The May 1, 2005 WT said this:
After Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, a rebellion broke out
in the wilderness. Moses told the people to separate themselves from the
ringleaders--Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They would die violently. Moses
explained: "If it is according to the death of all mankind that these people w
ill die and with the punishment of all mankind that punishment will be
brought upon them, then it is not Jehovah that has sent me. But if it is
something created that Jehovah will create, and the ground has to open its
mouth and swallow up them and everything that belongs to them and they have
to go down alive into Sheol, you will then know for certain that these men
have treated Jehovah disrespectfully." (Numbers 16:29, 30) So whether by the
earth opening and swallowing them or by fire consuming them as in the case
of Korah and the 250 Levites who sided with him, all these rebels ended up
in Sheol, or Hades. -Numbers 26:10.
Blurb on page 15: Like Abraham, those who go to Sheol are in line for a
resurrection
The WTS has always presented Korah, Abiram and Dathan and their supporters as being apostates.
w91 4/15 p. 31 Beware of Apostates! ***
The bad examples of Cain, Balaam, and Korah were followed by the ungodly men. They posed a spiritual threat comparable to rocks hidden below water and were like waterless clouds and dead, uprooted trees producing nothing beneficial. Those apostates were also murmurers, complainers, and ‘admirers of personalities for the sake of their own benefit.’
Sounds like apostates go to Sheol now.
Blondie
I have noticed that the WTS is trying to appear less judgmental than they have in the past, at least on the surface. What they say behind the scenes could be and has been very different in the past.