In this post, I present yet another example of how the New World Translation (NWT) of the Jehovah’s Witnesses distorts the Word of God. This translation is not merely flawed—it is a deliberate and diabolical attempt to strip Christ of His divine nature and undermine the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit of Jehovah Jesus

The Apostle Peter affirms that it was the Spirit of Christ who inspired the Old Testament prophets to speak of His coming suffering and the glory that would follow:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, inquiring to know what time or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”
—1 Peter 1:10–12, Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

This passage is striking. It declares that the Spirit of Christ moved the prophets to proclaim and record revelations of His coming. What makes this even more profound is that the Hebrew Scriptures explicitly identify the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jehovah. The Old Testament consistently emphasizes that it was Jehovah’s Spirit—not the spirit of any other—who guided the prophets.

Consider the following examples:

• Genesis 41:38
• 2 Samuel 23:1–3
• Nehemiah 9:20, 30
• Psalm 51:11
• Isaiah 48:16
• Isaiah 61:1
• Isaiah 63:10–11, 14
• Joel 2:27–29

The Spirit of Jehovah—and of Jesus Christ

The Old Testament continues to affirm that the Spirit guiding the prophets was none other than the Spirit of Jehovah:

• Micah 3:8
• Zechariah 7:12

Yet the New Testament also identifies the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Son of God:

• Acts 16:6–7
• Romans 8:9–17
• Galatians 4:4–7
• Philippians 1:19

Given all this, the only way Jewish believers like Peter could ever identify the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ—and claim that it was Christ’s own Spirit who inspired the prophets—is if they genuinely believed and confessed that Jesus is Jehovah God Almighty, incarnate in human form.

The Logic of the Spirit’s Identity

Let’s break down the logical structure of the argument:

1. The Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets is the Spirit of Jehovah—and no other.
2. The Spirit of Christ is the One who inspired the prophets.
3. Therefore, Jesus is Jehovah God who became flesh (though He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit).

Since both premises are biblically sound, the conclusion is valid.

A Deliberate Mistranslation

Aware of this theological implication, the Watchtower Society has deliberately altered the wording of 1 Peter 1:11 in their New World Translation. Their rendering of the Greek text obscures the connection between the Holy Spirit and Christ:

“They kept on investigating what particular time or what season the spirit within them was indicating concerning Christ as it testified beforehand about the sufferings meant for Christ and about the glory that would follow.”
—1 Peter 1:11, New World Translation

This translation subtly disconnects the Spirit from Christ, contrary to what Peter actually wrote. The distortion becomes evident when we examine the Society’s own resources, including their Kingdom Interlinear and other Bible versions hosted on their website:

• Greek Text (Kingdom Interlinear): “searching into what or what sort of appointed time was making evident THE IN THEM SPIRIT OF CHRIST witnessing beforehand about the into Christ sufferings and the after these things glories.”
• King James Version: “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify…”
• American Standard Version: “searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto…”
• The Bible in Living English: “searching to find out what time or what sort of time Christ’s spirit in them was pointing to…”
• The Emphasized Bible: “Searching into what particular or what manner of season the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to…”

Conclusion: A Willful Distortion

It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the Watchtower Society deliberately mistranslated the inspired words of the blessed Apostle Peter in order to prevent its members from recognizing that Peter was identifying Jesus Christ as Jehovah Incarnate.

Such a calculated distortion of God’s inspired Word is a clear and troubling sign that the New World Translation (NWT) is not merely flawed—it is a diabolical version crafted with the express purpose of concealing the explicit and unambiguous testimony of Scripture: that the one true God is Triune in nature, and that Jesus is Jehovah God the Son, coequal in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revision).

Addendum: A Chorus of Testimony

To help readers grasp the gravity of the NWT’s mistranslation, here is a wide array of mainstream and lesser-known English Bible translations of 1 Peter 1:11. These renderings consistently affirm the Apostle’s testimony to the Deity of Christ by explicitly identifying the Spirit within the prophets as the Spirit of Christ:

• Bible
• Christ
• Cult
• God
• Holy Spirit
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Jesus
• NWT
• Trinity
• Truth
• Watchtower