To grasp what Paul is saying, we must first appreciate that the Bible sets out two destinies for faithful humans: (1) perfect life on a restored earthly paradise and (2) life in heaven for Christ?s "little flock," numbering 144,000. (Luke 12:32; Revelation 5:10; 14:1-3) Christendom teaches that all good people go to heaven, which unscriptural position has colored the general view, so that Jesus is considered a go-between for all such people. What, though, does the Bible indicate?
Blondie,
While your view of the legality of the New Covenant promise is good the views expressed in the above paragraph are not scriptural and will not be the destiny for humans, faithful or not. Your view in one form or another is shared by most of the world?s religions so the problem is common to the Christian faith and doctrinally held by most of them today.
There is some truth to the fact that there are two destinies for mankind at least in the early days of the New Covenant under Christ?s Kingdom. But there is no truth to the teaching that some will gain to life in some unknown place called heaven identified as the 144,000. The real teaching in scripture is that Christ will return here to this earth to rule in the flesh and all human beings that will attain to such life will live here at least for the duration of this Kingdom rule by Him.
It is not true that only faithful or true Christians will attain to immortal life with Christ in this Kingdom. Anyone that is resurrected by Christ for any reason good or bad to be included in this Kingdom will be an immortal human being at such a time. The human Christ that will return then will be an immortal human being and everyone will have a body just as His in this Kingdom. The problem is not with such immortality as some teach but with something called ?justification,? or ?life in yourselves,? which is also called ?saved? by many. Not everyone raised to such immoral life will be ?justified? and they will have to pass a final test before such a pronouncement can be made regarding them. True Christians will be and/are classified as saved and serve as priests in this Kingdom to help such ones, this much is true. Yet others not receptive to them will in time be identified symbolically as enemies of the faith or ?Gog and/or Magog? as the scriptures put them and will perish along with Satan and his brood during this time of judgment. Thus we have all this confusion about two destinies for us and the mistaken notion that a few from among mankind will become non-human creatures in direct contradiction to the creation and redemption of humankind by this human being we know as Jesus Christ.
Joseph