How Jehovah Witnesses have changed WHO and WHAT the Bible says Jesus is!
Posted: Thu May 21, 2026 6:36 pm
Did Jehovah Witnesses' Watchtower Organization edit Scripture to create a false bible so as to DENY Jesus is eternal, UNcreated, and both fully God AND man (that is, He is one of a Trinity of three Persons that also includes the Father and Holy Spirit of the ONE and ONLY God), who took on human form (as a newborn baby), died to pay the price of sins for ALL of humanity, was BODILY resurrected from the dead, and now retains His humanity (and FOREVER will!), and has promised to return.
Before we begin our exploration into how and when Jehovah Witnesses and its Watchtower organization EDITED and CHANGED God-given / inspired Scripture in order to fit its own false theology, by creating its own, highly altered and FALSE bible (the Watchtower-approved New World Translation, see HERE for what they actually teach and believe about Jesus - as their version greatly contradicts what the New Testament writers and apostles wrote and taught about WHO and WHAT Jesus is - which is that He both ALWAYS was and remains FULLY God (He is UNCREATED and ETERNAL!), PHYSICALLY died as a sacrifice for our sins on a Roman cross, in the first century, and was Resurrected and rose from the dead so as to pay the price for ALL of humanity's sins while also fulfilling many Old Testament prophecies that this amazing event in history would occur exactly as they had long predicted. So, Jehovah witnesses have embraced a Jesus who is NOT eternal God as the Bible states, but a CREATED being - despite what thousands of New Testament manuscripts across the world have revealed and proven to be completely false!
HOW Jehovah Witnesses have been deceived about WHO and WHAT Jesus is - and how their Watchtower organization re-wrote Scripture in their own counterfeit version of the Bible (New World Translation), in an effort to eradicate what the New Testament prolifically teaches about Him - which is that Jesus is GOD, eternal / is not a CREATED being, and that is likewise, as are the Father and the Holy Spirit, also FULLY and EQUALLY God! The New Testament affirms that there is ONE tri-une God encompassing three Persons.
This morning, my wife and I were out doing our daily walk down through our valley, and we saw an unfamiliar car, very slowly, and with apparent hesitation, moving and then stopping at various driveways. And my wife said, "I bet those are Jehovah Witnesses." Bingo! So, I motioned them to stop, to ask if they were looking for a certain house - and they identified themselves as JWs. I quickly went right to the point that they were pushing a false gospel that denies Jesus to be God. And I explained that their Watchtower organization had changed key portions of the original New Testament, documented by history and thousands of old NT manuscript copies, so to fit their false teachings about Jesus.
Anyway, later, as I was reading the news on my PC, I began to think about our earlier encounter with the JWs and suddenly whether something as basic as a search of Google's AI search engine would find references to the historic fact that JW's Watchtower-authorized version of their "bible" has been highly edited in order to erase Jesus' deity, clearly taught across the New Testament? Turns out, it DOES! In fact, not only does AI state this, but it doesn't take much of a deep dive to prove this is a historic fact, and found all over in researching this amongst trusted Christian and apologetics sources!
NOTE: Make sure to click on the associated links at the bottom of this post!
Here's what Google AI has to say about the issue:
Has the Jehovah Witnesses Watchtower organization edited and changed the New Testament to hide Jesus' deity?
Yes, mainstream biblical scholars and Greek language experts widely agree that the Watchtower Society altered specific passages in its New World Translation (NWT) of the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament) to align with their theological rejection of Jesus' deity. While the official Watchtower Society FAQ states they have not changed the Bible to fit their beliefs, an examination of the original Greek text reveals systematic changes to key Christological passages.
Key Scriptural Alterations
Mainstream textual critics point to several specific verses where the NWT departs from standard Greek grammar and manuscript evidence to obscure the divinity of Jesus:
John 1:1: Traditional Bibles translate the final clause as "and the Word was God." The NWT renders this as "and the Word was a god," introducing an indefinite article ("a") that does not exist in the Greek text. Scholars note this changes Jesus from being fully divine to a lesser, created deity.
Colossians 1:16-17: The apostle Paul writes that "all things" were created by and through Jesus. The NWT inserts the word "other" multiple times, changing the text to say "all other things" were created by him. This addition implies that Jesus Himself was a created being rather than the un-created Creator / Savior.
John 8:58: Where Jesus states, "Before Abraham was born, I am" (echoing God's divine name in Exodus 3:14), the NWT changes the Greek present-tense verb (ego eimi) into a perfect-tense statement: "Before Abraham came into existence, I have been." This removes the clear allusion to the divine name.
Philippians 2:6: Traditional translations state that Jesus, being in very nature God, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped." The NWT reverses this meaning, stating that Jesus "did not even consider the idea of trying to be equal to God."
Structural Changes: "Worship" and the Divine Name
When in context with praise, honor and adoration being offered to God the Father, "Proskuneo" is The Greek Word used in New Testament English Translations is "worship" - and JW's NWT also translates it as "Worship."
And when "Proskuneo" is offered to Jesus Christ in the New Testament, the word is also translated as "worship." But in JW's NWT the word is translated as "obeisance" and is translated into English as a "gesture o respect."
References to the Lord / God in the New Testament is translated as "Lord" or "God." But in JW's NWT, the same word is translated as "Jehovah" (inserted 237 times).
The insertion of "Jehovah" into the New Testament is a critical point of contention among scholars. The Tetragrammaton (YHWH) does not appear in any of the thousands of surviving ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts. Critics argue that the Watchtower inserted "Jehovah" specifically in verses where the Greek authors used Kyrios ("Lord") for Jesus, thereby obscuring passages where Jesus is identified with God the Father.
Secular and Academic Consensus
Note that the committees of scholars behind key translations of the Bible (like the ESV, NASB, and NIV Bible versions) consist of multi-denominational members of well-known, credentialed, and imminently qualified scholars. By contrast, the Watchtower Society utilized an ANONYMOUS translation committee. Prominent textual scholars, such as Dr. Bruce Metzger of Princeton and prominent Greek grammarians, have publicly classified the NWT as a "highly biased, erroneous mistranslation designed to retroactively support the group's pre-established Unitarian theology." (Google AI / 2026)
So, for any Jehovah Witnesses or others who might like to know whether the above is true as to what the Watchtower has done, it' very easy to find the documentation for this - and, of course, Google AI can be suspect for some research - but even it lines up on this issue per what conservative Christian scholars and theologians widely point to concerning how the Watchtower has intentionally altered Scripture to deceive JWs. Because if they believe in a FALSE Jesus who is not eternal God - then they cannot be saved by submitting to any other figure. Jesus said no one can come to the father but through Him! (John 14:6)
SEE THIS VIDEO for an insightful encounter with Jehovah Witnesses on the street, in which a Christian politely and carefully explains how they have been deceived about Jesus and through their church's distortions and New World Translation bible.
Also, for a further deep dive into the differences between what Scripture teaches vs what the JWs believe, GO HERE
Jehovah Witnesses and leaders have a considerable, well-documented history of making false prophecies - particularly about the end of the world and this age - so, GO HERE to read for documentation about how these have tremendously discredited their teachings and beliefs.
And last, apologist Mike Winger gives explanations behind the Watchtower and JWs sad history of false prophecies - GO HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO!
In my JWs encounter today, I reminded them of how important it is to get salvation right when it comes to God and that they seek the truth of the matter. And that takes a lot of courage, as to walk away from their church, they'll be shunned by friends, family, potentially co-workers, etc. Unfortunately, JWs are not only being deceived and remaining unsaved, but they are under the burden of a works-based faith that requires their constant knocking on doors.
I would encourage each of you who might encounter JWs to challenge them with a humble attitude and friendly, but assertive, manner. Show you care in how you communicate the truth.
Philip