During the 2021 annual meeting, in a talk entitled: “Are You There?” governing body member Geoffrey Jackson explains a doctrinal adjustment to the understanding of Jesus words in John 5:28,29:
Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28, 29)
However, as will be pointed out later in this article, his revelation turns out to be more of a flip flop back to an original teaching.
He begins his talk by referring to what he considered to be the first mention in the Bible of God’s book of life:
We remember what Jehovah said to Moses as recorded at Exodus chapter 32: “Anyone who sins against me, I will wipe out of my book”. So, names can be erased from this book of life. It’s as if our names are written in this book of life in pencil. So, all of us surely want to make sure that our names remain in this book of life right down through the time they are written permanently in the book in pen as it were.
Similar language is found in the book of Psalms:
Let them be erased from the book of the living, And may they not be enrolled among the righteous. (Psalm 69:28)
If this is the same book that Moses is referring to then it would contain the names of those God considers living to him. (Luke 20:38)
Jackson then poses the question: “But whose names are written in the book of life?” Then, in order to answer the question, the audience is treated to a video that considers 5 different groups of persons, some of whom Jackson says have their names in the book of life and others who don’t. After the video I will share my comments
The First Group – Those who have been selected to rule with Jesus in heaven
Jesus said of those exercising faith in him in his day that they never die at all. (John 11:26) Those are persons written in the Lamb‘s book of life. The Lamb’s book of life? Does that mean that there is more than one book of life? Yes. Jackson failed to mention there is God’s book of life and the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev. 21:27) Those written in the Lamb’s book already have everlasting life. (John 3:36; Luke 10:20; Phil. 4:3) Provided of course that they do not deliberately practice sin against God. (Heb. 10:26-31; 1 John 5:16; Rev. 3:5) This is the same thing God said to Moses of those written in his book. Would the Lamb’s book also contain the names of those in God’s book? Though we cannot say for certain we may find an indication in Jesus prayer to God in John chapter 17:
I make request concerning them; I make request, not concerning the world, but concerning those whom you have given me, because they are yours; 10 and all my things are yours and yours are mine, and I have been glorified among them. (John 17:9, 10)
We also know that Jesus has been given the authority by his father to raise to life “all those in the memorial tombs”. (John 5:28) Hence, it would not be unreasonable to think that this would include those in God’s book. Will Jesus raise some of these righteous ones to life in heaven while others to life on earth? I could find no explicit statement to that effect. However, there is a statement that would indicate those of the resurrection will be like the angels:
for in the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but they are as angels in heaven. (Matthew 22:30)
In the context of this statement, Jesus mentions the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Three pre-Christian faithful servants that God says are living to him. Can anyone say that their resurrection will not be as angels in heaven?
The Second Group – The great crowd of Armageddon survivors
There is strong reason to believe that the great crowd described at Revelation 7:9,10 are all living members of the symbolic 144,000. (1 Thess. 4:15-17) See the article “Is the 144,000 a Literal Number?” That would effectively eliminate this as a separate group.
The Third Group – The goats who will be destroyed at Armageddon
There is, however, reason to believe that the sheep and the goats of Jesus parable are Christians, both professed and genuine that are judged and separated at the time of Jesus coming. See the article “Who Are the Sheep and the Goats?” Since the Bible does not mention two classes of Christians, those with a heavenly hope and those with an earthly hope, the sheep would be those of the first group. Those selected to rule with Christ in heaven.
So, according to Jackson, the first 3 groups are the anointed, the great crowd and the goats. Of these 3, only 2 are found in the book of life.
Actually, so far from what we have seen from the Bible, we can identify only one group written in both God’s book and the Lamb’s book of life. They are righteous persons both Christian and pre-Christian servants of God.
The Fourth Group – The righteous that have died
These righteous ones are in God’s memory and can rightly be described as being in his book of life. But what about the assertion that they will be restored to life here on earth? How can we be certain of that? Is it absolutely impossible for God to extend the merits of his son’s sacrifice retrospectively to include faithful men and women of the past so that they too can be included as members of the heavenly kingdom? The apostle Paul describes some of these in chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews. He makes this interesting comment in verses 16, 39 and 40:
But now they are reaching out for a better place, that is, one belonging to heaven. Therefore, God is not ashamed of them, to be called on as their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:16)
And yet all of these, although they received a favorable witness because of their faith, did not obtain the fulfillment of the promise, 40 because God had foreseen something better for us, so that they might not be made perfect apart from us. (Hebrews 11:39, 40)
Due to their exercising faith in God’s provision for a seed to bless all mankind, it should be no problem for them to accept Christ as being that seed, their foretold king and redeemer and serve him alongside Christians. These would be included in the resurrection of the righteous. In fact, Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith and is called in scripture the father of all those having faith. (Romans 4:11) This leads to the logical conclusion that all those having faith are Abraham’s seed or children and will be blessed together with faithful Abraham. (Gal. 3:6-9)
That leaves a final group to be restored to life on earth.
The Fifth Group – The unrighteous that have died
According to the society, by the use of the Greek word Mnemeion [memorial tombs] Jesus indicated that all those in line for a future resurrection, whether having done good things or practiced vile things, are in God’s memory. So being in God’s memory and in his book of life are not the same thing. (See The Watchtower March 1, 1958 pg. 159)
Even so, Jackson’s discussion of John 5:28,29 reveals a serious problem with the theology of the Watchtower society. The society teaches that only 144,000 Christians will rule from heaven alongside Christ. Everyone else would be earthly beneficiaries of that arrangement. This places both the righteous, whether so-called Christian members of the great crowd or those pre-Christian faithful men and women of old and the unrighteous resurrected ones on exactly the same footing of having to be judged for 1,000 years. Note how this point is made in a September 2022 Watchtower study article:
The second group consists of the great crowd of other sheep. Are their names now written in the book of life? Yes. Will their names still be in the book of life after they survive Armageddon? Yes. (Rev. 7:14) Jesus said that these sheeplike ones will depart “into everlasting life.” (Matt. 25:46) But those Armageddon survivors will not immediately receive everlasting life. Their names will remain written in the book of life in pencil, as it were. During the Thousand Year Reign, Jesus “will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of waters of life.” Those who respond positively to Christ’s guidance and are finally judged faithful to Jehovah will have their names recorded permanently in the book of life.—Read Revelation 7:16, 17…
What about those who practiced vile things before they died? Although their sins were canceled at death, they have not established a record of faithfulness. They do not have their names written in the book of life. Hence, the resurrection of “those who practiced vile things” is the same as the resurrection of “the unrighteous” referred to at Acts 24:15. Theirs will be “a resurrection of judgment.” The unrighteous will be judged in the sense that they will be evaluated. (Luke 22:30) It will take time to determine whether they are judged worthy of having their names written in the book of life. Only if these unrighteous ones reject their former wicked course of life and dedicate themselves to Jehovah can they have their names written in the book of life. (The Watchtower September 2022 pgs. 18-19 pars. 7 and 16 “Is Your Name in “the Book of Life”?)
What benefit would there be to having your name “penciled in” the book of life if you must maintain your integrity in order to keep it there? How is that not a resurrection of judgment? It is difficult to imagine Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, John the Baptizer and others having to wait 1,000 years before receiving everlasting life along with the inhabitants of Sodom, Tyre, Sidon and Capernaum. (Matt. 11:21-24)
At the same time we are to expect that so-called anointed Christians alive today, including Anthony Morris, Stephen Lett, Samuel Herd and the rest of the governing body, immediately become immortal spirit creatures at some point prior to Armageddon.
Jackson then raises the question: Who will teach these unrighteous persons? His answer? Those who had their names written in pencil in the book of life. The great crowd and the resurrected righteous ones.
Without any scriptural backing, this understanding depends entirely on the interpretive framework of the Watchtower society. Namely, that an earthly class of Christians will be the lone earthly survivors of Armageddon to welcome back and teach resurrected ones to be soon joined by faithful servants of the past to assist in the education. It would be nice if that were somewhere explicitly stated in the Bible. But it is not.
However, the Bible does tell us that Jesus will return to earth. (Acts 3:21) Furthermore, his faithful followers whether by resurrection or transformation will join him. They will meet him, not on earth, but in the air. (1 Thess. 4:13-17) Paul does not explain where they will remain afterwards or what form they will take. However, the apostle John says they will be like him. (1 John 3:2)
Given the statements already made by Jesus about faithful servants of God in pre-Christian times receiving a resurrection, I see no reason that Paul’s statement that “those who have fallen asleep through Jesus God will bring with him”, should necessarily eliminate men like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from being included from the first resurrection.
We do know that after Jesus resurrection, he had the ability to materialize and dematerialize in order to minister to his disciples. When he finally ascended to heaven, the angels told his disciples that he would return in the same manner as they beheld him going into the sky. (Acts 1:11) For an analysis of this passage see the article “Christ’s Coming Visible or Invisible?”
That being the case, what would prevent Christ as king and high priest and all of the sons of God with him serving as “princes in all the earth” from ministering as priests directly to both the resurrected unrighteous as well as the non-combatant survivors of Armageddon on earth?
Jackson also shows a lack of understanding of Paul’s words in Romans 6:7:
For the one who has died has been acquitted from his sin. (Romans 6:7)
An examination of the context reveals that Paul is not talking about the resurrection. He is talking about dying to sin by putting on the new Christian personality. Rather than talking about a person’s guilt for previous sin being cancelled at death, Paul is talking about sin’s power to make us sin while still alive. Since hat power of sin over us ends automatically when we die, Paul uses this fact to encourage those in the congregation to die to sin. It is important to read the context from verse 6 through verse 14.
After the video Jackson makes this comment:
Now for a few moments let’s think about those verses in John 5:28,29. Up to now we have understood Jesus words to mean that the resurrected ones will do good things and some will do vile things after their resurrection. But notice there in verse 29 Jesus didn’t say they will do these good things or they will practice vile things. He used the past tense didn’t he because he said they did good things and they practiced vile things. So this would indicate to us that these deeds or actions were committed by these ones prior to their death and before they would be resurrected. That makes sense doesn’t it? Because no one is going to be allowed to practice vile things in the new world.
This is a sad admission that for decades, the researchers in the writing department of the society could not recognize something as basic to biblical hermeneutics as the tense of, not Greek mind you, but of English words along with the inability to select the appropriate definition of the word judgment to fit the context.[1] Especially when at least some among Christendom’s scholars could correctly do so:
“Damnation.—Better, judgment. See Note on John 3:20. (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers 1905)
“unto the resurrection of damnation] Better, unto the resurrection of judgment. It is the same Greek word as is used in John 5:22; John 5:27. (Alfred Plummer – Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1902)
If God has only one spirit directed organization, how did these commentaries arrive at the correct understanding before it? Actually the very fact that the society constantly has to revamp it’s teachings is evidence that it is not guided by God as many of these teachings amount to a reversal to what was previously taught. Consider what C.T. Russell in 1904 wrote about this verse in Studies in the Scriptures:
“The rendering of our Common Version, ʺresurrection of damnation,ʺ is a serious error which has greatly assisted in beclouding the minds of many respecting the true import of this passage. Many seem to gather from it the thought that some will be resurrected merely to be damned or condemned again. The very reverse of this is the truth. The word rendered ʺdamnationʺ in this verse is the Greek word krisis, which occurs repeatedly in the same chapter and is properly rendered judgment. It should be so rendered in this case, and is so rendered in the Revised Version. (Studies in the Scriptures vol. 6 The New Creation pg. 708)
While the New World Translation never rendered krisis as condemnation, it was taught in the Watchtower that is how judgment was to be understood. (See The Watchtower December 1, 1964 pgs. 727-731)
Jackson then says:
All of this also helps us to understand an amazing prophecy in the book of Daniel. Let’s turn there:
“During that time Miʹcha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people. And there will occur a time of distress such as has not occurred since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, everyone who is found written down in the book. 2 And many of those asleep in the dust of the earth will wake up, some to everlasting life and others to reproach and to everlasting contempt. 3 “And those having insight will shine as brightly as the expanse of heaven, and those bringing the many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3)
So looking at Daniel 12:2 it seems appropriate too we adjust our understanding of this verse. Notice there it speaks about people waking up in the form of a resurrection and this occurs after what’s mentioned in verse 1, after the great crowd survives the great tribulation. So this obviously is talking about a literal resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous. But what does it mean when it mentions there in verse 2 that some will be raised to everlasting life and others to everlasting contempt? What does that really mean? Notice that it is a little different from what Jesus said in John chapter 5. He spoke about life and judgment. But now here it’s talking about everlasting life and everlasting contempt. So that term everlasting helps us to realize that this is talking about the final outcome after these ones have had an opportunity to accept the education.
So those who are resurrected and make good use of the education they will continue on and ultimately receive everlasting life. But then on the other hand, any that refuse to accept the benefits of that education will be judged as worthy of eternal destruction.
Previous to this, the Watchtower society taught that this verse was not to be taken literally. (See Daniel’s Prophecy pg. 290 pars. 8-10)
The context of Daniel seems to indicate that his prophecy would be fulfilled in the first century with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The angel is telling Daniel the future prospects of his people, the Jews. Those of Daniel’s people whose names are found written in the book is similar to the prophecy in Malachi 3:16:
At that time those who fear Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on his name. (Malachi 3:16)
Hence, this may have reference to those Jews that escaped the destruction by heeding Jesus words and becoming Christians. (Luke 21:20-22) Also indicating a first century fulfillment of this chapter is the reference made to the coming messenger to clear up the way before God:
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will clear up a way before me. And suddenly the true Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant will come, in whom you take delight. Look! He will certainly come,” says Jehovah of armies. (Malachi 3:1)
Jesus applied this prophecy to John the Baptizer. (Matt 11:7-10)
The chapter ends with language that is strikingly similar to the words of Daniel 12:3:
“And they will be mine,” says Jehovah of armies, “in the day when I produce a special property. I will show them compassion, just as a man shows compassion to his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between a righteous person and a wicked person, between one serving God and one not serving him.” (Malachi 3:17, 18)
Both Daniel and Malachi speak about a great tribulation occurring at the time that only righteous ones will escape. All of these lead to the conclusion of a first century fulfillment. The angel even tells Daniel that all of the things he has just told him would come to their finish at that time. (Dan. 12:7)
The difficulty with this of course is how to understand Daniel’s specific mention of those asleep in the dust of the ground.
And many of those asleep in the dust of the earth will wake up, some to everlasting life and others to reproach and to everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
Is this referring to a literal or figurative resurrection? A study note to this verse in the NET Bible states:
This verse is the only undisputed reference to a literal resurrection found in the Hebrew Bible.
Although there were resurrections performed by Jesus and his disciples, they were only of those that had recently died. None of them recorded could be said to have been asleep in the ground of dust. The only occasion that could be taken literally would be what happened at the time of Jesus death:
And look! the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. 52 And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep were raised up 53 (and people coming out from among the tombs after his being raised up entered into the holy city), and they became visible to many people. (Matthew 27:51-53)
It is of note that both Daniel and Matthew mention that “many” not “all” those who had fallen asleep were raised. However, it is a difficult passage and not all scholars agree on how it is to be interpreted. But I would much rather trust the interpretations of men who have spent decades researching the scriptures than those who admit to not being inspired, have a decades long track record of errors and yet claim to somehow be mysteriously guided or directed by God as his sole channel of communication.
[1] See The Watchtower June 15, 1965 pg. 447 Questions From Readers