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 unscriptural to worship Christ, does that mean the earlier issues
of The Watchtower magazine were  unscriptural ?
" What does this major reversal say about the Watchtower Society s
claim to be a true prophet of God?
The Watchtower s theological bias comes through loud and clear in how it
translates the Greek word for worship, proskuneo. As noted earlier, when used
with reference to Jehovah the New World Translation correctly translates the word
as  worship (22 times). But when proskuneo is used of Christ, it is translated
 obeisance,  reverence, and  homage. The Watchtower Society s translation
completely obscures the fact that Jesus is worshiped as God in the New Testament.
The fact is, Christ was worshiped as God (proskuneo) many times according
to the Gospel accounts and He always accepted such worship as appropriate.
Jesus accepted worship from Thomas (John 20:28); all the angels are told to
worship Jesus (Heb. 1:6); wise men worshiped Jesus (Matt. 2:11); a leper
worshiped Him (Matt. 8:2); a ruler bowed before Him in worship (Matt. 9:18); a
blind man worshiped Him (John 9:38); a woman worshiped Him (Matt. 15:25);
Mary Magdalene worshiped Him (Matt. 28:9); and the disciples worshiped Him
(Matt. 28:17).
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Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah s Witnesses  Chapter 5
Now, as a backdrop, it is significant that when Paul and Barnabas were in
Lystra and miraculously healed a man by God s mighty power, those in the crowd
shouted,  The gods have come down to us in human form (Acts 14:11). When
Paul and Barnabas perceived that the people were preparing to worship them,  they
tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:  Men, why are you
doing this? We too are only men, human like you  (v. 15). As soon as they
perceived what was happening, they immediately corrected the gross
misconception that they were gods.
By contrast, Jesus never sought to correct His followers, or  set them
straight, when they bowed down and worshiped Him. Indeed, Jesus considered
such worship as perfectly appropriate. Of course, we wouldn t expect Jesus to try
to correct people in worshiping Him if He truly was God in the flesh.
In your encounters with Jehovah s Witnesses, you might want to point out
that in the Book of Revelation, God the Father and Jesus Christ are clearly seen as
receiving the same worship. Point them to Revelation 4:10, which speaks of
worshiping the Father, and Revelation 5:11-14, which speaks of worshiping the
Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. You might then ask the Jehovah s Witness:
" What does it say about Jesus true identity that in the Book of
Revelation He receives the same worship that is given to the
Father?
That Jesus is worshiped says a lot about His true identity, for it is the
consistent testimony of Scripture that only God can be worshiped. Exodus 34:14
tells us:  For you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God (cf. Deut. 6:13; Matt. 4:10). In view of this, the fact that
Jesus is worshiped on numerous occasions shows that He is in fact God.
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Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah s Witnesses  Chapter 5
Hebrews 1:6  Obeisance to Jesus?
The Watchtower Teaching. The New World Translation renders Hebrews
1:6,  But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says:  And
let all God s angels do obeisance to him  (italics added). Though the same Greek
word (proskuneo) that is used for worshiping the Father is used of worshiping
Jesus Christ in this verse, the Watchtower Society has translated it as
 obeisance. 131 This means that Jesus is to be honored, but not worshiped as God.
The Biblical Teaching. To begin, it is highly revealing to note that the 1961
edition of the New World Translation translated Hebrews 1:6,  But when he again
brings his First-born into the inhabited earth, he says:  And let all God s angels
worship him  (italics added). By contrast, the 1971 edition reads:  But when he
again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says:  And let all God s
angels do obeisance to him  (italics added).
In view of this, you might ask the Jehovah s Witness:
" Why did the 1961 edition of the New World Translation render
Hebrews 1:6 to say that we should worship Jesus, while the 1971
edition says we should merely do obeisance to Him?
" What does this major change say about the Watchtower Society s
claim to be a true prophet of God?
One must point out that if the Watchtower Society is correct in saying that
Jesus is a created being and is not to be worshiped, then the Father Himself is
guilty of committing a horrible sin, if we read Hebrews 1:6 in the original Greek.
Indeed, the Father commanded the angels to commit a sacrilegious act by
worshiping (proskuneo) a mere creature.
Worse comes to worse when it is realized that the Jehovah s Witnesses say
Jesus was an angelic being in his pre-human state (as Michael the Archangel) and
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Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah s Witnesses  Chapter 5
returned to the angelic state after his death on the cross. This being the case, the
angels mentioned in Hebrews 1:6 are actually commanded to worship a fellow
angel. The angels are told to worship one of their own! Why would God do this,
especially since He has elsewhere said that worship is to be rendered to God alone
(Exod. 34:14; Deut. 6:13; Matt. 4:10)?
Angels elsewhere in the New Testament are clearly shown to reject worship.
Former Jehovah s Witness David Reed therefore suggests:
Invite the JW to turn to Revelation 22:8-9 in his own Kingdom Interlinear
Translation, where the same word proskuneo is used in the original Greek.
There the apostle John says,  I fell down to worship [root: proskuneo] before
the feet of the angel....But he tells me:  Be careful! Do not do that!...Worship
[root: proskuneo] God.  Point out to the Jehovah s Witness that the worship
that the angel refused to accept, but told John to give to God, is the same
proskuneo that the Father commanded to be given to his Son Jesus at
Hebrews 1:6. So, the Son is certainly not an angel.132
In keeping with this, we must emphasize that context is extremely important
in properly interpreting Hebrews 1. It must be kept in mind that one of the primary
purposes of Hebrews, particular in chapter 1, is to demonstrate the superiority of
Jesus Christ including His superiority to the prophets (1:1-4), to the angels
(1:5 2:18), and to Moses (3:1-6). How is this superiority demonstrated? Well, for
example, Christ is shown to be God s ultimate revelation (vs. 1); He is the Creator
and Sustainer of the universe (vss. 2-3); and He has the very nature of God (vs. 3).
None of these things could be said of the prophets, the angels, or Moses.
Now, in Hebrews 1:5 2:18 Christ s superiority over the angels is being set [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]