Hello everyone,
sometime ago a friend of mine was very surprised when I did tell him about the many changes concerning the resurrection of the men from Sodom and Gomlorrah. He didn't want to accept just the statements i.e. YES/NO + publication + date, so to make him a much happier person I did send him this:
Having as the base of the reasoning, the 3 following 'dogmatic' statements from the WTBS Inc.
“The truth will not allow for all the different kinds of religious doctrine in the world…There can not be two sets of truth when one does not agree with the other. One or the other is true, but not both. Sincerely believing something and practicing that belief, will not make it right if it really wrong.”
--" You can live forever in Paradise on Earth", published 1982, page 32.
“If our worship is to be acceptable to God, it must be firmly rooted in God’s Word of truth. Jesus reproved those persons who claimed to serve God but who relied heavily on the tradit- ions of men in preference to God’s Word”
-" The Truth that leads to Eternal Life" published 1968 , page13
*** w60 7/15 439 Staying Awake with the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" ***
Again the awake world-watchman, the “slave” class, must undertake another world educational campaign following their restoration as witnesses after 1919. Such a global work has now been under way for more than forty years and is reaching its fruitful culmination. The facts show that during this time and up to the present hour the “slave” class has served as God’s sole collective channel for the flow of Biblical truth to men on earth. Just as the early Christian congregation collectively served as the channel of communication from heaven to earth, so in our time. (Eph. 3:10) Abundant spiritual food and amazing details as to the doing of God’s will have been flowing through this unique channel actually as a miraculous evidence of the operation of holy spirit.
Let's start with the WTBS Inc.'s own quotes, on the subject:
*Resurrection of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah
***1879
" The Zion's Watchtower" Reprints, July 1879, p. 7
"Christ's own words shall tell us that they are not as guilty in His sight as the Jews, who had more knowledge: 'Woe unto thee, Capernaum, for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained unto this day.' Thus Christ's own words teach us that they had not had their full opportunity. 'Remember,' Christ says of the Sodomites, that 'God rained down fire and destroyed them all.' So, if their restoration is spoken of, it implies their resurrection."
***1916
"The Divine Plan of the Ages" (SS-1) 1916 ed., p. 110
"And why should not the Sodomites have an opportunity to reach perfection and everlasting life as well as Israel, or as any of us?...Our Lord's own words tell us that although God rained down fire from heaven and destroyed them all because of their wickedness, yet the Sodomites were not so great sinners in his sight as were the Jews, who had more knowledge. (Gen. 19:24; Luke 17:29.)...Thusour Lord teaches that the Sodomites did not have a full opportunity; and he guarantees them such opportunity when he adds (verse 24), 'But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than forthee'...And if Capernaum and all Israel are to beremembered and blessed under the 'New Covenant,' sealed by the blood of Jesus, why should not the Sodomites also be blessed among 'all the families of the earth?' They assuredly will be."
***1952
"The Watchtower", June 1, 1952, p. 336
"Corroborating this is Jude 7, which states that these cities are 'placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.' (NW) 'Everlasting fire' symbolizes the same thing as Gehenna, namely, second death. The destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah must be final, or Jude would not have used it to illustrate the fate of those defilers for whom 'the blackness of darkness stands reserved forever'. (Jude 13, NW)
Jude 7 shows that those ancient cities had their judgment day back there at the time of their destruction, since they are spoken of as having already undergone an execution of judgment, 'the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.' By no wresting of scripture can this be made to mean a future resurrection for slain of the Lord. No remnant was saved from those cities,...If those slain by the Lord at Sodom have no resurrection, then those slain by him at Armageddon will have none, for the former pictures the latter."
***1.06.1952
"The Watchtower" , June 1, 1952, p. 338
"Another judgment period is brought into view when those championing resurrection for exterminated Sodomites quote Jesus' words on a certain occasion...From this some argue that there is a future judgment, in the millennial reign, for both Sodom and these Jewish cities. If we take this expression to mean that, then it would contradict Jude's statement that Sodom had already undergone the 'judicial punishment of everlasting fire.'"
***1.02.1954
"The Watchtower" , February 1, 1954, p. 85).
"He was pin-pointing the utter impossibility of ransom for unbelievers or those willfully wicked, because Sodom and Gomorrah were irrevocably condemned and destroyed, beyond any possible recovery"
***1.1.1965
*** w65 1/1 25 Worship the God of Resurrection ***
15 Today you can become his followers too, true Christians, and share in the preaching of God’s kingdom. Read the account in Matthew 11:20-24, and you will see what Jesus said about consequences. There he said that in the resurrection it will be much better for the people of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom, to whom Jesus never preached, than for those persons to whom Jesus did preach in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. It was in these cities that Jesus did many of his powerful works, but they did not repent and follow him. Now, when the resurrection takes place for all these people, as it will for the thief who heard Jesus say, “You will be with me in Paradise,” what is going to happen? Jesus gave the answer to those of Chorazin and Bethsaida: “It will be more endurable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day than for you.” And to those in Capernaum: “It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you.’—Matt. 11:22, 24.
16 It appears from Jesus’ statement that those of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom will repent and accept the provisions to gain life more quickly than will the Jews who had seen the powerful works that took place in their cities when Jesus was there with them.
***1.1.1965
*** w65 1/1 26 Worship the God of Resurrection ***
They do not want to be like the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, whose reforming after their resurrection will be more difficult than that of those coming back from Sodom and Gomorrah. Maybe, because of their stubborn disposition then when Jesus was on the earth nineteen hundred years ago, they will show an even worse disposition when raised from the dead and they will be more resentful of what is taking place.
***1.03.1965
*** w65 3/1 140 Who Will Be Resurrected from the Dead? ***
14 Lot was delivered from Sodom’s destruction, but he is not yet completely saved to everlasting life under God’s kingdom. He needs a resurrection to that end. Now notice, please, that 2 Peter 2:6 says that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was only a “pattern,” one that was full of instruction for godly Christians as to what would happen to them if they stayed faithful to Jehovah God and what was sure to happen to them if they followed a course like that of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
15 Were those Sodomites worse than the rest of the Canaanites? No; not according to Leviticus 18:21-28. And Peter does not say that the Sodomites and Gomorreans were destroyed everlastingly.
***1.08.1965
"The Watchtower", August 1, 1965, p. 479
"Since Jude 7 shows that Sodom and Gomorrah became a 'warning example by undergoing judicial punishment of everlasting fire,' does that not bar the inhabitants of those cities from a resurrection? -A. C.,
USA. Reading only that verse, without our taking into consideration what the rest of the Bible has to say on the matter, one might draw such a conclusion. But other scriptures present additional facts that cannot be ignored if we are going to arrive at a sound conclusions. For it to be 'more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah' than for others, it would be necessary for former inhabitants of that land to be present on Judgment Day...So apparently individuals who used to live in that land will be resurrected.--Rev. 20:12,13."
***1.07.1967
*** w67 7/1 409 Can Any War Be Wholly Just? ***
How will these, having been caught, be disposed of? Will they be preserved alive? Will they be killed and buried in Hades or Sheol, which is the common grave of dead mankind, from which resurrection is possible? No, these political organizations are slated to be “hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulphur.” This the Bible describes as the “second death.” (Rev. 20:14) It means the death from which there is no resurrection. They will be burned up root and branch, as completely gone forever as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which Jehovah God burned up by a rain of fire and sulphur from heaven, never to be rebuilt. It is destruction in Gehenna in which God destroys both body and soul (any right or possibility of living).—Matt. 10:28; Gen. 19:23-29; 2 Pet. 2:6-9; Jude 7.
***08.10.1974
*** g74 10/8 20 How God Has Actively Shown His Care ***
God’s dealing with Sodom and Gomorrah shows that he takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, but wants all to live, if they will just live respectfully toward their fellowman and in obedience to righteous principles. (Ezek. 33:11; Mic. 6:8) Moreover, God’s undeserved kindness and care are so great that he will bring back the people of Sodom by a resurrection, with opportunity to learn and turn around to the way of life, even as his Son stated.—Luke 10:11, 12; Matt. 11:24.
***08/1982
***"You can Live Forever ..." (pe)book (1982 edition)
[ page 179 , pars.9-11] ***
9 By saying this, Jesus showed that at least some of the unrighteous people of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah will be present on earth during Judgment Day. Although they had been very immoral, we can expect that some of them will be resurrected. (Genesis 19:1-26)”
***1.06.1988
*** w88 6/1 30-1 Questions From Readers ***
Do Jesus’ words at Matthew 11:24 mean that those whom Jehovah destroyed by fire in Sodom and Gomorrah will be resurrected?
In conscientiously responding to this question over the years, we have discussed Jesus’ words at Matthew 10:14, 15; 11:20-24; and Luke 10:13-15. A recent review of this suggests that these verses need not be taken as statements about the future for the people of Sodom/Gomorrah. Before we examine other Bible comments about the people destroyed in those cities, let us consider what Jesus said.
While in Galilee, Jesus “reproach[ed] the cities in which most of his powerful works had taken place, because they did not repent.” He named three: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! because if the powerful works had taken place in Tyre and Sidon that took place in you, they would long ago have repented . . . It will be more endurable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you perhaps be exalted to heaven? Down to Hades you will come; because if the powerful works that took place in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained until this very day. . . . It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you.” (Matthew 11:20-24) Jesus made similar statements when sending the 12 disciples out to preach, and later the 70.—Matthew 10:14, 15; Luke 10:13-15.
Prior to 1964, we took these verses to mean that the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum merited eternal destruction. However, Watchtower articles in 1964 and 1965 made it clear that all in Hades, or Sheol, (mankind’s common grave) will come forth in the resurrection and thereafter will be ‘judged according to their deeds.’—Revelation 20:13.
Those articles also reasoned: Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15 say that Capernaum would not be exalted to heaven but be brought “down to Hades,” which, at least, suggests debasement for the people of that city. In the same passage, Jesus mentioned ancient Tyre and Sidon. According to Ezekiel 32:21, 30, people of Sidon, who were condemned by God, went to Sheol. (Isaiah 23:1-9, 14-18; Ezekiel 27:2-8) Since Jesus paralleled Tyre/Sidon with Sodom, that indicated that the people of Sodom were in Sheol too.
A reexamination of Matthew 11:20-24, though, has brought into question whether Jesus was there discussing eternal judgment and resurrection. His point was how unresponsive the people in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were and how unlikely it was that they would reform even in the Judgment Day. Saying that it would be “more endurable” for Tyre/Sidon and Sodom/Gomorrah “on Judgment Day” was a form of hyperbole (exaggeration to emphasize a point) that Jesus need not have intended to be taken literally, any more than other graphic hyperboles that he used. For example:
“It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one particle of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled.” “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.” (Luke 16:17; 21:33; Matthew 5:18; compare Hebrews 1:10-12.) We know that the literal heavens and earth will never pass away. (Psalm 78:69; 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4) Jesus also said: “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) Certainly, Jesus did not mean that no rich man could ever become a disciple; some in the first century became anointed Christians. (1 Timothy 6:17-19) Jesus’ use of exaggeration was to stress how hard it is for a rich man to put God before material wealth and comforts.—Luke 12:15-21.
Hence, Jesus’ saying that it ‘would be more endurable on Judgment Day for Tyre or Sodom’ did not necessarily mean that those people will be present on Judgment Day. He could simply have been stressing how unresponsive and culpable were most in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. We say most because some in Capernaum did accept Christ. (Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38, 39) Yet, basically those cities rejected him. Some of their inhabitants, as with the scribes and the Pharisees, may even have sinned against the holy spirit, for which forgiveness is impossible even in the ‘system of things to come.’ Such individuals go to Gehenna.—Matthew 12:31, 32; 23:33.
Aside from Jesus’ words on the point, Ezekiel 32:21, 30 does tell us that pagan people of ancient Tyre/Sidon are in Sheol; so they are in line for a resurrection. What, then, about the inhabitants of “the land of Sodom on Judgment Day”? The mere fact that Jesus paralleled Sidon with Sodom does not establish the future prospects of those wicked ones whom God destroyed with sulfur and fire. But let us see what else the Bible says on the question.
One of the most pointed comments is in Jude 7. Jude had just spoken of (1) Israelites destroyed for lack of faith, and (2) angels who sinned and are ‘reserved with eternal bonds for the judgment of the great day.’ Then Jude wrote: “So too Sodom and Gomorrah . . . are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.” This text has been applied to the actual cities’ being destroyed everlastingly, not the people. However, in view of Jude 5 and 6, likely most people would take Jude verse 7 to mean a judicial punishment of individuals. (Similarly, Matthew 11:20-24 would be understood as criticizing people, not stones or buildings.) In this light, Jude 7 would mean that the wicked people of Sodom/Gomorrah were judged and destroyed everlastingly.
Looking elsewhere, we find it noteworthy that more than once the Bible links the Flood and Sodom/Gomorrah. In what context?
When asked about “the conclusion of the system of things,” Jesus foretold the coming “end” and a “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning.” (Matthew 24:3, 14, 21) He went on to speak of “the days of Noah” and what “occurred in the days of Lot” as being examples of people who took no note of warning about coming destruction. Jesus added: “The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30; compare Matthew 24:36-39.) Was Jesus illustrating just an attitude, or does the context in which he used these examples suggest that eternal judgments were involved?
Later, Peter wrote about God’s judgments and His punishing those deserving it. Then Peter used three examples: The angels that sinned, the ancient world of Noah’s time, and those destroyed in Sodom/Gomorrah. The latter, Peter said, ‘set a pattern for ungodly persons of things to come.’ (2 Peter 2:4-9) Thereafter, he compared the destruction that people suffered in the Deluge with the coming “day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.” That precedes the promised new heavens and new earth.—2 Peter 3:5-13.
Likewise, at the end of the present wicked system, will those whom God executes have had a final judgment? That is the indication of 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9: “It is righteous on God’s part to repay tribulation to those who make tribulation for you, but, to you who suffer tribulation, relief along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength.”
There is an interesting similarity in phraseology between this description and what Jude said occurred in the case of Sodom. Furthermore, Matthew 25:31-46 and Revelation 19:11-21 indicate that “the goats” cut off in the coming war of God will experience “everlasting cutting-off” in “the lake of fire,” which symbolizes permanent annihilation.—Revelation 20:10, 14.
Consequently, in addition to what Jude 7 says, the Bible uses Sodom/Gomorrah and the Flood as patterns for the destructive end of the present wicked system. It is apparent, then, that those whom God executed in those past judgments experienced irreversible destruction . Of course, each of us can confirm that by his proving faithful to Jehovah now. In that way we will qualify to be alive in the new world to see whom he resurrects and whom he does not. We know that his judgments are perfect. Elihu assured us: “For a fact, God himself does not act wickedly, and the Almighty himself does not pervert judgment.”—Job 34:10, 12.
***08/1988
*** "Revelation - Its Grand Climax at Hand! pub. 1988
*** re 273 38 Praise Jah for His Judgments! *
*[Box on page 273]
“Epistle to Sodom and Gomorrah”
"Jesus Christ also knew what he thought and stated it in explicit terms.
He said that it would be “more endurable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day” than for the religionists who spurned his message. (Matthew 11:23, 24)
Jesus was here using hyperbole to show that those religious leaders who rejected the Son of God and his teaching were even more reprehensible than the Sodomites.
Jude 7 states that those Sodomites underwent “the judicial punishment of everlasting fire,” meaning eternal destruction. (Matthew 25:41, 46)
***08/1988
*** "Insight on the Scriptures " Vol. I (published in 1988)
*** it-1 616 Destruction ***
Since Sheol in the Bible denotes the common grave of mankind from which there will be a resurrection, it is evident that not all destruction—not even all destruction at the hand of God—is necessarily eternal.
This is also illustrated by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their inhabitants. Jude indicated that these cities were everlastingly destroyed. (Jude 7; compare 2Pe 2:6.)
However, Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 10:15 show that at least some of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah will receive a resurrection. —See JUDGMENT DAY.
***08/1988
*** "Insight on the Scriptures " Vol. II (published in 1988)
*** it-2 985 Sodom ***
Jude mentions that “Sodom and Gomorrah . . . are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.” This would not conflict with Jesus’ statement about a Jewish city that would reject the good news: “It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than for that city.” Sodom and Gomorrah were everlastingly destroyed as cities, but this would not preclude a resurrection for people of those cities.—Jude 7; Mt 10:15; compare Lu 11:32; 2Pe 2:6.
***08/1988
*** "Insight in the Scriptures " Vol.1 (published in 1988)
*** it-1 985 Gomorrah ***
Though the cities underwent “the judicial punishment of everlasting fire” (Jude 7), Jesus indicated that people of Sodom and Gomorrah would experience a resurrection to stand for judgment. He contrasted them with a city that rejected his disciples in their preaching of the Kingdom good news, saying: “It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than for that city.”—Mt 10:7, 14, 15; see SODOM.
***08/1988
*** "Insight in the Scriptures " Vol.II (published in 1988)
*** it-2 137 Judgment Day ***
Resurrection is involved. When using the expression “Judgment Day,” Jesus brought into the picture a resurrection of the dead. He mentioned that a city might reject the apostles and their message, and said: “It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than for that city.” (Mt 10:15) This projected the matter into the future and naturally suggested that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah would then be alive by means of resurrection. (Compare Mt 11:21-24; Lu 10:13-15.)
***08/1989
"You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth "
( revised edition published in 1989)
*** pe 179 21 Judgment Day and Afterward ***
.
9 Will such terribly wicked persons be resurrected during Judgment Day? The Scriptures indicate that apparently they will not. For example, one of Jesus’ inspired disciples, Jude, wrote first about the angels that forsook their place in heaven to have relations with the daughters of men. Then he added: “So too Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them, after they in the same manner as the foregoing ones had committed fornication excessively and gone out after flesh for unnatural use, are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.” (Jude 6, 7; Genesis 6:1, 2) Yes, for their excessive immorality the people of Sodom and of the surrounding cities suffered a destruction from which they will apparently never be resurrected.—2 Peter 2:4-6, 9, 10a.
10 Jesus too indicated that the Sodomites may not be resurrected . When he spoke of Capernaum, one of the cities where he performed miracles, he said: “If the powerful works that took place in you [Capernaum] had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained until this very day. Consequently I say to you people, It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you.” (Matthew 11:22-24) Jesus here was emphasizing the reprehensibility of the people of Capernaum by saying that it would be more endurable for the ancient Sodomites who, in the minds of his Israelite audience, were totally unworthy of a resurrection on Judgment Day.
I'm sorry to tell you that my friend , wasn't so pleased, after all , as I would have imagined, and even less when I told him this:
*** w95 8/1 17 Taught by Jehovah Down Till This Day ***
13 Jehovah particularly teaches his people by means of a weekly study of the Bible, using The Watchtower as a teaching aid. Do you view this meeting as a place where you can be taught by Jehovah? "
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
"Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides " (Fedro, III, 8)