Jehovah's Witness explanation needed...?

Question

Isaiah 48:12, "Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He,I am the first, I am also the last."

In that verse, God says that he is the first and the last....but in

Revelation 1:17 "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.'"
Revelation 1:18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."


Jesus is claiming to be the First and the Last... what do u guys make of this?

Answer 1

Actually, the Hebrew letters which represent the divine name "Jehovah" are found in the bible nearly 7000 (seven thousand) times; the four Hebrew letters corresponding to "YHWH" are called "the Tetragrammaton" or "the Tetragram".

The bible book of Isaiah clearly connects this "Jehovah"/Tetragrammaton with the Almighty God and demonstrates that He alone is called by Scripture as the first and the last.

(Isaiah 44:6) “This is what Jehovah has said, the King of Israel and the Repurchaser of him, Jehovah of armies, ‘I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.

(Isaiah 41:4) Who has been active and has done this, calling out the generations from the start? “I, Jehovah, the First One; and with the last ones I am the same.”

(Isaiah 48:12) “Listen to me, O Jacob, and you Israel my called one. I am the same One. I am the first. Moreover, I am the last.

In Revelation, a parallel expression is used. The expression "the Alpha and the Omega" is used exclusively with reference to Almighty Jehovah the Father (no authentic Scripture calls Jesus by this title).

(Revelation 21:5-7) And the One seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new.” ...And he said to me: “They have come to pass! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the fountain of the water of life free. Anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I shall be his God and he will be my son.

(Revelation 22:13) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/
http://watchtower.org/e/na/

Answer 2

Hello, to understand this you should know JW's do not believe in the Trinity. Jehovah is God, and Jesus is His first and only creation (Colossians 1:15,16). Thats why Jesus is referred to as His "only begotten son" (John 3:16). Jesus using Jehovah's Holy Spirit created everything else along side of Him (Colossians 1:16;Genesis 1:26[notice "our"])
Next is from a book entitled, Revelation, Its Grand Climax At Hand! pgs. 27,28 published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
"“The First and the Last”
Nevertheless, our awe need not give way to morbid fear. Jesus reassured John, as the apostle next relates. “And he laid his right hand upon me and said: ‘Do not be fearful. I am the First and the Last, and the living one.’” (Revelation 1:17b, 18a) In Isaiah 44:6, Jehovah rightly describes his own position as the one and only almighty God, saying: “I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.” When Jesus presents himself by the title “the First and the Last,” he is not claiming equality with Jehovah, the Grand Creator. He is using a title properly bestowed on him by God. In Isaiah, Jehovah was making a statement about His unique position as the true God. He is God eternal, and besides him there is indeed no God. (1 Timothy 1:17) In Revelation, Jesus is talking about his bestowed title, calling attention to his unique resurrection.
Jesus was indeed “the First” human to be resurrected to immortal spirit life. (Colossians 1:18) Moreover, he is “the Last” to be so resurrected by Jehovah personally. Thus, he becomes “the living one . . . living forever and ever.” He enjoys immortality. In this, he is like his immortal Father, who is called “the living God.” (Revelation 7:2; Psalm 42:2) For all others of humanity, Jesus himself is “the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) In harmony with this, he says to John: “I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (Revelation 1:18b) Jehovah has given him the authority to resurrect the dead. That is why Jesus can say that he has the keys to unlock the gates for those bound by death and Hades (gravedom)."

There you are. A copy of that book can be obtained free of charge by writing to 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483 or visiting a local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness. It also talks about the subject of the 144,000 and the "great crowd". (Rev. 7:9-17) Who will inhabit the "new earth" if everyone goes to heaven? (2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 7:9) A final Scripture you'll enjoy! 2 Timothy 3:14
P.S. Any furthur questions can be written to the above address as well and a Bible based answer will be replied.
Have a Good Day

Answer 3

Hi Romans 1:16.

I am not a Jehovah's Witness so i could be wrong from my understanding of these 2 scriptures. JWs, please pardon me if i have a poor understanding of the 2 texts. Others, please do not hold the Jehovah's Witnesses against my comment if incorrect.

Isa. 48:12 is yes, referring to God, Jehovah. I guess we can also reference Isa. 44:6 which says....."‘I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God."

Revelation 1:17, 18 is referring to Jesus but it does not mean Jesus was claiming to be equal to his Father, Jehovah. We can also reference Col. 1: 18 which says (of Jesus), ".....He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead" (that never again will have to die)

Jesus has rightly claimed this "title" to be the First and the Last.... in terms that Jesus was the First to be resurrectd to immortal spirit and the last to be personally resurrected by God, Jehovah himself because for any resurrection to be done in the future will be ressurection through Jesus and the resurrection done in the past (prior to Jesus' resurrection) done by Jesus (ex: Lazarus and yet they died again years after).

Jesus has the keys to Hades and of Death because his Father gave him this authority to release us from our enemy called death forever and release us from Hades (meaning the resurrection hope) and have everlasting life.

I never understood the concept of the trinity so it is easier to understand and believe that Jehovah God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not equal.

No, i am not being brainwashed. Again, I am not studying with the Jehovah's witnesses. I am doing my own research and comparison.

Answer 4

Jesus is God. Humans have three parts to their being and so does God. The Father is the one that thought of the design for humanity and honored His Son by giving Him all power. Jesus is the Word that went forth and created all things. Jesus is called the Son of God because He needed to be born to die on the cross. Jesus existed with God from the begining. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus in Mary's womb. The Holy Spirit is the power and witness of Jesus and the Father.

Jehovah witnesses do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus was not created He was born. Being born means to come out of. How can a creation be create its self? Jesus said before Abraham was I Am.

Here is another thought: There is more than 8 million Jehovah witnesses world wide. All fighting for 144 000 spots in heaven. That seems fishy to me.

Answer 5

Jesus is claiming to be the First and the Last... what do u guys make of this?

He is what the scriptures say he is, the first and last to be resurrected by his father. (Gal 1:1)

Three days later he fulfilled his promise of raising his temple.

Answer 6

When referencing Jehovah, He is the first and last as God Almighty,

He has no beginning, no end,

There is no God equal to Him.

In Rev ch 1, In talking about Jesus it is referring to his death and resurrection.

Since Jehovah can not die, and Jesus did, Jesus can not be God.


Please read the context, it will help you understand what is being written.
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Answer 7

I am not a JW but I know that they do not use just one version of the Bible...they used two or three to figure that out.

Answer 8

he is the first, only, and last son of jehovah(a.k.a God). : )