HOW WILL HUMAN BEINGS RECEIVE EVERLASTING LIFE?
Philosophers and thinkers have at all times posed three fundamental questions:
What can we know?
What shall we do?
What can we hope?
The answers to the first two questions have been based on the data that existed at different times. The answers to the third question have been more elusive. As a matter of fact, the only one who can give a definite answer to the third question is our Creator, Jehovah God.
In the 1870s, a group of young men in the United States sought a definitive answer to the third question. They saw all the problems in the world, and they saw that all human lives ended in death. The religions in which they were brought up could not give a satisfactory answer to the third question. Therefore, they united their efforts to systematically study the Bible in an attempt to find an answer to their question. This group was led by C.T. Russell, and they were called the Bible Students.
They took the words of Ephesians 3:10, 11 as their starting point:
10 [This was] to the end that now to the governments and the authorities in the heavenly places there might be made known through the congregation the greatly diversified wisdom of God, 11 according to the eternal purpose [or, the purpose of the ages] that he formed in connection with the Christ, Jesus our Lord.
The Bible Students discovered that the answer could be based on the vast and diverse wisdom of God. This answer was connected to his original purpose, and the key person in this purpose was Jesus Christ. The divine purpose that they discovered was as follows:
God created Adam and Eve as perfect humans, and he told them to procreate children, who would procreate children, until the whole earth would be a paradise filled with the descendants of Adam and Eve.
Satan, the Devil, rebelled against God, and he caused the first two humans to sin. The result was that they would in time die, and that all their descendants inherited sin and death. God could not violate his own law that the penalty for sin was death. But he sent Jesus Christ, who died as a ransom sacrifice and atoned for the sins of all Adam’s descendants.
Because of their inherited sin, Adam’s descendants have continued to die. But God has decided that there will be a period of a thousand years during which all things will be restored. Because of the ransom sacrifice, all humans who have died because of inherited sin will get a resurrection. They will, during the period of a thousand years, gradually proceed toward sinlessness and perfection. At the end of the thousand years, all humans will be perfect and without sin.
This means that the situation will be the same as if Satan had not rebelled and caused the first two humans to sin. The earth will be a paradise that is filled with billions of Adam’s descendants. They will now get exactly the same test as Adam got, and they will have to choose whether they will serve and worship Jehovah or follow Satan, the Devil.
| The divine purpose of the ages is that all the things that Satan introduced will be done away with. And the situation on the earth will be exactly the same as if the first two humans had not sinned and their descendants had not inherited sin.
The earth will be filled with billions of Adam’s descendants who will live forever in the paradise on the earth. |
What is the difference between the faith of the Bible Students, which is what the Bible teaches, and other religious groups?
God has given humans free will, which means they must decide their own eternal destiny. This means that each human being must decide whether he or she will follow the laws of God, and because of this, live forever on the earth.
The Bible Students believed what the Bible shows that humans with inherited sin are not qualified to make a fair and just decision regarding their own eternal destiny. Their inherited sin prevents them from making such a fair and just decision to follow God’s laws or not. A fair and just decision regarding their eternal destiny can only be made by persons who are perfect and without sin, like Adam. Therefore, will Adam’s descendants get exactly the same chance as Adam got, by getting a resurrection and become perfect.
| The basic issue is that imperfect humans with inherited sin are not qualified to make a fair and just decision regarding their eternal destiny. Therefore, they must die as the penalty of sin, get a resurrection because of the ransom sacrifice, and become perfect and without inherited sin. In this situation, each person can make a fair and just decision about whether or not he or she will follow God’s laws and live forever. |
No Christian religion today has the biblical faith that I described above, and that the Bible Students had. All the religions claim that humans must, while they are sinners, believe in God and follow his laws to get everlasting life. Those who do not do so will be punished by God on Judgment Day. Some religions even believe that those who do not believe will be tormented forever.
The religion closest to the biblical faith about the salvation of humans is Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Bible Students were the precursors of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and most of the biblical beliefs held by the Bible Students are also shared by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Witnesses believe in a Judgment Day of a thousand years, during which both righteous and unrighteous people will receive a resurrection, and that the resurrected ones will be perfect and without sin at the end of the thousand years. Then they will get their final test.
However, the Witnesses believe that the eternal destiny of people will depend on whether they, as imperfect sinners, have listened to the preaching of the Witnesses or not. They deny that all who die in Adam will get a resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:22) And they believe that 8 billion+ humans who live when the great tribulation comes will be everlastingly annihilated without the possibility of a resurrection. This means that those who will get a resurrection and become perfect at the end of the thousand years are few in comparison with all of Adam’s descendants who have lived on the earth.
This belief of the Witnesses regarding the salvation of humans is inconsistent and contradictory. And the result of this belief is that the members of the Governing Body have rejected the basic part of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus, that Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants. They have also rejected some words of Jesus and Paul regarding the resurrection.
This conflicting situation is caused by the rejection by the Witnesses of the Bible Student’s belief that all Adam’s descendants will get a personal chance to choose everlasting life and that imperfect humans with inherited sin are not qualified to make a fair and just choice regarding their everlasting destiny.
The purpose of this article is to make a review of articles I have written dealing with the divine purpose of God and the different sides of the salvation of human beings, indicating the answer to the third question: What can we hope?
A REVIEW OF THE ISSUES AND SOURCES
The listed articles are among the most important articles I have written
The Divine Plan of the Ages — Resurrection for all who die from Adam’s sin (Part I)
It discusses the meaning of The Divine Plan of the Ages. It shows that the members of the Governing Body do not believe that Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants, only for those who believe and obey God. They have tried to mask this issue by using the translation “all sorts of men” instead of “all men” in 1 Timothy 2:4 and elsewhere. It is demonstrated that this rendering has no basis in the context, and its use in footnotes is equivalent to manipulating the text of the Bible.
It discusses in detail several scriptures showing that the ransom sacrifice includes all human beings.
The Divine Plan of the Ages — The development toward a rejection of the ransom sacrifice (Part II)
It contains many quotations from the literature of the Bible Students and Jehovah’s Witnesses showing how the viewpoint regarding the restoration of all things (The Divine Plan of the Ages) and the ransom sacrifice have developed and changed.
1879 -1928: All human descendants of Adam will get the benefits of the ransom sacrifice without any conditions, such as faith and obedience.
1924-2025: The rejection of The Divine Plan of the Ages. This meant rejecting the viewpoint that imperfect humans with inherited sin do not have a fair and just chance to decide their eternal destiny. It was also a rejection of the belief that all Adam’s descendants who die from inherited sin will get a resurrection during the thousand-year-long Judgment Day
1934-1965: The rejection that the ransom sacrifice of Jesus includes all Adam’s descendants. It only includes those who have faith and are obedient to God’s laws.
1965-1988: The Divine Plan of the Ages is restored, which means that all Adam’s descendants who die due to inherited sin will receive a resurrection on Judgment Day. There was one exception, though: The billions who die in the great tribulation will be everlastingly annihilated with no hope of a resurrection.
1965-2000: The ransom sacrifice includes all Adam’s descendants.
2000-2025: The Divine Plan of the Ages is rejected, and that the ransom sacrifice includes all Adam’s descendants is rejected.
In 2024, the Governing Body expressed new views on the resurrection, suggesting that perhaps more people than we had previously believed may have a resurrection. I show that this is a play for the gallery and that the members of the Governing Body still believe that the 8 billion+ people who die in the great tribulation will be everlastingly annihilated.
The Divine Plan of the Ages — An analysis of passages supposed to deal with eternal annihilation (Part III)
The illustration of the sheep and the goats is discussed. It is shown that it is grammatically impossible that the “goats” are the inhabitants of the nations. The accusation of the goats, who will be eternally annihilated, is that they have not supported the brothers of Jesus, anointed Christians with a heavenly hope.
The few who are left of these are only found in the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Therefore, the “goats” are members of these congregations who refuse to support Jehovah’s servants and therefore have sinned against the holy spirit.
The Divine Plan of the Ages — An analysis of passages supposed to deal with eternal annihilation (Part IV)
The words about everlasting destruction in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 are discussed. It is shown that the meaning of the Greek words does not support the view of everlasting annihilation without hope of a resurrection. I demonstrate that the context is discussing a like-for-like judgment. Those who will experience “everlasting destruction” (NWT84 and NWT13) are people who are ignorant. This shows that the meaning cannot be everlasting annihilation without any hope of a resurrection.
The illustration of the wheat and the weeds is discussed (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) It is shown that the “weeds” are said to be taken out of the kingdom. This shows that they are anointed members of the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses who are not faithful to Jehovah and violate his laws. They have sinned against the holy spirit and will be everlastingly annihilated.
The words about ungodly people (2 Peter 3:7) and false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) who will be destroyed are discussed. It is argued that the false teachers will be everlastingly annihilated. But the ungodly people will die and receive a resurrection.
The destiny of the armies of the kings of the earth (Revelation 19:19-21) is discussed. They will be killed in the great tribulation but will get a resurrection on the thousand-year-long Judgment Day.
The Divine Plan of the Ages — The events on the thousand-year long Judgment Day (Part IV)
Two passages speaks directly about the restoration of all things, Acts 3:19-21 and Ephesians 1:10. These passages are discussed in detail.
It is shown that there are particular appointed times that lead to the beginning og the time of restoration. The antitypical Jubilee, which indicates that the restoration will occur during the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ, is discussed.
The basic events of the thousand-year reign of Jesus are examined, along with the scriptures that define each of these events.
There are specific appointed times associated with the time of restoration. Of particular importance are the years 1914 and 1975. I argue that the appointed times of the nations ended in 1914, and God’s kingdom, with Jesus as King, was established. The year 1975 marked the end of 6,000 years from the creation of Adam. In relation to Jehovah’s 7,000-year day of rest, of which the last thousand years represent the Jubilee, during which the restoration of all things will occur, the year 1975 holds some significance.
The importance of the year 1914 — Understanding the appointed times of the nations (Part I)
Different keys that are necessary to understand prophetic times are discussed. The 69 weeks from 455 BCE to 29 CE, which are the appointed time to the first coming of Jesus, are discussed in detail. The pattern for calculating these 69 weeks is the same as the pattern used to calculate the 7 appointed times from 607 BCE to 1914 CE, which relates to the second coming of Jesus.
The importance of the year 1914 — Understanding the appointed times of the nations (Part II)
The difference between the coming of Jesus and his presence is discussed. The special meaning of the words “The kingdom has drawn near,” showing that the kingdom has been established, is discussed.
The importance of the year 1914 — Understanding the appointed times of the nations (Part III)
A very detailed study of the appointed times of the nations is presented. It is demonstrated that there is both a linguistic and thematic parallel between Luke 21:24 and Daniel 4:10-17. This demonstrates that the year 1914 marks the beginning of the presence of Jesus and the time of the end, and has a strong basis in the Bible.
The importance of the year 1914 — Understanding the appointed times of the nations (Part IV)
The Bible Students at the end of the 19th century first pointed to the year 1914. They used the year 606 as the starting point, rather than 607. There is a detailed discussion of the reason for this, indicating that they had a sound basis for their belief in the end of the appointed times of the nations in 1914.
The appointed times of the great Jubilee — The importance of the year 1975 (Part I)
As a background for the antitypical meaning of the Jubilee, the application of types and antitypes in the Bible in our time is discussed.
The appointed times of the great Jubilee — The importance of the year 1975 (Part II)
The expectations of Jehovah’s Witnesses before the year 1975 are discussed. Most of the types and antitypes in the Bible that Jehovah’s Witnesses believed in are now rejected by the Governing Body, including the Jubilee as a type.
The appointed times of the great Jubilee — The importance of the year 1975 (Part III)
The appointed time leading up to the first coming of Jesus, and the appointed times leading up to his second coming, are discussed. The appointed times leading to the thousand-year reign of Jesus are calculated. The creation week as Jehovah’s appointed times leading to the thousand-year reign of Jesus is discussed. The chronological importance of the year 1975 is demonstrated.
Jesus described a composite sign that would be visible during his presence between 1914 and the great tribulation. Different issues related to this sign are discussed.
Sign 1: “This generation will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:34)
The Greek word genea refers to a group of people who live at the same time. Examples from the Bible show that a genea can be as long as 200 years. The “generation” in the prophecy of Jesus refers to the disciples of Jesus, who have a heavenly and an earthly hope. From the present time, there is a limit to the end of this generation when the great tribulation comes of much less than 80 years.
Sign 2: “Nations will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:7)
There is a detailed discussion of Matthew 24:7 and its context. It is demonstrated in which way the words “nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom” are specific and that they primarily refer t0 World War I.
Sign 3: The setting and the timeline of the great prophecy of Jesus
The article compares the accounts of Matt 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13. It shows which parts of each account (particular verses) refer to events between 33 and 70 CE (miniature fulfillment) and between 1914 and the great tribulation (real fulfillment). It shows which verses refer to the time between 70 and 1914 CE and which events refer to the great tribulation.
The scheme presented in this article is necessary to understand to ascertain the various parts of the great prophecy of Jesus.
Sign 4: The abomination that causes desolation Matthew 24:15
https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/09/01/the-sign-4-the-abomination-that-causes-desolation/
The words about the abomination that causes desolation are quoted from the book of Daniel. The importance of this book is demonstrated, and it is shown that the popular application of this prophecy to the desecration of the temple by the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 BCE is wrong.
A miniature fulfillment was experienced in the first century CE. The Roman armies that attacked Jerusalem in 66 CE and withdrew, and then attacked Jerusalem in 70 CE and destroyed the temple, and the city was the abomination. They were an abomination because they stood on the holy temple ground with their standards, which they revered. And they caused desolation when Jerusalem was destroyed.
The real fulfillment has occurred in the 20th and 21st centuries. The League of Nations and its successor represent the abomination, because this is a human alternative to God’s kingdom. This organization will cause desolation when it, in the great tribulation, destroys the harlot, Babylon the great, which is a counterpart of the religious city Jerusalem.
Articles of Sign 5, Sign 6, and Sign 7 discuss the Governing Body. They demonstrate how the claims of the members of the Governing Body used to support their dictatorial position as a government for Jehovah’s Witnesses are without any support in the Bible.
Sign 5: “The faithful and discreet slave” Matthew 24:45
https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/09/08/sign-5-the-faithful-and-discreet-slave-2/
The article discusses the claims of the members of the Governing Body. It points out that the words “the faithful and discreet slave” are a part of the great prophecy of Jesus. The context of these words is not the presence of Jesus generally, but the focus is on the great tribulation.
The different illustrations in Matthew chapter 24 are discussed. The conclusion is that the words about the faithful and discreet slave do not refer to a small elite group that are leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But they refer to any servant of God who is faithful and discreet when the great tribulation comes.
Sign 6: The Governing Body and divine inspiration
https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/09/10/the-sign-6-the-governing-body-and-divine-inspiration/
When someone says something that is false, I only call this a lie when I have evidence that the person knows what he says is false. The members of the Governing Body claim that the governing Body was instituted by God in the year 1919. I give evidence that this is a lie. Several other lies are also exposed.
Sign 7: God’s administration — His channel of communication
https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/09/13/the-sign-7-gods-administration-his-channel-of-communication/
God’s channel of communication is his administration (oikonomia, Ephesians 1:10), which is the way God administers or manages things.
God’s sacred secret is connected with his administration. It is centered around Jesus Christ and the different things he did on earth and in the established heavenly kingdom.
The keys that are necessary to identify God’s administration are discussed in detail, as well as the question, “How can a religion with some false doctrines be the true religion?”
Sign 8: The prophecy of the sheep and the goats
The article presents evidence that the illustration is not fulfilled in the great tribulation, as the members of the Governing Body claim, but it is fulfilled from 1914 to the great tribulation. It is demonstrated that the “goats” are not all the inhabitants of the nations who do not worship Jehovah. But the “goats” are members of the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse to support the brothers of Jesus (the anointed Christians) and therefore, have sinned against the holy spirit.
Sign 9: Cutting short the days of the great tribulation on account of the chosen ones (Matthew 24:22)
The expression “the chosen ones” is examined in the Christian Greek Scriptures. It is shown that the phrase “the chosen ones,” in Matthew 24:22, does not include anointed Christians. But “the chosen ones” refer to those who will survive the great tribulation.
The role of the abomination that causes desolation in the first century CE and in the 20th and 21st centuries is discussed, as well as how the great tribulation is cut short.
CONCLUSION
Philosophers and thinkers have at all times posed three fundamental questions:
What can we know?
What shall we do?
What can we hope?
This review article has shown that the only real answer to question three is connected with God’s purpose of the ages. This article references several articles on mybelovedreligion.no that discuss various aspects of God’s purpose in creating humans on earth. These articles show that everything that Satan destroyed will be restored. And they underline God’s wisdom, love, righteousness, and might.
