Jehovah’s witnesses or Jesus’ witnesses (2)

Jn 19  “¹⁹And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. ²¹Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. ²²Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.”

The Roman and Orthodox Catholic church has made disappear the original acronym for the sign that Pilate had written and placed above the cross. INRI is the acronym, said titulus crucis, of the latin expression Iesvs Nazarenvs, Rex Ivdæorvm « Jesus the Nazarene, king of the Jew » The orthodox churches write the acronym INBI for the Greeks and INЦI for those Slavs who write cyrillic. It appears on almost all representations of Crucifixion. But INRI, INBI, INЦI do not reveal the divine content of what the Prefect of Jerusalem wrote under God’s inspiration and authority. In that time, the Greek was the language of civilization around the world and Latin was the official language. But the language of Jehovah's Witnesses was Hebrew, including Hebrew in scholarly orientation and Aramaic as vernacular.

The acronym in the language of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Jews, was “YHWH", which is the abbreviation of the Hebrew Yeshua HaNazarei WMelech HaYehudim meaning "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jew". Reading this notice, the enemies of Jesus of Nazareth had an upset stomach and, being furious, they begged Pilate to change. They had good reason to be upset:

-    Firstly, the Tetragrammaton is in itself the name of their God, who had brought them out Egypt and who had called upon them as witnesses.

-    Secondly, King of the Jews or Israel is none other than YeHoWaH / YahweH himself, the King of Glory: Ps 24  “⁹Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.” And after the resurrection of the Lord, at the ascension, eternal gates allowed in Jehovah-Savior, the King of Glory.

-    Thirdly, all names given to God in relation to a function he performs always root for the Tetragrammaton YHWH. This Tetragrammaton, barely pronounceable, was rendered as Eternel or Lord. Thus in the New Testament, Peter said: Atc 2  “³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord (YHWH) and Christ.”  And in verse 23 he says, “we are all witnesses.”  The term "Lord" we use has been translated from the Greek word kurios whereof the equivalent word in Hebrew is YHWH.

So if this inscription was maintained as such, it was then a serious matter for the Jews who committed this act of crucifying the Lord: and indeed it was very serious because the situation was irreversible, because Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written.” He did not behoove to Pilate to change the eternal plan of God, not even under the pressure of high priests.

Note that in this scene, there was more than just the Jews, but the whole world represented. On the one hand the Jews, the only Jehovah's Witnesses of the old covenant and on the other side the Gentiles under the auspices of the Roman Empire that ruled the world. The initiative to crucify the Lord came from the Jews, but the order came from Rome, through its Prefect in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate. It was a solemn testimony in the eyes of all the nations of the earth. And it is not for nothing that the inscription on the cross was translated into the two dominant pagan languages ​​of the era, because now all nations, tribes and languages ​​of the earth should give him the same testimony that was previously the preserve of Jews only, and confess that Jesus (Yehoshuah) is Lord (YHWH) to the glory of God the Father.

If the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate revived today, who was the active eyewitness and involved in the case, he would make his testimony focused on three solemn statements and of eternal value:

Statement 1:         I find no fault in this man (Mt. 27:24, Lc 23:4, Jn 19:4) : he testified that the man was faultless, holy, just and good; yet, one needs to be Yahweh / YeHoWaH only to fulfill these qualities: there is no good except God alone (Lc 18:19), because there is no man who does not sin (1R 8 :46). But now this man, he was without sin! he was more than just a man.

Statement 2:         Behold the Man (Jn 19:5) : the things of God are only mysteries! it is striking that it was a pagan who presented ‘the man’ to the Jews. And this presentation contains huge depths that we cannot discuss here; we will devote an entire discussion thereon. But we hold that this is the man whom the people of Israel expected. Goliath had asked Israel to present him this man, and the Philistines would be subjected to Israel for good. David was presented, but Goliath's challenge was not raised, because after David wars between Israel and the Philistines continued. In the spiritual realm, Galiath spoke on behalf of the enemy of God, the Devil, and Pilate presented the man who had been announced for Genesis, the man who was to crush once and for all the head of Goliath, the giant enemy that has always terrorized the children of God.

Statement 3:         This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: we discussed earlier, Pilate testified with authority and firmness that the Jesus they crucified was indeed YeHoWaH / YaHWeH who had promised to come in person to save his people.

If the centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus could resurrect today, as they were active eye witnesses and stakeholders in the matter, they would make their testimony alive today: certainly/assuredly this man was the son of God/Just (Mt 27 :54, Mc 15 :39, Lc 23 :47). They were soldiers; they had been struck by the last miracle Jesus worked the time of his arrest, when Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant, and Jesus put it back at its place and healed him. But by military spirit, and executing orders, anyway the centurion ordered his troops: arrest it! Ever since, he attended the whole scene closely following Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest, to Pontius Pilate, to Herod, to Pontius Pilate again, and to Calvary. And for the coronation of his astonishment, noon seemed like midnight sun darkening until the ninth hour, then on his death, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, the earth shook and the rocks were split, the graves were opened, etc. In light of these events, they were sore afraid. Despite their military spirit, and without control, they confessed their emotion: certainly/assuredly this man was the son of God/Just. Son of God means God in the flesh to save man who fell in the flesh, and just: there is no just except God alone.

Thus, on the face of the earth, the testimony was full, not only among the Jews but also among the Gentiles. So he came down with the same testimony in the grave, where all the saints of the Old Testament hostages were kept as hostages. 1P 3 “¹⁸For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: ¹⁹By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.”  His first action in this area was to snatch the keys of death and hell from the devil, as the latter could no longer resist him. Now death has no more power over a single saint of God: Ap 1 “¹⁷I am the first and the last: ¹⁸I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

He opened and released all the saints of the Old Testament, and all recognized him the way he had revealed himself to each one him during his lifetime. Adam recognized the voice that visited him every evening and told him one day ‘Adam where are you?’Abel recognized the slain Lamb of God, the only sacrifice God has authorized. Noah recognized the man who gave him the design and dimensions for the construction of the ark, Job saw him whose advent he still awaited in hope: Job 19 “²⁶And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: ²⁷Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Daniel saw again him whose face was similar to the face of the son of the man who kept him company in the lions’ den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego recognized him who had controlled the power of the fiery furnace. Moses recognized the voice of the burning bush, Jacob recognized the Angel of the Lord with whom he struggled all night until the morning, etc. All of these saints then confirmed that what they had believed is perfectly true, that only Jehovah is God, and beside him, there is no Savior.

Seeing him, all the saints who were victims of their testimony, like John the Baptist, realized that their testimony work was not vain. In his resurrection, he arose with them all from the abyss: finished hostage, finished captivity, ended imprisonment in Hades. Mt 27 “⁵²And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, ⁵³And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” 

In the next issue, we will address rest of this testimony after his resurrection. But we are pleased to have the assurance that there is no child of God who will resist this testimony which was announced in the Old Testament, which is then checked in the birth, life, death, the presence in Hades and the resurrection of Yeshua HaNazarei WMelech HaYehudim. Those ones seeking God for something other than  salvation, they may proceed as they see fit. But for us who seek the salvation of our soul, we remain abiding by the eternal testimony of Jehovah, to know that apart from Yeshua HaNazarei WMelech HaYehudim, there is no savior or otherwise said, that there is no God apart from Jesus.

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