by Vanderhoven7 35 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I know who won't be saved according to Witnesses and that includes just about everyone alive at Armageddon who is not a Jehovah’s Witness.
Others who are permanently lost include Adam and Eve, those who died in the flood, people of Sodom and Gomorrah and Apostates to their one true religion.
According to Jehovah's Witnesses teachings, who will be saved?
Heige Fauskanger writes:
Well, it’s a bit … complicated.
Ultimately, just who will be “saved” and gain eternal life supposedly normally won’t be decided before some point more than 1,000 years into the future! Yes, CE 3022 at the very earliest. Probably even later.
In Watchtower teachings, the current world order is about to be wiped out in Armageddon, God’s great war, and replaced by an earthly paradise where people will be frolicking with pandas and pet lions/tigers for a full millennium. Like this:
But — simply getting to live in the earthly paradise isn’t enough to secure permanent “salvation”, just a sort of necessary Step One. In Paradise, people will apparently finally learn the 100 % correct interpretation of the Bible (currently the Witnesses are still refining their doctrine after 140 years, so this is clearly a complicated matter), and the Paradisians will be raised to human perfection, physically and mentally.
But just reaching perfection isn’t the ultimate salvation, either. You must also make it through Step Two at the end of the 1,000-year program. Satan, who has been bound in the meantime, will be released by God and allowed to tempt the entire human race as it then exists to rebel against God. But this is really God’s way of weeding out the unworthy ones, who will then be eradicated forever, along with Satan himself. (Apparently Satan should stall his own execution by refusing to tempt anyone when he is released, thus derailing God’s plan, but the infinitely cunning Prince of Evil will somehow be too dumb to realize this. Doesn’t he read Watchtower literature, where everything is predicted in plain words, more than 1K years in advance?)
If you got through this Step Two alive, you are as “saved” as you will ever be in this religion, and you can potentially live on forever. (But of course, God will still eradicate you from the universe at once if you ever misbehave according to his standards, so don’t get any clever ideas.)
However, to even get to Step One you must first make it into the coming earthly paradise itself. Here there are essentially two options.
The world is burning and billions are dying. YAY! The happiest day of our lives!
This, more or less, is how you get saved, Watchtower fashion.
So Hitler gets a do over but am destroyed forever and forever.
Unless I kill myself.
There is a plot twist I never saw coming.
Awesome.
yep--summed up perfectly.
And to think i went along with that.....
You never know. They keep flip flopping about the men of Sodom. The light flashes on and off.
The Jobots are a really depressing cult.
Vanderhoven,
Yes it's pretty accurate.
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
If you think that JWs believe in the blood of Christ and a lot of don't them don't do the above things they can be credited with righteousness. For some reason they can't see that. If you deny the value of Christ sacrifice then you cannot be saved. The original teachings of JW are supporting that only through Christ's sacrifice our sins can be washed away.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
"I said to him, “My Lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them." Revelation 7:14-15
The revelation 7 also shows that the great crowd will be able to make it through the great tribulation and to stand before God only as a consequence of washing their robes in the blood of Christ and made righteous.
No unrighteous will make it to that point.
"And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them." Revelation 20:9
The ones that will be on earth at that point are considered saints.
"having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." Acts 24:15
Here also shows that will be people who will die as righteous before the day of judgement comes.
I will add something here to your summary. The JW teachings support that the 144000 of the heavenly class are credited with righteousness in this life but I can't see how other sheep will make it through the great tribulation or have a relationship with God through Jesus without being considered righteous.
As for the ones that didn't sin against the holy spirit meaning that they did not consciously rejected God after knowing him or deliberately rejected Him from the start, I can't tell they will not benefit from the resurrection in the Judgement day.
Only those ‘marked’ for salvation will survive into Jehovah’s new system. (Ezek. 9:2-6) (1987)
Other versions of this statement over the years:
The act of baptism is a vital part of “the mark” that identifies you for salvation.—Ezekiel 9:4-6.
As a result of his dedication and baptism, he becomes ‘marked’ for salvation.—Ezekiel 9:4-6.
This bold, public act is a vital part of the marking that identifies you for salvation!—Ezekiel 9:4-6; compare 1 Peter 3:2
Before long, he will want to take the step of Christian baptism, thus becoming approved by God and ‘marked’ for salvation.—Ezekiel 9:4-6.
Previously discussed here: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5069928626388992/what-does-wts-say-mark-survival-armaggeddon-baptism
The Faithful Slave reminds me of the false brethren from James making salvation dependent on circumcision. (Galatians 2) Unless you believe and follow the law you cannot be saved. Unless you believe and follow the appointed Slave and his dictates you will be destroyed. Faith in Jesus doesn't matter without the Slave.
What are people being saved from? I ask seriously and not facetiously.
Hi TBK
What are we saved from?
Short answer- lostness (Jesus came to seek and to save the lost...like in the prodigal son story)
Long answer - scripturally speaking:
a. The Greek scriptures talk about salvation in three tenses, past, present and future. Past and present salvation is identified by the term “justification” All Christian believers were and are justified.
Acts 13:39 KJV — And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Romans 5:1 KJV — Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV — And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
b. Those who are justified have been saved or delivered from the future wrath, from power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of Christ..
Romans 5:9 KJV — Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 KJV — And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Colossians 1:13 KJV — Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (note: Christ's kingdom existed in century one.)
c. Being saved or justified means we have been saved or redeemed by his blood which involves the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 3:24 KJV — Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Colossians 1:14 KJV — In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Colossians 2:13 KJV — And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
d. Being saved or justified is a grace gift of God, based on the believers ongoing faith in Christ's death and resurrection (not in an organization or a religion)
1 Corinthians 15:2 KJV — (the good News) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 1:18 KJV — For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Ephesians 2:8 KJV — For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2 Timothy 1:9 KJV — Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Titus 3:5 KJV — Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
e. Not only does justification mean that the believers sins are forgiven, but on the positive side, that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to all believers.
Romans 3:21-26 21 But now God has shown us His righteousness; the law and the prophets tell us about it...God's righteousness comes to all who believe, just by their believing in Jesus Christ. There is no distinction. All have sinned and are without God's glory. They become righteous by a gift of His love, by the ransom Christ Jesus paid to free them. God set Him up publicly to pour out His blood before God to take away sin through faith, to show His righteousness...Now He wanted to show His righteousness, to be righteous Himself and make righteous anyone who believes in Jesus. (Beck)
Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.
Romans 4:23-25 Now it was not written for his (Abraham's) sake alone, that it (righteousness) was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.
