Is this the good news that the Witnesses preach, the hope that we will populate a new earth, a paradise earth, scrubbed clean of all problems? Who earns that hope? Can hope be earned? Here is a taste of the WT perspective:
Obedience Instills Hope
Those who make obedience to Jehovah their way of life experience even now the fulfillment of Proverbs 1:33 which says, "As for the ones listening [obediently] to me, he will reside in security and be undistrubed from dread of calamity".... Clearly, only those obedient to God will have the confidence to heed these words. How important, therefore, that we have an obedient attitude toward that slave! WT October 1, 2002, page 16, para 21
It is assumed that anyone who is not fully obedient to the Faithful and Discreet Slave lives without hope.
What does the bible say about hope? In the greek scriptures, there are 53 occurrences of elpis, translated as "hope" and "faith", and a further 32 occurrences of elpizo, translated as "trust" and "hope". To hope is to have confidence in a certain outcome. When Paul healed a soothsaying slave, releasing her from her supernatural powers, her masters were furious.
Acts 16:19 ASVBut when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers,
These men hoped for material gain. They were fairly confident, as they had profited from this girl in the past. Their hope was simply that they could continue their profit-making enterprise. Now, what is the Christian hope? Peter talked about it at Pentecost,
Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope: Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance. And Peter
said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. Acts 2:26-28, 38-39
I read Peter's speech to mean that our hope is that we can have our sins washed away forever, so that we can approach God to have a personal relationship with Him. Is this hope for a paradise earth?
For this cause
it is of faith, that it may be according to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be. And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Romans 4:16-21
Abraham hoped he would become a father of many nations, as God promised. His hope was well-placed. He was able to perform, and Sarah became pregnant. Was he hoping for a paradise earth? Do the "other sheep" participate Abraham's hope, or is this promise reserved for the priveledged?
through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness; and stedfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope: and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us. For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:2-6
So, is the WT quote above biblical, that hope is reserved only for the obedient? Is total obedience to an admittedly human organization with human failings the same as being obedient to Christ, the only perfect human to walk the earth?
Who will come between us and the love of Christ? Will trouble, or pain, or cruel acts, or the need of food or of clothing, or danger, or the sword?
Romans 8:35
Does this quote refer to our unfailing love, or Christ's? I assert that only He is unfailing and unwavering. Now this is the hope that I can trust in, that He will help me when I fall, that He will unfailingly love me and support me. What happens when I die? Merely a side benefit. I can wait to find out.