Page 46 - Cults and Marginal Groups - Textbook w videos short

In Rev. 4:8b “the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” which means beginning. He
always was, is always, and will always be. This verse clearly identifies the Lord as the eternal self-
existing one. I AM is another way of saying, I am the One who is!

Isaiah 41:4
4 "Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last, I am He.'" (Hebrew: ANI HU) (Greek: ego eimi)

Isaiah 43:10
10 "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD," And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God
formed, And there will be none after Me. (ego eimi)

John 13:19
19 "From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that
I AM [He]. (ego eimi)

The reason the Jews took up stones to kill Jesus is that they understood Him to claim to be God. They
recognized He was implicitly identifying Himself as Yahweh – the I AM WHO I AM” of the OT. Lev. 24:16
prescribes stoning as the penalty for blasphemy. Certainly, there can be no doubt that the Jews
interpreted Jesus’ words as a claim to be Yahweh.

WITNESSING NOTE: In view of what you have learned about Jesus’ claim to be the I AM of Exodus
3:14, do you really want to continue trusting the New World Translation to guide you and your family
into your eternal destiny?

7. Revelation 3:14

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"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness,
the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

NWT: “And to the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write: These are the things that
the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God”

JWs cite this verse to prove that Jesus is a created being --- the first of Jehovah’s creation. They connect
this verse to verses which have used the phrase, “only begotten” (ex. John 1:14) to also communicate
that Jesus was begotten (had an origin) by Jehovah God.

The Greek word for beginning is arche which carries the meaning “one who begins”, “origin”, “source”,
“creator,” or “first cause.” It does not mean that Jesus was God’s first creation; rather it demonstrates
that Jesus is the First Cause or Source, the Originator of all of Creation. As God, He is the Creator.

The word architect is derived from arche. That is to say, Jesus is the architect of all of creation (Col 1:16,
Heb 1:2)

Other translations of this verse help clarify the meaning of “beginning of creation of God:”

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