Watchtower quote: Where would those in the new covenant serve? On earth, where, as a group, they would serve as a priesthood, representing Jehovah to people by ‘declaring abroad his excellencies’and providing spiritual food. (Matt. 24:45; 1 Pet. 2:4, 5).....
By the end of 1,000 years of beneficial service, the royal priesthood will have elevated its earthly subjects to human perfection. As High Priest and King, Christ will then present the completely restored human family to Jehovah.
Thanks for the info.
Unbelievable. Christ is the only mediator between God and man. A small group of men cannot be considered "a people." And the Bible makes clear that man cannot redeem man, man cannot elevate man to perfection. This is blasphemy. Perfection is obtainable only through the blood of Christ and forgiveness of sin under the New Covenant. By grace you are saved, through faith, and not through works. Eph. 2:9. Even Jesus did not attain ultimate perfection until he was resurrected. The JWs most certainly cannot lead man to perfection. That's the devil talking, elbowing out Christ's sacrifice, rendering it meaningless. By denying true believers the New Covenant they deny Christ and His salvation plan. The JWs are anti-Christ. And, they are utterly wrong in teaching that men are acquitted of their sins at death, and that judgment of deeds refers to judgment of deeds during the thousand years. This denies the judgment for this life which is spoken of so clearly in Scripture.
Theirs is a works-based theory of salvation. Shame on the Jehovah's Witnesses for teaching these false doctrines. If anyone doesn't believe this is a cult inspired and led by the dark side, they are truly ignorant.
It is impossible for the Great Crowd and resurrected humans on earth to be “perfected” or justified by an educational program, strict adherence to external laws or decrees, and the passing of tests. Such works-based salvation by the Jehovah's Witnesses can never reconcile man to God and renders the blood sacrifice of Jesus worthless. All saved people must be parties to the New Covenant. Without Christ’s blood sacrifice under the New Covenant there can be no redemptive forgiveness of sin, or benefit of the gift of life everlasting by grace for anyone in the Christian era. [Home]
A) The Jehovah's Witnesses' education-based salvation plan recapped [Home]
One of the more interesting aspects of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ belief system revolves around the thousand year reign and available avenues for man’s reconciliation with God. To recap, the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the second, or general, resurrection, occurs during the thousand year reign when the righteous like Abraham and Moses, and most of the earth’s unrighteous are resurrected. When the Great Crowd is not busy restoring a radioactive apocalyptic earth to paradise, the Jehovah’s Witnesses who survive the Great Tribulation embark on an educational program to elevate the unrighteous to a state of Adam-like “perfection.” Because the New Covenant will have expired by then, and does not apply to the resurrected, the benefits of Christ’s ransom blood sacrifice under the New Covenant cannot be used to lift these people up to perfection. If that were the case, many would already be “perfect” and there would be no need to enlighten them to that state. These enlightened individuals undergo judgment, the second judgment day period, during the thousand year reign (Insight, 788).
The opening of scrolls [of Rev 20:12, 13] evidently points to a time of education in the divine will, in harmony with Isaiah 26:9. The fact that “the scroll of life” is opened indicates that there is opportunity for those who heed that education to have their names written in that scroll. Ahead of them will be the prospect of eternal life in human perfection. (Reasoning, 337)
By the end of the thousand years, people on earth will have reached human perfection, being in the condition that Adam and Ever were in before they sinned. (Insight, 249)
In what sense do they not “come to life” until the end of the thousand years? This does not mean their resurrection. This ‘coming to life’ involves much more than merely existing as humans. It means attaining to human perfection. (Reasoning, 339)
Not to prophesy, but merely for the purpose of illustration ... Since a yearly increase of three percent, compounded, doubles the number about every 24 years, the entire 20 billion (20,000,000,000) could be resurrected before 300 years of Christ's Thousand Year Reign had elapsed, giving ample time for training and judging the resurrected ones without disturbing harmony and order on earth. (Insight, 793)
So, at John 5:28, 29a, Jesus was pointing ahead to the resurrection; then, in the remainder of verse 29, he was expressing the outcome after they had been uplifted to human perfection and been put on judgment. (Reasoning, 337)
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that after the thousand year reign all those educated through their training program are put through a final test and a third judgment day period; this includes the likes of Abraham, Moses and Isaiah. If they pass this test of faith they have their names permanently written in the book of life and are rewarded with everlasting life on earth. And in a world where death will be no more, that means immortality.
Accordingly, the heaven-bound 144,000 receive eternal life through faith, whereas mankind, all those in line for an earthy reward, must obediently perform deeds that are in harmony with the new books, or so-called scrolls of instruction mentioned at Revelation 20:11-15. They are judged based on deeds performed during and after the thousand year reign, not those of today or this life. They state:
Time of the earthly resurrection. We note that this judgment is placed in the Bible in the account of events occurring during Christ's Thousand Year Reign with his associate kings and priests. These, the apostle Paul said, "will judge the world." (1Co 6:2) "The great and the small," persons from all walks of life, will be there to be judged impartially. They are "judged out of those things written in the scrolls" that will be opened then. This could not mean a record of their past lives nor a set of rules that judges them on the basis of their past lives. For since "the wages sin pays is death," these by their death have received the wages of their sin in the past. (Ro 6:7, 23) Now they are resurrected that they might demonstrate their attitude toward God and whether they wish to take hold of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ that was given for all. (Mt 20:28; Joh 3:16) Though their past sins are not accounted to them, they need the ransom to lift them up to perfection. They must make their minds over from their former way of life and thought in harmony with God's will and regulations for the earth and its population. Accordingly, "the scrolls" evidently set forth the will and law of God for them during that Judgment Day, their faith and their obedience to these things being the basis for judgment and for writing their names indelibly, at last, into the "scroll of life." (Insight, 788)
In the judgment scene at Revelation 20:11-15, during Christ's Millennial Reign "the scroll of life" is shown as opened to receive additional names; scrolls of instruction are also opened. Those who come back in the 'resurrection of the unrighteous' will thus have the opportunity of having their names written on "the scroll of life," provided they obediently perform deeds that are in harmony with the scrolls of instruction (Ac 24;15) Of course, faithful servants of God who come back in the resurrection of the righteous will already have their names in the "scroll of life." By their loyal obedience to the divine instructions, they will keep their names in it.
How does a person get his name permanently retained in the "book of life"? For those who are in line to receive heavenly life, it is by conquering this world through faith, proving themselves faithful even to death." Re 2:10; 3:5) For those who are in line to receive life on earth, it is by proving loyal to Jehovah through a final, decisive test at the end of Christ's Millennial Reign. (Re 20:7, 8) Those who maintain integrity through that final test will have their names retained permanently by God in the "book of life." (Insight, 251)
B) No man can be justified or perfected by an educational progam.[Home]
The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ salvation doctrine is flawed for numerous reasons. First, even assuming for a moment that God’s plan has always been to revert man back to the naked, innocent condition enjoyed by Adam and Eve on earth before they ate of the tree of the knowledge of the good and bad, or that they were “perfect” to the same extent that Christ was, the idea that perfection can ever be taught or people justified through an educational program flies contrary to the Bible’s predominant message and negates the reason why God sent his Christ down to be crucified. The Law, any law, is ineffective to redeem or perfect man.
In this context as it relates to reconciliation with the Almighty the word “perfect” refers to a condition free of sin, a permanent condition which could only be achieved through the blood of Christ. Paul went to great length explaining this. No law or decree, especially the Mosaic Law, brings anything to perfection.
18 Certainly, then, there occurs a setting aside of the preceding commandment on account of its weakness and ineffectiveness. 19 For the Law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in besides of a better hope did, through which we are drawing near to God. (Heb. 7:18,19 NWT)
11 If, then, perfection were really through the Levitical priesthood, (for with it as a feature the people were given the Law,) what further need would there be for another priest to arise according to the manner of Mel·chiz´e·dek and not said to be according to the manner of Aaron? (Heb. 7:11 NWT)
Paul specifically referred to law or decrees besides the Mosaic Law, any laws; in fact it would be silly to merely replace the Mosaic Law with another set of written laws (i.e., the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Law scrolls of the millennium). Jesus Christ nailed all externally imposed laws and decrees to the cross; they are ineffective as a means of achieving redemption and perfection.
21 Is the Law, therefore, against the promises of God? May that never happen! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, righteousness would actually have been by means of law. 22 But the Scripture delivered up all things together to the custody of sin, that the promise resulting from faith toward Jesus Christ might be given to those exercising faith. (Gal. 3:21,22 NWT)
13 Furthermore, though YOU were dead in YOUR trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of YOUR flesh, [God] made YOU alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses 14 and blotted out the handwritten document against us, which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us; and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake. (Col. 2:13,14 NWT)
Perfection means, among other things, removal of sin through the blood sacrifice of Christ.
12 But this [man] offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually and sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from then on awaiting until his enemies should be placed as a stool for his feet. 14 For it is by one [sacrificial] offering that he has made those who are being sanctified perfect perpetually. (Heb. 10:12-14 NWT)
14. By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified: While the Levitical sacrifices, after hundreds of years, were no nearer the attainment of their aim than they had been at the beginning, the sacrifice of Christ has purified his people from sin (cf, 2:11) and assured them of permanent maintenance in a right relation with God. This complete removal and forgiveness of sin, we are reminded, was promised in Jeremiah’s prophecy of the new covenant, already quoted in 8:8-12. (F.F. Bruce, Peake’s Commentaries, 1016)
Therefore, those who would be perfected (justified) under the Jehovah's Witnesses' salvation plan pursuant to the so-called Law scrolls of Revelation 20:12 will have fallen from grace, as Paul clearly said.
4 YOU are parted from Christ, whoever YOU are that try to be declared righteous by means of law; YOU have fallen away from his undeserved kindness. (Gal. 5:4 NWT)
To put it another way, you cannot teach perfection; you can read the entire Bible but its mastery will not justify you; only God's grace and Christ’s death through the blood of the New Covenant will accomplish this. Enlightenment comes through internalized spirituality, by the Holy Spirit, a change of heart, not strict legalistic adherence to externally imposed Law scrolls. Jesus quoted the prophets at John 6:45 who said, “They shall all be taught by God,” and “Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me,” meaning they will be taught to come and know Jesus in this age, to learn about the only means of salvation, faith in Christ and justification or perfection pursuant to his death, and the wonderful grace of the Almighty. Only God’s gift brings acquittal.
16 Also, it is not with the free gift as it was with the way things worked through the one [man] that sinned. For the judgment resulted from one trespass in condemnation, but the gift resulted from many trespasses in a declaration of righteousness (“acquittal” NAB). (Rom. 5:16)
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