NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES—JEHOVAH or JESUS?

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES ARE BORN! On July 26, 1931, at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, Judge Rutherford, the Watch Tower Society’s Second President, introduced the Society’s new name, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses,’ based on Isaiah 43:10: “You are my witnesses,” declares Jehovah, “Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and have faith in me And understand that I am the same One. Before me no God was formed, And after me there has been none.” (NWT).

JW’s promote the Name Jehovah but rarely mention the name Jesus. In their book, Good News From God! pg. 4, Point 3. “Does God have a name?. . . Although God has many titles, he has only one name. . . In English it is usually pronounced 'Jehovah.'"

On page 20, Point 3 “How can you recognize true worshippers?” “Consider these five identifying marks.”  Mark #2 page 21, “Jesus’ true followers honor God’s name, Jehovah.” Mark #4. “Can you identify the true religion? Which religion bases all its teachings on God’s Word and honors God’s name.” The unspoken answer to the rhetorical question, “JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES.”

 

CONSIDER: Philippians 2:9-11. “For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly GAVE HIM (JESUS) THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY OTHER NAME, so that in the name of JESUS every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground—and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (NWT)

 

QUESTION—In the Bible, what name does Jehovah want us to exalt above every other name?

 

ANSWER—J E S U S !

CONSIDER: Acts 11:26, “It was first in Antioch that the disciples were BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE CALLED CHRISTIANS.” (NWT)

 

QUESTION: God (Jehovah) wants his followers to be called “Christians,” not “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” If God wanted the name ‘Jehovah’ to be highly exalted, why did he, IN HIS DIVINE PROVIDENCE, have the early believers called ‘Christians’ instead of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses.'

CONSIDER: In the following verses the name Jesus is highly exalted. Jesus when speaking, emphasized his own name. He could have said “THE NAME JEHOVAH” instead of “MY NAME”. BUT HE DIDN’T!

 

Matthew 10:22: “And you will be hated by all people on account of MY NAME, but the one who has endured to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 19:29: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of MY NAME will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit everlasting life.”

Matthew 24:9: “Then people will hand you over to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of MY NAME.”

Luke 21:12, 17: “But before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of MY NAME… 17 and you will be hated by all people because of MY NAME.”

Acts 9:15-16: “But the Lord said to him: ‘Go! because this man is a chosen vessel to me to bear MY NAME to the nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him plainly how many things he must suffer for MY NAME.’”

Rev. 2:3: “You are also showing endurance, and you have persevered for the sake of MY NAME and have not grown weary."

CONSIDER: John 5:22-23: Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son JUST AS they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”

What does John 5:23 teach? The WT would have you believe that the word ‘just as’ implies giving some honor to Jesus but not equal to the honor given to the Father.

 

Look up John 5:23 in the WT’s own Kingdom Interlinear Bible, 1969, Purple Cover. Look on the Greek side of John 5:23 and look at the Greek word translated ‘according as.’ It looks like this: καθως Its root word looks like this καθ.

 

These two Greek words can be found in the following verses:

 

II Cor. 11:12 – “Now what I am doing I will still do, that I may cut off the pretext from those who are wanting a pretext for being found equal (καθως) to us in the office of which they boast.”

 

The Greek word καθως is translated on the English side (which is the NWT) of the KIT as “EQUAL.” At John 5:23, let us put in this alternative meaning for the word. John 5:23 now reads: “in order that all may honor the Son EQUAL as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” DO JW'S DO THIS? Is the honor they give the Son EQUAL to the honor they give the Father.

 

Look for root word καθ at Acts 27:25 which reads, "So take courage men, for I believe God that it will be EXACTLY (καθ) as I was told." Also look at 2 Cor. 3:18 which reads, "And all of us, while we with unveiled faces reflect like mirrors the glory of Jehovah, are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, EXACTLY (καθ)  as it is done by Jehovah the Spirit."

At John 5:23, let us put in this alternative meaning for the word. John 5:23 now reads: “in order that all may honor the Son EXACTLY as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” DO JW'S DO THIS? Is the honor they give the Son EXACTLY the same honor they give the Father.

 

At Philippians 2:9-11, Jehovah (author of all scripture) gave Jesus a name that is to be “ABOVE EVERY OTHER NAME.”

 

At John 5:22-23, Jehovah (author of all scripture) wants believers to give Jesus the EXACT SAME HONOR THAT THEY GIVE JEHOVAH.

 

Can the WT say that they honor the Son and the Father EQUALLY, EXACTLY THE SAME. The WT says the Father is Almighty God. Is the son? Does the WT honor the Son by calling him Almighty? The Father is from everlasting to everlasting. Is the Son?

If you are familiar with WT doctrine, the answer to  the above questions is NO. The father is Almighty, the son only mighty. The father is eternal, the son was created by the father and therefore had a beginning and is not eternal.

 

Nowhere in the Bible does the word καθως or its root word καθ mean anything other than TOTAL EQUALITY.

The WT should change their doctrine to align with scripture instead of ignoring scripture in favor of their doctrine.