"For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: 'You are my son; I, today, I have become your father'?The Beroeans "received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, CAREFULLY EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES daily as to whether these things were so. Therefore many of them became believers..." (Acts 17:11,12). The reasons many became "believers" in Beroea were: (1) They RECEIVED THE WORD; (2) They were OPEN-MINDED to teachings based on the Scriptures; (3) They carefully examined the word FOR THEMSELVES to see if those things taught were so and (4) They SUBMITTED to the findings.And again: 'I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son'? But when he again brings his First-born into the inhabited earth, he says: 'And let all God's angels WORSHIP him' " (Heb. 1:5,6, N.W.T., 1970 ed.).
Dear Reader, will YOU also carefully examine the following Scriptures FOR YOURSELF, with an OPEN MIND, SUBMIT to the findings and be like the Beroeans with the following matter?
In Heb. 1:4, we learn that Jesus is "BETTER than the angels." From Heb. 1:4-14, there are eight reasons why Jesus cannot be Michael the archangel. Please carefully examine these verses for yourself.
In summary of Heb. 1:4-14, we learned that Jesus is:
Can YOU see why it is NOT possible for Jesus to be an angel, namely, Michael the archangel? YES____ NO____.
Read Gen. 41:51,52; 48:17-19 and Jer. 31:9 and learn that Joseph had two sons and EACH was called "firstborn!" ("Firstborn," therefore, must have more than just one meaning!) In context, Col. 1:15 shows Jesus is preeminent over all creation and out of the creation-class. This can be understood since he is ETERNAL. Col. 1:17 shows Jesus "is __________ ALL things and by means of him ALL things were made to exist." (Also see Jn. 1:3.) Since Jesus created ALL things, can he be part of his own creation? ____YES ____NO, that would be unreasonable
In Rev. 3:14, the word "beginning" is ARCHE. (This is the Greek word from which we get our English word "architect.") This word also means "origin." "Origin" means the same as "source." Now, if you would read that verse as "the SOURCE of God's creation" as the New American Bible translates it, Jesus would clearly be shown as the Creator and NOT created! Is this rendering consistent with Col. 1:16? ____YES ____NO.
Prov. 8:22 is wisdom personified and "not actually a person" as the Watchtower book, Aid to Bible Understanding, 1971 ed. shows on pp. 918 and 1543. Why then does the Watchtower contradict itself by using this verse to apply to Jesus? ____I never knew this until now ____I'm uncertain. Prov. 8:19 when compared to Job 28:15 shows this "wisdom" is NOT a person! Therefore, it can't be referring to Jesus.
Actually, the Bible teaches that Jesus is ETERNAL, and therefore NOT AN ANGEL, since angels are created beings. We already noted Heb. 1:11,12; Jn. 1:3 and Col. 1:16,17, but didn't mention Micah 5:2; Acts 3:15; Jn. 8:58; 1 Jn. 1:2 and Rev. 1:17,18.
Micah 5:2 refers to JESUS the SAME WAY Psa. 93:2 refers to God. Jesus is "from everlasting" (K. J. V.) or "from the days of time indefinite" (Micah 5:2, N. W. T., 1970 ed.). Psa. 93:2 in the N. W. T. reads, "from time indefinite." Each translation reads the same about the beginning of God and Jesus. Since God is eternal, that same description also shows Jesus to be eternal as well.
Jn. 8:58 shows the ETERNAL title of God ("I am") referring to Jesus! The Watchtower Bible, NWT, renders this verse, "Before Abraham came into existence, I have been." Please compare this with the Greek as found in the Kingdom Interlinear. The Greek reads, "I am" and NOT "I have been"! (Isn't this similar to what the Jehovah's Witness Bible has done with Jesus receiving "worship" instead of "obeisance?" ____YES ____NO.) Because of Jesus' declaration, the unbelieving Jews wanted to stone Jesus (Jn. 8:59). They felt he was guilt of blasphemy, Lev. 24:16!
1 Jn. 1:2 shows that Jesus is "everlasting life." Again, he couldn't be "everlasting life" if he was created, could he? ____YES ____NO.
The Watchtower's belief that Jesus is Jehovah's first creation and agent "used by Jehovah in creating all other things" ("Aid to Bible Understanding," 1971 ed., p. 391) does NOT hold up in the light of Isa. 44:24 either! There we read, "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." (God said he created the heavens _____ and the earth _____.)
Remember, the Apostle Thomas was "in the truth" and he believed Jesus was both his "Lord" and "God" (Jn. 20:28)! (The Greek says, "The Lord of me and the God of me.") Are YOU in the same LIGHT about Jesus as the Apostle Thomas was? ____YES ____NO. Shouldn't the Watchtower teach about Jesus, as the Apostle Thomas believed, if they are really "Jehovah's Organization?" ____YES ____NO. (Remember that Thomas was also a Jew, a strict MONOtheistic believer, that is, he believed in only one God!) When Jesus was praying in John 17, he was praying to the Father, not himself. Again, remember, Jesus is NOT the Father, yet he is (like the Father) God by nature, according to Heb. 1:3.
1 Cor. 11:3 doesn't show the Father superior BY NATURE to Jesus any more than it does the "man" to "woman." (A man is not BETTER by NATURE than a woman, in the marriage, though his position is higher!)
In Luke 2:51, we have the same Greek word used as in 1 Cor. 15:28 which is rendered "subject." If this word means "inferior," then Jesus was "inferior" to Joseph and Mary, which is impossible! Again, Jesus isn't shown less than the Father BY NATURE. Remember, Heb. 1:3 shows Jesus is the exact "nature" of the Father! That is what the word "being," as used in the N.W.T., means in the Greek. Col. 2:9 also says, "For in him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the GODHEAD bodily." The word "Godhead" in the Greek means "the state of being God." So, all the fullness of the state of being God dwells in Jesus! The N.W.T. uses the words "divine quality" in Col. 2:9. NOTICE how the Greek reads "godship" and NOT "divine quality." The dictionary defines "godship" as "deity!" Can you see the similarity between that and the Emphatic Diaglott reading of the same verse? ____YES ____NO. Col. 2:9 in the Emphatic Diaglott reads, __________
How many Jehovah's Witnesses, do you think, would have come to the conclusion that Jesus is Michael the Archangel, without the "help" of Watchtower literature, that is, by reading the Bible alone? ____NONE ____SOME ____ALL.
Did YOU ever notice that the Watchtower can't even come up with one clear verse from the Bible which shows Jesus is Michael the archangel? ____YES ____NO. To support their doctrine, the Watchtower uses non-relating verses such as Rev. 12:7,8, which have NO connection with Jesus at all. There isn't any reason to believe this passage applies to Jesus! In fact, to the great surprise of most JW's, in 1917 the Watchtower Society, while commenting on Rev. 12:7, said Michael was "the Pope" and his angels are "The Bishops" (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. VII, The Finished Mystery, p. 188.) 1 Thess. 4:16, which is also misused, doesn't show Jesus is an angel any more than it shows him to be the "trump of God!" If Jesus descending "with an archangel's voice" makes him an angel, then using the same reasoning, we would have to say he is a trumpet because of the phrase, "with God's trumpet!" Matt. 25:31 shows the angels will be with Jesus when he returns! So that explains the "archangel's voice."
Jesus once said, "You are searching the Scriptures, because you think that by means of them you will have everlasting life; and these are the very ones that bear witness about me. And yet you do not want to come to me that you may have life" (Jn. 5:39,40).
Friend, to find life you MUST go to Jesus, NOT an organization! Besides, the Watchtower Jesus is only an angel, which one would never go to in prayer for eternal life. [Remember, Stephen prayed TO Jesus (Acts 7:59). See also Jn. 14:14, Greek, which shows Jesus can be prayed TO just like the Father is.
Please note in opposition to the Scriptures, the popular Watchtower publication, "The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life," 1968 ed., p. 152 states that it is wrong to pray TO Jesus!] In contrast to the Watchtower Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible is "better than the angels" (Heb. 1:4), with "ALL authority" in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). Go to the Biblical Jesus now in prayer for yourself, as the dying thief did, asking him for forgiveness (Lk. 23:42,43), or as Jn. 4:10 states, for "living water." Trust Jesus 100% for your salvation (Acts 20:21; Rom. 9:30-10:4). If you have Jesus, you have eternal life NOW (1 Jn. 5:12,13). He who endures to the end will be saved (Mt. 10:22). Good works canNOT save you (Eph. 2:8,9; Rom. 4:2-6; Tit. 3:5 and 2 Tim. 1:9).
"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap ETERNAL LIFE. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest IF we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal. 6:8-10).
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