You are my Witnesses (Isaiah 43:10)

Isaiah 43:10 is a familiar text in this ministry. It is routinely misused by Jehovah’s Witnesses as an apologetic for their use of ‘the name’ It is not, however, a call to use God’s name, but a call to witness before a world full of gods the character and works of God, his sovereignty, aseity. He alone is God and his people are called to witness to these things.
You Will be my Witnesses

God demonstrates his determination to be glorified in his works, his delivering of Israel out of bondage in Egypt:

‘For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you, peoples in exchange for your life.’ Isaiah 43:3,4

Isaiah paints a picture of a great trial in which these other gods are openly challenged:

‘Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! All the nations gather together, and the people assemble. Who among you can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, it is true.’ vv8,9

God’s great fetes of creation and deliverance are recounted in these chapters in Isaiah. He calls his people as witnesses to these things, those who have known first-hand the deliverance and great works of God:

‘You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe in me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I am the LORD, and besides me there is no saviour. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no foreign god among you; and you are my witnesses, declares the LORD, and I am God.’ Isaiah 43:10-12

‘That you may know and believe.’

Know and believe what? That God is God, and there is no other. God is not on trial here. The false gods of the world are on trial. ‘Do what I have done,’ says God, ‘and show it. bring your witnesses; and here are mine.’

In Isaiah 44 God says:

‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it! Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?

And you are my witnesses! ‘Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.’ Isaiah 44:6-8

This puts us in mind of Jesus’ words to his disciples in Acts:

‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ Acts 1:8

Witnesses of What?

In Acts 4 Peter boldly witnessed before the council:

‘This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is no salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Acts 4:11,12

John explains the purpose of his gospel when he writes:

‘Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ John 20:30,31

Jehovah is the deliverer and Israel are called to witness to it.

Jesus is our deliverer and all God’s people are called to witness to it.

‘For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…’ 1 Tim.2:5

This is the apologetic for our mission and ministry. We are called to:

‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ 1 Peter 3:15

‘Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.’ Jude 3

‘Hold firm to the trustworthy message as it has been taught.’ Titus 1:9

‘Destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God…’ 2 Cor. 10:5

The call of God on all who love him is the same. Stand firm, be ready, contend earnestly, and be my witnesses. Today, more than ever, the work of the watchmen is needed, those who stand on the wall and give a clear sound of warning.

Mormon Christians? Whats in a Name?

The Mormon Church, disturbed by the continuing identifying of polygamus sects in the news with the name Mormon, recently issued a press statement aimed at "clarifying" issues. It is interesting to note that if you substitute the name "Christian" where they use the name "Mormon" it makes a very good argument for us against the claims of the Mormon Church. The full press release is reproduced below in italics with each paragraph rewritten in ordinary text to present it from a Christian perspective. SALT LAKE CITY 10 July 2008 On 26 June, Newsroom published a package of information featuring profiles of ordinary Latter-day Saints in Texas. With no other intention but to define themselves, these members provided a tangible depiction of what their faith is all about. They serve as the best distinction between the lifestyles and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a Texas-based polygamous group that has recently attracted media attent...

The Times of the Gentiles - by Dawn Partington

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that “the times of the gentiles” is a time period of 2,520 years, beginning in 607BC and ending in AD1914. According to their doctrine, Jesus was enthroned as King in AD1914 when the “gentile times” ended. 1. Only one verse in scripture mentions “the times of the gentiles”: 'They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.' Luke 21:24 NIV. The Jehovah's Witness organisation has linked this one verse with other prophetic passages to calculate the supposed length of these “gentile times”, notably a time period which began hundreds of years before the incarnation and ended over 1900 years after it. 2. Simple examination of the text of Luke 21 reveals what Jesus was referring to when he used the phrase “the times of the gentiles”. Let's look at the passage together and distil this into four points which you may...

The Dangers of Adding to the Bible: Guest Post by Jacob Lambert

T oday, when we come across Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons we find that they are led by a group of people who hold unquestioned authority. Members of this group know this, some even believe it themselves. This puts them in a powerful position, even to the point where they can create their own Bible. Two examples are the J oseph S mith Translation of the Mormons and the N ew W orld T ranslation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. T hey can add words into their own Bible, words that are not in other, respectable, translations. F or example, in the Greek, C olossians 1:1 6 say s that J esus created all things: ‘ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.’ Col.1:15,16, ESV Jehovah’s Witnesses say that this runs counter to their understanding that Jesus is God’s first creat...

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