Cults · Jehovah's witnesses · Uncategorized

One Reason Why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not Christian.

Here is one big reason why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not Christians. They deny the deity of Jesus, and as a consequence the Trinity. They believe he was the archangel Michael, who was transfigured by God the Father into the man Jesus. They believe he was a created being. They believe he was just a man. This is a quote from their website,

“Jesus’ opposers accused him of making himself equal to God. (John 5:18; 10:30-33) However, Jesus never claimed to be on the same level as Almighty God. He said: “The Father is greater than I am.”—John 14:28.

 Jesus’ early followers did not view him as being equal to Almighty God. For example, the apostle Paul wrote that after Jesus was resurrected, God “exalted him [Jesus] to a superior position.” Obviously, Paul did not believe that Jesus was Almighty God. Otherwise, how could God exalt Jesus to a superior position? —Philippians 2:9.

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Jesus was accused of making Himself equal to God. Why else would these people want to stone Him to death. The one verse of scripture they quote is ridiculous because it proves the opposite point they are trying to make when you simply read a few verses previous, and prior to it.

“…18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God…” John 5:18

All one must do is read John 1 you say? Well the JW’s have their own version of the, ahem… “bible” called the New Word Translation. It isn’t actually a true translation. It is a hack job done by their scripture twisters to make it say what they want it to say. They change John 1 into saying that, “and the Word was a god.” That quote comes from their website where they have their N.W.T. available to read for free. Here is what the Bible really says in John1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” John 1:1-5

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.15 John bore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has been ahead of me, for He existed before me.’”16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” John 1:14-18

Let’s not overlook the fact that Jesus accepted worship from people as God. If He was not God, He would have rebuked them for worshipping Him, or else He would have been guilty of sin.

“And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped.33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;36 and they were pleading with Him that they might just touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were cured.” Matthew 14:31-36

This is where the wise men came to Him, “And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.11 And after coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi departed for their own country by another way.” Matthew 2:10b-12

“8And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.” Matthew 28:8-9

“Then He said to Thomas, “Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand here and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.”” John 20:27-29

These sections of scripture should be enough to show that either Jesus was actually God, and so worshipping Him was not a sin, and it was not a sin for Him to accept that worship, or He was a liar, and a sinner for portraying Himself as God and accepting worship as God. The entire Biblical context provided from the beginning of the Old Testament, to the end of the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is God incarnate. To deny the deity of Christ is to prove that you do not know Him.

We haven’t even addressed the ἐγώ εἰμί (ego eimi) statements Jesus made. When Jesus says, “I am” He is declaring that He is YhVh. It is a direct relation to the proper name of God which God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. For a fuller treatment of this information you can read this article from Dr. James White.

“​1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3  Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” 10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”” John 18:1-11

This is a quote from the MacArthur Study Bible on this last bit of scripture,

“John 18:4–8 Whom do you seek? By twice asking that question (vv. 4 7), to which they replied, “Jesus of Nazareth” (vv. 5 7), Jesus was forcing them to acknowledge that they had no authority to take his disciples. In fact, he demanded that they let the disciples go (v. 8). The force of his demand was established by the power of his words. When he spoke, “I am he” (v. 6), a designation he had used before to declare himself God (8:28 58; cf. 6:35 8:12 10:7 9 11 14 11:25 14:6 15:1 5), they were jolted backward and to the ground (18:6). This power display and the authoritative demand not to take the disciples were of immense significance, as the next verse indicates. John 18:8”

Bible Reviews · Bibles · Uncategorized

A Soapbox Review of the Legacy Standard Bible, (L.S.B.) Handy Size, Edge-Lined, Shamar Goatskin, in Copper Brown with Full Yapp.

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As many of you know, we have been waiting for orders of this edition to ship. Some of us had per-ordered it in August of 2020. The one I ordered finally arrived. I knew what to expect from Jongbloed (Youngblood) as I have reviewed several premium editions over the years passed. All of them were printed and bound by Royal Jongbloed in the Netherlands. This edition did not depart from that standard set by Jongbloed in the past.

This edition was shipped in a cardboard shipping box via the U.S.P.S. The hardcover comes in a bubble envelope. The cowhide paste-down came in a smaller box. The goatskin edition arrived undamaged, and in perfect condition. The Bible was packed along with the Bible Armor carrying case. The package was cushioned with brown paper. The Bible Armor was in a plastic bag. The Bible was bubble wrapped. It was also wrapped with two paper bands, as is usual with premium goatskin edge-lined Bibles. These bands keep the supple leather from becoming deformed, and in the case of a semi, or full, yapp they keep them bent in to the text block. In times past, full yapp covers kept the text block protected. Keep in mind, these Bibles should never be stored vertically on a shelf! Never! When can you store them vertically on a shelf? NEVER! Glad we got that straight.

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The text block is the same one used in the hardcover, and cowhide Bibles. There are two cowhide options. You can purchase the edge-lined, or the case bound edition. The hardcover’s text block does not have rounded corners. It comes with two ribbon markers. The Cowhide Bibles, and the goatskin have rounded corners. They all have rounded spines. The hardcover, and the cowhide paste-down/case bound Bibles have the narrower 1/4” ribbon markers. The two edge-lined editions come with three of the wider 3/8” ribbon markers.

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The covers are dramatically different in tactile experience as well as smell. The edge-lined goatskin of course is the most supple. The paste-down cowhide is comparable to a Cambridge calfsplit leather. The surface is not as glossy and smooth. The leather editions all smell like… leather. What did you expect?

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Each edition comes with head and tail bands that match the covers. The edge-lined ones have five spine hubs. The paste down and hardcover have gold colored foil heat stamped lines where the hubs would have been. All of them have, “Holy Bible, LSB Legacy Standard Bible, Steadfast Bibles,” heat stamped in gold colored foil on their spines. All of them have smyth-sewn spines. They all employ a 9.5 point font, that is line matched. That means that on the page facing you the text is printed directly over the unturned pages text so that the lines of text line up over one another. This helps reduce eye strain while reading, and helps if you are prone to headaches while reading for prolonged periods of time. Since these editions are printed on a cream colored french milled 32 g.s.m. Bible paper as well as having line matching, and modern printing, they are all a pleasure to read regardless of which edition you decide to purchase. From the value of the hardcover to the suppleness of the premium goatskin cover, you’ll enjoy the same text block. This text block is something you have to see. Finding this quality in a $40 Bible is very uncommon.

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The text is in a single column, verse layout. Paragraphs are denoted by the verse number or a letter being bold. There are section headings in bold print. Page numbers are at the top center in read. Chapter numbers are in drop cap style and printed in red. This is a black letter edition. It is a text edition so there are no cross references or study notes. Italics denote English words that do not appear in the original languages, but are implied by them. An asterisk lets you know that the Greek verb was present tense, but rendered with an English past tense in order to conform with modern usage. Personal pronouns referring to God are capitalized where appropriate. Small caps are used when a passage from the OT is being quoted by someone in the NT, or when they are paraphrasing a citation from the OT. Brackets let you know you are looking at text that does not appear in the oldest collections of text, and probably were not in the original autoscripts.

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All but the hardcover had art gilt page edges. For those who do not know what this is, it is a red pigment under the gold colored finish on the page edges. Like many book features today, they are decorative. This was not always the sole purpose of these features in the past. Spine hubs were where the signatures were sewn into cords in the spine. Head and tail bands were where the signatures were tied in. Art gilt page edges kept the moisture of a humid room from penetrating deep into the text block. You get the idea. Much of the decorative features were once functional.

If you have ever purchased a Shuyler Bible from evangelicalbibles.com, a premium E.S.V. or a premium Cambridge edition, you are probably already familiar with the quality of Bibles printed and bound by Jongbloed. If you have not seen, or held one of these editions, you should consider the investment. Expensive Bibles may seem like an extravagant expenditure to you, and they may be, depending on your budget. If you can afford one, it is a good investment. These Bibles will last a very long time if properly cared for. You could foreseeably hand this Bible down to your children, or grandchildren. Think about what it would mean for a believer a couple generations away, to be reading the very same Bible you held in your hands all of those years. They could read your notes, look at your underlines, and understand a connection to you, even though you went on to be with Christ years before they were born. I would love to have something like that from my grandparents.

My subjective opinion is that this Bible is of such similar quality to other Bibles produced by Jongbloed, and the price being comparable, there is no reason not to purchase one. Couple those facts with the fact that I believe the LSB will demonstrate that it is the new champ when it comes to communicating accurately the intended meanings of God the author, and you have a winner. I could go on about the paper, and the printing, and the high quality materials and manufacturing processes, but the real star here is the accuracy of the LSB translation itself. The men at Master’s have done a fine job, and I plan on scrapping all of my other daily use Bibles to replace them with LSB editions as they become available. I am looking forward to a thinline for carrying around, a MacArthur study Bible, and a full cross reference large print. In conclusion, visit 316publishers here, and go buy one that fits your budget, and get to reading!

Don’t forget to look at my flickr albums for these editions for more detailed images.

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Shamar goatskin edge-lined

Bible Reviews · Bibles

The Legacy Standard Bible!

Here is just one interesting translation choice the translators of the Legacy Standard Bible (L.S.B.) made that I think is an improvement. I have found many so far.


1995 New American Standard Bible (N.A.S.B.)2020 New American Standard Bible (N.A.S.B.)English Standard Version (E.S.V.)Legacy Standard Bible (L.S.B.)
Exodus 4:2121 The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go to return to Egypt, see to it that all the miraculous wonders which I have put in your hand, that you do them before Pharaoh; but as for Me, I will harden his heart with strength so that he will not let the people go.

If you’d like to view the Hebrew text the LSB utilized in part for the translation you can see it here for free.

The italic formatted text in the LSB is used to denote English words that do not appear in the original language texts, but are implied by them.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the LSB uses Yahweh for the tetragrammaton instead of the conventional, “LORD.” This is a more accurate translation. I understand why it wasn’t changed sooner, but I am glad to see that it has finally happened. This was a bold and encouraging move.

The next thing you’ll see is that the other translations read, “…When you go back to Egypt…” The LSB uses, “…When you return to Egypt…” This may seem like a distinction without difference, but I appreciate the effort to be as accurate as possible. I think we would all infer that the implication of, “to go back” is that Moses is going back to Egypt, and that it was there that he had come from. Even so, “return” removes all doubt that this is what was meant.

The hand and a man’s work, or what he is doing, are related in Hebrew. An open hand can even mean power like יָד yâd earlier on in the verse. So seeing the connection here we can understand why the other translations went with, “…put in your power…” Since the LSB uses, “… put in your hand…” we can see the correlation directly from the text without the necessity of getting the concordance, and Hebrew lexicon out. Again, there is nothing wrong with the other translations.

This is the section that really gets me. I am starting to love the LSB. Instead of, “…but I will harden his heart …” The LSB uses, “… but as for Me, I will harden his heart with strength…” I may be wrong. I’m not a Hebrew expert, but from what I can gather there is an implication of strength or fortification in Hebrew word חָזַק ḥâzaq that is lost in the other English translations. The LSB puts that intended meaning back into the text. To back up just a bit, I also like how the first part of the sentenced is phrased as well. In English we always capitalize, “I.” When you capitalize personal pronouns in a translation to denote deity, and the letter, “I” is always capitalized it can perhaps cause a bit of confusion. By phrasing it the way they did, they kept the meaning, and helped the reader understand that it was God doing the hardening.

I am really enjoying this translation, and hope that you will order yourself an LSB. Here is the link to 316publishing.com where you can order one. They are the sole retailer of this translation.

Repentance · sanctification · Uncategorized

“The Christian in Complete Armour” by William Gurnall.

image of the christian in complete armour 3 volume set

I’ve been reading, “The Christian in Complete Armour” by William Gurnall from The Banner of Truth Trust. I have to say, it is quite different than what I suspected. This edition is a three volume set of paperback books, and is very affordable. If you are looking for some moving devotional material I highly recommend it. Here is a short excerpt from one of the sections.

“For it is God’s Word which teaches us how to put on Christ and His graces so that we are fitly armed. Never flatter yourself into thinking you can do without this priceless book. We have all known those who content themselves with a profession of Christ and a smattering of gifts and works, and do not wish to know if there is more to the Christian life. They are the ones whose graces freeze when winter winds buffet their souls. But the saint whose faith has been insulated from error by the truth of the gospel will be able to withstand all Satan’s icy blasts.” William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour from The Banner of Truth Trust. WWW.BannerofTruth.org