Jehovah's Witnesses: Why is Jesus called the first and the last if he is a created being?

Question

"And when I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. 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; and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."- Revelation 1:17-18 NWT

"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 44:6 NWT

How can there be more than one First or more then one Last?

Also, how can Jesus be the First if he is a created being?

Answer 1

The problem that I have with the JW interpretation of both the Father and Son being the First and the Last and meaning something entirely different... is that ANY person who reads the BIBLE by ITSELF, sees, exactly what the questioner saw, what I see... that Jesus IS Jehovah.

The teachings of the WT society (and not just this one!) ADD TO SCRIPTURE what is NOT there in order to justify their beliefs. Then in an effort to make you think that they have not done this, they accuse all other religions of adding to scripture!

The Bible says there is ONE GOD. Jehovah is God. Jesus is God. Jehovah is the First and the Last. Jesus is the First and the Last.  Jesus is Jehovah in the flesh. No adding to scripture necessary!!

Let the scripture speak for itself:

Romans 1:25

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Col 1:16-18

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

John 1:3

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus is the Creator. God is the creator (Gen 1:1) Jesus is God.

Now look at this:

Col 3:3

For ye are dead, and your life is hid WITH CHRIST IN GOD.

John 16:27-28

For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came OUT FROM GOD.

I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

John 8:42

Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I PROCEEDED FORTH and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

John 15:26

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which PROCEEDETH FROM the Father, he shall testify of me:

Exodus 25:35

...according to the six branches that PROCEED OUT of the candlestick

Just one more thing to show ya!

Matthew 4:4

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 15:18

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart...

Isaiah 45:23

I have sworn by myself, the WORD is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Romans 5:8

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:39

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jude 1:21

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 John 1:2

(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

John 1:18

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is IN THE BOSOM of the Father, he hath declared him.

Jesus is the ETERNAL love of our Heavenly Father proceeded forth from His heart made flesh.

And this my friends is indeed the correct translation of John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Answer 2

Uh oh, JW's are in trouble at this one. :)

Answer 3

short and to the point:

The first creation created DIRECTLY by GOD

and also the LAST, since all other creations were created by God through Jesus as his helping hand.

Answer 4

For the life of me, I cannot understand why some people think they have found the "perfect" question to "stump" Jehovah's Witnesses, or why they think they have come up with something that Jehovah's Witnesses avoid answering.

The fact is, all these questions have been asked and answered before, many times, with support from the Scriptures.

I have yet to find any really new question about the Bible or Jesus on this forum.

It is simplistic and false exegesis to assume that there is only one way to be first, or only one way to be last.  

Always, we have to consider the context of a text.

As for being a created being, Jesus said it, right there at Revelation 3:14, where He calls Himself "the beginning of the creation by God."

Some Trinitarian translations try to fudge the meaning of the Greek word *arche* in the Greek manuscripts of this verse, but it means "beginning" not "ruler" (*archon*) of the creation by God.  Good translations, even those produced by Trinitarians, recognize this. (King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, etc., as well as the ancient Latin Vulgate ["principium creaturae Dei"] and Coptic ["houeite mpcont mpnoute"] versions.)

We don't run from honest questions.  But sometimes we may become less than enthusiastic about repeating ourselves.

Answer 5

Jesus is the first in that he is the first to be resurrected (acts 26:23, col 1;18 , rev. 1:5 confirm this) He is the last, because he will be doing the judging. "For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son,  in order that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." (john 5:21)

The fact that Jesus died proves hes not the same as Jehovah because “Jehovah, the Creator of the extremities of the earth, is a God to time indefinite.” (Isa 40:28)  Something that is indefinite is cannot die.

In Colosians Jesus is called "the firstborn of all creation." How do the terms " born" and "created" fit into the description of something without a beginning? clearly he and his father are not the same.

Answer 6

Many persons can have the same "title" but they are different and are not the same.

George Bush is a 'President", another man , can be called "President" and they are not the same, nor are their authority.

Jesus' being called "First and Last" is regarding his resurrection. He is the first one resurrected, after being dead, who gains everlasting life (living forever) - Rev 1.

Isa 44:6 talks about Godship, Jehovah is the "First and Last" , First Almighty God and Last Almighty God. THERE IS NO OTHER  GOD BESIDES Him.  That's why it uses ME, I AM, words you only use for ONE PERSON. If there are more than one person who is God, then basically you're saying God is telling a lie in Isa 44:6.

You'll be suprised that the Bible says that the Father granted Jesus LIFE. John

Answer 7

Well, I'm not a JW but I have to point out that being the first and being the last doesn't necessarily mean he is not a created being either.

Eternity has no beginning nor end.

It also is a reference to being a crucial part of something.

I am the alpha and omega,

I am the crucial part.

I am the crucial part of Christianity, prophesy, etc.

doesn't have to mean I am God and not a created being blah blah blah

It's also crucial to note this is a reference to G_D and not Jesus.  Revelations is interwoven with sayings from G_D and Jesus.

check out the link below for other ideas

Answer 8

I'm going to tie in "the first and the last" with some other verses:

Jesus is coming. (Mat 24:30, Mat 26:64, Mar 13:2, Luk 21:2, Rev 1:7, Rev 22:20)

He has His reward with Him. (Isaiah 62:11)

*** see detailed explaination below

He is the First and the Last. (Rev 1:17,18)

There can only be one FIRST and one LAST, and from Isaiah, it is clear that the “First and the Last” is Jehovah/YHWH!

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isa 44:6 KJV)

Now let’s look at Revelation 22:13, 14:

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

How can this not be the Son speaking?!?!

*** Detailed explanation of Isaiah 62:11

There is one letter difference between the Hebrew name for Jesus and the Hebrew word for salvation. And this letter (hay) is a special letter, meaning the "Breath of God"/Holy Spirit. It is the same letter that was inserted into Abram and Sarai’s names, which became Abraham and Sarah. So YESHUA (Jesus) + Holy Spirit (hay)= Yeshuah (Salvation)

Now when you look at verses that use Yeshuah personified, it is clear that the person is Jesus/The Son. So let’s plug JESUS in where the Hebrew says “YESHUAH” into the following verse:

Behold, thy Yeshuah/JESUS cometh; behold, HIS reward is with HIM, and his work before him. (Isaiah 62:11)

Here are more verses of interest:

Hebrews 7:3 - Jesus had no beginning, nor end

Micah 5:2 - From early times, from the days of time indefinite

(Compare with Habakkuk 1:12 and Psalm 93:2 about Jehovah.)

Hebrews 9:11-12 - Not of this creation

John 1:3 All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.

Hebrews 3:3-4 - Jesus/God created everything.

Phil 2:6 He was existing in God’s form.

(Compare with Isaiah 43:10)

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

(NOT an angel turned man turned back to angel.)

Hebrews 2:5 - It is not to angels that He has subjected the earth to

Hebrews 1:6 - All the angels did obeisance/worshipped Jesus

(so then did He do obeisance/worship Himself?)

Isaiah 9:6 - Mighty God, Eternal Father

Isaiah 7:14/Mt 1:23 - Immanuel: God With Us

John 20:28 - Jesus is "the Lord of me and the God of me."

John 10:30 - Jesus and the Father are one.

Even if they won't concede that Jesus is God.... certainly, they can see why there is confusion, right?

Answer 9

because the J.W.s are an invented cult my child, and can therefore say anything which occurs to them in defence of their often logically challenged belief system, which they do, often.

Answer 10

Jehovah is the ultimate First and Last, in that he is the only person in existence that had no beginning. And, he alone innately possesses immortality and life in himself. No one gave Jehovah life, but he gives life to all others, including his firstborn and only-begotten Son.

As the firstborn Son of all Creation, Jesus is unique among all of God's sons, in that he was the first and only creature directly created by Jehovah. All were created through the Son. That is why, in fact, that Jesus is called the only-begotten Son of God. Jesus is also the first creature raised from the dead to immortality. That's why the Bible calls him the "firstborn from the dead." At Colossians 1:18, Paul said of Christ:

"He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things."

The next verse goes on to show that it pleased God to make his son first in all things.

Jesus is "last" in the sense that he will never be surpassed in glory by any fellow creature. He will always be the closest to Jehovah.

Answer 11

I would love to answer this, but my door bell is ringing. A couple of JW's here to convert me. Gotta go !!

Answer 12

2 days ago

Interesting that JW's seem to be avoiding this one...

JWs did not avoid this question.

Look at the answers JWs gave, now reason on them.  The big thing is CONTEXT CONTEXT  CONTEXT

We (JWs) look at the context to determine an answer.  Not just the context of a particular passage but the context of the whole Bible.

Honestly examine the context carefully and you will se that JWS are correct.  Now, I chalange you, come back and show how the context as shown by JWs is not correct.  Are you up to it?

Answer 13

You may wish to include the fact that Jesus' Miracles were in his name. This shows Jesus as God in the flesh. Jesus always cast out demons, cured the sick, and did miracles in His own name.

John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”

John 1:1 says that “the Word was God.” John 1:14 says that “And the Word was made flesh".

"baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19).

For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9

JW had to follow their version of the Bible because it just won't work out using a Christian version. Good People seeking God in corrupt ways.  

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16

http://www.catholic.org/clife/jesus/jesu...

Peace be with you.

Answer 14

Jesus follows the example of the Watchtower Society and makes false predictions and false statements...He will receive "new Light" any day  now and recant

Answer 15

Wow! you've nailed them on the head.They must learn to read The Bible and not their bible,if they do so only then they will learn that Jesus is the creator and not the created.

Answer 16

I can't count the number of times I've answered this same question.

David was King of Israel.

David sat upon Jehovah's throne.

David was a 'savior' his people.

David was the 'anointed' one of God.

So David must also be Jehovah, according to your reasoning.

David is Firstborn, Jesus is Firstborn, thus David must be Jesus. and in turn must be Jehovah.

Context determines the meaning of a title, and not the title.

Moses was God to Pharaoh.

The angel of Jehovah was 'God' to Manaah.

The judges of Israel are 'gods' to the people.

Thus these created creatures must also be God Almighty, cause there is only one God.

Context determines the meaning of titles.

Rev 1:17 - 18 is dealing with death.

When did God die?

Isa 44:6 is comparing true God to false gods.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

.