One of the most popular video podcasts I’ve published on YouTube was a live discussion I had with two Jehovah’s Witnesses who visited me at my home. It attracted a lot of views from Christians, JWs and ex-JWs, many of whom were very grateful for an inside look at both the conversation and how I approached my interaction. Here are a couple:
@b-radz: Great job on this conversation. As a born in JW (currently leaving) I appreciate how you keep him talking and reasoning. Seeds were planted. He will come back to it if the Holy Spirit acts in his life. Good job.
@Silver_Sun5: Thank you for this. As someone who came out of the JW religion and discovered the true God, I really appreciate your apologetics in this discussion. Also, that deep dive into John 1:3 blew my mind, I love it!
@FreedomAndJustice4All: Masterful use of questions; just as Jesus did. Awesome
@unrecuerdo4674: This was great! I was raised in a Jehovah’s Witness family but was never baptized or a pioneer. As a shy young girl, I often felt isolated and uncomfortable, especially after meetings. I would go straight to the car and wait for my parents. My father was an elder, which added to the pressure. As a teenager, it was even harder. Because I hadn’t been baptized or actively pioneered—and because it seemed they valued works more than faith—I wasn’t invited to many youth events, which were already few and far between. This further deepened my sense of exclusion. Now, at 60, I’ve been watching Christian testimonies, particularly those of Muslims who converted to Christianity. Their stories have deeply moved me. I’ve struggled with the concept of the Trinity and even found it difficult to say that Jesus, Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit are one. Despite not being fully committed to the Jehovah’s Witness faith, those beliefs were ingrained in me. I acknowledge that I am lukewarm in my faith. Please pray for me—that I may truly follow Jesus and embrace His teachings wholeheartedly
Of course, those who are still faithful to the Watchtower dismissed my arguments and offered some of the standard objections as to why Jesus is the second person of the Trinity: the Eternal God. One common point that was brought up in the comments more than once was Colossians 1:15, which states Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. This sounds like Jesus, being firstborn, means he was created first. But that understanding is wrong, as both the meaning of the Greek word AND the context of the passage displays. First, let’s look at the context, reading all of Colossians 1:15-17:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
We can see here that like John 1:3, Colossians 17 doesn’t allow for Jesus to be a created being. If “all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together,” it means that he pre-existed any created thing. This means he is non-created, e.g. eternal!
Secondly, the word for firstborn, prototokos, isn’t one that must imply creation. In fact, it means first in rank. The confusion comes in because the idea of the first in rank and the first male child were almost synonymous in the ancient Near East. We see the same issue with the famous prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 where a virgin will conceive. The word for virgin is the same word you would use for any young girl, because they would be expected to be synonymous. Does that mean there were never exceptions? Of course not! And there are also exceptions to the prototokos concept as well.
This doesn’t stop JWs from continuing to push their errant meaning. Here is one exchange below along with my reply:
@jimjuri6490: If Jesus is the Firstborn of all creation, how could God work through Jesus to create Jesus? Obviously Jesus is a direct creation of God (See John 3:16). Thereafter, everything else was created BY GOD working THROUGH His Firstborn SON. Not sure what working THROUGH means? Here is an example. Acts 19:11 And God kept performing extraordinary powerful works THROUGH the hands of Paul, Similarly with Jesus. Acts 2:22.
@comereason: You don’t understand what that Greek word means.
@jimjuri6490: Please! That ruse will never work. If only Greek speakers can understand the Bible, then why have translations? 'None of the wicked will understand' promises God in Daniel 12:10. That is why people think they can take on JWs using the Bible but make a mess of it. Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you will have any success, And you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment. This is the heritage of the SERVANTS OF JEHOVAH, If a simple Bible question is asked of you, will you be willing to answer it?
@comereason: {{{sigh}}} Must I go through this again? The word prototokos (πρωτότοκος) while it can be literally broken down to "first" (protos) and "bring forth" (tiktos) and is used to describe the first-born son of a family, holds the primary idea of one who is pre-eminent or primary. This is because the first-born son would be the next king, inherit the double portion, etc. It doesn't NEED to mean actual first at birth, as in the OT Greek version, the rabbis used prototokos in Genesis 25:33 when referring to Jacob - who was second to be born after Esau! In Revelation 1:5, Jesus is called "the prototokos from the dead." Now, unless you want to make this word mean Jesus was born from a dead woman, it obviously has a different idea. All Greek scholars agree with this point - lookup the word in Gerhard Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament as a primary source.
As to whether Jesus claimed to be God, he did. See Revelation 22:12 where Jesus claims the very names and descriptions of the Father: "Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." In order to dispel any ambiguity, he adds just two sentences later "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches." In Revelation 1:8&mndash;same book mind you—it is God who is using those names. In fact, the NWT reads specifically "I am the Alpha and the Omega" says Jehovah God, "the one who is and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty." Who is coming? Rev 1:8 and Rev 22:13 says the Alpha and the Omega. Who is coming? Revelation 1:8 NWT reads Jehovah and Rev. 22:16 read Jesus. John ends the book with "Amen! Come quickly Lord Jesus." Who is coming? God. There cannot be two Alphas and Omegas. There cannot be two beginnings and ends. These are exclusive to God, just like creation. No ruse here. You haven't done your homework.
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