Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God. They believe that he is the Son of God. In other words, they believe that God created him and then through him all other things had been created.
But are they correct?
Let’s look at the evidence. We’ll use nothing else but scripture and will quote from the New World Translation (NWT) 2013 Edition and if proper, we’ll use the New International Version (NIV)
Firstly, let’s read Jeremiah 23:5,6. It states:
5 “Look! The days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will raise up to David a righteous sprout. And a king will reign and show insight and uphold justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will reside in security. And this is the name by which he will be called: Jehovah Is Our Righteousness.”
Firstly, Jehovah introduces Jesus and then he says that Jesus is Jehovah. Granted, it’s possible that this scripture may not be calling Jesus Jehovah but, rather, another name: “Jehovah Is Our Righteousness”. The issue with this is that “Jesus” doesn’t mean “Jehovah is our Righteousness” but it means “Jehovah is our Salvation”.
Moving on, let’s look at another scripture. Isaiah 44:6 reads:
6 This is what Jehovah says,The King of Israel and his Repurchaser, Jehovah of armies:‘I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me.
And Isaiah 48:12:
12 Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called.I am the same One. I am the first; I am also the last.
These verses from Isaiah clearly state that Jehovah is first and last and that there is no God but Him. Revelation 1:8 and Revelation 21:6 confirm this:
8 “I am the Al′pha and the O·me′ga,” says Jehovah God, “the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.”
6 And he said to me: “They have come to pass! I am the Al′pha and the O·me′ga, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the spring of the water of life free.
But look what Revelation 22:13 state:
13 I am the Al′pha and the O·me′ga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Who is the Alpha and Omega in this scripture? All you have to do is continue reading. In Revelation 22:16 it continues:
16 “‘I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you about these things for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star.’”
And if you have any doubt that Jesus is also the First and the Last, let’s go back to Revelation 1:17,18 where is says:
17 When I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. And he laid his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the living one, and I became dead, but look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of the Grave.
So, Jesus is also the first and the last and the one who died. Jehovah never died but Jesus is also the Alpha and the Omega. If Jesus is the first and last, the alpha and the omega, then he was not created. This gives us a whole new view of John’s first chapter.
Let’s look at John 1:1-3 first:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. 2 This one was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.
And let’s compare the NWT translation with the NIV translation for these verses:
1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 The Word was with God in the beginning. 3 Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being.
Obviously, if Jesus was the Alpha and the Omega he is more than just a god. He is God. This is the case, otherwise verse 3 doesn’t make sense. Why? Because if nothing came into existence without Jesus, yet Jesus is a creation, then could never have existed.
Let’s take this a little further. Let’s go all the way back to the 10 commandments. In Exodus 20:2,3 it commands:
2 “I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You must not have any other gods besides me.
The 10 commandments were written by the finger of God (Exodus 31:18) and given to Moses. It’s clear from this scripture that we should have no other gods but Jehovah. But look how John 1:18 describes Jesus:
18 No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.
Indeed, what did Thomas exclaim when he saw Jesus risen from the dead with his own eyes? Let’s read John 20:28:
28 In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!”
Did Jesus correct him for calling him God? No. He simply asked Thomas if he believed in him now.
If Jesus is a god, and we worship him besides Jehovah, then we break the first commandment. That would mean there is a contradiction in scripture. But, if Jesus and Jehovah are both God, then there is no contradiction.
This brings us back to the question: Is Jesus God?
Really, there is One God, but three entities that make up God: Jehovah, the Father, Jesus, the Son & the Holy Spirit. To truly submit to God, one needs to be baptised in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 28:19.
Getting baptised in the name of anything else (i.e. some sort of made up spirit anointed organization) is blasphemy and belittles the authority of God.