A very restrictive view of the resurrection began under Rutherford in the 1930s. He eventually came up with a long list of those who would not be resurrected. But in the early '60s, this view was abandoned and a more liberal view of resurrection emerged, in which most people who have died would come back to life. But I guess the pendulum began to swing the other way in the late '80s when they went back to their old views about Sodom and Gomorrah.
Died faithful so she has a chance for a resurrection --- Huh?
by mimimimi 19 Replies latest jw friends
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golf2
"...there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous". (Acts 24:15) Doesn't this witness know her Bible?
Golf -
greendawn
Thanks for the history of the doctrine Leolaia. As I see it this is another doctrine of manipulation they intentionally distort Biblical verses or rather in this case they don't even have Biblical verses to distort they do it without any basis.
It's a powerful way of putting pressure on the R&F to be obedient to them (disobey the org and you are finished for ever once you die) because otherwise how could they say things that directly contadict the gospel? The people of Sodom will be resurrected no less person than Jesus said it, so I can't see why these FDS clowns are disputing his words, except to manipulate. -
Sarah Smiles
It just goes to show everyone if doctrines as important as resurrection can flip flop then how can they be true prophets(John class in Heavens) giving the remaining prophets new light! I think I will stick with Acts that is easy and to the point!
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oompa
What is this URBAN LEGEND DAY?
All published material states that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous. The only "selective" point ever brought out is about those who have "sinned against the holy spirit" which we just had a WT study article on within the last year.
NEVER have I heard ANYTHING about the weak JW's or unbaptized ones not getting a rebound.
WTF????.....oompa....show some print already
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greendawn
All the dead will be resurrected from Adam and Eve onwards though some to life and some to judgement. Where did they find exceptions to this principle? And how can the WTS be so grandiose thinking so as to proclaim that someone's chances of eternal life revolves around obedience to their half baked leaders and ever changing dogmas? Someone there has a serious superiority complex problem.
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blondie
*** w93 5/15 p. 31 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
Will people be resurrected if they do not accept true Christianity now and die before the start of the great tribulation?It is good for all of us to resist any inclination to act as judges, recognizing that in the final analysis, Jehovah’s judgment by means of Jesus Christ is what counts. (John 5:22; Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1) But the Scriptures do provide some helpful information in answer to the foregoing question.
Worldwide preaching of the good news of God’s Kingdom is a vital aspect of ‘the sign of Jesus’ presence.’ This sign has been in evidence since early in this century. The preaching work is resulting in a dividing of the people of all nations in fulfillment of Jesus’ illustration of "the sheep" and "the goats." With the completion of this preaching and dividing activity, the "great tribulation" will bring the present wicked system of things to an end.—Matthew 24:3, 21, 22; 25:31-46.
Jehovah, along with his Son, will judge whether any who reject the Kingdom message and die prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation are classed as goats. Jesus said that the goats "will depart into everlasting cutting-off." Therefore, we can conclude that those who are determined by God to be goats will not receive a resurrection. They have a judgment similar to that of those who "undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction" at the time of the great tribulation.—2 Thessalonians 1:9.
But what about those who may not seem to have been sufficiently exposed to the Kingdom message so as to have been able to make an intelligent choice for or against the truth before they died during these "last days"?—2 Timothy 3:1.
Many who die while the preaching work is in progress prior to the great tribulation will evidently receive a resurrection. This is indicated by what we read at Revelation 6:7, 8 concerning the ride of the symbolic horsemen. Many people have died as victims of wars, food shortages, and deadly plagues. Since it is "Hades" that claims these victims of "Death," they will be resurrected during Christ’s Millennial Reign, when Hades gives up all the dead in it. (Revelation 20:13) A number of those raised to life may have had some contact with the Kingdom message before they died.
How grateful we can be that Jesus did not leave it up to humans to determine who are like sheep and who are like goats! Imperfect humans cannot properly evaluate how much of an opportunity a certain person had to hear and accept the good news. Can we know what his heart condition was or whether he truly loved righteousness? Can we measure how much his response might have been affected by his family, his religious background, or other influences? Obviously not. Yet, we can be sure that Jehovah God and Jesus Christ can evaluate such matters and then reach judgments that are perfect, just, and righteous.—Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 11:1-5.
Hence, there is no reason for us to speculate about who among those who have died recently may or may not be resurrected. This is something we have not been authorized to do. (Compare Luke 12:13, 14.) It is far wiser for us to wait on the decisions of the righteous Judges, Jehovah God and Jesus Christ. This will give us more peace of mind as Jehovah’s servants. It will also help us to give better attention to what we have been assigned to do—‘go and make disciples of people of all the nations, teaching them to observe all the things Jesus commanded.’—Matthew 28:19, 20.
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oompa
Blondie posted a wt:
Hence, there is no reason for us to speculate about who among those who have died recently may or may not be resurrected. This is something we have not been authorized to do.
Thank you Blondie. That is what I thought. Does anyone remember a different teaching on this?....oompa
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Leolaia
The original view, as stated by Rutherford below in 1937, is that most of the dead would be resurrected:
*** w37 9/15 p. 287-288 Resurrection From Hell ***
The Scriptures therefore establish beyond a question of doubt that the billions of people who have died from Adam until now are dead, unconscious, and therefore know not anything. Is there hope that they shall live again? Yes. To provide for their living again is the very purpose of God's arrangement concerning man, and to give them hope is his purpose in bringing them to a knowledge of the truth. In his due time God will open the way for these billions of dead to live again....The billions of people who are dead and in their tombs will be awakened out of death for trial and judgment, and therefore the resurrection or bringing up of people to life in its fullness will be a gradual work.
But then he abandoned this view the following year when he published his controversial "Fill the Earth" article. Here he developed his view of Armageddon on the basis of the typology of Noah's Flood, and claimed that just as Noah and his family repopulated the earth after the Flood, so would the "great multitude" after Armageddon. This was the rationale behind the advice to put off marriage and childbearing until after Armageddon. But if the earth is going to be repopulated by the great multitude, then there wouldn't be room for the billions of dead that are supposed to be resurrected. So Rutherford decided that these would not be raised after all.
*** w38 10/15 p. 310-311 Fill the Earth ***
It has been argued by students of God's Word that Jehovah delayed the setting up of his kingdom under Christ Jesus for a long period of time, to wit, about 6,000 years, in order to allow a sufficient number of the human creatures to be born on the earth, live for a season and die, so as to have enough persons to bring back in the resurrection, restore them to human perfection, and therefore to comfortably fill the earth, and thus carry out God's purpose to "fill the earth". That argument is not supported by reason nor by the Scriptures. If the coming of the kingdom was delayed in order to furnish time for a sufficient number of persons to be born and die and be resurrected in order to "fill the earth," why, then, during all of that period of time would God permit the Devil to have full freedom to corrupt so many human creatures, make them hopelessly wicked and unworthy of a resurrection, and therefore beyond the privilege of recovery?....
By far the greater number of persons that have ever lived on the earth have been and are presumptuous and self-willed and constantly have defamed God's holy name. Is it at all reasonable to conclude that such shall be brought borth in the resurrection and be permitted to live on the earth and have aything to do with fulfilling the divine command? ... God does not force life upon any man, but, on the contrary, 'life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ' and to those only who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and shall serve God. Those who do not believe on the Lord shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on them. (Rom. 6:23; Acts 4:12; John 3:35, 36). Therefore the claim made that the coming of the kingdom has been delayed in order to permit a sufficient number of people to be born to "fill the earth" during the resurrection is entirely without reason and with no Scriptural authority or support thereof whatsoever....
So we find similar statements along these lines subsequently:
*** w38 12/15 pp. 378-379 Salvation ***
Religion turns the people away from God and dishonors his name. Such is the Devil's purpose in his futile attempt to carry out his wicked challenge to Jehovah. Religion is the means of putting fear into men's mind, and by this means millions of human creatures are led into the snare of Satan. Being there, they do not ask for the benefit of the ransom sacrifice, and there is no Scripture proof or other reason why they should ever be resurrected and receive the benefit thereof.
*** w39 12/15 p. 378 Lazarus Comforted ***
The twelfth chapter of Daniel, particularly the verses one and three, clearly refer to the "day of Jehovah", which began with the enthronement of Christ Jesus the King in 1914. Within that day the following text applies: ''And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' -- Dan. 12:2.
Clearly this text could not refer to the general resurrection of the dead during the reign of Christ. The wicked shall never have a resurrection. (Ps. 145:20). The offspring of the "great multitude" that turn to wickedness shall be annihilated. (Isa. 66:24) Neither could Daniel 12:2 refer to the awakening of the wicked at the end of the thousand-year reign. This prophecy of Daniel 12:2 clearly refers to the awakening of two classes, one class to a realization of their deplorable condition, which must be realized by them prior to Armageddon, and the other class awakened to an opportunity of life everlasting.
After Rutherford's death, the Society softened their position on the matter, cf. the 2/15/1945 Watchtower, p. 59. But it was the flurry of articles on the resurrection in 1964 and 1965 (cf. the 12/1 and 12/15/1964 Watchtower, and the 1/1, 1/15, 2/1, 2/15, 3/1, and 3/15/1965 issues of the Watchtower) that laid out in detail the JW doctrine in the resurrection. Here is Floyd Kite's reminiscence of this in his talk on "tests" in the organization:
In more recent times, just think of the readjustments we’ve made! Were you around in the truth in 1964, how many of you were in the truth in ’64? Okay.... that’s a goodly number. I have had the privilege down in San Jose to give a manuscript talk on the subject, “Out of the Tombs to a Resurrection.” It’s a very exciting talk. It’s about John 5:28-29 and it completely remapped our thinking about that scripture, that persons are resurrected good and bad alike, and the outcome of the resurrection -- whether it be to eternal life or to condemnatory judgment -- would be determined by the way they lived in the Millennium following their resurrection. Wow! That completely upset all the thinking. I can remember when that talk was over when we mingled in the crowd for the evening supper; that’s when we used to have cafeterias and suppers at night at the conventions and we went on until 9 o’clock at night, remember? Started at 9 in the morning and went through to 9 at night. We were in the cafeteria and everybody was abuzz! Good heavens, what does this mean? I said well, that’s all we had, that’s all that they released that time at the convention in verbal form. And then if you remember later in 1964, out began to come the Watchtowers on resurrection. Oh my. Each one got more shocking than the previous one. We found out that there were billions of people going to be resurrected, some people we had dead forever. Solomon... we had him planted very deeply, we found out he’s right near the surface and he’s going to come back in spite of having a thousand wives. Boy that shook up Jehovah’s people. We were serving congregations; congregations were in a turmoil over this thing. Why, the Sodomites, people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus said would rise up in the Judgment Day and would condemn that generation that lived in his day. Why, the people that went down in Sodom and Gomorrah, we said they were dead forever and some of them are coming back!
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Bonnie_Clyde
I remember it being emphasized that people who died at Armageddon would not get a resurrection, but up to that time everyone could be resurrected.
My uncle died in 1972, and I remember saying that it might have been blessing as we now had the hope of his resurrection which we wouldn't have had if he lived to 1975. Sick thinking....