Jehovahs
Witnesses:
Locusts From the Abyss?
«Hell is naked before Him, and destruction
(Heb:'Abaddon') hath no covering» (Job 26:6);
«Hell and destruction (Heb:'Abaddon') are before the Lord: how much
more then the hearts of the children of men?» (Proverbs 15:11);
«Hell
and destruction (Heb:'Abaddon') are never full; so the eyes of man are never
satisfied» (Proverbs 27:20);
«Destruction (Heb:'Abaddon') and death say, we have heard the fame
thereof with our ears» (Job 28:22);
«And they had a king over them,
which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue is Apollyon»
(Revelation 9:11).
Neatly dressed people
holding religious literature in their hand, approaching
passers-by, is a picture that is hardly surprising nowadays, so a phone call in my apartment did not take me by surprise,
either. And when a womans voice on the other end of the line asked if I wanted to hear good news of God, I knew right away
who it was and what the topic of the conversation was going to be. When I asked my interlocutor to introduce herself and her
religious affiliation, a predictable answer followed: I am with Jehovahs Witnesses World Organization.
She started our talk with a traditional question: did I
agree that not all religious organizations follow the path of truth? Naturally, my answer was yes, like there was anyone who
would ever say something different! And when she asked whether I agreed that there was one organization on this Earth indeed
representing God, I did not object, either. Jehovahs Witnesses go around saying that they are the best experts on the Bible,
with their churchs original name, «Bible Scholars», speaking volumes all by itself! Having only a very basic idea of theology
as a discipline, I did not contest her superiority in this regard, and just offered to discuss with her some points within
the Holy Scriptures.
But
my choice of the topic was not entirely random. In one of the issues of Watchtower, Jehovahs Witnesses published a very curious
little article, and I was interested in learning what my opponent thought about it. I asked my questioner to open her New
Testament, Chapter Nine, Revelation of St. John, or Apocalypse. I told her I was going to name chapter and verse, and ask
her to read them out to me. And then I said I would ask her to comment on those lines. She concurred, and started reading
to me in a steady voice:
«And
the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless
pit.
And he opened the bottomless
pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason
of the smoke of the pit.
And
there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was commanded them
that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have
not the seal of God in their foreheads.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment
was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
And the shapes of the locusts
were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the
faces of men.
And they had
hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots
of many horses running to battle.
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five
months.
And they had a king
over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath
his name Apollyon» (Revelation 9:1-11). (Abaddon - «the destroyer»).
Then I asked my opponent to read out to me a number of verses from the Old Testament referring, in one way or another,
to locusts and Abaddon, the angel of the abyss («the destroyer»). She went on reading:
«That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm
eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten» (Joel 1:4;.
«For a nation is come up upon my land,
strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the teeth of a great lion» (Joel 1:6);
«They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall
enter in at the windows like a thief» (Joel 2:9);
«But I will remove far off from you the northern army,
and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost
sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things» (Joel 2:20);
«Hell is naked before Him, and Abaddon hath no covering» (Job 26:6);
«Hell and Abaddon are before the Lord:
how much more then the hearts of the children of men?» (Proverbs 15:11);
«Hell and Abaddon are never full;
so the eyes of man are never satisfied» (Proverbs 27:20).
This done, we were over with quoting the Bible. I thanked the lady for her patience in reading out those verses to
me. And then I asked her who these verses referred to, and who did the authors of the verses she read mean to be Abaddon? The answer came immediately.
The woman told me exactly what I expected to hear, i.e., Abaddon was the angel of the abyss, the destroyer, Satan, and his
locusts were demons, evil spirits, creatures of hell. I asked her again: maybe she was mistaken, and it was something else
those lines meant? She kept insisting and saying that Abaddon was the angel of the abyss, the destroyer, was Satan, and the
locusts of the abyss were demons, evil spirits, creatures from hell. Only the blind would not see this, she added.
Let me add here that I
agreed with her completely there, but back then I had known something she could not have imagined. On May 1, 1998, Watchtower
published an article entitled «Jehovahs Day Approaches» and there it said, simply and clearly:
«Both in Joel 1:6 and Revelation 9:7 locusts symbolize
Gods people» and from the article anyone could conclude that these Gods people were Jehovahs Witnesses.
The unsuspecting Jehovahs Witness wanted to know why I
asked her to read out these verses of the Scripture. I asked her, jokingly, whether she thought her spirit was strong enough,
and inquired whether she had that particular issue of Watchtower handy. She said yes, and I suggested her to go back to the
article and call me in an hour or so to continue our conversation.
Nobody called, not one or two hours thereafter, and not even in a days time. Why didnt she call? What particular things
were there in this issue of Watchtower? Given the commentary of this particular Jehovahs Witness let me not dwell any longer
on the meaning of locusts and let us turn now to the article entitled «Jehovahs Day Approaches», published in Watchtower of
May 1, 1998:
«Imagine a
great horde of locusts! «For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a
lion, and he hath the cheek teeth (fangs) of a great lion ». (Joel 1:6-8) Is this applicable only to «people» - locusts, invading
ancient Judea? No, this prophecy has a lot more meaning. Both in Joel 1:6 and Revelation 9:7 locusts symbolize the people
of God. In the context of today the horde of locusts is nothing other than the army of anointed Jehovahs locusts, nowadays
joined by about 5 to 600,000 other sheep of Jesus (John 10:16). Shouldnt we be joyous belonging to this enormous assembly
of Jehovahs faithful? Gods army of locusts serves witness to the city known as the Christian world (Joel 2:9).
To complete the picture, let me quote from the questions
conveniently located at the bottom of each page:
«Who are present-day locusts? Why can we compare the activity of Gods people nowadays to locust invasion? Who in the
modern sense of Joels prophecy are Jehovahs locusts? What is the scale of locust invasion in the 20th century and how long
will it last? What do you say about taking part in the work of Jehovahs locust army?»
It follows that Jehovahs Witnesses published an article in 128 languages with a circulation of over 22 million copies,
where they proclaim themselves locusts from hell, presided over by Abaddon the destroyer, the angel of the abyss. And then,
in the person of my opponent, they commented on the article saying that Abaddon the destroyer was Satan, and locusts of the
abyss were demons, evil spirits, creatures from hell. The innocent reader can study these premises and make his or her own
conclusions.
No commentary
here. However, there is something I must add. According to the Holy Scriptures, after Jehovahs Witnesses are removed, a great
stench would erupt since they will do a lot of evil. It is in this context that the prophet discusses deliverance from the
locusts in the book of the Prophet Joel:
«But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him
into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink
shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things» (Joel 2:20).
Jeronem the Blessed said that in his time rotting locusts
in the area of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean caused such a stench and so spoiled the air that it caused plague, which
afflicted people and cattle. It is absolutely improbable that the prophet was talking there of Gods people and could use such
unflattering expressions talking of them. Prophet Joel, speaking of Gods people says the opposite:
«Then will the
LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send
you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen».
(Joel 2:18,19).
And God
promises His people that He will destroy the army of the locusts, which caused a lot of evil, and reward His people for the
harm locusts will cause:
«And
I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great
army which I sent among you» (Joel 2:25).
In none of these extracts from the Bible are locusts referred to as Gods people. Then there is a difference between
Gods Army, the force God uses to serve justice, and Gods people, His true followers. Jehovahs Witnesses, however, when they
say that in Joel 2:11 God calls locusts «His Army» combine the two notions in one. What this leads to is obvious. The woman
who gave her unbiased commentary over the phone did her very best putting things in place. Several days later I had another
phone conversation with yet another Jehovahs Witness, who was more experienced and - let me admit - was quick enough to see
that something was wrong with the article in Watchtower.
When I asked him who locusts stood for in the verses, and who the authors of the Holy Scriptures referred to under
the name of Abaddon, he said calmly: «Locusts of the abyss are Gods people, and Abaddon the angel of the abyss (the destroyer)
is Jesus Christ» ????? I can understand him and empathize: the goal justifies the means. He had no other way out but to admit
he was wrong, but Jehovahs Witnesses cant do that. «The faithful and prudent servant», as the Brooklyn Corporation of Jehovahs
Witnesses refers to itself, made a serious mistake, and local Witnesses now have to deal with the position they were put into
by the article of their leaders.
«And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, and there came out of the smoke
locusts upon the earth and their power was to hurt men five months».
The Scriptures say clearly that the real mission of the locusts is to harm people, and not to serve them!
« And
they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name is Abaddon»
It must be noted that in this verse «angel» precedes «abyss,»
meaning the home of evil spirits. Therefore, the king of the locusts is the messenger from the abyss, or Satan himself, who
could well go with the title of king. His name, Abaddon, is, too, a reference to Satan, who is destruction and death. If the
locusts of the abyss are headed by Satan, then they are indeed demons, evil spirits, creatures from hell. The Holy Scriptures
eloquently say thus:
«Hell is naked before Him, and Abaddon hath no covering» (Job 26:6); «Hell and Abaddon are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?» (Proverbs 15:11);
«Hell and Abaddon are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied»
(Proverbs 27:20);
«Abaddon and death say, we have heard the fame thereof with our ears»
(Job 28:22).
Logically,
the above leads us to a terrifying conclusion:
Hell, Abaddon the destroyer, and locusts are Jehovahs Witnesses!!
When asked who the authors of the Bible verses meant under
the name of Abaddon, the Jehovahs Witness was forced to reply that the angel of the abyss, the destroyer, was Jesus Christ
(!!!). This is virtually blasphemy!! A scary evolution follows:
Jesus Christ, Son of God, Michael the Archangel, and the angel of the bottomless pit, Abaddon, the destroyer, all fight
this war from the same side!!!
It is not easy to understand what thought processes were behind such statements. Incredibly, Jehovahs Witnesses believe
themselves to be locusts, the army of Satan carrying death, as stated in their literature. After this conclusion the answer
to the question who Jehovahs Witnesses serve, is simple. The logical conclusion to the many years of Jehovahs Witnesses work
is the book entitled, «Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand», published
by the Watchtower Society in 2002. In this publication once again Jehovahs Witnesses refer to themselves as locusts from the
abyss headed by Abaddon, the angel of the abyss and the destroyer, and illustrate this statement with a bothersome picture
of locusts emerging from the abyss. I dont need to analyze this work of the leaders of the Watchtower Society, I will just
quote a few closing lines:
«Their
king is the angel of the abyss. His Jewish name is Abaddon (Revelation 9:11). Jesus as the «angel of the abyss» and the «ruiner»
inflicted indeed a deadly plague on the Christian world» (p. 148).
I cant imagine anything more blasphemous to say of our Lord Jesus Christ! For they here present a picture of Him attacking
.....Christians!
«Stench», «stink», «worms», «hell», «evil», «thief», «abyss», «harm», «Abaddon», «destroyer», «locusts»,
«plague», «sorrow», «torture», «death», all of these words in the opinion of Jehovahs Witnesses refer to nothing other but
Gods chosen people. People everywhere - whether they are interested in theology or not - should take serious note on this
theological slant of Jehovahs Witnesses. Standing
in opposition to the entire Christian world, Jehovahs Witnesses pretending to be godly, openly declare their demonic affiliation.
Before this day no other religious group referred to its spiritual mission as «deadly plague», «spiritual torture of Christian
religious leaders», as Jehovahs Witnesses declare in their publication.
In the chapter of «Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand», where Jehovahs
Witnesses joyously refer to themselves as «locusts» and «plague», the questions to check understanding, which they offer in
the book, would scare away any reader:
«What are the locusts orders?» «How bad are the peoples tortures?» «How long should locusts torture Gods enemies, and
why cant we say it will be a short period of time?» «Why are the locusts allowed only to spiritually torture the religious
leaders of the Christian world, and not kill them?» One can easily suspect that some leader of Jehovahs Witness may one day
wish to order religious leaders of the Christian world killed, causing harm to people, «enemies of God»?
Here I want to forewarn those who care about their soul:
When you meet Jehovahs Witnesses, always remember it is not always gold that shines, and this article is yet another proof
thereof.
Is
Lord Jesus Christ Archangel Michael?
Jehovahs
Witnesses maintain that «before Jesus came to Earth, He lived in Heaven, and was a spiritual being. Jesus is the first creature of God» (From «What Does God Require of Us?», 1996, p. 6). They go on to explain that Jesus Christ is no other than Archangel Michael who is described in the Old
Testament.
In
their argument first and foremost they quote the words of the Lord «for my Father is greater than I» (John 14:28). If, however, you read into these words carefully, they acquire the meaning that even more so underscores
the Divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How
could Archangel Michael, being one of Gods creatures, compare himself to God, when the glory of Gods greatness is nonnegotiable
absolute truth, and He can not be compared to any of His creatures no matter how perfect they could be?
«To whom will ye liken Me, and make Me equal, and compare Me, that we
may be like?» (Isaiah 46:5)
Even
more astonishing is the fact that one of the angels demanded that he be worshipped equally with God:
«That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father» (John 5:23).
Such
a declaration could come only from Him, Who is much more than just one of Gods creatures.
«The Bible explains that this «firstborn» Son participated
with Jehovah in the making of everything else (Colossians 1:15-16), So when God
said «Lets make a man like Us», he referred to His Son. Yes, He Who later came
to Earth and was born by a woman participated in creating everything that is» (From «You Can Live Forever in Paradise
on Earth», pp. 58-59).
What
I ask is, if Archangel Michael had taken part «in the making of everything else», then how can we explain the following verses
of the Holy Scriptures:
«Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth
the heavens ALONE; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself» (Isaiah 44:24).
«But unto the Son he
saith, And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation
of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands» (Hebrews 1:8,10).
And, similarly,
«And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation
of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands» (Psalm 101:26).
Undoubtedly,
in these verses «Son» denotes obviously a different Persona than Archangel Michael.
«Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God» (John 5:18);
«The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest
thyself God» (John 10:33);
«The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he
ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God» (John 19:7).
Where
in the Holy Scriptures does it say that Jews had been wrong and misunderstood the words of Lord Jesus Christ «I am a Son of
God», when they declared to him that he «made Himself equal to God» (John 5:18), and «made Himself God (John 10:33)? And in what verse of the Bible did it say that Jesus Christ never meant this, and
where it was that he said directly that He was not equal to God, and that he wasnt God like His Father?
Jehovahs
witnesses say that Jesuss words «I am a Son of God» Jews mistakenly interpreted as «I am equal to God» (John 5:18), and «I
am God like My Father» (John 10:33), because Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Jehovahs Witnesses say, never meant this; in their
understanding, He is not equal to God, and He isnt God. It follows, then, that
the Lord was punished for blasphemy unfairly, by mistake, because He had never said directly that He «was equal to God», or
«I am God, like My Father». The meaning of the words «I am a Son of God», in relation to Jesus Christ, Jehovahs Witnesses say, is because «He was made before
all other spiritual sons of God, and that only He was made directly by God» (From «You
Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth», p. 58). Should an ordinary man have said
«I am a Son of God», Jews would have condemned
him for blasphemy, too, and the essence of the blasphemy here would be that such a man would have lied: he was made not «by
God directly», like Jesus Christ, but by God and Archangel Michael together. And
therefore, they who mistakenly take the words «Son of God», as meaning actually being a son of God, someone who inherited
His Fathers Divine nature, in the understanding of Jehovahs Witnesses, would simply take the Pharisees side (From «Should
You Believe in the Trinity?», p. 24).
Its
obvious that Jehovahs Witnesses simply lose the main meaning of the word «Son», meaning naturally similar to his «Father». The son of lion is a lion by nature; a son of man is a man by nature; a Son of God
is God by nature. Their thinking is so much clouded with overinterpreted verses of the Bible and distorted word meanings, that even this simple logical conclusion cant fit into their thinking.
Following
an unshakeable formula «One God One Person», Jehovahs Witnesses cant even theoretically imagine that when Lord Jesus Christ
said «I am a Son of God», Jews understood him absolutely, unlike Jehovahs Witnesses. It was this meaning that Lord Jesus Christ put into these words, being a true Son
of God in the very direct sense of the words:
«And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him
that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life» (1 John 5:20).
So it wasnt that Jews were «mistaken»; it is Jehovahs Witnesses who have masterfully distorted the meaning of
these verses taking upon themselves a very horrifying mission to prove to the entire world that God had a Son who had not
inherited His Fathers Divine nature.
* *
* *
*
Aspiring
to confuse as many people as it is possible about the nature of Lord Jesus Christ and the nature of God, in their publications
Jehovahs Witnesses put together confusing and long sentences, substituting one notion of another.
Its
a well-known fact that we define our nature by the word «human». That is to say,
every one of us is human by nature.
The
nature of God the Father in the Christian doctrine is reflected in the word «God», which is always written with a capital
letter. Its logical then that the same word defines the nature of the Son and
the Holy Spirit.
But
we must bear in mind that the word «god» spelled with a small letter, can also be found in the Holy Scriptures. In these cases the word «god» stands for a title. For instance,
here is a quote from the Scriptures, where the word «god» is meant as a title:
«In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them» (2 Corinthians 4:4).
In
this case the words «god of this world», refer to Satan. He has the title of the god of this world.
In
its turn the word «Lord» is a name, which is obvious from one of the verses of the Holy Scripture:
«but by my name «Lord» was I not known to them» (Exodus
6:3);
«I am the LORD: that is my name» (Isaiah 42:8);
«and they shall know that my name is The LORD» (Jeremiah
16:21).
Jehovahs
Witnesses in their publications introduce entirely new notions, saying that «God» and «Lord» are titles.
«Words «God», «Lord», and «Creator», just like «president»,
«czar», or «general», are titles that can be applied to various persons. (From
«Jehovahs Witnesses in the Twentieth Century», p. 4);
«God is only a title, like «President», «Czar»,
or «Judge» are titles» (From «You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth», p.
41).
Let
us now look at one of the sentences compiled by the authors of the Watchtower Society, where they use the words «God» and
«Lord» in their new quality:
«In most translations of the Bible the name of God
was removed and changed to title Lord and God» (From «What does God Require of
Us», p. 4)
Its
easy to see that in this sentence Jehovahs Witnesses play some fine substitution of terms trick. Obviously, the Christian
doctrine does not have «Lord» or «God» titles in the way and the context as presented by Jehovahs Witnesses.
If
we substitute the name of Jehovah by the title «God», then, given that God is only a title the following is true:
«Someone
who by their nature bears the title of God, instead of the name of Jehovah chose to have the title of God». It had been God Jehovah, and now it is God God, and both words are titles.
An
analogous change can be seen in the example of King David:
«Human by their nature bears the title
of king, instead of the name of David chose to have the title of King. It had
been king David, and now it is king King».
Then
ordinary Jehovahs Witnesses, who were taught by their leaders to accept any information without thinking if this information
should come from «the faithful and prudent servant», as the headquarters in Brooklyn refer to themselves, would not be able
to find their way through this havoc of titles. Practically no one from this
organization concerned themselves with the question as to what word denotes the nature of God the Father, if the word God
is only a title. Many of Jehovahs Witnesses, when asked who their Father was by nature, say God, not for a moment suspecting
that this is not true, since there is no such notion in their organization. More
experienced Jehovahs Witnesses in this case declare that Jehovah is only a spirit by nature, with a title of God.
If
we consider that Jehovahs Witnesses think the Son of God Lord Jesus Christ to be Archangel Michael, and the Holy Ghost is
not a person, but rather some Divine force, then the verse in Matthew 28:19, according to the Watchtower Society, would read:
«Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost», but bear in mind that in His nature the Father is not God, the
Son is not God, the Holy Ghost is not God; the Father is God, but its the title only.
Let
us look at the sentence in «You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth», p. 42 where it says thus of the Synodal translation
of the name of God:
«In
this Bible the name of God is translated by titles of «Lord» and «God».
To support this claim,
there is a quote from the Synodal translation on the same page:
«but by my name «Lord» was I not known to them» (Exodus 6:3);
Jehovahs
Witnesses, on page 42, say that Lord is the name, but they dont see it.
Let
us go back to the brochure «What God Require of Us?», p. 4, and consider one more sentence: «God has many titles, but only
one name».
In
the Holy Scriptures it mentions not the titles but the names of God:
«the
LORD of hosts is his name» (Isaiah 54:5);
«and
they shall know that my name is The LORD» (Jeremiah 16:21);
«but
by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them» (Exodus 6:3;.
«Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial» (Hosea 12:5).
With
the exception of the verses where the title «King» is assigned to the Son of God Lord Jesus Christ:
«Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion» (Psalm 2:6).
«I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King» (Isaiah
43:15).
* * * * *
Quoting
the Bible the Watchtower Society forbade blood transfusion:
«To take blood by mouth or vein shall mean defiance of
Gods law» (From «Jehovahs Witnesses in the Twentieth Century», p. 13).
Lets
compare what Jehovahs Witnesses say with the words of the Bible.
«There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they
that defile the man» (Mark 7:15);
«For
from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts all these evil things come from within, and defile the man» (Mark 7 21:23).
With
these words Lord Jesus Christ made it clear what defiles God, and what does not. But
contrary to the words of the Lord Jehovahs Witnesses continue to insist that there is something that comes into a man and
makes him defiled, quoting verses from the Old Testament to support their claim. Let
us turn to these verses:
«Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof,
shall ye not eat» (Genesis 9:3,4);
«And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any
beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for
the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the
life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut of» (Leviticus 17:13,14).
Jehovahs
Witnesses brought in there the meaning that had not been there. In these verses
the talk is about animals. Let us rewrite these two verses, and show in parentheses
whose blood and soul and body these verses refer to:
«Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
But flesh (animal note by V. R.) with the life thereof, which is the blood
thereof, shall ye not eat» (Genesis 9:3,4);
«And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel,
or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even
pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
For it is the life of all flesh (animal note by V. R.); the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto
the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh (animal note by V. R.): for the life of all flesh (animal
note by V. R.) is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut of» (Leviticus 17:13,14).
What
it says here in these two verses relates to the Old Testament ritual of sacrifice when God forbade the Jews to use animal
blood for food, and means that the blood of the sacrificed animal and its soul is one thing:
«For the life of the flesh (animal note by V. R.) is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul» (Leviticus 17:11).
Jehovahs Witnesses when they forbid blood transfusion,
refer to the verses that talk expressly about animals.
Spreading False Information on the Holy Trinity
When
Jehovahs Witnesses speak of the Holy Trinity in Watchtower, usually there is not a word of objectivity or essence in their
argument.
Holy Scripture say that the word «God» denotes, defines,
and represents the Holy Trinity, or three Persons, Divine in their nature: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. In magazines and brochures published by Jehovahs Witnesses, however, you see some
odd figures, accompanied by the commentary as absurd.
The Trinity represents three separate persons, Divine in
their nature, and we are created according to their image; they are not three persons in one, which transforms itself into
the Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost, as Jehovahs Witnesses try to say to their readers, when they write:
«According to the teaching of the Trinity, three persons
coexist in one god, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost» and «If Jesus were God the Almighty, He would not then
pray to Himself?» (From «You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth», p. 39).
To support this, let me also quote from «Should You Believe
in Trinity?» which brochure is in its entirety dedicated to this topic:
«In general this teaching says that God exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and then
it is one God.» (p. 3). I need to
note here, that speaking of the Holy Trinity, Jehovahs Witnesses always combine the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost into
one, and then try to refute their own argument:
«And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness (Genesis 1:26).
Some would say that «let us make» and «our» here refer to the Trinity. But
if you say: «Lets do something for ourselves», hardly would anyone think that you combine several persons in one (p. 14).
«Since Jesus had God as His Father, then Jesus could not be that same God» (p. 17).
«Did God say that He was His own Son, that He was well pleased in Himself, that He sent Himself?» (p. 18)
«Who did He pray to? To a part of Himself?» (p. 18)
«Who did Jesus address? Himself or a part of Himself?» (p. 18)
«Who raised Jesus from the dead? If He were indeed dead, He wouldnt have resurrected Himself.» (p. 18)
«If you stand before someone, could you be one and the same person with him? You must be some other, separate being».
(p. 19).
Naturally, these quotes have nothing to do with the Christian
teaching of the Holy Trinity.
According to the teaching of the Trinity, Lord Jesus Christ
and God the Father are two separate persons, and Lord Jesus Christ, as a true Son of God, is God by nature, as befits a true
Son of God:
«And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given
us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This
is the true God, and eternal life» (1 John 5:20);
«That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour
the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him»
(John 5:23).
God the Father and God the Son by the definition of God, are one, as announced by Lord Jesus Christ in Psalm
2:7:
«I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee» (Psalm 2:7).
Quite naturally, if the Son of God did not inherit the Divine nature of God His Father, then He is not the Son of God:
«The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone
thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God» (John 10:33) (referring to God as His
Father).
By that same definition God the Holy Ghost is one true God
with the Father and the Son:
«Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost» (Matthew 28:19).
This means that three separate Consubstantial Persons of equal Divine nature, by the definition of God, and not man,
should be accepted and worshipped not as three Gods, but one God, understanding clearly that one God is such by Divine definition, and not one Being; and saying that there are three Gods when referring to
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost means contradicting the Divine definition, by which God is one:
«Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD» (Deuteronomy 6:4).
At the same time one can use the word combinations, such as three Persons, three Personas, three Manifestations, but
all these mean that there are not three Gods, but one God; and still not one person, not one Divine Being, as Jehovahs Witnesses
say, but three Persons, divine in their nature.
And where God the Father is seen speaking in the Holy Scriptures,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are also meant:
«Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people
upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein» (Isaiah 42:5);
Where the Son is speaking, the power of the Father is present:
«Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they
stand up together» (Isaiah 48:13);
«Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am
he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour» (Isaiah 43:10,11);
« I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King»
(Isaiah 43:15);
«I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death» (Revelation 1:17,18).
Where the Holy Ghost is in action, the Father is acting,
too:
«And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me?» (Numbers 14:11);
«But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit» (Isaiah 63:10).
Isaiah 43:10,11 refers specifically to Jehovahs Witnesses,
because it is from these verses of the Bible that they took their name, unsuspecting of that this passage of the Bible presents
God the Son, and not God the Father as speaking. To this day Jehovahs Witnesses
think otherwise.
To continue the topic, we need to note that as the Son says
of the Father in John 17:3 «that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sen», the Father can say of the Son «that they might know thee the only true God,
and the Father who sent thee», and of the Holy Ghost «that they might know thee the only true God, and the Father and the
Son who sent thee», and of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost «that they might know thee the only true God», Trinity
One and Indivisible.
The dogmatic definition of the essence of the Holy Trinity
looks as follows:
God the Father is not born and does not come from another
Person (is always there);
God the Son is born unto the Father before all ages (is always
there);
God the Holy Ghost comes forth from the Father before all
ages (is always there).
The Trinity has nothing that is created, serves, or is transient. The Father has not been without the Son, the Son has not been without the Holy Ghost,
and the Trinity is unchangeable and eternal.
And if someone should say that there are three Gods, then
there is every reason to believe that for such a person the Divine definition is nothing; and then God will judge such a person.
Of course Gods being presupposes that the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost are interrelated in a way, which in inconceivable for the human mind, but God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost, one true God, is not one mysterious Divine Being, as Jehovahs Witnesses say.
Lord Jesus Christ, speaking of Himself and His Father,
draws an analogy with humans: «It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me» (John 8:17,18).
With these words Lord Jesus Christ shows that He and His Father are two separate Persons, because otherwise how could
the Father and the Son be two witnesses?
Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
God has a Son, and
so the question asked of the blind man healed in John 9:35 «Dost thou believe on the Son of God?» was uttered by Lord Jesus
Christ clearly and unambiguously, and requires an answer as clear and unambiguous: Lord, I believe, and that says it in its
entirety, with not a shade of a doubt. Because if after the words Lord, I believe
someone should declare that the Son of God does not inherit the Divine nature of His Father, the question becomes how you
could be someones son, and not inherit the nature of your father? In its turn,
then, if you believe that the Son of God inherited the Divine nature of His Father, then it is illogical to say, as Jehovahs
Witnesses do, that the Father and the Son are one Being. How could you be someones
son and be one and the same with your father? There is an obvious contradiction. Both these variants presuppose that the Son cant be born unto the Father, and practically
exclude the possibility of Gods Son being a separate Person of one essence with the Father.
All the contradictions go away if one follows the definition,
which Lord Jesus Christ solemnly declared through Davids psalms in Psalm 2:7:
«I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee».
« I will declare the decree» (Psalm 2:7) are very important words in the Holy Scriptures, which were uttered
by none other than Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and there is every reason to believe that these words show the mystery of the
Father and the Son, and along with the message in Deuteronomy 6:4 and Matthew 28:19, they show the mystery of Gods nature:
«Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD» (Deuteronomy 6:4);
«I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Psalm 2:7);
«Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost» (Matthew 28:19).
Vladimir Rumyantsev
E-mail: bigroad@olvex.ru
