Jehovah's Witness Church

[Casey S Smith 29]

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http://www.carm.org/jw/supper.htm CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY http://www.carm.org HOME PAGE ——————————————————————————– The Lord's Supper and the 144,000 Anointed Class of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Jehovah's Witness organization teaches that not all members of their group can take communion. Only the 144,000 members called the “anointed class” have the right to take Communion and they are the only ones who go to heaven (Watchtower 2/15/85, page 13). In fact, the 144,000 “anointed class” within the Jehovah's Witnesses are the only ones who are “born again.” “This “little flock” of 144,000 Kingdom heirs, then, are those ones from among mankind who are “born again.” Watchtower 11/15/54, p. 681. Watchtower CD. The Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate the communion supper only once a year, (Watchtower CD, Watchtower 4/1/65, p. 199.) In their annual communion service, the congregations gather in their various kingdom halls. This is done on the 14th of Nissan, the Passover date on the Jewish calendar, which usually falls in March or April of each year in the Gregorian calendar. During the service, the cup is passed from Jehovah's Witness to Jehovah's Witness. None of them partake — except the very few who are of the 144,000. In John 6:53-54, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,” (NASB). I am not here going to discuss the nature of the communion and compare Catholic and Protestant views of the elements; rather, the issue is that Jesus said to the Jews that they must take of the communion, which He later instituted in Matt. 26:26-28, and that if they did not partake, then they had no life in them, v. 6:53. According to the Watchtower, the “life” spoken of in 6:53 is everlasting life. “On that occasion Jesus was not speaking to those circumcised Israelites about “everlasting life” as human creatures on a Paradise earth under his millennial kingdom. Rather, he was speaking about the very same opportunity that he was setting before the apostle Peter and his fellow apostles by means of the “sayings of everlasting life.” It was the opportunity to gain inherent life with the Christ in the heavens, “life in yourselves.” (John 6:53) By reigning with him in heaven they could pass on to mankind the life-giving benefits of his sacrifice. Watchtower, 3/1/78, p. 10. According to Jehovah's Witness theology, some Witnesses will be raised to “immortal life” and others to “everlasting life.” Immortal life is only for the 144,000 that go to be with the Lord in heaven. They do not have resurrected bodies, but have “spirit bodies.” Everlasting life is for those on Paradise earth and consists of a resurrected body that must be maintained through eating, sleeping, etc. As we see in the quote above, according to the Watchtower, the life that Jesus was speaking of was “everlasting life”; that is, life in heaven for the 144,000. Therefore, the Witnesses teach that the communion supper is instituted only for the 144,000 Jews, not for all Witnesses. Since Jesus bought the church with His blood (Acts 20:28), and His blood is the blood of the covenant for the church (1 Cor. 11:25), then communion is supposed to be for all Christians, not just 144,000 elite Jehovah's Witnesses. What does the Bible say? The Communion supper is for the body of Christ, for the believers. The bread and the wine represent the body and the blood of Christ that was sacrificed for the believer so the believer could have redemption of his sins. Therefore, Communion is only for those people who have trusted in Christ's sacrifice. Communion is not for those who are not covered by Christ's sacrifice. This is significant since the great majority of the Witnesses do not take communion. Paul the apostle said that the bread is a sharing in the body of Christ, that there is only one body of Christ (the church) of which we all partake. Within the Christian Church, there is no limitation on the who takes the Lord's supper. “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. 18Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?” (1 Cor. 10:16-18, NASB). for”And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight,” (Acts 20:7, NASB). There is no mention of limiting communion to anyone except that they examine themselves and rightly discern that the elements represent Christ's sacrifice, not a mere meal to satisfy hunger. “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly,” (1 Cor. 11:28-29, NASB). No place in the Bible is communion restricted to only the 144,000, as the Witnesses teach. This is a fabrication of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. The fact that the Jehovah's Witnesses do not take communion is a demonstration that they are not in the body of Christ and do not have a covenant relationship with Christ. The Lord's Supper is meant for the body of believers in the true and living God who have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's Supper is not for those who are outside the camp of Christ. Since the great majority of the Jehovah's Witnesses do not take communion, this is a testimony against them.

[Casey S Smith 29]

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http://www.pacwest.net/~dhooley/prod011524.htm 144 K “Who are those guys?” When I have the honor of engaging someone in conversation on the topic of the book of Revelation or end times events, I have noticed a common point of confusion. Especially among those who are fairly new to the subject. I am referring to the Revelation, Chapter Seven passage, that talks about 144,000 servants of God; “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. (NIV) Rev 7:3-4 The identification of the 144,000 and their purpose has been hotly contested over the years. According to some who see this being a future event, and tend to spiritualize God’s word rather than taking it at face value, these people are the church who just a couple verses later shows up in heaven. Perhaps the most popular modern day evangelical opinion is that these are 144,000 Jewish Super Evangelists who enjoy God’s protection as they roam the earth converting people to Christianity by the thousands during a special dispensation in which the church has already been raptured from the earth. In this theory, they bring about a great revival after being inspired by the “Two Witnesses” of Revelation chapter 11. These folks are like our insurance policy, that after the Church has been safely escorted to heaven, out of harms way, these 144,000 amazing Jewish preachers will finally do what the Church has been unable to; convert the spiritually lost in mass quantity. So you see, there is nothing to worry about, your friends and family members will still be led to the Lord by one of the 144,000 after we’re gone. Especially because of that “Left Behind Video” you may have left for them, with instructions on how to become saved if we suddenly disappear. How convenient! There is really nothing left for us to do! I hope you understand how far off this theory is. It’s just not what the Bible tells us, when scripture is taken at it’s face value. But how typical of a 20th century, North American, western world theory it is. We live in a world of convenience and comfort. There is insurance for every mishap. We don’t understand when a doctor doesn’t have the answer to our ailments. We are upset because we can’t bank at 6:30 in the morning without leaving the comfort of our car. We expect a free pizza and an apology if it isn’t delivered piping hot within 30 minutes to our door. People long to hear doctrine of this kind; That there will still be a way out for the lost after the Church is gone. This “Left Behind” scenario is itself a sign of the times: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Tim 4:3-4 (NIV) The truth is, the evangelizing that this theory says the 144,000 will perform, is really up to us, right here and now in this current day and age. Yet another theory, though I have only heard this taught by one Ph.D. trying to sell his end times novel, is that the 144,000 are a product or offspring of the consummation of the marriage of Jesus and the Bride of Christ, the Raptured Church. According to this theory, these 144,000 are special crossover spiritual/ physical, pure beings. Enough space wasted on this one. I wonder how his novel is selling….. According to the Preterists, those who say most of the prophecy found in the book of Revelation was fulfilled before the end of the first century, the number of 144,000 is symbolic for the full number of Jewish Christians who escaped Jerusalem before its destruction. Preterists, remember, like to say they take scripture at its face value for what it says. In my studies I have found they take very little at face value, just as in the case of taking the number 144,000 symbolically. And then there are the groups or sects that claim to be the 144,000. The first 144,000 converts to Jehovah Witnesses among them. I believe there are very few, if any of them still alive. Of course there are the others who say that this passage is referring to the lost tribes that are spread throughout the earth, most of them now living in the U.S. and Japan. Everybody wants to be one of the 144,000! Such a great deal of confusion over such a simple clear passage. That’s what happens when people spiritualize, allegorize, and symbolize because they think they’re wise! Let’s take a plain and simple approach and see what happens. Who are the 144,000? Hasn’t verse four already told us? Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. Rev 7:4 (NIV) Do we have any reason to believe so far that the 144,000 are any one other than people from the tribes of Israel? As if to clarify, so there will be no confusion, the Word breaks it down for us; From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. Rev 7:5-8 (NIV) Go ahead, add them up. It comes to 144,000. This is a listing of the twelve tribes of Israel, or the twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob, who was also named Israel, was Isaac’s son, and the grandson of Abraham. The Bible scholar will note that a couple of the original tribes are not listed and still there are twelve. How can this be? Also, Levi is included as a regular tribe, instead of a priestly tribe and Judah, the tribe Jesus came from, is listed first. What does all this mean? I don’t know. I would have to speculate. I’ll go ahead and do so now….. Way back in the Old Testament, when Joseph went off to Egypt, he had two sons Mannaseh and Ephraim. They were considered to be half tribes because Jacob, Joseph’s dad, blessed them both as his own sons. Originally Jacob had 12 sons. This gave the Lord a couple extra tribes to work with. That’s how two tribes could be omitted and still have 12 tribes. The two tribes that are missing above are Dan and Ephraim. The half tribe of Manasseh does remain. Why were Dan and Ephraim omitted? It is thought that they are not included because both the tribes of Dan and Ephraim engaged in idol worship to a greater extent than did the other tribes. Dan and Ephraim are specifically mentioned in the following prophecy referring to the day of the lord: A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim. “Tell this to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem: 'A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah. They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,'” declares the LORD. “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!” Jer 4:15-18 (NIV) The fact Dan and Ephraim are left out may be the fulfillment of this prophecy. They will not be sealed, meaning they must endure God’s wrath, and they won’t have His protection from the invading armies specified in the above scripture. Why is the tribe of Levi given no special place in it’s listing? The tribe of Levi in the Old Testament was set apart as the priests of God. Could it be because in the millennial kingdom there will no longer be Levitical priests? Remember there has been a change in the priesthood from Old Testament t imes: If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come– one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. Heb 7:11-12 (NIV) but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Heb 7:24 (NIV) Of course this scripture is referring to our high Priest Jesus. We also know those who follow Jesus as their Lord are also of the priesthood: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Pet 2:9 (NIV) you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 2:5 (NIV) and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father– to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. Rev 1:6 (NIV) You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Rev 5:10 (NIV) Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Rev 20:6 (NIV) In other words, the Church will assume the role of the priesthood (at least in Heaven). So, lets agree for now, by using a face value, normal and natural interpretation of these scripture passages that these are 144,000 people from the natural, physical line of Abraham. Let’s also say that the sealing of the 144,000 is still in our future. Why can we say this? Because the sealing is taking place in the middle of a sequence of events that are all tied together. Since these events have never literally all taken place before in sequence as described in the Book of Revelation and related prophetic passages, this sealing must still be in the future. In other words, they haven’t already been sealed like the Preterist suppose took place 1,900 years ago. The next question must be, why are they sealed, or what are they sealed from? To what sequence of events do I refer? The book of Revelation chapters 5 through 7 talks about a scroll sealed with seven seals. Before the scroll can be opened, the seals must be broken. The only one who is found worthy to break the seals and open the scroll is Jesus, who is symbolically portrayed as a lamb. When each seal is loosed, a related event on earth takes place; deception, war, famine, death, martyrdom of the saints. These events happen identically and in the same sequence in the book of Matthew Chapter 24. Finally the 6th seal of the scroll is opened at which time there are great signs in the heavens. The sun goes black, the moon turns red, the stars appear to fall from the sky, and there is a great earthquake. This is the common event throughout scripture that is the sign of the beginning of God’s Wrath and the Second Coming of Jesus. By comparing one scripture passage with the others we can put together a composite picture of the rapture or catching away of the Church from the earth at that time. The church is removed from the earth in order to save them from the wrath of God soon to be poured out. The sealing of the 144,000 servants of God takes place at the same time, after the 6th seal of the scroll is opened. Why aren’t the 144,000 just raptured away with the Church? If they were Christians, wouldn’t they receive the same fulfillment of the promises as the rest of the Church, the Blessed Hope?; For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1Thes 4:16-18 (NIV) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thes 5:9 (NIV) Is it because they are Jewish Christians that the 144,000 are “left behind”? Are they meant for a special purpose in a special dispensation? There may be some truth in the special purpose, but there is not one scripture supporting this “special dispensation” idea. In fact: Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Col 3:11 (NIV) No, the only reason these people don’t make the rapture has to be that they are not Christians at the moment of the rapture. They had not yet put their faith and trust in Jesus. What does the seal do for them? In order to understand this, it is necessary to know what will happen next in the sequence of events. Quite simply, the next thing that happens is the opening of the seventh seal of the scroll which allows the Wrath of God to begin. There will be nowhere on earth unaffected. Most of the world’s population will die. The seal of God on the forehead of the 144,000 protects them from these Wrath of God events. While the rest of the world is going up in smoke, they will go unharmed. Read about the Wrath of God events in Revelation chapters 8,9, 11, and 16. So how do they rate? Why do they get a seal, and no one else? These are the physical line of the Old Testament Patriarch Abraham, that will be the recipients of the physical promises made to Abraham around 4000 years ago. They are the seed stock for the Millennial Kingdom. They will be the “first fruits” of Jesus’ reign on earth, during His literal earthly Kingdom. They are the remnant that he has preserved through all of the “times of the Gentiles”. They made it through Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius the Mead, Antiochus Epiphanes, Caesar, Hitler, and the Anti-Christ. They endured the Diaspora, the Crusades, and the Holocaust. This is the remnant who never submitted to Baal or any other false Gods and who kept themselves pure. God has always kept for himself a chosen remnant of His people. In speaking of these 144,000 the prophet Isaiah wrote: In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. Isa 10:20-22 (NIV) What did the Apostle Paul have to say in his writings about this remnant of Jews during this current age of grace we are living in? I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah– how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God's answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. Rom 11:1-5 (NIV) Ah! There is that wonderful grace word again! God has chosen this remnant by His grace and preserved this remnant until that future time when they will be on earth during the outpouring of His wrath. They will be left standing when all of God’s Wrath has been poured out and inherit the promises of living in a paradise on earth! The sealing of the 144,000 is not without precedent in God’s word. This isn’t the first time we have heard of God sealing His chosen ones from His wrath. As the prophet Ezekiel was having a vision about God being fed up with his people, he recorded the following; Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. Ezek 9:3-6 NIV There is a large indication that even though this remnant will not be saved by faith in Jesus at the time of the rapture, that they are saved in this way immediately after. After all it is by Jesus that we are saved: For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thes 5:9 (NIV) The more direct scriptural evidence that the 144 K are saved by faith in Jesus is found in the following verse where we find the 144,000 later on in Revelation, on the other side of God’s Wrath: Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. Rev 14:1 (NIV) I personally think that the seal the 144,000 received on their foreheads when they are originally sealed is the name of Jesus and His father. There is after all nothing to indicate that they had been re-marked since their first (and only) sealing. This is the most consistent theory in line with the fact that it is Jesus that does the saving. Since they had missed the trip to Heaven, after they made Jesus their Lord, Jesus “Saves” them on the earth. It is not at all unreasonable to think that this chosen remnant will turn to Jesus after seeing the signs in the heavens after the sixth seal is opened. The people of the earth will recognize this event as an act of God in the true sense of its meaning: Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Rev 6:15-17 (NIV) It is at the same time when the kings and generals and slaves and free are hiding in the caves and rocks, that the 144,000 will be sealed with the name of Jesus and His Father on their foreheads. Is it at this time that the 144,000 witness the awesome signs in the heavens that they are saved by the same grace by faith in Jesus that saved each of us who know Jesus as our Lord? Even if they don’t accept the Lord as their Savior immediately after the Signs in the heavens and the Church is raptured, they will without a doubt accept Jesus as their Lord at the end of the great tribulation, when the “kingdom of this world” becomes the “Kingdom of our God”. When they will “look on Him who they pierced”, a fulfillment of prophecy itself. “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Zech 12:10 (NIV) Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. Rev 1:7 (NIV) 144,000 from the tribes of Israel will go into the period of time in the future when God pours out His wrath, and 144,000 will come out. Here is the entire account of the post tribulational events for the 144,000: Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. Rev 14:1-5 (NIV) The scene, as the writer of Revelation (John) is viewing it, is on the earth. Mount Zion is synonymous with Jerusalem. The 144,000 that have the seal of God on their foreheads are now standing in the flesh with King Jesus. From Heaven, John hears a loud musical noise. The multitudes in heaven that we read about in chapter 5 of Revelation and the end of chapter 7, are singing a new song. The song can be heard on the earth, but the only ones who are allowed to learn it are the 144,000. This scripture says they were “redeemed from the earth”. They were “purchased from among men”. Truly it is the same blood that Jesus shed on the cross that paid the full price for my sin, that has purchased them from among men. These people will follow Jesus wherever He goes. He will be their King in the earthly millennial kingdom. These 144,000 are said to have not defiled themselves with women. They have kept themselves pure. They don’t lie, and they are blameless. It is implied in context and the original language that these 144,000 are males. This is consistent in the way the Bible records the numbers of people. For example; “The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children”. (Matt 14:21 NIV). The original language also states that they are pure as “virgins”, as the King James Version puts it: These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Rev 14:4 (KJV) Now, just because they start out as virgins, doesn’t mean they won’t marry during the Millennial Kingdom! After all the Bible talks of children being around during that period of time. I don’t have any reason to take the word of God for anything other than it’s face value meaning in anything having to do with the 144,000 in scripture. During this time in the Millennial Kingdom, the laws of God will be written on men's hearts and Satan will be bound up for a thousand years. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jer 31:33 (NIV) Christ will dwell among men. This time, he will rule with a rod of iron. So, God will protect this remnant from His wrath, but what about the period of time during the “tribulation period”, before His wrath is poured out, that the Antichrist goes after the Jews and Christians in active persecution? There is strong scriptural evidence to support that God will protect this remnant at least during the entire last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period. This is the period of time that Satan will pour it on, because he knows his “time is short” (Rev 12:12). In chapter 12 of Revelation we read about a woman who is taken into the wilderness and protected for 1,260 days from the Antichrist. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. Rev 12:14 (NIV) Without taking time to document the reasons why here, (because it is worthy of entire other article) it is safe to say that that this woman is the remnant of Israel. Does the Bible say the 144K stomp around the earth converting people to Christianity? You have just read all of the scripture related to the 144,000, what do you think? You can make as much of a scriptural case for supporting this idea as you can for saying they will all be left handed donut bakers. Why anyone thinks they need to add more for this group to do than what the Bible says is beyond me. Let’s just leave them alone, sealed and protected in the desert. Finally, what about the idea that the 144,000 is the same group that suddenly shows up in heaven dressed in white in chapter 7 of Revelation in the next verse after the listing of the 12 tribes of Israel? After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Rev 7:9 (NIV) The obvious problem is that no one can count the multitude in heaven, but John just numbered the tribes of Israel at 144,000. Secondly, the people in Heaven are from every nation, tribe, people, and language. The 144,000 are just from the tribes of Israel. The scriptural evidence is that these folks stay on the earth throughout the entire tribulation period.

[Casey S Smith 29]

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http://www.kevinquick.com/kkministries/books/reasoning/144000.html 10. The 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses believe that: a. The “little flock” of Luke 12:32 is to be equated with the 144,000 of Revelation chapters 7 and 14.3 b. The 144,000 are sealed from among all nations to become “spiritual Israel.”4 c. The sealing of the 144,000 began at Pentecost, 33 C.E. and continues to the present day.5 d. The 144,000 are sealed to be kings, priests, and the bride of Christ.6 * * * Q1. Of whom is the “little flock” of Luke 12:32 comprised? Luke 12:32-“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you [Jesus' disciples] the kingdom. Q2. From where are the 144,000 sealed? Rev 7:4-those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed OUT OF every tribe of the sons of Israel: OUT OF…[the tribes are then mentioned by name] Rev 7:9-great multitude…FROM every nation and all tribes and peoples… The 144,000 are not sealed to become Israelites; they are sealed OUT OF Israel to become members of the 144,000 “bondservants of our God” (Rev 7:3). Rev 14:1-the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand… Rev 14:6-an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people… In both Revelation chapters 7 and 14, a clear distinction is made between the 144,000 sealed Israelites and “every nation.” If we take “every nation” to be literal, we should also take Israel to be literal. Q3. From where are earth's future kings purchased? Rev 5:9-10-Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood [men] from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them [to be] a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. Q4. Are there other passages in the Bible which indicate that natural Israel plays an important part in the outworking of God's purposes at the end of this age and during the millennium? See ISRAEL Q5. When are the 144,000 sealed? Rev 7:1,3-After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” There is no indication that any of these bondservants are sealed before the holding back of the four winds. Q6. In Revelation chapters 7 and 14, are the 144,000 ever spoken of as being kings, priests, or the bride of Christ? Rev 7:3 – are bond-servants of God 7:4 – are sealed on their foreheads 7:4 – number 144,000 7:4-8 – are sealed from the 12 tribes of Israel 14:1 – stand on Mt. Zion with the Lamb. 14:1 – have the Lamb's and His Father's names on their foreheads 14:3 – sang a new song before the throne; no one else could learn the song 14:3 – had been purchased from the earth 14:4 – have not been defiled with women; have kept themselves chaste 14:4 – follow the Lamb wherever He goes 14:4 – have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and the Lamb 14:5 – no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless There is no mention of their being kings, priests, or the bride of Christ. * * * Summary: a. Jesus spoke to His disciples and referred to them as a “little flock,” which they were at the time. There is no basis for equating the “little flock” of Luke 12:32 with the 144,000 of Revelation chapters 7 and 14. b. The 144,000 are sealed from among natural Israel to become “bondservants of our God.” c. The 144,000 are sealed just prior to or during the Tribulation. d. The Bible nowhere states that the 144,000 are sealed to be kings, priests, or the bride of Christ. * * * Scriptures commonly used by Jehovah's Witnesses: Rev 14:1-the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand… See Q2 See ISRAEL Endnotes: 3. Reasoning from the Scriptures, p. 268 4. Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 683 5. Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God, p. 161; Our Incoming World Government-God's Kingdom, p. 120 6. Reasoning from the Scriptures, p. 137; Make Sure of All Things, p. 303

[Casey S Smith 29]

See David:

You aren't the only one who can cut/paste. I can too, but the irony is that all mine are from DIFFERENT denominations and yet they ALL believe the SAME thing about the 144,000. Just a bit of info on how the elect are everywhere. I mean elect in the biblical manner though. ALL those chosen in Christ CHOSEN before the foundation of the world.

[Casey S Smith 29]

Now I understand there is a large amount of material there. But when David sent me a copy/paste on worship I broke it down and replied. Let's see if I will get the same.???

[Casey S Smith 29]

Jesus Christ is the LORD, mighty to Save!

I've divided his page into three sections: The Son is God, Jesus Christ is God, and Jesus is Jehovah. Readers may wonder, isn't the Son Jesus, and isn't God Jehovah? Yes, and Yes. But there's a method to my madness. 'Oneness' Pentecostals, who define 'the Son' as the 'humanity' of Jesus, can read here that He is eternal God. Meanwhile, Jehovah's Witnesses freely concede that Jesus Christ is a god. But that He is Jehovah God, they will not allow. They say He's one of the others (no kidding!). So the second section is for them. The final section: that He is God, is for those who already know the God-census of the Bible stands at one, and one alone.

The Son is God
Your Throne, O God
God the Father addresses His beloved Son as “God” in Hebrews 1:8:

“But to the Son He says: 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8).
This is a quote from Psalm 45, a coronation psalm: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” (Psalm 45:6). Jehovah's Witnesses, 'Oneness' Pentecostals, and others who find the thought of “the Son” addressed as “God” troubling try to water down Hebrews 1:8 by noting that the original “King” addressed in Psalm 45 wasn't really God at all.

But the New Testament reading of the Psalms is premised on the realization that the grand promises they lavish on God's Messiah aren't really about David, Solomon et al. How do we know this? Because these promises didn't come true for David or Solomon. Psalm 16 promises that “Your Holy One” will not see corruption: “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” (Psalm 16:10). But that never came true for David!: “'Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.'” (Acts 2:29-31). So did a solemn promise of God fall to the ground? That cannot be! So the apostles knew that the Psalms spoke of another, a far greater King than David or Solomon, Who is truthfully addressed as “O God”.

The Work of Your Hands
In a list of scriptures addressed “to the Son” (Hebrews 1:8), the letter to Hebrews quotes Psalm 102, a hymn of praise to the Creator God, Jehovah:

“To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem…Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.” (Psalm 102:21-27).
The author of Hebrews adds this majestic hymn of praise to his list of scriptures addressed “to the Son”:

“And: 'You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” (Hebrews 1:10-12).
So we learn from Hebrews 1:8-12 that “the Son” is eternal God, the Creator!

Let Angels Worship
The angels of God are commanded to worship the Son: “But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'” (Hebrews 1:6).

Can many lawfully be worshipped? Only one: “Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” (Matthew 4:10); “And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!'” (Revelation 19:10).

True God
John said: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20).

The Jehovah's Witnesses refer “This is the true God” to “Him who is true”, i.e. the Father of the Son. But that runs somewhat contrary to normal grammar, where 'houtos', 'this', tends to tie in with the closer possible referent, not the further: “A demonstrative pronoun is a pointer, singling out an object in a special way. The three demonstrative pronouns used in the NT are 'houtos,' 'ekeinos,' and 'hode'….'houtos' regularly refers to the near object ('this'), while 'ekeinos' regularly refers to the far object ('that').” (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, Daniel B. Wallace, p. 325). John could have expressed himself ungrammatically; but if he did not, this is a clear statement of the eternal Deity of the Son, Jesus Christ.

Express Image
Gazing into Jesus' face reveals the Father to us:

“'If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.' Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father”?'” (John 14:7-9).
We see God's glory in His face:

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Jesus is the “brightness of His glory”, the “express image”: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:2-3). An image so perfect that Philip, gazing in His face, saw as it were the original!

Visible and Invisible
God created all things: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). And He created alone; there are no angelic co-creators nor 'subordinate gods' known to the Bible: “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: 'I am the LORD, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself…'” (Isaiah 44:24).

“…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,…He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:12-18).

For Himself
For Whom did He create these things? For Himself. All things were created for Jehovah God's glory:

”
The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” (Proverbs 16:4);
“Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:7)..
“…[F]or himself”: for God the Son:

“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16).

Son of God
“Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'” (Matthew 16:16).
The Jehovah's Witnesses understand this to mean to Jesus is a lesser, subordinate being, but the Jews were far more perceptive. They understood that, in claiming to be the Son of God, Jesus was claiming Deity: “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.'” (John 5:18-19).

The idiom, 'son of', means 'of the order of', as in, “Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, 'Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?'” (2 Kings 2:3); “And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites…” (Nehemiah 12:28). This is an understandable idiom given that a son, unlike a creation, is of the same nature as his father; pigs beget pigs not rodents, sheep beget sheep not lice, etc. The royal psalms speak of the King to come as the firstborn Son of God the Father: “He shall cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.' Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” (Psalm 89:26-27). Is this language oriental flattery, meaning no more than when pagan peoples hymned their kings? Or is it literally true, as is fitting to the dignity of Holy Writ?

Kiss the Son
It's downright perilous not to put your your trust in the Son:

“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” (Psalm 2:12).
But the Bible counsels against trusting in man:

“Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help…Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them…” (Psalm 146:3-6).
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7).
Can the Son be a mere man, if blessing comes with trusting in Him?

A Son is born
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
According to Bible idiom, the possessor of any quality may be called the father of it, as in proper names: “Abihail = the father of strength” (Hitchcock Bible Names). As the eternal Logos, Jesus is thus father of eternity.

“Wonderful counsellor — And so Christ is, because he hath been the counsellor of his church in all ages, and the author and giver of all those excellent counsels delivered not only by the apostles, but also by the prophets, and hath gathered and enlarged, and preserved his church, by admirable counsels and methods of his providence, and, in a word, hath in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (Colossians 2:3). Mighty God — This title can agree to no man but Christ, who was God as well as man, to whom the title of God or Jehovah is given, both in the Old and New Testament. And it is a true observation, that this Hebrew word El is never used in the singular number, of any creature, but only of the almighty God. The father — The father of eternity. Who, though as man he was then unborn, yet was and is from everlasting to everlasting.” (Wesley Notes)

Honor the Son
We are commanded to worship the Son just as we worship the Father:

“…that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” (John 5:23).
Our God is a jealous God: “You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the LORD your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 6:13-14).

Only-begotten God
Many newer translations of the Bible prefer a stripped-down text, based on the very small sample of ancient manuscripts which chance has preserved. The Jehovah's Witnesses, no doubt with a sigh of relief, turned to these newer texts for their New World Translation. But was this wise?:

“No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.” (John 1:18 NWT);

“No one has ever seen God; the only-born God who is in the bosom of his father, it is he who told of him.” (Richmond Lattimore);

“No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (NASB);

“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.” (NRSV).

Pantocrator
“'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'” (Revelation 1:8).
The word translated “Almighty” is 'pantocrator,' meaning ruler of all. It's used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, of the LORD God:

“And now, O my Lord, the Almighty ['pantocrator'] Lord God of Israel, confirm the word for ever which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house…” (2 Samuel 7:25 Brenton Septuagint).
“And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, men saying, Lord, Lord, Almighty ['pantocrator'] God of Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.” (1 Chronicles 17:24 Brenton Septuagint).

Believe on the Son
Those who trust in man are under a curse:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes.
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river…” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).
But those who trust in the Son have everlasting life:

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36).

Only Savior
Are there many Saviors?:

“I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11).
The Son is our Savior:

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14)
The Jehovah's Witnesses point out that national champions like Othniel are also called 'Saviors': “When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer ['yasha'] for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.” (Judges 3:9). But Othniel and his rank saved only as from the paw of the bear and into the maw of the lion; those whom they saved, died. This is not
so with our Savior!

The Dead were Judged
“And I saw a great white throne and the one seated on it. From before him the earth and the heaven fled away…And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened…And the dead were judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds.” (Revelation 21:11-12, NWT).
The New World Translation helpfully provides as a cross reference for verse 11, Hebrews 12:23:

“…in general assembly, and the congregation of the firstborn who have been enrolled in the heavens, and God the Judge of all, and the spiritual lives of righteous ones who have been made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:23 NWT).
He who is seated upon the great white throne is God. God the Father…or God the Son? Who is the Judge of mankind?:

“For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son…And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is.” (John 5:22-27, NWT).

Everlasting to Everlasting
Created things are transient and pass away. Only God abides from everlasting to everlasting:

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:1-2).

God the Father is eternal, as is “His Son Jesus Christ,” to whom belongs “that eternal life which was with the Father:”

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life – the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us – that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1-3).

Jesus is Jehovah God
A Voice Crying
Isaiah prophesied that God Himself would visit His people:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken…O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!' Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” (Isaiah 40:3-11).
This great prophecy was fulfilled in Christ's first advent: “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.”'” (Matthew 3:1-3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4).

John explained his mission in terms of Isaiah 40: “Then they said to him, 'Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?' He said: 'I am “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD,” as the prophet Isaiah said.'” (John 1:22-23).

There's no room in Isaiah's prophecy for any two thousand year gap between the 'voice crying' and the One whose advent he's announcing. So either this is the blown prophecy of all time: either John the Baptist and Jesus goofed big-time in identifying John with Isaiah's 'voice crying in the wilderness'…or else Jesus Christ is Jehovah God, come to save His people!

Temple Visitor
Malachi prophesied that the Lord Himself would visit His temple:

“'Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,' Says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1).
This prophecy has to be filed in the 'fulfilled prophecy' slot, because it's already happened. So Mark tells us: “As it is written in the Prophets: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'” (Mark 1:2). Jesus identified John the Baptist as the fore-runner of Malachi 3:1: “For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'” (Matthew 11:10). So did John the Baptist prepare the way in vain, for One who wasn't coming? No, Jesus is “the Lord, whom you seek”, who suddenly came to His temple!

The Temple at Jerusalem was sacred to none but the living God, Jehovah. And Jesus 'came suddenly' to “His temple”, carried as a baby, as a twelve-year old boy, and ultimately to cleanse and purify: “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, 'It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a “den of thieves.”' Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” (Matthew 21:12-14).

Stone of Stumbling
Isaiah prophesied a “stone of stumbling”:

“The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken.” (Isaiah 8:13-15).
Isaiah's “stone of stumbling” is “the LORD of hosts”. It's interesting to see the use the New Testament authors make of this “stone of stumbling”:

“Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” (1 Peter 2:7-8);
“…For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.'” (Romans 9:32-33).
To the New Testament authors, Isaiah's “stone of stumbling” is Jesus Christ. The Bible testifies: Jesus Christ is the LORD of Hosts!

The Rock of Israel
Jesus is the Rock of Israel:

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

Who is the Rock of Israel? Jehovah God!:

“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” (Deuteronomy 32:4);

“But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation…Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you.” (Deuteronomy 32:15-18);

“How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to fl
ight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had surrendered them? For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” (Deuteronomy 32:30-31);

“And he said: 'The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer…'” (2 Samuel 22:2; Psalm 18:2);

“The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation!” (2 Samuel 22:47; Psalm 18:46);

“The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.'” (2 Samuel 23:3);

“To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.” (Psalm 28:1);

“For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.” (Psalm 31:3);

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2);

“Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold…” (Isaiah 17:10);

“Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer.” (Psalm 78:35).

Are there lots of rocks? To listen to the Jehovah's Witnesses, you'd think this Rock part of a huge rock collection. But the Bible counts One:

“No one is holy like the LORD, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2);

“'For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?'” (2 Samuel 22:32);

“For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?” (Psalm 18:31);

“He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.” (Psalm 62:2).

The First and the Last
Jesus identified Himself to John as “the first and the last”:

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,'…Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:10-18).
Who is the First and the Last? Jehovah God!:

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6);

“'Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.” (Isaiah 48:12).

Lord of all
John the Baptist said that Jesus Christ is “above all”: “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” (John 3:31). This is the Lord who came down from heaven: “The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:47).

The Bible tells us that the LORD is “most high above all the earth”: “For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.” (Psalm 97:9); “The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?” (Psalm 113:4-6).

Peter calls Him “Lord of all”: “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all…” (Acts 10:36).

And who is the Lord of all? Jehovah God!: “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan.” (Joshua 3:11).

We call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. According to Paul, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus is calling on the “Lord over all”: “For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'” (Romans 10:11-13). Jesus Christ is the Lord of all the earth!

The LORD our Righteousness
The Jehovah's Witnesses restrict the name 'Jehovah' to 'the Father-only', though there's no Biblical warrant for so doing. To the contrary, the Bible explicitly assigns the name 'Jehovah' to the Son as well:

“'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS'” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
The Jehovah's Witnesses nonchalantly note that Jerusalem is called by the same name (33:16), and of what significance can a name be that's so common? But when has it been unusual for a bride to take her husband's name?: “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2).

Jesus lives up to His name, “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”…because He is the Lord, and He is our righteousness!:

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:3-4);
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith…” (Philippians 3:8-9);
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.'” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Holy, holy, holy
Isaiah saw “the LORD of hosts” in the temple:

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!' And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: 'Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.'” (Isaiah 6:1-5).

Whom did he see? John relates that it was Christ's glory he saw: God the Son. After quoting Isaiah 6:10, delivered to Isaiah at that same occasion, he says,

“These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of th
e synagogue…” (John 12:41-42).
Here are some commentators' thoughts on Isaiah's vision: “In this figurative vision, the temple is thrown open to view, even to the most holy place. The prophet, standing outside the temple, sees the Divine Presence seated on the mercy-seat, raised over the ark of the covenant, between the cherubim and seraphim, and the Divine glory filled the whole temple. See God upon his throne. This vision is explained, John 12:41, that Isaiah now saw Christ's glory, and spake of Him, which is a full proof that our Saviour is God. In Christ Jesus, God is seated on a throne of grace; and through him the way into the holiest is laid open. See God's temple, his church on earth, filled with his glory. His train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole world, for it is all God's temple. And yet he dwells in every contrite heart. See the blessed attendants by whom his government is served. Above the throne stood the holy angels, called seraphim, which means 'burners;' they burn in love to God, and zeal for his glory against sin. The seraphim showing their faces veiled, declares that they are ready to yield obedience to all God's commands, though they do not understand the secret reasons of his counsels, government, or promises. All vain-glory, ambition, ignorance, and pride, would be done away by one view of Christ in his glory.”

“The apostle writes: 'These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.' Therefore, He whom the prophet saw in his vision was our Lord Jesus Christ, throned in His rightful glory ere He came to effect redemption. From that majesty He stooped to humiliation and suffering and to the sorrows of the Cross.

“Who shall fathom that descending
From His rainbow-circled throne,
Down to earth's most base profaning,
Dying, desolate, alone–
From the Holy, holy, holy,
We adore Thee, O Most High,
Down to earth's blaspheming voices,
And the shout of 'Crucify'?” (H. C. Hewlett, The Companion of the Way, p. 87)

Captivity Captive
Psalm 68 sings a song of triumph:

“Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him…The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there.” (Psalm 68:1-18).
So to the Psalmist, the One who ascended on High is the LORD God. It's obvious to Paul who this refers to: Jesus Christ!:

“Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.' (Now this, 'He ascended' — what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:8-9).

House of David
“In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.” (Zechariah 12:8).

Answered prayers
Jesus Christ “humbled himself” and made himself of no reputation:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8).
He took on our nature in all its humility, and “learned obedience”: a new experience, according to the author of Hebrews: “…who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:7-8). This is why, although it's not His native estate to come before the Father as a humble petitioner, in His humility, having taken on our estate, He did so.

Now in His glory He hears our prayers. Paul called upon the Lord…and Jesus picked up on the line!: “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). When the Lord to whom he prayed answered him, “My strength is made perfect in weakness”, Paul understood “my strength” to be “the power of Christ”!

Stephen also prayed to the Lord: “And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60). Truly it's as the Bible teaches, “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” (Psalm 65:2).

With all His saints
The LORD will come with all the saints:

“Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.” (Zechariah 14:5).
More precisely:

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13).

No Savior Besides Me
There is One Savior of Israel: “Yet I am the LORD your God Ever since the land of Egypt and you shall know no God but Me; for there is no savior besides Me.” (Hosea 13:4). This Savior is the LORD: “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2).

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).

Who forgives Sin
The LORD, the only savior, forgives the sins of His people:

“I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.'” (Isaiah 44:22).
“For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great…Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins.” (Psalm 25:11-18).
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2).
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases…as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:2-12).
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25).
“To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:25)
This is why the Pharisees realized the magnitude of the claim Jesus was making about Himself when He forgave the paralyzed man: “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.' And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?'” (Mark 2:5-7). Who indeed?: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bear
ing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” (Colossians 3:13).

He is the Savior of the world: “Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.'” (John 4:42).

Giver of Life
Jehovah God is the fountain of life:

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9).
To get down to detail, the source of life is Jehovah the Son:

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:3-5);

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” (John 5:21);

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'” (John 8:12).
Life is the gift of God:

“'Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.'” (Deuteronomy 32:39);

“Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.” (Psalm 68:20).
And life is in Jesus' hand:

“Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'…Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth!' And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him, and let him go.'” (John 11:25-44).

Every Knee Shall Bow
The LORD promised that every knee would bow:

“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.” (Isaiah 45:22-23).

Paul fleshed this prophecy out with further detail:

“For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: 'As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:9-12).

It's before the judgment seat of Christ that every knee shall bow: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

One Judge
Most of the quotes on this page are from the New King James Version, and are reliably documented in the works of the early church authors. Some are absent from those modern translations which rely upon a very small sample of manuscripts. In a few cases, though, the modern translations offer proofs of the deity of Jesus Christ absent from the traditional text:

“There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. […] Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near…See, the Judge is standing at the doors!” (James 4:12-5:9).
James did not say there are many judges,–Judge Wapner, Judge Judy, Judge Rehnquist, God,–one of whom is coming, although he could have said this had it been on his mind. Rather he said that there is one judge…and He is at the door!

The New World Translation helpfully supplies this cross reference for James 4:12: “For Jehovah is our Judge, Jehovah is our Statute-giver, Jehovah is our King; he himself will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22 NWT). Truly, God is Judge over all the earth:

“Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?'” (Genesis 18:25);

“Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah.” (Psalm 50:6);

“But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” (Psalm 75:7);

“Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” (Psalm 98:8-9).

Pastoral Supply
Who gives pastors to the Church? The LORD, says Jeremiah: “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:15).

Jesus Christ, who ascended on high, says Paul: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…” (Ephesians 4:11).

Some of the ministers you read about in the papers are volunteers, it would seem. But the Bible teaches that the calling to the ministry is a work of God. God separated Paul for service from the womb: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood…” (Galatians 1:15-16). And Christ Jesus our Lord called Paul to service:

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry…” (1 Timothy 1:12).

I send you prophets
Jesus said that He sends prophets:

“Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” (Matthew 23:34).
Who is it who sends the prophets? The LORD!:

“Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.” (Jeremiah 7:25);

“And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.” (Jeremiah 25:4).

I am He
Jesus said, “I told you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am ['ego eimi'], you will die in your sins…When you raise the son of man aloft, then you will know that I am…” (John 8:24-28, Lattimore). For Jesus to respond to questions about His identity with the phrase 'ego eimi' would strike a chord with Septuagint-literate readers, who would recognize the phrase as God's way of identifying Himself:

“Now see that I, even I, am He ['ego eimi' LXX], and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)

“Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He ['ego eimi' LXX].'” (Isaiah 41:4); “Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to [all] futurity, I AM ['ego eimi'].” (Brenton Septuagint)

“'You are My witnesses,' says the LORD, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He ['ego eimi' LXX]…'” (Isaiah 43:10).

“Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He ['ego eimi' LXX], I am the First, I am
also the Last.” (Isaiah 48:12)

Of especial interest are the Septuagint's reduplicated 'ego eimi's in Isaiah 43:25 and 45:19, which are difficult to understand unless the Seventy explicitly understood 'I am he' as a divine name: “I am 'I AM' ['ego eimi ego eimi'], who erases your iniquities” (43:25), “I am 'I AM' the Lord ['ego eimi ego eimi kurios'], who speaks righteousness.” (45:19, Septuagint translations from C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, p. 94)

He is Lord
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11). It cannot be thought coincidental that the title the early church gave to Jesus: 'the Lord' – is the same way they addressed the living God: “Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD ['kyrios'] is one.”'” (Mark 12:29, Deuteronomy 6:4).

The Jehovah's Witnesses point out that many are addressed as 'Lord' in the New Testament who are unarguably not God, such as Pilate: “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, 'Sir ['kyrios'], we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise.”'” (Matthew 27:62-63), and a person Mary Magdalene supposed to be a gardener: “…She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir ['kyrios'], if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.'” (John 20:15). Unlike 'theos', non-gods like gardeners and governors are addressed as 'kyrios' in scripture. The same is true of the English word 'Lord': there's a whole chamber-full of them over in England, called 'the House of Lords'.

It should be noted, though, that this common habit of promiscuously addressing all and sundry as 'Lord' had already met resistance from the Zealots, and would soon meet fierce resistance from the Christian martyrs, who chose death rather than to say 'Caesar is Lord'. There is an undeniable gravity and momentum to addressing the living God as 'Lord' which tends toward jealousy: “…but as to all those that fled into Egypt, and to the Egyptian Thebes, it was not long ere they were caught also, and brought back, — whose courage, or whether we ought to call it madness, or hardiness in their opinions, everybody was amazed at; for when all sorts of torments and vexations of their bodies that could be devised were made use of to them, they could not get any one of them to comply so far as to confess, or seem to confess, that Caesar was their lord; but they preserved their own opinion, in spite of all the distress they were brought to, as if they received these torments and the fire itself with bodies insensible of pain, and with a soul that in a manner rejoiced under them. But what was most of all astonishing to the beholders, was the courage of the children; for not one of these children was so far overcome by these torments, as to name Caesar for their lord.” (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book VII, Chapter X.1).

Neither would the Christians: “Herod, the police captain, and his father, Nicetes, came out to meet him [Polycarp]. After transferring him to their carriage and sitting down at his side, they tried to persuade him, saying, 'Why, what harm is there in saying, “Caesar is Lord,” and offering incense' (and other words to this effect) 'and thereby saving yourself?' Now at first he gave them no answer. But when they persisted, he said, 'I am not about to do what you are suggesting to me.'” (The Martyrdom of Polycarp, 8.2) Yet Christians confess that Jesus is Lord: “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3) — because He truly is!

Call upon the Name
The prophet Joel said that, in the days to come, whoever would call upon the name of the LORD would be saved:

“And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.” (Joel 2:32).
Peter quotes Joel, with a new spin: “'And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'” (Acts 2:21). A new name has been revealed: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:2-3). The apostles found there's power in that name: “Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.'” (Acts 3:6).

Not only power, there's salvation in that name: “For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.' How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:11-14, Isaiah 28:16). It is the gospel of Jesus Christ which gives us the saving name. As the word of God says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10).

Doxology
The living God in the Old Testament is hymned this way:

“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!” (1 Chronicles 16:36).

“Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: 'Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You and praise Your glorious name.'” (1 Chronicles 29:11-13).
This same phraseology is sung to Jesus Christ by the New Testament saints:

“And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:18)

“You therefore, beloved…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18).

“…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5-6).
Since this stereotyped formula of praise is not applied to earthly rulers but to God alone, seeing Jesus praised in that manner is a weighty testimony to His eternal Deity.

God with Us
The Old Testament prophets foretold that God would dwell amongst His people:

“And it will be said in that day: 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'” (Isaiah 25:9).
“Thus says the LORD: 'The labor of Egypt and
merchandise of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; they shall walk behind you, they shall come over in chains; and they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, “Surely God is in you, and there is no other; there is no other God.'”” (Isaiah 45:14).
“'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,' says the LORD. 'Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.'” (Zechariah 2:10-11).
The Bible teaches two advents, that Christ will come again; the One who is to return is the “same Jesus” as He who ascended: “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'” (Acts 1:10-11). This Savior came to redeem His people:

“'And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.' So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'” (Matthew 1:21-23).

Lawgiver
“For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us…” (Isaiah 33:22).
Jehovah God gave laws to Israel: “And he said: 'The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand came a fiery law for them.'” (Deuteronomy 33:2);

“There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:12).

Jesus is the Lawgiver: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34).

Great Shepherd
Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd of the Sheep:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11).
“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25);
“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Isaiah had promised that Jehovah God would come and shepherd His people: “Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” (Isaiah 40:10-11).

Christians can say with David, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” (Psalm 23:1-2). He is our Shepherd: “Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm 100:3).

“But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)…” (Genesis 49:24).
“But He made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock, and He led them on safely, so that they did not fear…” (Psalm 78:52-53).
“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!” (Psalm 80:1)
“For thus says the Lord GOD: 'Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord GOD. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.'” (Ezekiel 34:11-16).

But it is objected, Nabal too is a shepherd: “Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail.” (1 Samuel 25:2-3)…yet he is not God. The Bible teaches us God's ways by likeness to homely things familiar to us. Sometimes a vine is just a vine, a door a door and a shepherd a sheep-shearer. Yet it cannot be coincidence the way the Bible systematically takes these allusions and applies them to Jesus Christ.

And besides, how many 'Chief Shepherds' can there be?

“Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers…nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” (1 Peter 5:4);

You Only
Sin is transgression against God: “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight – That You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.” (Psalm 51:4)

In this case, against God the Son: “But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.” (1 Corinthians 8:12).

Lawful worship or idolatry?
Ultimately every creature, even the Jehovah's Witnesses, willing or unwilling, will worship the Lamb:

“And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: 'Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!' Then the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13-14).

But if Jesus is not God, such worship is unlawful. Only One may lawfully be worshipped:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:2-3);

“…for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:13).

“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or our friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shal

[Casey S Smith 29]

The Holy Spirit is God

Diversities of Gifts
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). The “same God” works through the gift of the Spirit.

Dwelling place of God
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22). The saints are a “dwelling place of God” by virtue of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Temple of God
It is the prerogative of God to inhabit a temple: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17);

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

God promised to walk among His people: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” (Leviticus 26:12). Paul applied this promise to the Holy Spirit dwelling in His temple: “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.'” (2 Corinthians 6:16). Thus the Holy Spirit is God.

Not by Might
“So he answered and said to me: 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the LORD of hosts.'” (Zechariah 4:6).

Deep Things
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10).

Ananias and Sapphira
“But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.'” (Acts 5:3-4). Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God.

Leading the children in the wilderness
“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: 'Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, Who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?' As a beast goes down into the valley, and the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest, so You lead Your people, to make Yourself a glorious name.” (Isaiah 63:13-14). God leads His people through His Holy Spirit.

Creator
Paul introduced the pagans to the unknown God he served as the Creator. This is the dividing line between the True God and the imposters of the nations. And the God who created the world is Father, Son and Holy Spirit: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2);

“By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. (Job 26:13);

“You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.” (Psalms 104:30);

“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4).

By Inspiration
God inspired the Bible: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16).

In more detail, the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets of old: “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21).

The fact that authorship of the Old Testament is indifferently ascribed by New Testament authors to God the Father, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, is one of the classic proofs of the Trinity.

That it's the Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets is an iron-clad proof that the Holy Spirit is God. The LORD God spoke through the prophets:

“'And now, because you have done all these works,' says the LORD, 'and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer'…But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'…Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.” (Jeremiah 7:13-26).
…And the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets, not by way of a messenger boy nor an 'active force', but personally:

“And He said to me, 'Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.' Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: 'Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.'” (Ezekiel 2:1-3).

“Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” (Nehemiah 9:30).

.
Holy, holy, holy
Isaiah saw a vision in the temple of Jehovah God: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:1-5).

John reveals that Isaiah saw Christ. After quoting Isaiah 6:9-10, he says that Isaiah said these things when he saw Christ's glory: “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.” (John 12:40-41).

Likewise, Paul relates this vision to the Holy Spirit: “And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had sp
oken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.” (Acts 28:26-28). Thus, the speaker of Isaiah 6:9-10, the LORD of hosts, is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blasphemy
“And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.” (Luke 12:10).

According to His own will
God distributes the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will: “…God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Hebrews 2:4)

To wit, the will of the Holy Spirit: “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Consequently, the will of the Holy Spirit is the will of God.

Be Strong
“'Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,' says the LORD; 'and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,' says the LORD, 'and work; for I am with you,' says the LORD of hosts. 'According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!' For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:4-7). An Old Testament testimony to the triune God, the resting of whose Spirit is the surety that “I am with you.”

Sanctification
“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin…” (Isaiah 30:1 KJV).

The Spirit cleanses and renews our hearts: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” (Psalm 51:10-12).

It is the LORD who sanctifies His people:

“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.'” (Exodus 31:13, Leviticus 20:8);

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Namely, it's the Holy Spirit who sanctifies: “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:15-16).

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).

“To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 1:2).

Thus, the Spirit is the LORD.

Born Again
“Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'” (John 3:5-8).

Those born of “the Spirit” are children of God: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you…For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:11-14).

The Lord is that Spirit
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Signature
When Christ sits down to write a letter, the Holy Spirit also gets a signature line: “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” (2 Corinthians 3:3). Divine works of authorship have a triune signature line, because the God who wrote them is triune.

The Father and the Son
The same Holy Spirit is called both the Spirit of the Father, and the Spirit of the Son:

“But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matthew 10:19-20).

“But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:11).

“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12).

This same Holy Spirit who is the “Spirit of your Father” is also identified as the “Spirit of His Son”:

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'” (Galatians 4:6).

“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:19-20).

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9).

“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10-11).

Thus the Holy Spirit is the bond of unity, self-same Spirit both of Son and Father.

Our Abode
“I answer that, The whole Trinity dwells in the mind by sanctifying grace, according to John
14:23: 'We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him.'” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part Q. 43, Article 5).

Jesus promised that both Father and Son would abide with the believer: “Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'” (John 14:23). This occurs through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, by virtue of the mutual indwelling of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (circumincession): “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.” (John 14:16-19).

There are several dimensions to this passage: Jesus is referring, in part, to His post-resurrection appearances to the disciples but not the world, but also undoubtedly to His dwelling within the believer: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

It is through the infilling of the Holy Spirit that Christ dwells in the believer: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Only in the unity of the One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit could the Spirit be the vehicle for the indwelling of Father and Son with the believer.

Eternal Spirit
Eternity is one of the essential attributes of Deity: “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14).

Today
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.'” (Hebrews 3:7-9, quote of Psalm 95). The Holy Spirit, the speaker, is the LORD:

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'” (Psalm 95:6-11).

Where can I flee?
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10). Omnipresence is a divine attribute; thus, the Spirit is God.

The LORD's enemies imagined He was a local phenomenon: “Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, 'Thus says the LORD: “Because the Syrians have said, 'The LORD is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,' therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”'” (1 Kings 20:28). How far from the truth they were!:

“And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me.” (1 Kings 18:12).
“Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: 'Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!'…So the spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.” (Ezekiel 3:12-15).
“Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:39).
“He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court…” (Ezekiel 8:3).

Omniscience
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26).

“Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has taught Him?” (Isaiah 40:13).

Spirit of Jehovah
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Jehovah, the true and living God: “Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.” (1 Samuel 10:6).

“You who are named the house of Jacob: 'Is the Spirit of the LORD restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To him who walks uprightly?'” (Micah 2:7).

“But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8).

“The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim.” (Judges 3:10).

But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.” (Judges 6:34).

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon.” (Judges 11:29).

“And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.” (Judges 13:25).

“And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.” (Judges 14:6).

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16:13).

The Love of God
The Apostle Paul begins his letters by invoking Father and Son, never the Holy Spirit, asking grace and peace: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7). John begins his letters with the same prayer: “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” (2 John 1:3).

The traditional answer as to why the Holy Ghost is not also invoked in these opening prayers is because the Holy
Ghost is the very grace and peace which is being prayed for. Jesus promised His followers that the very love with which His Father loved Him would dwell in their hearts: “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26). By this is meant the Holy Ghost, by whom the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5).

The fact that God is love means the communion of the Holy Ghost draws us into the very being of God: “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit…And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:12-16). I don't mean, of course, that the Holy Ghost is an abstraction or an experience, but it would be redundant to ask grace and peace of the very grace and peace for which we are asking.

The traditional view of these passages was expounded by Augustine, and is stated like so by Thomas: “Question XXXVII, Article 1. Whether 'Love' is the Proper Name of the Holy Ghost?…On the contrary, Gregory says…'The Holy Ghost Himself is Love.' I answer that, The name Love in God can be taken essentially and personally. If taken personally it is the proper name of the Holy Ghost, just as Word is the proper name of the Son…The Holy Ghost is said to be the bond of the Father and Son, in so far as He is Love…” (Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas, First Part). This theory must be said, however, to be more a speculation launched from the launching-pad of the Bible than itself the provable Bible truth. For a lively exposition of this traditional viewpoint, see Jonathan Edwards' 'Essay on the Trinity'.

Seven Spirits of God
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne…And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God…And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” (Revelation 4:2-5:6).
Traditionally the “seven Spirits of God” in which the Holy Spirit is represented in this picture of the Trinity have been identified with Isaiah's sevenfold spirit from the Septuagint translation of the Bible: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from [his] root: and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness shall fill him; the spirit of the fear of God. He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report: but he shall judge the cause of the lowly, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he destroy the ungodly one.” (Isaiah 11:1-5 LXX Brenton).

Good Teacher
The Holy Spirit has always instructed God's children: “Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” (Psalm 143:10).

“You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.” (Nehemiah 9:20).

In these latter days, God promised to Himself personally teach each and every one of His children, from least to the greatest: “It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” (John 6:45); “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.” (Isaiah 54:13).

Specifically, this course of instruction is brought to us through the anointing of the Holy Spirit:

“These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:13).
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13).
“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1 John 2:27).
So if those taught by the Holy Spirit are “taught of God”, the Holy Spirit must be God.

[Casey S Smith 29]

Answering the Jehovah's Witnesses

Is the Holy Spirit an Impersonal Force?

I Filled with the Spirit
Will Insult
Grief Instructor
He Comforter
Mind Strife

Are you Born Again?

Will this Earth remain forever?

What manner of man?
Who is Jesus Christ, according to the Bible? Is He a created being,–or the living God incarnate?

Jesus Christ is God!

The Son is God.

Your Throne, O God The Work of Your Hands Let Angels Worship
True God Express Image Visible and Invisible
For Himself Son of God Kiss the Son
A Son is born Honor the Son Only-begotten God
Pantocrator Believe on the Son Only Savior

Jesus is Jehovah.

A Voice Crying Temple Visitor Stone of Stumbling
The Rock of Israel The First and the Last Lord of all
The LORD our Righteousness Holy, holy, holy Captivity Captive
House of David Answered prayers With all His saints
Israel's Savior Giver of Life Every Knee Shall Bow
Pastoral Supply I send you prophets Who forgives sin
I am He He is Lord Call upon the Name
Doxology God with Us Lawgiver
Great Shepherd You Only Lawful worship
Builder I AM THAT I AM Moses' Veil
Wine Press Lord Willing Secret Things
Boasting Excluded King of Israel Fount of Living Waters
Searches the Heart Till Death Do us Part Angel of the LORD
Take Refuge Has Reigned On His Forehead

Jesus Christ is God.

The Eyes of the Blind Thought it not Robbery Eternally Blessed God
Fulness of the Godhead Great God and Savior Faith in Him
Redeemed King of Kings Spirit of Christ
Destroyed by Serpents Lord of Glory Renewed in the Image
New Jerusalem's Lamp Now is Christ risen Upholding all Things
Light to the Gentiles My Companion Miracles
Prosecutors' Indictment Sun of Righteousness Thirty Pieces
Testator's Death Author of Life The Blood of God
My Lord and My God One Mystery of godliness
God was in Christ The Word was God Shared Glory
Omniscience Omnipotence Omnipresence
Change Not Yesterday, Today and Forever Whose Hand?
Not of Man Receive my Spirit Believe in God

The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple, William Holman Hunt

“…and the Word was a god.” (John 1:1, NWT)
Wait a minute: Just how many gods are known to the Bible, anyway? Only One:

How many Gods?

Only One God Henotheism
Pagan Polytheism Finis Dake
Witnesses Origen

“Gods such as Zeus and Hermes were worshiped in the days of Jesus' apostles. So the Bible agrees that 'there are many “gods”'…” (p. 34, You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1982). Does it really?

Who are the “other gods”?

Strange Gods Gods of Wood and Stone
Is a 'fake rose' a rose? Worship Him!
Counterfeit Bills Dark Matter
None Like Thee So-called Gods
God of this World Moses
El Stars
Prince of Tyre Psalm 82
Lower than the Angels Before the gods

“I said, Ye are gods.”

Elohim Family Portrait
God's Hands Mighty Ones
Theoi Church Fathers
Magistrates Zeus and Hera

Like Himself
“God's first creations were spirit persons like himself.” (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, 1982, p. 44).

But is there anything like God? My Bible says, no: “Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, that they may serve Me, for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.'” (Exodus 9:13-14).

Only One God

Worship One One Jehovah One God

They're getting older…
My 1982 “You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth” says this: “After drawing attention to the many things that have marked the period from 1914 onward, Jesus said: 'This generation will by no means pass away until all these things [including the end of this system] occur.' (Matthew 24:34, 14) Which generation did Jesus mean? He meant the generation of people who were living in 1914. Those persons yet remaining of that generation are now very old. However, some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system.” (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, 1982, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania).

The Lord has long experience with such eager servants: “'I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.'” (Jeremiah 23:21).

“My Father is Greater than I”:
In John 14:28, Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I.” Does this mean that Jesus is a lesser god, subordinate to 'Jehovah'?

“My Father is greater than I.”

“…the seed of Abraham.”

The Angel of the LORD
Who is the theophanic Angel of the LORD? He says that He is God: “Moreover He said, 'I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'” (Exodus 3:6). Is He Who He says He Is?

Who is the theophanic Angel?

Favorite Verses of the Jehovah's Witnesses
1 John 5:7 1 Corinthians 15:44
Deuteronomy 12:16 Revelation 20:10

Jesus Christ: Creator or creature?
“Jehovah's first creation answers our question for us, at Revelation 3:14, 21, in these words: 'These are the things the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God…' (NW) Jesus Christ, now glorified in heaven since his return there nineteen centuries ago, is the one who thus identifies himself as God's first creation…Likewise the corresponding expression 'the firstborn of all creation' means he was the first one to be created. He is a creature; he was not coeternal with God. Being heavenly, he was spirit like God.” (New Heavens and A New Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., 1953, p. 23-24),

Jesus Christ: Creator or creature?

Revelation 3:14
Colossians 1:15
Proverbs 8:22

Soul Sleep
“And Jesus said to him, “'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'”
(Luke 23:43).

In Paradise

“Where is Pardise? Well, where was the paradise God made at the beginning? It was on earth, was it not?…Jesus Christ, of course, will not be right here on earth with the former criminal. No, Jesus will be in heaven ruling as king over the earthly Paradise.” ('You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth,' Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1982).

Absent from the Body To Depart is Better
Dead Lion Never Die
God of the Living Abraham's Bosom
Moses and Elijah Thief on the Cross

Psst: Wanna buy some “Miracle Wheat”?
The strange tale of Charles Taze Russell and his 'Miracle Wheat' begins with the breathless announcement, in Zion's Watch Tower, of a startling new discovery:

ZWT: 03/15/1908 page 86

“MIRACLE WHEAT”
The public press is telling of the origin of “Miracle Wheat” in answer to prayer. The description has the earmarks of truth to it, in that it gives the address of the man whose prayers are said to have been answered — “K. B. Stoner, a farmer of Fincastle, Botetourt county, Virginia.” It would appear from the account that the original stalk of wheat appeared in the midst of a crop of the ordinary kind, but with “142 heads of grain.”

We quote:–

“Mr. Stoner was amazed. It seemed incredible. When a Fr
enchman, in 1842, announced that he had discovered a species of wheat in the Mediterranean country which produced four heads to the plant, people said he was crazy.

“But here was a plant with 142 heads!

“Naturally Mr. Stoner carefully preserved the heads, and the next year sowed the seed, continuing to do this each year, for he realized he had discovered a phenomenal brand of grain. And each year his amazement increased.

“That first year after discovering the plant he got 2000 grains. In 1906 he got sixteen bushels, and has now raised the crop of wheat, all carefully preserved for seed, to 800 bushels.

“What is most remarkable about the wheat is this: Whereas there is produced in the wheat sections of that country an average at the best of seventeen bushels to an acre, the average yield of the “miracle wheat” during the last three years has been fifty-six bushels to the acre; and whereas from eight to ten pecks of seed are required to plant an acre in Virginia, Mr. Stoner uses only two pecks, and, in comparison to the yield of ordinary wheat in the neighborhood, which is eight bushels for each bushel of seed, Mr. Stoner gets about seventy-five bushels for one. An ordinary stalk of wheat covers about four inches of space. The miracle wheat covers twelve.”

———————–
This astonishing account in Zion's Watch Tower concludes by asking breathlessly,

IS IT RESTITUTION WHEAT?
If this account be but one-half true it testifies afresh to God's ability to provide things needful for the “times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began.” — Acts 3:19-21.

Zion's Watchtower of October 1, 1908, brings further reports of 'Miracle Wheat' with the rapturous hope, “Our thought is that in this natural way God is preparing for the Millennium, when 'the earth shall yield her increase.'” (p. 291).

Religious claims were made on behalf of this humble commodity:

ZWT: 09/01/1910, page 279

RESTITUTION WORK BEGUN
“The Divine purpose will not be thwarted by the permission of sin to mar the original. The sacrificial death of Jesus is the complete offset to the penalty pronounced on Adam and his race. Restitution to perfection and Divine favor will result in God's 'due time.' And we believe that time near at hand.

“Do we not see the promised blessing coming? What are our vast irrigation schemes by artesian wells and by aqueducts but fulfillments of the prophecies pertaining to the reign of Messiah and the blessing of the earth? Hark to the message: Streams shall break forth in the desert; and the wilderness shall bloom as the rose. — Isaiah 35.

“Burbank and others are under Divine guidance working miracles in horticulture, just as Edison and others have been the instruments of Providence to give us electrical devices. What beautiful fruits and flowers are the result! It is difficult to imagine greater perfection either in Eden of old or in the world-wide Eden to be restored!

“Referring to the 'times of restitution' of Messiah's reign the Prophet declares, 'The earth shall yield her increase.' (Ezek. 34:27.) Behold preparations for the fulfillment of this promise: About three years ago a Virginia farmer found one abnormal bunch of 120 stalks of wheat from one root — the offspring of one grain of wheat. Under the name of 'miracle wheat' it is now being developed slowly in various parts — the average yield appears to be about 1,200 grains from one kernel…”

No doubt by this time readers of Zion's Watch Tower down on the farm were eager to get their hands on this miraculous seed. What do you know, the opportunity arose:

ZWT: 06/15/1911 :R4844 : page 178:

A DONATION OF MIRACLE WHEAT
Brother Bohnet writes us that he has gradually accumulated a crop of miracle wheat from the few grains he obtained as a start. He prefers that the first opportunity for obtaining this wheat shall go to THE WATCH TOWER readers. He will sell it for $1 per pound, including postage, and give the entire proceeds to our Society. All orders for this wheat should be addressed, Miracle Wheat Bohnet, 17 Hicks street, Brooklyn, N. Y. This will keep mail on this subject separate from his personal mail and from ours.

At trial, Mr. Russell admitted the seed packets had been mailed from the Watch Tower offices: “For the accommodation of our readers, we allowed this seed-wheat to be put up in pound packages and mailed from THE WATCH TOWER Office, just as the U.S. Government handles such seeds at Washington.” (ZWT 02/15/1913).

So did the farmers who sowed this miraculous wheat – note, the “proceeds” from the sale of which went to “our Society” – notice streams breaking forth in the desert or the wilderness blooming as the rose? Well, no, the results from this exorbitantly priced strain of wheat were not remarkable. The Watchtower Society was founded by a flim-flam man who made his way in the world by selling 'Miracle Wheat' to the rubes.

Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

Early Church History
The Jehovah's Witnesses enlist the early church writers for their cause. Are these ancient authors draftees, or volunteers?:

“For we do not say, as the heretics suppose, that…the Son has been generated from the Father from no substance at all, that is, outside His own substance, so that there would be a time when He was not…just as light can never exist without splendor so neither can the Son, who is said to be the 'express stamp of His substance' [Heb. 1:3] and His Word and Wisdom, ever be understood without the Father. Therefore, how can it be said that there was a time when the Son was not?…But what is said about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit must be understood above all time, above all ages, and above all eternity. For that only is the Trinity which surpasses every sense of our understanding, not only temporal but also eternal. It is other things that are outside the Trinity that must be measured in ages and times.”
(Origen, On First Principles, Book IV, Chapter 4, 1.).

Were these writers Jehovah's Witnesses? Some early church writers describe a hierarchical trinity. But do any of these authors describe the Son as a created being or deny His eternity?:

Will the real Jehovah's Witnesses please stand up?

Justin Martyr
Ignatius
Tertullian
Hippolytus
Origen
Arius
Constantius
Liberius
Leovigild, King of the Visigoths

A Great Multitude
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'” (Revelation 7:9-10).
Is there any Biblical evidence for the kind of spiritual apartheid practiced by the Jehovah's Witnesses, with an elite group of 144,000 who only are born again, and a vast herd of also-rans? To the contrary: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

The Watchtower Trinity
The Watchtower's Trinity
Did Jesus use the Divine Name?
Torture Stake
1914
Is there a Hell?

The Doctrine of the Trinity
What is the doctrine? Is it really, like Charles Taze Russell reports, “three Gods in ONE PERSON”?:

Biblical Proof:

The four propositions proven above: that

a.) There is only One God;
b.) The Father is God;
c.) The Son is God;
d.) The Holy Spirit is God.
— are at the heart of the fifth-century Athanasian Cree
d: “So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three gods: but one God.” The points which embarrass Jehovah's Witnesses — a.) and c.) — are every bit as solidly scriptural as is their favorite, b.).

“I have seen God face to face”
The church sings, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!” Is this language Biblical?

God in Three Persons?

Is Person a Biblical Word?
The First Time Boethius
What does it Mean? Face to Face
The Father and the Son The Holy Spirit
Express Image To Each His Own
Men and Angels Persona
Thrice Holy Who are the 'God-people'?
Separate or Distinct? Bible Terminology
Individuals God-beings

Is the Trinity Pagan?
“Many clergymen follow the pagans in believing in a trinity.” (New Heavens and A New Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., 1953, p. 36). Really?

Is the Trinity Pagan?

Pagan Affinities Alexander Hislop
Changing God Masked Gods
Hindu Modalist Trinity Plato
Plotinus Jehovah's Witnesses
Isis, Osiris and Typhon Zeus, Hera and Athena
At Random Bus Herds

Raised a Spirit Person
“The flesh of a sacrifice is always disposed of and put out of existence, so not corrupting…Accordingly, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead as a spirit person and not in the fleshly body in which he died as a human sacrifice.” (“Things in Which it is Impossible for God to Lie,” Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1965, pp. 354-356).

“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
(Luke 24:39)
“The other disciples therefore said to him, 'We have seen the Lord.' So he said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.' And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace to you!' Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'”
(John 20:25-27).

Is God the 'Father-only'?

Lord and God
God the Father
Witnesses
Worship One

The Powers that Be
Jehovah's Witnesses do not contribute to the community in the usual ways: they do not vote, serve on juries, nor serve in the military. They have nonetheless been of great service to this country. The United States Constitution includes a solid guarantee of freedom of religion. The Constitution, however, is not self-enforcing; it is left up to minority religions to fight for their rights. This the Jehovah's Witnesses, fearless litigators, have never hesitated to do. Their victories include West Virginia Board of Education versus Barnette, the Supreme Court decision which forbade states from compelling students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. This the Jehovah's Witnesses, who consider the pledge to be idolatry, will not do.

Three-in-One
A common form of proof of God's triunity — His 'Three-in-One'ness — are the many instances where scripture ascribes one divine work indifferently to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Creation, one case in point, is covered above in “The First Page”. The principle: “With regard to the divine nature, on the other hand, it is otherwise. We do not learn that the Father does something on his own, in which the Son does not co-operate. Or again, that the Son acts on his own without the Spirit. Rather does every operation which extends from God to creation and is designated according to our differing conceptions of it have its origin in the Father, proceed through the Son, and reach its completion by the Holy Spirit.” (Gregory of Nyssa, On Not Three Gods). More cases in point: Three-in-One

Who Raised Jesus from the Dead?
Who Authored Holy Writ?
Who Alone is Holy?
Who Sanctifies Believers?
Who Gives Eternal Life?
Who Supplies Pastors?

Does the scandalous division of the church into sects prove the claims of one sect over another?

[NickHassan]

Hi Casey,
No.
Jesus is the Son of God.

[Casey S Smith 29]

Wow Nick…brief answer that did not sufficiently answer anything. I want to say duh, but that sounds a little rude. Jesus is the Son of God huh. Never realized that.

[NickHassan]

Hi casey,
If you laying a foundation to teach from then the only foundation stone that can be laid is that of the Son of God.

Jesus is not the God who begat him sent him, anointed him, worked through him and raised him to glory.

That is his Father and his God.

[Is 1:18]

Hi Casey,
Thanks for posting that information, it seems we agree in large part. Many here hold that the “Son” was begotten before He chose to enter our time/space continuum and live as a man, but I have found no evidence that would substantiate the 'eternal generation of the Son' position. What is your opinion here?

Many blessings

[942767]

Casey:

The dictionary definition of innocence is: “The quality and state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong”.

I said that I believe that all infants including Jesus were born in innocence.

I base my so called opinion on the following scripture: “Whosoever commiteth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the Law”. (1 John 3:4)

My hope for your Muslim friends and not only for them but for every individual is that they will believe God's testimony regarding His only begotten Son so that they can be reconciled to God through him.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man commeth to Father but by me”. (John 14:6)

[NickHassan]

Quote (Is 1:18 @ Oct. 13 2006,22:52)

Hi Casey, Thanks for posting that information, it seems we agree in large part. Many here hold that the “Son” was begotten before He chose to enter our time/space continuum and live as a man, but I have found no evidence that would substantiate the 'eternal generation of the Son' position. What is your opinion here? Many blessings

Hi Is 1.18
The son was not eternally generated
but begotten of God in the beginning.

If he was always a Son then he is not a son at all.
A Son derives being from a father.

It is a trintarian teaching to say God was always a father.

[Is 1:18]

Quote (Nick Hassan @ Oct. 14 2006,00:05)

Hi Is 1.18 The son was not eternally generated but begotten of God in the beginning. If he was always a Son then he is not a son at all. A Son derives being from a father. It is a trintarian teaching to say God was always a father.

Where, in the Bible, is it written that Yahshua was “begotten of God in the beginning.”?

Cheers

[david]

Quote

Now I understand there is a large amount of material there. But when David sent me a copy/paste on worship I broke it down and replied. Let's see if I will get the same.???

Actually, Casey, I thought you missed or ignored most of what I said and focused on what you wanted to believe. So it has been with everything I've discussed or rather, tried to discuss with you.

Quote

See David: You aren't the only one who can cut/paste. I can too, but the irony is that all mine are from DIFFERENT denominations and yet they ALL believe the SAME thing about the 144,000.

Yes, Casey, they do all believe the same thing. And Satan is misleading the entire inhabited earth and is the ruler and god of this world. (Rev 12:9; 2 Cor 4:4; John, 1 John) Many believe they are followers of Jesus, but have mislead themselves. (Mat 7:13?) And when it comes to aspects of the kingdom, and it's rulers:
MATTHEW 13:11
“In reply he said: “To YOU [Jesus disciples] it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those people it is not granted.”
Being that so few are on the narrow path, yet think they are, as Jesus said and being that Satan is the “ruler of this world” or the “ruler of the world,” and misleadin the entire inhabited earth (of course, Jesus true disciples are “no part of the world” that is mislead by Satan), and being that he is the very “god this system of things” it's not suprising that the great majority of mankind all agree on wrong things, such as the trinity, or this.

You seem to want to accuse me of not answering your questions. Well, Casey, I've asked you nicely three times now to stick to one subject. If you can't, then we can't really discuss things. I'm working nights and days now, and my work load has increased significantly. I told the people of this forum that 2 weeks ago and several people said good bye to me, as though I were leaving. I'm not leaving. I just have “time constraints,” as you do. Yet you expect me to answer every whim of yours immediately. And you throw 15 things at me at once. Is that your way of communicating? If not, what are you attempting to do? It doesn't seem you have any intent on really understanding why I believe as I do. Do you? If not, why should I reply to anything you say? I really don't have the time, and I doubt greatly that most would read all you've put down. Especially when you post 4 pages all at once. Something has to give. And I think it may as well be you. If you ever want to say anything to me, keep it short, and I may read it. I am more than happy to discuss the Bible with anyone who wants to discuss it. I'm not sure you do.

david

[david]

Quote

You like to say that there house has been left desolate and the kingdom was taken away from them.

–Casey

Is it I who likes to say that?

MATTHEW 21:43
“This is why I say to YOU, The kingdom of God will be taken from YOU and be given to a nation producing its fruits.”

MATTHEW 23:37-38
““Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent forth to her,—how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together under her wings! But YOU people did not want it. Look! YOUR house is abandoned to YOU.”

Casey then says:

Quote

So now God can revoke his promise.

It was actually a covenant. That is an agreement between parties. Did Israel fulfill it's end of the agreement?

HEBREWS 8:9
“not according to the covenant that I made with their forefathers in [the] day of my taking hold of their hand to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant, so that I stopped caring for them,’ says Jehovah.””

[Casey S Smith 29]

I have not answered your inquiries sir? Let's recap:

Quote

Let me make a point here sir. As far as I know, there are NO SCHOLARS (as far as I know) in the field of the Watchtower. NONE! What does that say? But again, as far as I know the JW do not allow their members to read literature of the opposite views. So in a sense you are in disobediance. At first the Watchtower would not allow their followers to view the www, now they can at discretion. When I have had some members of the past come to my house, and I made a deal with them, “I will read and study your material if you study mine” to which they would reply, “we do not read other literature since we do not believe you are in 'the' truth.” So having said that, their are no Scholars. There are no members of the kingdom halls all over the world that hold a B.A. – B.S. – M Div – Doctorate in Divinty – and I could go on and on. I am not saying they do not hold degrees in business or whatever but in areas of more importance they do not.

I will try to give you one thing at a time here sir. I did send a huge amount of info last Friday but I had much time to blow. Now, you however sir did not answer this question at all. Why is that?

What did I not answer of yours now?

[Casey S Smith 29]

Quote

Hi Casey, Thanks for posting that information, it seems we agree in large part. Many here hold that the “Son” was begotten before He chose to enter our time/space continuum and live as a man, but I have found no evidence that would substantiate the 'eternal generation of the Son' position. What is your opinion here?

Isaiah:

Eternal generation of the Son…hmmmmmm. Trinity – co-eternal co-equal. Well, co-equal I cannot substantiate. Co-eternal?

Well, the Father is a Father of eternity am I correct on this analysis of Scripture everyone? Now aion of aions or age of ages is a semsetic phrase which is our eternity. Now, there are verses where age or ages do not refer to eternity – given.

Follow me here:

If the Father is eternal to which we all agree, in what sense can God be Father without a Son likewise eternal. It is truly beyond my peronal punny finite mind to grasp. If one says that God is not a Father eternal but a God eternal then they go against Scriptural evidence.

The Son begotten in some point in time is the Arius position, “there was a time when the son was not” over against the Athanasius camp “there was never a time when the Son was not.”

It is beyond me how one can say that the Son was begotton in etertinty. It is an oxy-moron defying the law of contradiction= A cannot equal NON A.

[NickHassan]

Hi casey,
God is a Father because he has children. He has a beloved monogenes Son and other sons shown in Gen 6, Job 1,2,38 and now adopted sons of the resurrection. Jesus revealed his father to us but never said that God was always a father or that he was forever a son. Scripture tells us of his begettal from God in Ps 2.

Jn 8
” 42Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.”

[Author]

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