Q: I take this opportunity to mention the Watchtower study of today March 15
page 12 paragraphs 8 and 9 question B: On what basis are the dead to be
judged?
Do you agree with the answer given by the Society in these two
paragraphs? I find that kind of explanation a little bit bizarre. The
resurrected ones being judged only by the actions and deeds they will do
after their resurrection simply because they have already paid the price
(death) for the sake of Adams sin and by this cancelling all sins committed
in the previous life, even though I understand the sense of Romans 6:7.
_________________________
A:
What is the
purpose of the resurrection? Understanding
the basis for it, helps us also to understand the basis for being
judged after the resurrection. As you know, Paul explains that "through one man
(Adam) sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread
to all men because they had all sinned." (Rom. 5:12) Jesus, by
means of paying the ransom, bought back for all mankind that which Adam
lost, namely, the right to life, just as Paul goes on to say: "For just as in
Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive." (1 Cor.
15:22)
In other words,
Jesus redeemed all mankind, and that means that everyone who has ever lived must
get the opportunity to either accept the ransom Christ
paid, or reject it.
That is the basis for the resurrection! Jesus simply stated: "For God loved the world
so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising
faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. For God sent forth his Son into the
world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through
him. He that exercises faith in him is not to be judged. He that does not
exercise faith has been judged already, because he has not exercised faith in
the name of the only-begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18) That is why there
will be a resurrection, as Jesus said: "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is
coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come
out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced
vile things to a resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15)
All of God's faithful servants of old, many of whom are mentioned by Paul in Hebrews
chapter 11, will have "a resurrection of life" due to their outstanding faith long before
Jesus arrived and paid the ransom. They were familiar with God's promise of a
Messiah, and by
how they lived their lives they demonstrated that they had faith in this future provision for life. "In faith all these died, although they did not
get the [fulfillment of the] promises, but they saw them afar off and welcomed
them and publicly declared that they were strangers and temporary residents in
the land." (Heb. 11:13)
But what about the countless billions of others who have
lived during the past millenniums but never had the opportunity to get to know the true God or his promises,
having been kept in ignorance by Satan?
Jesus died for them too! They too need to be given the opportunity to accept the
ransom, repent of their sins, and be reconciled to God. They will not be
judged according to their former deeds, when they lived in ignorance, "alienated
from the state of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, and
[who] had no hope and were without God in the world." (Eph. 2:11,12)
Since theirs will be a "resurrection of judgment," they will be judged, not by
what they did in their previous life, but rather according to their obedience to what is written in the "scrolls" that will be opened during the
thousand years of Christ's rule. (Rev. 20:6, 12,13) The situation will now be
totally different from what had existed before. No longer will there be any
influence or persecution from Satan and his demons. (Rev. 20:1-3)
For the first time in human
history, since Adam's rebellion, all mankind will have the opportunity to get to
know the true God and be instructed by him. All who hope
to gain the everlasting life that Adam lost for his offspring need to exercise
faith in Christ Jesus,
for "there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under
heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved." (Acts 4:12;
John 3:16)
Yes, all who avail themselves of the ransom provision will have their names written in "the scroll of life." But those who
refuse God's provision for everlasting life will die again, a second time; this time not
because of Adam's inherited sin but rather due to their own rebellion. They will
suffer "the second death" symbolized by "the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:12-15; 3:5;
Psalms 69:28) We must keep in mind that obedience to Jehovah has always been the
primary issue. It is what unites all his creation, and brings peace
and happiness, and everlasting life. (Rev. 4:11) After having allowed these
thousands of years to settle the issue of whether mankind needs to obey their
Creatorwhich
have meant untold suffering, wars, sickness, pain and deathJehovah
will never again tolerate rebellion against him. (Isa. 65:17-25; Rev. 21:3,4)
Jehovah will not "judge" a person on whether or not he is worthy to receive everlasting life,
after that person has been obedient.
His name has been inscribed in the "book of life." (Mal. 3:16-18; Rev. 3:5) The tree of life in the Garden of Eden was a guarantee to Adam that as long as
he was obedient he was free to eat from it, for it symbolized the right to life.
(Gen. 2:9, 16,17; Rev. 2:7) True, "the wages sin pays is death," but the wages
of obedience is everlasting life. (Rom. 6:23; Deut. 30:19,20) And as for those who do not exercise faith, Jesus
said that they have been judged already. Their fate was already determined from
the very beginning, when God first announced the seed who would crush the
serpent and his seed. (Gen. 3:15)
After we have done what God requires of us, including getting baptized, we must
continue to be obedient, for Paul warns: "What if we keep sinning on purpose?
What if we do it even after we know the truth? Then there is no offering for our
sins. All we can do is to wait in fear for God to judge. His blazing fire will
burn up his enemies." (Eph. 5:15-17; Heb. 10:26,27; NIRV)
Are there any who have lived in the past that will not return in the
resurrection of the "unrighteous"? Anyone who knowingly and
deliberately rejected the ransom will not benefit from the
resurrection. That includes the Jewish religious leaders
in Jesus' day who became guilty of sinning against the holy spirit; or anyone
else "who has trampled upon the Son of God and who has esteemed as of
ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has
outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt." (Matt. 23:33; Mark 3:29;
Heb. 10:29) It is Jehovah and Jesus who judge whether someone has
become guilty of committing a sin for which there is no forgiveness, "no, not in
this system of things nor in that to come." (Matt. 12:31,32) All who perish in "the war of the great day of God the
Almighty" at Armageddon will not return in the resurrection. (Rev. 16:14, 16;
19:19-21; Zeph.
1:14-18; 2:2,3) Also included among those "who are perishing" is anyone within God's temple,
God's people, who followed the "man of lawlessness" when he was dominating over
them, "according to the operation of Satan," like the religious leaders of
Jesus' day did. Too bad for them, because of having trusted in this lawless one,
they "did
not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved. . . but took pleasure
in unrighteousness." (Psalms 146:3-5; 2 Thess. 2:3, 10-12; 1
Peter 4:17,18)
Clearly, what we do now, before Armageddon, matters very much.
Just because a person dies one month, a week, or even one day before Armageddon
has no bearing on whether or not he will return in the resurrection, if he had
the opportunity to avail himself of the ransom but failed to do so.
Except for some obvious differences,
I think this is pretty well what the Watchtower was also saying:
8 The resurrected
ones are not doomed to failure. Those who come back in the resurrection will not
be condemned for sins they committed before they died. (Rom. 6:7) During
Christ's Millennial Reign, as the benefits of the ransom sacrifice are applied,
obedient subjects of the Kingdom will grow to perfection, eventually becoming
completely free from all the effects of Adam's sin. (Rom. 8:21) Jehovah "will
actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly
wipe the tears from all faces." (Isa. 25:8) God's Word also says that "scrolls
[will be] opened," indicating that those living at that time will be given new
information. (Rev. 20:12) As the earth is transformed into a paradise,
"righteousness is what the inhabitants of the productive land will certainly
learn."―Isa. 26:9.
9 The
resurrected ones will be judged, not on the basis of sin inherited from Adam,
but by what they themselves choose to do. Revelation 20:12 says: "The dead were
judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds,"
that is, their deeds following their resurrection. What a marvelous example of
Jehovah's justice, mercy, and love! Additionally, the painful things of their
past life in this old world "will not be called to mind, neither will they come
up into the heart." (Isa. 65:17) With upbuilding new information available and a
life filled with good things, they will no longer be distressed by the bad
things of the past. Those past experiences can be put out of their minds. (Rev.
21:4) The same will be true of the great crowd," who survive Armageddon. ―Rev.
7:9,10,14. The Watchtower, March 15, 2009, page 12, par. 8,9
http://www.perimeno.ca/Index_A.htm