the earth for parts of threedays. Some translations even say that Jesus was in hell. Most reasonablepeople would likely be in agreement that there is a big difference betweenparadise and hell.

Since Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, it is impossible that the impaledevildoer was resurrected to paradise before Christ came back to life. Also,Jesus said that "unless anyone is born from water and spirit, hecannot enter into the kingdom of God." That means that a person mustbe baptized, not only in water, but in the anointing of the holy spirit.However, the anointing spirit was not made available until after Christreturned to heavenafter the thief had died.The truth is: the evildoer isstill dead, waiting to hear the voice of the Son of man calling him to life inparadise, just as Jesus promised him that day.

As for Strong's definition: Jewish misconceptions of paradise should have

no bearing on the Bible's use of that term. As an example, in 2Corinthians the 11th chapter, Paul referred to being caught away to what


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he called the "third heaven" and "paradise." Rather than link paradise withhell, Paul associated paradise with heaven. The Jews could not havebeen more wrong. But, even at that, Christ did not ascend to any thirdheaven or spiritual paradise on the day of his death.

60. What are the names of the men on the New World Bible Translation

Committee who supposedly translated the original Hebrew and Greek into

English for the NWT? What are their credentials that would qualify them to

produce a Bible translation? Why does the WTS withhold the names of these

people so that no one can see what their qualifications are?

The New World Translation committee wishes to remain anonymous. Thathas nothing to do with any lack of scholarly credentials. It is simply theway the Watchtower operates. It is not just the New World TranslationBible either; none of the Watchtower's books or magazine articles has thenames of the authors, except in the case of biographical articles. Besides,even if the translators were unlettered, a large portion of the Bible wasoriginally written by men who were derided by the God-hating intellectualsof that day as unschooled and ordinary men. But if the truth be told, if themodern translation of the Bible were completely entrusted to thesupposed learned men, no doubt the sacred word of God would have longago been reduced to a supermarket tabloid. From Jehovah's standpoint,

the primary qualification for writing, translating, or interpreting his Word isa passion for truth.

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