Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Divine Name

The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe God’s name, his one true name, the name by which he is identified is Jehovah. But, biblically, God has and is identified by many names, names Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t seem disposed to talk about.

• In Genesis 1:1 he is ‘God,’ the Hebrew elohim.
• In Genesis 17:1 he is ‘God Almight,’ the Hebrew El Shadday.
• In Psalm 8:1 he is ‘Lord,’ the Aramaic Adonay.
• In 1 Samuel 1:3 he is ‘Lord of hosts,’ the Hebrew yhwh tseba’ot.
• In the New Testament Jesus teaches his disciples to call God ‘Father,’ the Greek Pater Matthew 6:9
• The disciples, following Jesus’ teaching, called God ‘Father’ 1 Corinthinas 1:3
• Indeed, in the whole New Testament God is called Father.
• He is the Father to whom we pray Matthew 6:9
• He is our Father and Jesus’ Father John 20:17
• By the power of the Spirit of adoption we call him Abba, Father Romans 8:15
• Our fellowship is with the Father 1 John 1:3

Of course, Jehovah’s Witnesses only became Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931, based on a misreading of Isaiah 43:10 in which God called his people to be witnesses to his exclusive reality in a world of many gods. In that one chapter God asserts his unique nature as the one true God,before whom no god was formed, nor any after him (v10) ‘I am the LORD, and besides me there is no saviour’ he declares in v 11. God asserts his identiy as the only God throughout the chapter:

• ‘I am the LORD your God, the Holy One if Israel, your saviour’ v3
• ‘I am the LORD, and besides me there is no saviour’ v11
• ‘‘I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange god among you; You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I am God’’ v12
• ‘I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of israel, your King’ v15

Witnesses of Jehovah are witnesses of his unique and unchallenged identity as Creator and Sustainer of all things. Until they became Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931 they were autonomous congregations of Bible Students, more formally known as the International Bible Students Association. Perhaps if they had remained Bible students…who knows.