:On the other hand, those who are perfectly happy with the "heavenly" explanation need to explain Hebrews 11:39,40 (KJV): "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." If both groups have the same reward, how could the (anointed) Christians be said to have "some better thing"?
Very good reference. Of course, as you note, many persons of faith would be part of the heavenly class. This is also referenced where it says that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be sitting in the kingdom while the modern apostate sons of the kingdom would be excluded.
But what advantages the post-Pentecost Christians had was the gift of holy spirit that inducted them spiritiually into the heavenly class. That's the difference between those of old who died without holy spirit and those who were around after Pentecost.
But since Jesus and the anointed must be on the earth for the millennium and Judgment Day and they don't get their heavenly reward until after Death is finally destroyed and all the hard work is done on the earth and the last man is judged to have life or to be thrown into the lake of fire, the first phase of the the first resurrection which is only of the Bride Class is back into the flesh. Thus once these ancient ones return back into the flesh they can receive holy spirit and get anointed into the kingdom.
A simple illustration of this would be that of Lazarus who died before Pentecost. Had he not been resurrected and presumably lived until Pentecost, he would not have received holy spirit and would have been in the class of those who died before holy spirit induction into the Bride class. But by his being alive in the flesh after Pentecost he could receive holy spirit. Thus Abraham, Job and Daniel and others by being resurrected back into the flesh will experience the same scenario as Lazarus, only greatly delayed. Thus the only thing preventing the ancient ones from getting anointed with holy spirit is there being resurrected again just as Lazarus was. So that's why they are said to have an "earlier" and "better" resurrection than the majority of mankind who are not ressurected until the end of the millennium during Judgment Day, after Satan has been destroyed. Keep in mind that many of those coming back will be "righteous" since that resurrection is of both the righteous and unrighteous; thus some have already been written into the book of life, yet they still don't get the heavenly calling.
Therefore, for those references to these ancients ones coming back on the earth and ruling "as princes in the earth" (Psalms) they will rule in the earth along with all the other anointed first before going to heaven when all of them will receive their reward TOGETHER.
Thanks for this second reference, therefore, showing that all will get their heavenly reward at the same time, which is at the end of Judgment Day. So they will all be equal at that time. But there still is a critical difference between dying before Pentecost rather than after. Jesus says that those anointed into the kingdom, even the least of them attain a greatness in life more than those any who had died before, even the greatest of all of them, John the Baptist. But that didn't mean that John the Baptist after being resurrected would not join them in the heavenly reward.
Hope that explains things. Plus we both know the WTS is in the dark and in error on this point. They have been put into spiritual darkness by Jehovah who has dismissed them and cast them out of the kingdom. This is just more proof of that. You can understand this clear message and they are busy trying to get around the clear facts.
Thanks and God bless you for holding onto the truth.
L.G.
