The Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus Christ existed eternally or everlastingly, how do they reconcile this with Micah 5:2?
Upvote:3
Micah 5:2 proves the opposite of what the OP assumes. Jesus had a beginning "and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2 Douay-Rheims Bible. This is in harmony with Revelation 3:14.
A further reading of Micah reveals, And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. Micah 5:4 ASV God Almighty does not have a God, thus there no reason to infer that Jesus is Jehovah after reading 5:2.
There is no record of Jesus' followers during his time who understood Micah 5:2, believed that Jesus was “God incarnate.”
Micah 5:2 says that this ruler will be born. The bible has no record of believers of the true God almighty believing that God almighty could be born.
What is clear from the verse is, the Messiah, Jesus Christ had an origin or beginning, the only true God does not have a beginning.
Upvote:3
How do Jehovahs witnesses reconcile their belief that Jesus has not always existed with Micah 5:2 which says his going forth is from long ago, from the days of eternity?
First by pointing to the many different ways a variety of Bible translations render the wording of the final part of Vs2 The New World Translation renders it “Whose origin is from ancient times,from the days of long ago.”
ESV: whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
NIV: whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
GNT:whose family line goes back to ancient times.”
I encourage you to go to bible hub to see more
Strongs exhaustive concordance on the meaning of the word translated "eternity" in your opening quotation of Micah 5:2 gives a plethora of words that can express the meaning of ʿôlām.
long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
It seems important to state also that Jehovah's Witnesses do teach that Jesus existed untold eons of time before any creation of physical universe commenced. We teach that for an unknown amount of time only Jehovah and His Son existed before any creation of spiritual angelic hosts were created.
We also teach that Jehovah brought forth (created) His Son. So there is a moment of origin, a beginning for his life. This is not the case for Jehovah who alone has existed eternally as the uncreated Almighty God.
If Micah was referencing the pre existence of Jesus and said his origin was from the days of eternity would the fact that Jesus was created eons before any other angels, before any part of the universe exists, before man was created, qualify him as being from days of eternity? Yes of course it would.
But was Micah alluding to Jesus’ heavenly pre existence? No. Micah is declaring a prophecy regarding the town that would become the birth place of Messiah. Just two verses later we find Micah saying that This ruler whose origin is from ancient times will “stand and feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God”. Micah 5:4 ASV
Jehovah does not have a God. Jehovah does not have origins. The eternality of the uncreated Almighty God cannot have days affixed to it.
Jesus does have a God. Jesus does have an origin, a beginning. His days could be numbered though only by his eternally existing Father.
The Messiah has ancestral roots going all the way back as far as one can go in the history of the city of Bethlehem. These are the days of long ago to which Micah 5:2 is alluding.
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