Apologetics

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Perhaps of all the verses Jehovah's Witnesses(JWs)
cite and use to prove Jesus is not God, Mark 13:32 is their crown jewel. Even some Christians stumble over this verse. They need not. The Scripture says, "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."

That verse says a mouthful, however, JWs draw an improper conclusion. They assert Jesus can't be omniscient, yet at the same time be unaware of the time of the culmination of history. Careful study will help to dispel this false JW teaching.
Take a look at Matthew 23:27-24:2. Jesus has an eschatological view in mind. He clearly warns that Jerusalem will be destroyed. The fruition of this warning materialized in 70AD under the emperor Titus. Without error, Jesus predicted the future. I know what you're thinking. Why is it that Jesus was able to know Jerusalem would be destroyed but appear to be oblivious to the date of the end time? I find two satisfactory answers for this:

1. The kenosis or self-emptying of Christ. Jesus
was fully God and also fully human.
Philippians 2:5-8 demonstrates that when
Jesus took on flesh, he laid aside (or
emptied) the independent use of the divine
attributes. Paul shows Jesus as the humble
servant. Mark's writing was to show Jesus as
the suffering servant. Jesus' mentioning of the
angels in Mark 13:32 denotes servants
(Rev. 22:8-9). Jesus ultimately is teaching
that important decisions are left not to the
servants but the to the Master.

2. The question regarding the end times was asked
by his disciples in Mark 13:4. Rather than get
them to focus on a specific day, Jesus
admonished them to be steadfast (5-23), be
watchful (24-31), be ready (32-33), and most
importantly, be working (34-37).

Unfortunately, the biggest feather in the JWs cap of the denial of Jesus' deity does not stand up to the test of scrutiny and sound hermeneutics. Yes, Jesus is God!

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