By Reese Currie, Compass Distributors
The Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus Christ's return to the earth will be a visible event. Instead, they believe His return happened in secret in 1914. They argue that the concept of Jesus' "coming" is the result of bad translation on the part of the King James translators, and that the correct concept is of Jesus' unseen presence. This argument is documented in The Watchtower, August 15, 1996, in the article, "Jesus' Coming or Jesus' Presence -- Which?"
Because the argument requires an understanding of the underlying Greek, we were asked to comment on the validity of the Jehovah's Witnesses arguments as presented in the Watchtower article.
The founder of the International Bible Students, the organization that went on to become the Jehovah's Witnesses, was Charles Taze Russell. Mr. Russell prophesied, based on calculations derived from Bible verses, that the end of the world would take place in 1914.
Mr. Russell obviously either hadn't read or did not understand 2 Peter 1:20, 21: "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
His private interpretation did not pan out, making him a false prophet. To save face, Russell claimed that Jesus Christ had returned "unseen". This Watchtower article is part of a continuing attempt to save face, 82 years after the fact.
Examine the rendering of Matthew 24:3 in the Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation, according to the article. "While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: 'Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?'" (NWT)
Now examine the rendering in the King James Version. "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?'" (KJV)
The Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the word "presence" is a better translation than the word "coming," because the underlying Greek word is parousia, which means "presence". They also note that some other Bible versions also render the word as "presence." The Jehovah's Witnesses' go on to imply that the other Greek word for "coming," erchomai, is never used in relation to Jesus' coming. See The Watchtower, August 15, 1996, page 11, for confirmation of these assertions.
The truth is, neither the King James Version's rendering, nor the New World Translation's rendering is entirely accurate. The Greek word translated "world" in the KJV and "system of things" in the NWT is aion, which really means "age". Therefore, the correct translation of the verse would be more like this:
"Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'" (Matthew 24:3, New King James Version)
The Watchtower article actually points out this problem with their translation on page 10 of the magazine. Of course, it is not presented as a problem or an inaccuracy with regard to their version, but as another criticism of the King James Version.
Now that we have established that the NWT's rendering is not perfect, let us move on to the problem at hand, the rendering of parousia as "presence" or "coming" in these verses.
Many words in the English language have more than one meaning. What does the word "right" mean? It depends on the context. "Turn right here." "Everyone has the right to life." "That was the right thing to do." It is common for a word in any language to have multiple definitions, depending on the context.
Parousia can be defined either as "presence" or as "the coming", "arrival", or "advent". So, how does the translator determine which meaning to select? Once again, it boils down to context.
The Jehovah's Witnesses do not come right out and say that erchomai is never used in reference to Jesus' coming. They just fail to mention that erchomai is used at Matthew 16:28 and 26:64; Mark 14:62; and Luke 21:27 in reference to His coming.
"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matthew 16:28)
"Jesus said to him, 'It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" (Matthew 26:64)
"Jesus said, 'I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'" (Mark 14:62)
"Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21:27)
In each case, the word translated "see" is optonomai, which means "to look at, behold", and the word translated "coming" is erchomai. (The last time I spoke to Jehovah's Witnesses about this, they tried to twist the concept "see the coming" to mean "perceive in your mind the presence".)
What does erchomai mean? The Watchtower article defines erkhomai (different transliteration, same Greek word) as "arrive", "go", "get to", "reach", or "be on one's way" (The Watchtower, August 15, 1996, page 11). Once again a little bit of information is left out. The definition of erchomai according to my concordance is "to come", "to come from one place to another", "to appear", "to make one's appearance", "to come before the public".
It only makes sense, then, that the translators of the King James Version would apply the context of Christ's coming, as ascertained from Matthew 16:28, 26:64; Mark 14:62; and Luke 21:27, in determining which definition of parousia to use in Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39. The translation of parousia as "coming" in Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39 is correct. The other scriptures clearly show that Jesus' coming will be visible to the eye.
Incidentally, because the facts of these other verses disagree with the doctrines being taught in the article, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society ignores the existence of these verses for the purposes of the article. When they list the verses that contain the Greek word erkhomai on page 11 of the magazine, Matthew 16:28, Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62, and Luke 21:27 are left out.
The Watchtower article states that some other Bible versions also translate parousia as "presence" in Matthew 24:3.
There are many people who study Bible versions who would contest the quality of most modern versions in comparison to versions such as the King James Version and New King James Version. Modern versions typically use texts which are inferior (the Critical Texts), and most modern versions use less accurate, non-literal translation styles (such as dynamic equivalency).
Second, some of the more accepted modern versions would include the New King James Version, the New American Standard Bible, the Revised Standard Version, and the New International Version. None of these translates parousia as "presence" in Matthew 24:3. Each one translates parousia as "coming" in the disputed verses.
While I am sure the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is correct in their assertion that some other Bible versions agree with theirs, I suspect there is a good reason why they do not point out the names of these versions. They probably have a similar reputation for inaccuracy.
In the article, "Jesus' Coming or Jesus' Presence -- Which?" the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society left out the details of Matthew 16:28; 26:64; Mark 14:62, and Luke 21:27. It is hard to believe they did so unknowingly. Since they knew the Greek words used in Matthew 24:3, they could be expected to know the Greek words throughout, and at the very least to have studied the issue more thoroughly than they have. If they did this knowingly, they have deliberately covered up a part of Christ's teaching to make their point. There is only one thing to do with people like these.
"Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds." (2 John 9-11)
What John said then is true today. While most Jehovah's Witnesses are very nice people, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society unfortunately has them hooked, and we are to separate ourselves from them.
Will Jesus' Return Be An "Unseen Presence"? is Copyright © 1996 by Compass Distributors.
Scripture marked KJV taken from The King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Scripture marked NWT was quoted directly from The Watchtower
All other Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.