What do Jehovah Witnesses think God will do to them if they believe Jesus was crucified on a cross rather than

Question

a stake?

sparkly things. The Roman soldiers used crosses. That is why we have the image of the cross. It was other nations who hung people on stakes to torture them to death, before the romans. And the Bible also referrs to the cross as a tree. Well, it was wood. I am sure that the Jesus died on the types of crosses the Romans hung people on.

It is written... that to the world the cross is foolishness to those who don't believe. But for us who are redeemed, the cross is the power of God.

Teem, he History channel also said that the Romans had crucified on crosses. Also, it is written Jesus died of a broken heart. So, they didn't break His legs. See, they needed them to die before the evening because of the Passover.

Answer 1

The word "cross" is an English Translation. Please look at the original Greek word used to translate the word "cross". It is stauros, and according to Strong's dictionary it is "

From the base of G2476; a stake or post (as set upright), that is, (specifically) a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively exposure to death, that is, self denial; by implication the atonement of Christ: - cross.

Notice one of the meanings is a "STAKE or POST" as set UPRIGHT.

The inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures wrote in the common (koi•ne´) Greek and used the word stau•ros´ to mean the same thing as in the classical Greek, namely, a simple stake, or pale, without a crossbeam of any kind at any angle.

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words provides telling insight into the "cross." It declares:

"stauros denotes primarily, ‘an upright pale or stake.’ On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, ‘to fasten to a stake or pale,’ are originally to be DISTINGUISHED FROM the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed ‘cross.’ The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the third century A.D. had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the church apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau, or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the ‘cross’ of Christ" ("cross," page 138).


In LXX we find xy´lon in Ezr 6:11 (1 Esdras 6:31), and there it is spoken of as a beam on which the violator of law was to be hanged, the same as in Ac 5:30; 10:39.


In the writings of Livy, a Roman historian of the first century B.C.E., crux means a mere stake. “Cross” is only a later meaning of crux

The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible states, with reference to stau•ros´: “Literally an upright stake, pale, or pole . . . As an instrument of execution, the cross was a stake sunk vertically in the ground. Often, but by no means always, a horizontal piece was attached to the vertical portion.” Another reference work says: “The Greek word for cross, stau•ros´, properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole, and this always remained the more prominent part.”—The Imperial Bible Dictionary.


The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979) states under the heading “Cross”: “Originally Gk. staurós designated a pointed, vertical wooden stake firmly fixed in the ground.


The Companion Bible, published by the Oxford University Press. On page 186 in the “Appendixes” it says: “Homer uses the word stauros of an ordinary pole or stake, or a single piece of timber. And this is the meaning and usage of the word throughout the Greek classics. It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always of one piece alone

Numbers 21:8-9 states
"8 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Make for yourself a fiery snake and place it upon a signal POLE. And it must occur that when anyone has been bitten, he then has to look at it and so must keep alive.” 9 Moses at once made a serpent of copper and placed it upon the signal POLE; and it did occur that if a serpent had bitten a man and he gazed at the copper serpent, he then kept alive."

Pole in Latin palus stake according to m-w.com. a long slender usually cylindrical object.

Please notice the parallel done in John 3:13-15.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that everyone believing in him may have everlasting life

Like the copper serpent that Moses placed on a pole in the wilderness, the Son of God was impaled or fastened on a stake, thus appearing to many as an evildoer and a sinner, like a snake, being in the position of one cursed

The serpent that Moses placed was not in a cross, not with two beams but just a single pole, so is Christ was impaled on a stake.

Gal 3:13 also states

13 Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: “Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake.”

This text is taken from Deut 21:23 where it states “23 his dead body should not stay all night on the stake; but you should by all means bury him on that day, because something accursed of God is the one hung up; and you must not defile your soil, which Jehovah your God is giving you as an inheritance”

The old KJ version “His body5038 shall not3808 remain all night3885 upon5921 the tree”

The Hebrew word ates (tree) and xulon are the same. Jesus was impaled on a tree and not with a cross. This is the basic meaning of the word. If you see a cross, you won’t say that’s a tree eventhough the cross is made of the parts of the tree, you will say “that’s a cross”.

Stauros also means stake or post (as set as upright). The word “cross” for that word, is only a latter meaning.

Bullinger points out that the symbol of crosses "were used as symbols of the Babylonian sun-god," and a cross with four equal arms, vertical and horizontal, was "especially venerated as the ‘Solar Wheel.’" He goes on:

"The Catacombs in Rome bear the same testimony: ‘Christ’ is never represented there as ‘hanging on a cross,’ and the cross itself is only portrayed in a veiled and hesitating manner. In the Egyptian churches the cross was a PAGAN SYMBOL OF LIFE, borrowed by the “Christians”, and interpreted in the pagan manner. In his Letters from Rome Dean Burgon says: ‘I question whether a cross occurs on any Christian monument of the first four centuries.’

EDITED :

The Greek word for cross, stauros, properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling a piece of ground. But a MODIFICATION was introduced as the dominion and usages of Rome extended themselves into Greek-speaking countries.- Imperial Bible Dictionary


Notice MODIFICATION ! The point is that the ORIGINAL meaning of the stauros as the Imperial Bible Dictionary says is “Even amongst the Romans, the crux (from which the word cross is derived) appears to have been ORIGINALLY an UPRIGHT POLE, and always remained the more prominent part.”

Notice also it says “used as an instrument of punishment, a traverse piece of wood was COMMONLY added” It doesn’t say ALWAYS added.

The stake/pole was already being used as an instrument of death EVEN before the traverse piece of wood is added. Deut 21.

For punishment, people were hung on a stake not a cross in Deut. Gal 3:13 states that “Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us” so please see the parallel between these two verses. The method of punishment should be the same (ORIGINALLY THE STAKE/POLE and not the MODIFIED version which is the cross) in Deut 21 and Gal 3 so that Christ can release us from the curse of the Law and to FULFILL THE PROPHECY. People in Deut time where hanged on a stake not a cross. Crucifixion was only a later MODIFICATION of hanging on a tree or impaling on a pole.

Answer 2

Lisa, Let's explain this... First, if you look at the answer from @teller of truths, this person says that in Classical Greek the world stauros means "torture stake. This is true, but deceitful... Why? Because in KOINE Greek, that same word stauros means primarily a cross. Now which type of greek was used when the New Testament was written? Koine ...exactly. You will noticed that this " Stauros means stake" explanation, is the only support that the Watchtower society holds on to, when trying to support their position on this. And we already nullified that explanation. Now, why not simply consider the overwhelming evidence that shows that crucifixion was a reality? All the archeological evidence including tombs from the first century which have crosses and early depictions of criminals being executed on a cross. Study Roman history which confirms that Romans used crucifixion until Constantine abolish it in the 4th century. Jewish history that confirms that Jewish criminals were crucified by the Romans. Why bury your head in the sand, and ignore evidence just so you can pretend you believe what a religious organization says? Isn't it better to beleive in the truth.

Answer 3

"Sparkly things?"
To answer your question directly, this already happened. Jehovah's Witnesses once believed Christ was hung upon a cross. God corrected them. Intense study of God's word and ancient languages revealed the error. Does it really matter whether it was a cross or a stake? Yes, because true Christians worship God in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) Also because true worship should never be tainted by pagan symbols. The symbol of the cross is a representation of the mystic tau which was used the worship of the false god Tammuz

Answer 4

Judging from Babydoll's answer, I think that they believe they won't receive everlasting life because they believed something that wasn't true. I'm not sure where that leaves the earlier Jehovah's Witnesses who DID believe he died on a cross.

I have to tell you that - in my opinion - it can't be said with certainty that Jesus did or did not die on a cross. I personally think it doesn't matter anyway, but Jehovah's Witnesses are constantly telling people that Jesus did NOT die on a cross. It would seem that anyone who is so concerned with "worshiping in spirit and truth" would not want to make such dogmatic statements regarding something that might or might not be the 'truth'. There is only one JW on Yahoo Answers that I know of, that will admit - grudgingly - that it's POSSIBLE it was a cross.

As pointed out above, a stauros was originally a sharp pointed stake that was used in a pallisade. This sharp pointed stake was thrust through the body of the victim, thus impaling him - without the use of nails or ropes - on the stauros or stake. We know from the Bible this is NOT how Jesus died. He was fastened with nails to a stake or pole. (Perhaps with a crosspiece, maybe not.) The word stauros, though ORIGINALLY and PRIMARILY meaning stake, does not EXCLUSIVELY mean a stake, but includes all kinds of "torture stakes", including those with crosspieces. This is verified by early secular AND Christian writings, including those of Seneca and Justin Martyr.

As also pointed out above, it COULD take days to die on a cross whereas it took much less time to die on a stake with the hands stretched above the head. However, it didn't always take days for one to die on a cross. Much depended on the physical condition of the person when they were nailed to the stake. In the case of Jesus, the Bible tells us that he was in such a physically deteriorated condition that he was not even able to carry his own stauros. So the fact that he died within a few hours is also inconclusive. It doesn't rule out him dying on a cross.

The person who told you that it takes days to die on a cross didn't mention that some 'experts' have concluded that a person nailed to a stake with their hands straight above their head would suffocate and die in a very short period of time, and would not live as long as Jesus lived on the stake. But again, different 'experts' have different opinions, and no firm conclusions can be drawn from the length of time it took Jesus to die.

Answer 5

Even the history channel stated 'it takes DAYS for people to die on a cross'

Yet Jesus died in less than 8 hours.

To accomplish this Jesus' hands had to be above his head.

The primary definition of stauros is stake not cross.

an upright "stake", esp. a pointed one, used as such in fences or palisades

Cross became an acceptable definition centuries after Christ.

Answer 6

How do you know for a fact it was a cross? Were you there? They used several different types of cross or stake, and it could have been a T bar stake they used, fact is, none of us were there, so none of us know for sure, but what does it matter what shape cross/stake whatever it was? The end result was the same.

Also, a Latin cross would have been excessively awkward to erect at the crucifixion site, requiring six strong men and a web of ropes. The Romans would have "come off looking less secure and less in charge," Reed said.


Using a T-cross, with a slot-and-tab arrangement at the top, would make it possible for just three men to raise a victim to execution.

"It not only matches the archaeological evidence, but it's just so easy," Reed said. Additional evidence comes from a 1st-century, anti-Christian graffito in Rome that shows a T-cross, and early Christian commentaries that criticize the Greek letter tau "because it reminds them of the crucifix," he said

Answer 7

I dont think they are afraid of what god will do to them, i think they are more interested in trying to maintain a belief based on accuracies. Hence the reason they dont celebrate christmas... it has been proven that christ birth did not take part at that time of year as if it had there would not have been shepards to see the star and there wouldnt have been everone travelling back to there homelands at that time of year.... in Europe that is the heart of winter and would have been to col for people to travel for that amount of time or for the shepards to be in the fields minding the sheep.

Answer 8

If you're apostate, you should not be trying to communicate with Jehovah's Witnesses and you know this. You know the rules.

Don't be using this forum as a medium to spread hate and lies about Jehovah's true people. You KNOW the rules on that and God's laws on that.

You also know that Jesus was impaled on a stake, not a cross. You are only stirring contention here and Jehovah will not be mocked.

Answer 9

I grew up Jehovah's Witness but I dont conform to it anymore, but they really dont believe that God will actually do anything to them if they believe that Jesus was killed on a cross. For them its more of a matter of teaching the truth and applying the truth in your life. Their issue is that the greek word 'stauros' translates to 'upright stake or pole', which contradicts the idea and teaching that he was crucified. Another issue with the cross is that if you really think about it it is morally wrong to focus on the object in which Jesus died on rather than WHY he died. Especially to hang that object up in your house, in your car, on your neck, etc. If you lived in that day when that type of punishment was practiced compared to what we practice today...it would be just like putting up and hanging up a little electric chair. Imagine you were part of the Jesus family and friends circle today...and Jesus was put death by the electric chair....how would you and others feel if they saw you and/or other people with pictures of Jesus dying in the electric chair or keeping a little electric chair around your neck...it would be really horrifiying to see. And this has become so common in Christian living that people and other religions identify us Christians with this object. While inside Chrisitianity christians are literally glorifiying this object even in our speech...with such sayings as: "living for the cross", "put your faith in the cross", "there's hope in the cross"...all these sayings focus on and give glory to the object rather than in the actual name of Jesus himself and the reason for his death by dying on that object...whether it was a cross or stake or electric chair or whatever. It really doesn't matter what he died on...its WHY he died that matters and thats what we christians need to focus on and bring glory to.
So a little suggestion for you is next time you see the cross on a wall or on someone's neck or wherever...try to imagine it as a little electric chair that someone you loved was wrongfully killed on...and see how you feel about whether is is being glorified in the wrong way and what should really be the focus.

Answer 10

Jw jehovah will armaggedon them: but Jesus of the bible may have to forgive them if they truly repent.

Answer 11

I suppose they would be regarded as not being "in the Truth."

So what happened to the early JWs who died believing Jesus died on a cross before the "governing body" changed its position on this issue?