Free Will in Paradise Earth

by FaithfulBrother 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  FaithfulBrother

  I was raised in a Witness family but never got baptized. I have been studying with an extended family member for a while after 20+ years of being away from the Kingdom Hall. I asked them about the paradise earth after Armageddon and if we will become robots if we survive. In other words, will we be able to think for ourselves as long as we dont question anything God tells us to do. This family member told me that we we still have complete free will, and that anyone who questions God after Armageddon while in Paradise Earth will immediately be destroyed.

  So I said, "But I thought that the Bible says, 'Death will be no more,'" and she told me that this scripture is only referring to the First Death. But the Second Death will remain and basically, for eternity, there will still be people living in Paradise Earth that still have complete free will, and if they choose to rebel, they will immediately be subjected to the Second Death.

  Anyone else heard of this? Or were you told that after we make it to Paradise Earth we will suddenly no longer have free will and will only think thoughts that Jehovah allows us to think?
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  InterestedOne

  I asked a similar question when I did a JW study. Mine was, "what happens if someone disobeys Jehovah in the Paradise Earth?" The other JW, not the conductor, said "they get zapped!" The conductor didn't correct him, so I assume he agreed.

  The logic goes something like this: Right now, Jehovah doesn't zap disobedient people immediately because a long-standing question of who is better-suited to govern humans, themselves or Jehovah, has yet to be fully settled and demonstrated to the angels. He is currently allowing humans to govern themselves and mess everything up. Eventually he will step in and say "enough" and put an end to all the messed-up stuff. In the meantime, he is building a small group of dedicated followers, JW's, who want to live under his rulership as part of his New World Society.

  People will be instantly destroyed in the Paradise Earth if they disobey because the question of who is fit to rule will have already been settled. There will be no reason to delay the killing of the disobedient ones at that point.

  Why they think there is any reason to believe this story, I have no idea.
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  ldrnomo

  The understanding when I stopped going, 4 years ago was:

  When paradise is established there will be a thousand years of life without Satan and his demons, they will be abyssed (I don't think that's a word in the dictionary but it made sense to me). Then Satan and his boys will be released from the abyss for one last attempt at tempting humans. Satan and the boys will be somewhat successful because the ones retaken by Satan will number as the grains of sand. Then, Satan, his boys, and all those tempted will be destroyed by God. The rest, still alive, have free will but without the wicked temptations. They will be educated about what just happened, God's sovereignty and all that, and they will just toe the line evidently (to use a phrase the bORG often uses in their propaganda) because they know if they don't they will be ZAPPED.

  So the question

  Is it really free will if they know the consequence of their decision is total annihilation?

  To what extent is free will really free?
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  Disillusioned Lost-Lamb

  I've always thought, if it's between being a robot in paradise or having a life in this world,

  I choose this world.
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  Flat_Accent

  It's quite simple really. God ethnically cleanses the earth of people that disagree with him, and then in the paradise, he selects individuals with traits he admires eg. stupid, gullible, submissive, and allows them to live, but other people with bad traits eg. skeptical, reasoning, rebellious he eliminates and doesn't allow them to procreate. A kind of 'artificial selection' if you will. Don't look too much into that, though. It could stumble your faith!
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  LostGeneration

  This is a topic I love because it truly shows the absurdity of Paradise Earth.

  Assume everyone who makes it past the "final test" start enjoying life in their khaki pants and sundresses. How long until they get bored?

  10,000 years?

  100,000 years?

  1,000,000 years?

  I mean eventually somebody is gonna get tired of the panda bear and fruit platter routine. They are cultivate some weed, or have some unapproved sex, or start a for-profit business, or reinvent electricity or any number of things that aren't allowed in "Paradise Earth"

  Then what? Does Jah kill them off? How is that gonna feel to your surviving family members, when you get killed off because you simply got bored after thousands and thousands of years and wanted to do something different.

  Free will can't exist in the JW paradise.
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  InterestedOne

  How is that gonna feel to your surviving family members, when you get killed off

  Remember they have defined away that problem. See, if everyone is always happy in Paradise Earth, Jehovah will find a way to make sure they don't feel any sadness from something like a loved-one being killed. Same thing with getting bored. They can define that away too. Jehovah will find a way to make sure the Kingdom Citizens don't get bored. When you define Jehovah to be able to do anything, the Paradise Earth experience can be anything you want to make it.
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  sir82

  Yeah, that's sort of the whole problem with "free will" - it's only "free" if you do what is expected of you.

  It's just like if a robber holds a gun to your head and says "your money or your life". You have the freedom to not hand over your money. Of course, you won't live to tell about it, but it was still your choice.