Christianity outside of the Watchtower, and even shared by some Evangelistic Fundamentalists (some Pentecost churches for example, of which my father was one), is that there is a resurrection of the physical body at the end of history or time.
To translate that for those of us who are from a JW background, this means that what Christendom has always generally always believed is that the immortal soul is NOT the end of result of humans after they die. As both the Apostle Creed and the Nicene Creed teach, there will be a resurrection of everyone’s physical body, a time when the souls of people will be reunited with the same type of body Christ had upon being resurrected. This resurrection is called “the resurrection of the just and unjust” (“righteous and unrighteous”) both inside and outside the Bible. (Luke 14:14; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20: 4, 5) For them—Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants—this is the meaning behind Jesus words at John 5:28-29: “The hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice and come out: those who did good things to a resurrection of life, and those who did wicked things to a resurrection of judgment.”
Before continuing, I stress that sharing the upcomng information should not be confused with my advocating believing it or as declaring that the following represent my personal convictions.
The Watchtower Has Its Own Dictionary When It Comes to Resurrection and Body
As those outside of Watchtower influence understand it, the Greek word “anastasis” (where the name Anastasia comes from) refers to a corporeal body standing up again after it has been struck down by death. Like the Hellenists of the apostle Paul’s day, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t really understand the word as it applies to Scripture or eschatological theology. The Hellenist religion held that all had an immortal soul that lived on in this state of spirit for eternity after death. The Romans even burned the bodies of their dead because they thought it was all over for the flesh. When Paul talked about the resurrection of Jesus, implying that it was guaranteed for all who believed in the “Unknown God,” the Greeks mocked him. Why bring the soul back into the body? The body was weak in their minds, and most had been burned to ashes after death. Why would any soul need to “stand up again” after death?—Acts 17:32
Christianity is the religion of a resurrection of the body—for everyone, good and evil. This is called Judgment Day in their theology. They thus read all Scriptural references of Judgment Day with this picture in mind. Good and evil people are reunited with their soul in physical bodies that far exceed the reach and ability our frail bodies have today. Bodily resurrection is NOT a reward in the eyes of Christians, but the next stage in human development after the current era of affairs ends at Armageddon.
But to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and their theology, a resurrection IS a reward. And for the Witnesses there can be a resurrection to life as a spirit as well as to a corporeal one.
This belief, we all know, is very problematic. As noted above and in other parts of Scripture, evil doers are spoken of as being raised from the dead. This makes no sense at all to the Witness and his/her theology. That is why the Governing Body has gone back and forth so many times regarding the question : Will the people destroyed at Sodom and Gomorrah receive a resurrection? To Christians the answer is simple. To those who believe resurrection is a reward, there is only confusion.
God Gets “Stuck”
Also, the word “resurrection” is linked to the word “body,” both words in Greek and in Christian theology relating strictly and exclusively to the corporeal. Not only has the caused a confusing JW interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul uses the term “natural body” in contrast to there being a “spiritual” one (something he would not have to do if it was apparent that spirits had bodies—and this has proved to be the most difficult point to explain to new ex-JWs after leaving the Watchtower because they cannot conceive the no-spirit-body concept). This has caused the paradox of having to invent a theology of a “body for Jehovah.”
According to Christians, spirits don’t have bodies, but JWs teach they do, such as in the old Live Forever book that explained that since God can change his mind, then God must have a spirit brain, and this spirit brain would have to live in something, and thus God must have a spirit body. God thus cannot be omnipresent because he is thus reduced to being stuck in time and space like the Witnesses themselves. This causes many problems when one tries to reason how someone limited by time and space can predict or foresee things.
Paradise Earth Not Unique...Unless You’re Not Educated Enough to Read
As for Christendom, they have taught that after the bodily resurrection the final judgment occurs. The “spiritual” body that Paul teaches of in 1 Corinthians becomes a reality, a corporeal body governed by supernatural or spiritual power. For the faithful this means life in a “new heavens and new earth” arrangement. With the earth and the entire physical universe transformed, the realities of heaven and earth become one, and as Revelation states, instead of people leaving earth to live with God, God comes down to dwell with humankind. Exactly how this works they don’t know or even theorize to the extent the Witnesses do. But they do hope in these promises, unlike the claim the Watchtower makes when it lies to people saying that only they believe in a paradise earth for the future. Anyone with enough of a mind to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church can see that such a hope (as highlighted in the ancient creeds) has been held out for over 2,000 years. Even the Pentecostal church my father belonged to taught the very same thing. (What the Witnesses teach is neither new or unique as they often claim.)--Catechism of the Catholic Church 1042-1056. See also "What Will Our Resurrected Bodies Be Like?"
But What the hell About Hell?
And while this would also mean that the new physical resurrected body would also be doomed to suffer in Hell, one must forget the JW teachings on what Christendom believes about eternal judgment. Except for a few Fundamentalists, the “fire and brimstone” are symbolic of what life with love and human contact must be like. Hell is the condition of living with God, and thus without anything that reflects God-like qualities. One thus doesn’t experience other persons or demons or light or enlightenment or anything else.
One must also understand that Christians teach that they cannot say for certain if anyone is or will ever exist in Hell. As far as they know it is a radical possibility for those who do not get saved by God, but since salvation depends on the justice and mercy of this Judge who is Love personified, it is also a possibility that no one may ever eventually exist there. Possible? Yes. Will it be? Only God knows. The things that the Watchtower teaches that other religions believe about Hell does not represent current Christian eschatology, even for most Evangelical Fundamentalists who have a strict sola scriptura approach to theology.
To understand how and why Christian eschatology holds that there is a judgment after death, one has to be willing to let go of the Witness teachings. This includes the Governing Body’s interpretation and use of texts such as Hebrews 9:27. A second chance after death? The JWs say yes for those on earth but no if you go to heaven. That is confusing if you try to apply what they teach, doesn't it?
