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Jehovah "Restored" In The New Testament?

A Jehovah's Witness wrote:
Alpha and Omega: To whom does this title properly belong?
1.At Revelation 1:8, its owner is said to be God, the Almighty. In verse 11 according to KJ, that title is applied to one whose description thereafter shows him to be Jesus Christ. But scholars recognize the reference to Alpha and Omega in verse 11 to be spurious, and so it does not appear in RS, NE, JB, NAB, Dy.

My Response:
I agree, Alpha and Omega is applied to Almighty God in Revelation 1:8.

 

 

The Jehovah's Witness continues:
2.Many translations of Revelation into Hebrew recognize that the one described in verse 8 is Jehovah, and so they restore the personal name of God there.

My Response:
What does the word "restore" mean? I checked the Kingdom Interlinear and the Emphatic Diaglott (both published by the Watchtower) and NEITHER ONE CONTAINS THE WORD JEHOVAH. What's the deal? What do you mean "restore"? Don't you really mean "tamper with" or "change the inspired text to something better because God didn't know how to write it in the first place"? I am shocked at the boldness of Jehovah's Witnesses who speak of "restoring" something to the text that is NOT PRESENT. I, for the life of me, do not see how that makes them better Bible students. To treat the inspired text so flippantly is disrespectful to the Lord and speaks lowly of your faith in His ability to inspire the original and preserve the subsequent texts. Now, before you go off on umpteen thousand different "rules" and "evidences" and what-nots about Greek grammar, let me remind you that you and I ARE NOT GREEK SCHOLARS. I simply performed the easiest test to verify what you are saying... I looked in a JW Greek Bible and found that "JEHOVAH" is NOT in the Greek text. So, put your arguments away and admit that "restoring" has nothing to do with Greek and every thing to do with making the Bible fit your theology.

 

 

The Jehovah's Witness continues:
3.At Revelation 22:12, TEV inserts the name Jesus, so the reference to Alpha and Omega in verse 13 is made to appear to apply to him. But the name Jesus does not appear there in Greek, and other translations do not include it.

My Response:
Would you apply this rule TO YOUR OWN BIBLE PLEASE? If a NAME does not appear in the Greek text, DO NOT INCLUDE IT PLEASE. (Hint hint. I'm talking about the insertion - I mean "restoration" - of the name JEHOVAH in the New Testament) I hope you can appreciate the irony of your argument here.

 

The Jehovah's Witness continues:
4.At Revelation 22:13, the Alpha and Omega is also said to be "the first and the last," which expression is applied to Jesus at Revelation 1:17, 18. Similarly, the expression "apostle" is applied both to Jesus Christ and to certain ones of his followers. But that does not prove that they are the same person or are of equal rank, does it? (Heb. 3:1)

My Response:
Pardon me, but "first and last" as a title for God has a bit more exclusivity than "apostle". We're not talking about someone wanting to be called something common or non-exclusive. We are talking about one of the most exclusive titles that could be used to describe someone. Didn't you read it? First and last. How many can be "first and last"? Millions? Thousands? Hundreds? Dozens? Tens? Gee, let me think.... how about... ONE?!?!?!? It would be just as exclusive a title for someone as "almighty" or "eternal". Those kinds of words can only apply to God. And guess what? You just said that Jesus is called the "first and last". Hhmmm. Kind of makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

 


                                              
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