Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus was the first of God's creations. However, the Bible declares that Jesus Christ is both God and Creator. In John 10:30, Jesus said "I and my Father are one." Jesus meant that both He and His Father were one and the same God. John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Who is the Word? John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The Word became flesh, Jesus became a man. Jesus is the Word. John 1:2 states "He was with God in the beginning." Jesus could not have been created if He was with God in the beginning. 1 Timothy 3:16 "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." God was manifest in the flesh when Jesus walked on the earth as a man. In John 8:58, Jesus said to the Pharisees "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" Jesus is referring to the conversation between God and Moses in Exodus 3:13-14: "Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" All of those verses present Jesus as being God. How can Jesus be a created being if He is God? The following verses present Jesus as being the Creator. Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." John 1:3 "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." If Jesus is the Creator then how could He be a created being? The following verses state that God made all things through Jesus. Hebrews 1:2 "but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." Ephesians 3:9 "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ..." If all things were made through Jesus then how can He be a created being?

   They believe that Christ died on a stake, not a cross. They use Galatians 3:13 and Acts 5:30 to support this belief. However, both of these verses say that Jesus died on a tree. A cross is made from the wood of a tree, thus, in a way, Jesus died on a tree. Scripture states that Jesus died on a cross. Matthew 27:40 reads "And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." John 19:19 says "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Mark 15:32 reads "Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him." 1 Corinthians 1:17 states "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect."

   They believe that Christ's human life was paid as a ransom for obedient humans. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 says "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." If Jesus gave His life for all then He died for disobedient humans as well as obedient ones. Romans 3:10 states "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one..." If Jesus only saved the righteous (obedient) humans, then there would be no hope for anyone. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." If all have sinned then none are totally obedient. 1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit..." The righteous for the unrighteous, Jesus for us. Romans 5:8 states "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." If Christ died for sinners then He couldn't have died only for obedient humans.

   They believe that God has selected only some faithful men and women from the earth to go to heaven. These faithful men and women will rule with Christ as kings, judges, and priests over mankind. These faithful men and women number 144,000. I disagree with this belief. I believe that the 144,000 are blameless, pure, and those who will be redeemed from the earth (Revelation 14:3-5), but I don't believe that they are the only ones who will go to heaven, or that they alone will rule with Christ. Revelation 4:4 states "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads." These twenty-four elders will rule with Christ, yet they are not part of the 144,000: "And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth."(Revelation 14:3) The 144,000 are singing the song, and the elders are listening to it--there is clearly a distinction between the two. In Luke 12:32, Jesus is talking to His disciples when He says "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." In Luke 22:29-30, Jesus is again talking to His disciples when He says "And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And in Matthew 5:10, He says "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." According to these verses, the kingdom of heaven is given to Jesus' disciples, the poor in spirit, and they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; not just to the 144,000. Revelation 7:4 reads "Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel." The 144,000 are the only ones who are selected from the tribes of Israel, not the only ones who are selected from the entire world. Revelation 7:9 says "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." According to this verse, a countless multitude of people will stand before the throne of Christ in heaven. So, apparently, there will be more than a "little flock of 144,000" in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:1 states "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." Paul is speaking to Christians. There are more than a billion Christians in the world today. If only 144,000 souls were going to heaven, then why would all Christians have an eternal house in heaven?