Commenting
on the belief in Jehovah’s Witness soteriology and eschatology (e.g., “first
resurrection” being only for the “faithful
class” [the 144,000 anointed ones] to the exclusion of the “great crowd,” as
well as their belief that those who are “invincibly ignorant” [to borrow a
Catholic term] during mortality can be saved [and even then, they would be
destroyed by subsequent disobedience [!]), Jehovah’s Witness Cary Valentine
wrote:
Jehovah’s Witnesses view the “first
resurrection,” as mentioned in Revelation 20:4-6, to be the raising of those
chosen to serve as king and priests with Christ during the Millennium. Witnesses
identify the number of this group, as mentioned in Revelation 14:1-4, literally
to be 144,000. These individuals give up the natural hope of living forever on
earth, though they originated as flesh-and-blood entities. Their ascension is
thought to be immediate, meaning that at the time of death those chosen to be
part of the first resurrection is thought to be immediate, meaning that at the
time of death those chosen to be part of the first resurrection are
instantaneously caught away to join the Lord within the spirit realm “in the
blink of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NWT).
Jehovah’s Witnesses also identify a second or
earthly resurrection of both righteous and
unrighteous individuals who have the potential to gain everlasting life on
earth. Those deemed “righteous” but not appointed to serve with Christ in
heaven (as part of the 144,000 or “anointed class”) made use of the opportunity
given them here on earth to learning of Jehovah God’s plan and provision of the
ransom sacrifice. These individuals repented, aligned their lives with God’s
principles, and served as Witnesses to those who had not yet heard the message
of salvation God gifted to imperfect humans.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that for some of
those deemed unrighteous—but still resurrected in this second resurrection—there
will be a resurrection of judgment. These individuals will still have an opportunity
to gain eternal salvation during the Millennium. They will live as resurrected
beings during the Millennium and, at its end, be judged by Christ and his
144,000 associates as either worthy of everlasting life or worthy of
destruction. These are individuals who were in some way unable during mortality
to learn of the life-saving provisions Jehovah had provided—either because they
were not exposed to it during mortal life, or because they were otherwise
unable to comprehend the message. Just as Adam was a perfect man choosing
willingly to sin against Jehovah’s law (while in Eden), so too will resurrected
humans have a chance to make the choice to either serve God willingly or reject
him and his plan. If they then follow Jehovah God at the end of Millennium,
they will be restored to perfection (“A Grand Millennium Approaching,” The Watchtower, 1 June 1990, 5-7).
Jehovah’s Witnesses hold that, at the end of
Christ’s Millennium, Satan will be released from his abyss to mislead and test
human’s resurrected to an earthly destiny. This will provide them with a choice
to sere Jehovah God for the final time. Since humans will then be restored to a
state of perfection, they will have the same simple choice Adam and Eve did at
the time of creation—to serve God or to not. This Final Judgement involves those
who reject Jehovah God and Christ’s Jesus ransom sacrifice and who will die a
second time, never to be resurrected again. Indeed, they will cease to exist
for eternity. At that time, the physical consequences of Adam’s rebellion will
no longer weigh humans down with the wages of sin, so the choice made to serve
God or not is, as it was for Adam, one that is just, fair, and made of free
will. (Cary E. Valentine, “The Condition of the Dead in Jehovah’s Witness
Soteriology” in Alonzo L. Gaskill and Robert L. Millet, eds. Life Beyond the Grave: Christian Interfaith
Perspectives [Salt Lake City/Provo: Deseret Book/BYU Religious Studies
Center, 2019], 137-51, here, pp. 145-46)
