“When Jesus Was God” or “Failing the Final Exam”

“Jesus God!” No; it’s not meant as an expletive–though I’m not surprised when those two words issue involuntarily from my mouth after having stubbed my toe or having dropped my Concordance on it. No; it is meant as a name and a title: just like we often hear Witnesses say: “Jehovah God.”

But our dear Jehovah’s Witness readers will exclaim at this point: “Jesus is not God! The Bible never calls him God! He is at most ‘a god’ with a little g.”

Once we’ve calmed them down, we’re ready to read the wisdom of the Watchtower on this very subject:

The Bible reveals the fact that the name “God” can properly apply only to Jehovah God and his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jehovah is entitled to be reverenced because he is the Almighty God. Jesus Christ is entitled to be reverenced and worshiped because, while not the almighty God, he is a mighty one and both Jehovah and Jesus use their power lovingly, justly and wisely.
…[Jehovah] is declared to be the Father of the God called Jesus Christ.
—Watchtower, Dec. 15, 1929 p. 378

Given the above, and the fact that Witnesses regularly refer to Jehovah as “Jehovah God,” it is only fitting that they worship Jesus and refer to him as “Jesus God” with full Watchtower blessings.

Oh, but wait; I’ve done it again: dredged up “old light” and presented it as “truth for now” when–as any good Witness will inform us–it was really “truth for its time.” I apologize. The Watchtower has since “seen the light [better]” and they now assure us that Jesus is definitely not the God to be worshiped. In fact, we read this on their official website:

Yes, reverent adoration should be expressed only to God. To render worship to anyone or anything else would be a form of idolatry, which is condemned in both the Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures.
— Is It Proper to Worship Jesus? Awake! 4/8/2000 pp. 26-27

Issue resolved? Well, no. I’m sorry to be a stickler for the facts, but there’s still an issue.

Remember 1919? That was the year that Jesus supposedly judged the Witnesses (then known as Bible Students) to be the “faithful and wise servant” (now known as the Faithful and discreet slave). Why did he judge them so favorably? They tell us that it was because they had “true worship,” as opposed to all of the other Christian denominations:

When did Jesus appoint the faithful slave over his domestics? To answer that, we need to go back to 1914—the beginning of the harvest season. As we learned earlier, at that time many groups claimed to be Christian. From which group would Jesus select and appoint the faithful slave? That question was answered after he and his Father came and inspected the temple, or spiritual arrangement for worship, from 1914 to the early part of 1919.* (Mal. 3:1) They were pleased with a small band of loyal Bible Students who showed that their heart was with Jehovah and his Word.
–Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave? w13 7/15 pp. 20-25

But do you see the problem here? In 1919, and up through at least 1929, the “spiritual arrangement for worship” included worshiping Jesus: the wrong “God” — in fact, not a God (capital G) at all according to the brighter light! Someone who is not a God, but is worshiped as a God is a “false God.” The “Bible Students” were–according to current Watchtower understanding–idolaters! And we all know how pissed off Jehovah gets at those damned idolaters.

That would seem a fatal flaw. Why would Jesus judge this group as God’s “true worshipers” when they were worshiping a different, false God? This question is all the more pertinent when you realize that there were other denominations that were only worshiping the God of the Bible. The Christadelphians, for instance, were not worshiping Jesus in 1919.

Oh, but you say other religions slandered God’s name by their belief in hell-fire. Well, the Christadelphians are not believers in hell-fire either (nor the Trinity, nor the immortality of the soul. They also believe in God’s kingdom ruling on Earth, don’t vote, and are conscientious objectors to military service.)

Oh, but you say: the Bible Students were the ones “making God’s name known.” Sorry; they really weren’t. The name did not become prominent in the group until 1935 when they changed their own name to Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the 1919 Watchtowers, for instance, the name of Jesus appears 3 1/2 times more than the name Jehovah. Besides, as the Watchtower itself has admitted: Jehovah is not God’s name.

If we look at what the Witnesses claim is the “truth” today, then the Christadelphians where closer to that truth in 1919 than the Bible Students were. If Jesus had made any judgment in that year, the winners would not have been the Bible Students; the blue ribbon would much more likely have gone to the Christadelphians.

Therefore, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses are not the “faithful and discreet slave” they claim to be. This explains why they have served poisoned meat at the wrong season (such as their prohibitions on vaccinations, organ transplants, and blood… none of which the Christadelphians have fallen for.)

Besides, the “faithful and wise servant” was boldly and adamantly proclaimed in the Watchtowers of that time (and up until 1926) to be none other than Charles Taze Russell (then deceased):

The Watch Tower unhesitatingly proclaims Brother Russell as “that faithful and wise servant.”

— Watchtower, March 1, 1917 p. 68

“We believe that all who are now rejoicing in present truth will concede that Brother Russell faithfully filled the office of special servant of tile Lord; and that he was made ruler over all the Lord’s goods.”
—Watch Tower, March 1, 1923  p.68

So, if we are to believe “current understanding,” this is the “spiritual food” we have to swallow: In 1919 Jesus judged the editors of the Watchtower to be his “faithful slave” based on how “pleased” he was with their “spiritual arrangement for worship” while these men were declaring that they definitely were NOT that slave, and were engaged in idolatry. At the same time, Jesus passed over other groups who were closer to today’s current understanding and who were not engaged in idolatry and who were not proclaiming a false slave to the world. Do you buy that? [If you answered Yes, please contact me immediately regarding some prime real estate I have for sale in Florida.]

See also:
Is the Governing Body a “Faithful and Discreet Slave”?