Answering the Jehovah's Witnesses (Part 2)

If you're interested in reading "Part 1" in this series, click here.

The Jehovah's Witnesses are adamant that the name "Jehovah" can only rightly be applied to the Father, for in their theology, only the Father is divine - Jesus is just an "archangel" and the Holy Spirit "the active force" of God. This is an area where you can take advantage of their ignorance of the scriptures, and a great way to get them to see (the honest ones, at least) that the Watchtower Society has a system of theology that, rather than being logical and coherent, looks more like a tangled mess.

If you're studying with a JW, kick-start the line of questioning by asking them if they believe that the title of "Jehovah" can be applied to Jesus. When they respond in the negative, ask them why. They will likely respond by telling you that Jehovah is an expression of the tetragramatton (YHWH) and that it is the personal name of God Himself...and Jesus is not divine.

This is where you might turn their attention to Isaiah 8:13-14...

"The LORD (tetragramatton, YHWH) 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."

Here's the point: the title of Jehovah is applied to one that would be "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." Then turn their attention to 1 Peter 2:8 where Jesus Christ is identified as being the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. In other words, Jesus is the stone of stumbling and rock of offense...and thus the title of Jehovah, according to Isaiah, belongs to Jesus Christ as well as the Father. Jesus, then, according to their own definition and application of Jehovah, is divine.

Of course, there are many other places where this point can be made. In Isaiah 40:3, we're told: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD (tetragramatton, YHWH); make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" Who was the one crying in the wilderness? Was it not John the Baptist, according to Matthew 3:3? Wasn't it John's mission to prepare the way for Jesus, to be that voice in the wilderness announcing the coming Savior and King? If so (and the JW will have to answer in the affirmative), the title of Jehovah is once again applied to Jesus. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jehovah, or Jesus.

Do a search of the tetragramatton in scripture and you will find many other similar cases, where it is applied in prophecy to the coming Savior, Jesus Christ. Emphasize these verses and comparisons to the JW, but don't forget to first of all hand them the shovel and let them dig their own grave, so to speak; pin them down on the concept of Jehovah and to whom it is applied. Then get into the above scriptures. If the JW is honest, they will be forced to admit, whether outwardly or inwardly, that Jesus is worthy of the personal name of God.

Click here to read the next installment in this series of articles.