—REVIEW—
The present members of the Governing Body have devalued and restricted the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ by denying that Jesus by his death bought all the descendants of Adam and that each one must get a personal chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. They claim that a great part of Adam’s descendants will be eternally annihilated in Armageddon without having had this chance. This includes the 8 billion+ who are living when the great tribulation comes, and who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In the 20th century, the view of the Watchtower literature consistently was that Jesus by his death made a ransom sacrifice for all Adam’s descendants. (1 Timothy 2:6) At present, the view of the Governing Body is that Jesus did not die for all Adam’s descendants, but for all sorts of Adam’s descendants, for those who will be saved.
If Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants, all of them must have a chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. By reducing the numbers of those who will be resurrected, against the view of the 20th century, even explaining away the words of Jesus that the inhabitants of Sodom, Chorazin, Capernaum, and Bethsaida will get a resurrection, the present members of the Governing Body have devalued and restricted the ransom sacrifice. Their teachings imply that not all of Adam’s descendants will get the chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. The doctrines of the present members of the Governing Body regarding the ransom sacrifice and the resurrection are false teachings.
An important point in the discussion below is that The Christian Greek Scriptures mention only one group that will be eternally annihilated, namely those who have sinned against the holy spirit. This includes 1) those who directly have acted in opposition to the holy spirit, as some Pharisees and scribes did, and 2) Christians who, by their word or their actions, have discarded the ransom sacrifice.
No passage in the Christian Greek Scriptures says that ignorant persons or persons who are wicked, because they are ignorant, will be eternally annihilated, as the members of the Governing Body claim.
1 Timothy 2:6 says that the ransom is for “all” (pas) while Matthew 20:28 says that the ransom is for “many” (polys). I show that both Greek words refer to all the descendants of Adam.
In Romans 6:7, Paul shows that a person’s death acquits him of all his previous sins. This means that those who receive a resurrection will be judged according to what they do on Judgment Day, which is 1,000 years long, will not be judged for what they did before they died.
Wrong actions based on inherited sin can be forgiven. But sin against the holy spirit cannot be forgiven. Both the Pharisees and Scribes and the inhabitants of Chorazin, Capernaum, and Betsaida heard the preaching of Jesus and saw his miracles, and they rejected him. Some of the Scribes and Pharisees sinned against the holy spirit, while the inhabitants of the mentioned cities will get a resurrection.
Most of the people who have lived have not had the opportunity to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. Therefore, they will have a resurrection to get this chance on Judgment Day.
Five articles that discuss the ransom sacrifice and how it has been devalued and restricted will be published:
Article I shows that Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants and bought them all.
Article II shows how the members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses have devalued and restricted the resurrection.
Article III shows that in spite of the article in the Watchtower of May 2024 where the members of the Governing Body plead ignorance as to the destiny of some people, they still believe that 8 billion+ humans will be eternally annihilated in Armageddon.
Article IV analyzes the scriptures used by the members of the Governing Body to prove that billions of people will be eternally annihilated.
Article V shows that the nations of the earth whom the members of the Governing Body believe will be eternally annihilated, have not been eternally annihilated because they are present during the thousand-year-reign of Jesus Christ.
INTRODUCTION
Jesus Christ is the kingpin of the Christian Greek Scriptures, and most of the material directly or indirectly points to him. Many of the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures also relates to him, as we see in Revelation 19:10 (above) and Acts 10:43 (below):
10 “Worship God; for the bearing witness to Jesus is what inspires prophesying.”
43 To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone putting faith in him gets forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Most important for us are the words of Peter in Acts 10:43 that everyone putting faith in him gets forgiveness of sins. It is with great sadness I see that the members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the religion that I love, have repudiated the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ
THE CORRESPONDING RANSOM OF JESUS CHRIST
One of the basic doctrines of the Bible Students in the time of Russell and of Jehovah’s Witnesses is the doctrine of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But sad to say, in recent years, this doctrine has been devalued and restricted. One way the members of the Governing Body have done this is by saying that Jesus died for “many” but not for “all.”
The two main passages in the Christian Greek Scriptures dealing with the ransom sacrifice of Jesus are Matthew 20:28 (above) and 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 (below).
28 Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom (lytron) in exchange (anti) for many (polys).”
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a corresponding ransom (antilytron) for all (pas)—this is what is to be witnessed to in its own due time.
The Greek word antilytron is correctly translated by the expression “corresponding ransom,” which means that the ransom had exactly the same value as that which was sold. And this value was the perfect human life of Jesus corresponding to the perfect human life of Adam. In Matthew 20:28, the Greek word lytron without the prefixed preposition anti is used. However, this preposition anti is immediately following lytron as lytron anti, so the idea of a “corresponding ransom” is also expressed in Matthew 20:28.
In 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 we read about “the corresponding ransom for all (pas),” but in Matthew 20:28 we read about “a ransom in exchange for many (polys).” Is there a difference in meaning here between “all” (pas) and “many” (polys)?
According to Mounce, the meaning of polys is “great in magnitude or quantity, much, large, many.” It is important to note that polys and pas may view the same situation from two different angles, and the two words do not exclude each other. Romans 5:15 illustrates the issue. Paul uses the word polys (“many”) both for all the descendants of Adam who will die and for all that are included in the ransom sacrifice:
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by one man’s trespass many (polys) died, how much more did the undeserved kindness of God and his free gift by the undeserved kindness of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to many (polys)!
The meaning of the expression “many died” (aorist active) is seen in verse 17 where we read, “for if by the trespass of one man death ruled as king through that one.” All Adam’s offspring were subjugated to death, and all these are referred to as “many” in verse 15. The Watchtower of August 1, 1973, page 465, has some interesting comments on the use of the word polys:
9 This teaching of the ransom brings to our attention two families—the family of Adam and the family of Jesus Christ. Both families are described as being “many.” (Rom. 5:15) There is no special requirement for becoming one of Adam’s sinful family. All are born into it by the natural procreative process. But, concerning what Jesus did, it is written: “For even the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28) How “many”? As we have already seen, he gave himself “a corresponding ransom for all.” He tasted death “for every man.” (1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Heb. 2:9) During the past six thousand years, Adam’s family has multiplied into the billions. Christ purchased them all.
On the background of the words of Paul, we see that polys (“many”) in Matthew 20:28 does not refer to a group that is less in number than “all,” but it refers to all Adam’s descendants.
THE RANSOM SACRIFICE INCLUDES ALL ADAM’S DESCENDANTS
I have looked at all references to Matthew 20:28 and 1 Timothy 2:6 in the Watchtower Online Library for the 20th century, and the same viewpoints have been presented: The ransom sacrifice means that Jesus by his death bought all descendants of Adam, but according to John 3:36, only those who “exercise faith in Jesus” will get everlasting life on the basis of the ransom sacrifice. Most descendants of Adam will get the opportunity to “exercise faith in Jesus” after their resurrection on Judgment Day. The view in the Watchtower literature was also consistent that the “many” in Matthew 20:28 and the “all” in 1 Timothy 2:6 refer to all the descendants of Adam. Below I bring some quotations to that effect:
The Watchtower of April 15, 1972, page 237, says:
18 Jesus knew that he had to die as a man. Otherwise, he could not become a ransom sacrifice for all mankind. To his twelve apostles he said: “The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28) To this end he must die innocent, the righteous for the unrighteous. He must sacrifice his human life forever and let its value go in behalf of all mankind. He died without children, and nobody on earth can claim natural descent from Jesus Christ. He sacrificed his perfect human life and parenthood as a corresponding ransom for all mankind.
Awake! of September 22, 1973, page 8, says:
But not all of Adam’s offspring are of the same mind as was Adam. Many of these do have a love of righteousness, and yet, seemingly, they are no better off than Adam. But not so; there will be a difference and that is because of God’s provision of a resurrection. God in his goodness provided that his Son should ransom humankind that had been sold, as it were, to sin and death by the disobedience of Adam. (Rom. 5:12) This Jesus did by coming to earth, being born as a human and then laying down his life for humankind. By thus purchasing the human race, Jesus opened the way for removal of the legal disability resting upon mankind and now he has the right to raise mankind from death.—Matt. 20:28; 28:18.
The Watchtower of April 1, 1974, page 200, says:
Christ Jesus provided this. As he himself said: “The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28) Since our first father, Adam, lost for us perfect human life, Christ Jesus ransomed what Adam lost, doing so for the human race, thereby opening the way for them to regain perfect life. He did this by paying over his own perfect human life as an exchange of equal value. Yes, “one man died for all,” a fact made possible because he was a perfect man, born on earth by God’s power, his life having been transferred from heaven to the womb of the virgin girl Mary.—2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Luke 1:34, 35.
The Watchtower of March 15, 1990, page 4, says:
Jesus came “to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Mark 10:45) But who are the “many”? Adam is evidently excluded because he was a perfect man who deliberately chose to disobey God and died as an unrepentant, willful sinner. But what about his large family, numbering into the thousands of millions? With a corresponding price, Jesus Christ offsets the inherited condemnation resting on Adam’s family.(Compare 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.) In behalf of the “many” believers, Jesus applies the merit of his redemptive price.
The Watchtower of March 15, 2000, page 3, says:
When Adam sinned and was sentenced to death, his as yet unborn offspring were still in his loins and therefore died with him. The perfect man Jesus, “the last Adam,” willingly did not produce a family. (1 Corinthians 15:45) He had unborn offspring in his loins when he died as a perfect human sacrifice. Therefore, it might be said that the potential human race within his loins died with him. Jesus took Adam’s sinful, dying family as his own. He gave up the right to have a family of his own. By sacrificing his perfect human life, Jesus repurchased all mankind descended from Adam so that they could become His family, making Him their “Eternal Father.”—Isaiah 9:6, 7.
The quotations above show that the view during the 20th century was that Jesus bought all Adam’s descendants by his death.
THE DEVALUATION OF THE RANSOM SACRIFICE
The focus of this study is how Jehovah God views all the descendants of Adam and whether each one of them will get the chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. The quotations in the previous section show that the answer to this question is Yes. All Adam’s descendants are bought by Jesus, and each individual must get a personal chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. However, the first small hint of a negative answer of which I am aware is found in Insight on the Scriptures (1988), volume II, page 791:
Some Not Resurrected. While it is true that Christ’s ransom sacrifice was given for mankind in general, Jesus indicated that its actual application nevertheless would be limited when he said: “Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Mt 20:28)
The quotation says that “the ransom sacrifice was given for mankind in general.” And this accords with the views of the 20th century that I have quoted above. But the new view is that the word “many” (polys) in Matthew 20:28 may not refer to all Adam’s descendants. And The Watchtower of July 15, 2014, page 30, argues that the word “many” only refers to those who will benefit from the ransom, and it does not refer to all Adam’s descendants. This is a devaluation of the ransom sacrifice because it implies that it was only given for those who will be saved.
As Jesus explained, he came, “not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28) The “many” who would benefit from Jesus’ ransom were not to be limited to repentant Jews. Rather, it is God’s will that “all sorts of people should be saved,” since the ransom “takes away the sin of the world!”—1 Tim. 2:4-6; John 1:29.
This new view is also expressed in the online article “Bible questions answered,” page 104:
Correspondence. Jesus’ sacrifice corresponds exactly to what Adam lost—one perfect human life. (1 Corinthians 15:21, 22, 45, 46) The Bible says: “Just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one person [Jesus Christ] many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19) This explains how the death of one man can pay the ransom for many sinners. In fact, Jesus’ sacrifice is “a corresponding ransom for all” those who take the steps necessary to benefit from it.—1 Timothy 2:5, 6.[1]
The conclusion of “Bible questions answered” is that “the corresponding ransom for all” only is for those “who take the steps necessary to benefit from it.” This means that the word “all” in 1 Timothy 2:6 now has the restricted meaning of “many.” The study note in the online NWT13 of 1 Timothy 2:4 confirms this new view:
all sorts of people: While the Greek expression used here may more literally be translated “all people,” the rendering “all sorts of people” is appropriate because of the context. (For other examples, see study notes on Joh 12:32; Ac 2:17.) God wants all people “to attain to repentance” (2Pe 3:9), so he impartially offers salvation to everyone, regardless of their gender, ethnic background, financial status, or social position. (Mt 28:19, 20; Ac 10:34, 35;17:30) However, the Scriptures clearly indicate that many people will reject God’s invitation and will not be saved. (Mt 7:13, 21; Joh 3:16, 36; 2Th 1:9) So the rendering “all sorts of people” is in harmony with those verses. A similar rendering is also appropriate in the preceding verses, where Paul urges fellow Christians to pray “concerning all sorts of men, concerning kings and all those who are in high positions.”—1Ti 2:1, 2.
If pas in 1 Timothy 2:6 means “all kinds of,” as the footnote suggests, and the text is “who gave himself as a corresponding ransom for all sorts of people,” and these words refer to “those who take the step necessary to benefit from it,” what is the meaning of the expression “corresponding ransom.”? Was it “all sorts of people” Adam sold when he sinned, or was it “all people? What do “all sorts of people” correspond to? This question shows the fallacious logic behind this new view. Table 1.1 shows that the present members of the Governing Body do not believe that the sacrifice of Jesus is “a corresponding ransom” even though they say that they believe this.
Table 1.1 A corresponding and a non-corresponding ransom
A corresponding ransom: | Adam sold himself and his unborn descendants under sin — Jesus bought Adam and all his descendants by giving up his life. |
A non-corresponding ransom: | Adam sold himself and his unborn descendants under sin — Jesus bought all sorts of Adam’s descendants, those who will be saved, by giving up his life. |
The truth is, as the quotations above from the Watchtower literature until the year 2000 show: Adam sold all his descendants under sin, and Jesus bought all the descendants of Adam with his sacrifice. He did not only die for those who will be saved, but he died for all Adams descendants.
I do not hesitate to say that this new view of the Governing Body is a false teaching because it devalues and restricts the ransom sacrifice. |
I suspect that this new view was formed to support the view that eight billion+ humans will be eternally annihilated in Armageddon. If these persons are bought by the sacrifice of Jesus, they must have a personal chance to accept or reject the sacrifice. Such a chance is given when people is being taught about it and being offered the ransom sacrifice, as Romans 10:13-17 shows.
However, as I will demonstrate below, most of the persons who live when the great tribulation starts, will not have had the mentioned personal chance to accept the ransom sacrifice. This means that these people cannot be eternally annihilated if they are bought by Jesus. But if the “corresponding ransom” only includes those who will be saved, all the others need not get a personal chance and can be eternally annihilated.
Let us now return to the study note of 1 Timothy 2:6, looking at it from a linguistic point of view. At the end of the study note we read:
For all: Or “all sorts of people,” —Mt 20:28; Joh 3:16; see study note on 1Ti 2:4.
The Greek word pas has the following meanings: “all, every, all sorts of; all kinds of, all other.” The word can refer to universality, to every individual of a group, or to every kind or sort of something. The word can also refer to “all other” as in Luke 21:29 where Jesus speaks of the fig tree and all other (pas) trees.
The procedure followed by Bible translators is to use the basic meaning of a word if the context does not show a more restricted meaning. In connection with some of the references in the study note of 1 Timothy 2:4, this principle is followed. According to John 12:32, Jesus will not draw “all men” to himself but “all sorts of men.” And according to Acts 2:17, God will not pour out his spirit of “all flesh” but on “all sorts of flesh.”
The basic meaning of pas is “all; every,” and the other alternative meanings mentioned above are specialized meanings that rarely occur. A Bible translator should only use the specialized meaning when the context clearly indicates this meaning.
EXCURSUS OF THE MEANING OF PAS IN THE LETTERS TO TIMOTHYA list of all the occurrences of pas in 1 Timothy follows:
I have written pas in red where I take the meaning to be “all,” and in 6:10, the only place where I see the meaning “all sorts of,” these words are written in yellow. I make some comments in connection with particular occurrences. The translators of NWT13 have “all sorts of people” in the last occurrence of pas in 2:1. There is nothing in the context indicating that the basic meaning “all” of pas should not be used. The reason for the prayers is that Christians should “go on leading a quiet and calm life.” Because of this, Paul exhorts Timothy to pray for “kings and all those who are in high positions” because these have the power to influence the life of the Christians. But because kings and persons in high positions are mentioned, will that not support the translation, “all sorts of”? No. We can compare this verse with the use of pas in 2 Timothy 1:15. Paul says that, “all the men in the province of Asia turned away from me.” Does the word “all” refer to every person in the province of Asia? No, it refers to persons in the province of Asia in the Christian congregations there. In a similar way, Paul exhorts Timothy to pray for “all men,” not all men in the whole world but all men who have the power to cause or prevent the Christians “leading a calm and quiet life.” But what about Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:4?
We can illustrate the issue in the following way: Is it God’s will that some people will not be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of the truth? That is, of course, not God’s will. He wants that all people shall be saved, and that was the reason why he sent Jesus to the earth to buy “all Adam’s descendants.” This means that the rendering “all sorts of people” does not have any support in the textual context or in the doctrine about the ransom sacrifice. |
Please consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:10-14:
10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11 ——12 “What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the 99 on the mountains and set out on a search for the one that is straying? 13 And if he finds it, I certainly tell you, he rejoices more over it than over the 99 that have not strayed. 14 Likewise, it is not a desirable thing to my Father who is in heaven for even one of these little ones to perish.
Jesus speaks about a person who has strayed from God’s truth, and his words show that God cares for this person and does not want anyone to perish. Jehovah is not only interested in persons who have strayed from the truth. But Peter shows that he wants all people in the world to gain salvation. We read in 2 Peter 3:9:
Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.
In The Watchtower of August 1, 1970, page 472, we read:
The inspired apostle John wrote that “God is love,” and the apostle Paul states that love “hopes all things.” (1 John 4:8; 1 Cor. 13:4, 7) It is in harmony with this outstanding divine quality that God should exercise a genuinely open, kindly attitude toward all persons, desirous of their gaining salvation, until they prove themselves unworthy, beyond hope. (Compare 2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 6:4-12.) Thus, the apostle Paul speaks of the “kindly quality of God [that] is trying to lead you to repentance.”—Rom. 2:4-6.
The view of the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1970 was that Jehovah was “desirous of their [all persons] gaining salvation.” This is a correct view, and the view of the present members Governing Body that Jehovah only “will is that all sorts of people should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth” is wrong. That this is a false teaching is clearly shown in 2 Peter 3:9. In 1 Timothy 2:4, the Greek word pas must have its basic universal meaning. God wants that all Adam’s offspring will be saved. But some will use their free will to turn against God, so they will not be saved.
In order to continue the discussion above, it is also clear that the Greek word pas must have the basic universal meaning in 1 Timothy 2:6. Because Jesus is the “corresponding ransom” (antilytron), his ransom must include all the descendants of Adam, and not only all sorts of the descendants of Adam. The word pas in the basic universal sense is also used in 2 Corinthians 5:15 (above) and Hebrews 2:9 (below).
14 For the love the Christ has compels us, because this is what we have concluded, that one man died for all (pas); so, then, all had died. 15 And he died for all (pas)so that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised up.
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made a little lower than angels, now crowned with glory and honor for having suffered death, so that by God’s undeserved kindness he might taste death for everyone (pas).
The NWT13 renders the Greek word pas in Timothy 2:6 as “all,” but as shown above, the study note has the alternative “all sorts of.” The reference to Matthew 20:28 with the word “many” which The Watchtower of July 15, 2014 applied to those to whom the ransom sacrifice includes, and the study note of 1 Timothy 2:4, shows that the view of the members of the Governing Body is that Jesus gave himself as a corresponding ransom “for all sorts of men” and not for all Adam’s descendants. As I have mentioned above. this a false teaching.
The true view of the ransom sacrifice:
Jesus died for all descendants of Adam and bought all those by his death. Each one must get a personal chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice. (The Watchtower of August 1, 1973, and Insight on the Scriptures, volume I, page 854) The false view of the ransom sacrifice: Jesus died only for all sorts of men, for those who will be saved, and not for “all men.” (The Watchtower of July 15, 2014) |
[1]. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/502016129
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The discussion above has shown the Jesus Christ died for all Adam’s descendants and bought them all when he died. A detailed discussion how the ransom sacrifice is applied to All Adam’s descendants is found in chapter 2 in my book The Atonement Between God and Man. I also recommend the articles, “Getting Adam’s chance,” and “Preaching a Jesus other than the one we preached.” The next article is entitled, “The devaluation and restriction of the ransom sacrifice II The false teaching regarding the resurrection.”