Witnessing to the Jehovah's Witnesses
Will JW families be reunited in the Paradise Earth?
by Jay Hess
This material offers a non-confrontational approach of witnessing to
the Jehovah's Witnesses (legally known as The Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society) that is gracious and respectful (Colossians 4:5,6; 1 Peter 3:15).
Just as Peter started his presentation by discussing issues that were fundamental
to his audience (Acts 2:16-37) and Paul did the same (Acts
17:22-31), this presentation centers around an issue that JWs consider
to be fundamental.
The Jehovah's Witnesses can talk on a myriad of Bible related subjects
but one of their favorites is discussing their doctrine of the "paradise
earth". JWs believe exactly 144,000 people will go to heaven and the rest
of those judged to be righteous will live forever, not in heaven, but on
a re-newed earth. They teach that almost all of the 144,000 are already
in heaven (this includes the apostles and all Christians since then). Consequently
JW literature focuses on the 'hope' for the majority of mankind, living
forever in unity on a paradise earth. They frequently emphasize that this
doctrine is the ultimate solution for all mankind's problems. Their books
and magazines emphasize this teaching more than any other and supplement
their teachings with numerous color pictures of happy families all living
in gorgeous conditions with lots of greenery and water. The pictures show
people welcoming their deceased relatives back from the grave. These pictures
give one a comforting image that would entice anyone . . . until you hear
the rest of the story. The JWs do not really believe that their believing
families will be united after the resurrection.
In presenting the rest of this material to a JW you do NOT attempt to
persuade them that their view is incorrect. They love this doctrine. Who
would not want to live in such wonderful conditions? Often I hear of Christians
trying to push a JW off this doctrine first by saying it is incorrect or
by offering a better place, heaven. But JWs already believe in heaven,
they just do not believe they will be there. Generally they do not even
wish to go to heaven but are happy to live in the situation that God placed
Adam and Eve. As for trying to prove that there is no paradise earth, were
you aware that many prominent mainstream evangelical Christians believe
that there will be a paradise earth? So if a Christian tries to refute
their belief in a paradise earth this will undermine any later effort to
direct them to a stable Christian fellowship outside of the JWs.
The approach I offer below moves in a different direction. Remember
that JWs love this doctrine, often they find it more comforting than the
thought of going to heaven. They are convinced that this is a biblical
doctrine that only they know about, the rest of mainstream Christianity
is in the dark about this, and that by itself this is enough to prove that
the JWs must be the true church. Can you imagine the impact on them if
they were to learn that this doctrine that they love so much that appears
to solve all mankind's problems will actually bring tears to some who live
in that 'paradise' and that within mainstream Christianity there is a better,
more comforting doctrine on paradise earth?
In the discussion that follows your goal will be to carefully ask questions
that gently reveal to the JWs that their paradise earth will NOT unite
families but rather tear believing families apart, forever. Then you will
gently inform them that there is a significant number of Christians, including
some well-known prominent ones, who believe in a future paradise earth
where believing families will be united and fellowship together forever
in happiness. There will be no arguing, no Bible ping-pong, no persuading,
just a complete undermining of the comfort they derive from their faulty
teaching and the trust they have put in their leaders.
Goal
Your goal will be to inform the JWs that some mainstream Christians believe
in the paradise earth and the JW view is inferior and quite sad in some
cases.
Background information
This subject is not discussed much among Christians so most
guess it must be false and tend to argue with the J-Ws. Actually the belief
that Jesus will rule a populated paradise earth for 1000 years is taught
among conservative evangelical Christians as in: Nelson's Introduction
to the Christian Faith (1995), page 285 (article entitled "The Millennium"
by Grant Osborne); Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth (1975)
pages 164-167; David Jeremiah's Escape The Coming Night, Vol 4 pages
45-48, 71-72 (1994) and his radio show "Turning Point", and Heaven is
a place on Earth by Michael Wittmer associate professor of systematic
theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary (see 8/16/2004 Christianity
Today).
Consider this quotation from Charles Stanley's
Eternal
Security (1990) pages 107-110:
"Our Final Home
"Most Christians believe their ultimate destiny is heaven. That is not
true. Man's ultimate destiny is planet earth. When God created the heavens
and the earth, He intentionally placed man on the earth. He could have
put him in heaven. But God placed man here for a specific purpose: to rule
over creation (see Gen. 1:28-31). The earth became man's responsibility.
To make his job easier, God designed a body for man that is tailor-made
for living and working on planet earth.
"That was God's plan in the beginning, and nowhere in Scripture are
we informed that His original plan has been altered. On the contrary, all
of Scripture teaches that we are moving toward a time in which God's original
plan will be fulfilled.
"Our Temporary Home
. . .
"When a believer dies, he or she goes immediately to be with the Lord
(see 2 Cor. 5:6-8). Since we know from numerous passages that Christ is
seated at the right hand of God, in heaven, it is safe to say that Christians
go to heaven when they die (see Col. 3:1). . . .
"But Christians do not stay in heaven forever. When Christ returns,
He will establish a kingdom on this earth, a kingdom that will last for
one thousand years (see Rev. 20:4). If, as Paul said, 'we shall always
be with the Lord' when He returns, it makes sense that we will be included
in this kingdom. Keep in mind, this is an earthly kingdom (see Rev.
20:7-8). So once again, believers will make their home on earth.
"When the thousand years are completed, and Satan has been defeated
once and for all, God will re-create the earth: [here is a quotation from
Revelation 21:1-3]
"God will not only re-create the earth, He is planning to move in! Instead
of men dying and going to heaven, John presents us with a picture of God
packing up and coming to earth. The point is, after Christ returns, man
is back on earth forever. Sin and death will be destroyed, thus
erasing any potential division between man and his Creator. All in all,
God's original plan will be fulfilled.
"Think Again
". . . because heaven is just a stopover. Heaven is temporary. We are
all coming back one way or another." |
Summary
You will gently introduce the subject of the biblical future for believers.
Since your goal is to show the deficiencies of the JW view in comparison
to how some Christians see it, yet without doing any teaching yourself
which offends JWs, you will ask them to do all the explaining. Initially
you will offer only a simple summary of the material and then ask them
to explain the issue. You start by emphasizing aspects that are similar
to the JW view and then, after the JW does some explaining, you mention
the issue that highlights the deficiencies and sadness of the JW view.
You will reveal the disturbing issue by gradually asking questions.
You plan your questions so that the JW will explain to you that young children
can never go to heaven. After that the JWs will explain that some believing
families will be separated eternally in two separate parts of the kingdom.
The general flow is this:
-
Will families be together in the kingdom?
-
What if a family member was not a believer could they make it into heaven
because the rest of the family is there?
-
What about little children of Christian parents, since infants cannot be
believers, can they go to heaven?
-
If they cannot go to heaven but must live on earth, who will care for them?
-
Since the infants will have parents in heaven, could the adults on earth
have parents or relatives in heaven?
-
What about Joseph and Mary? Some of their children became believers but
they could have had children who died as infants. In the kingdom where
will each member of this family live?
-
So it sounds like every Christian family that was persecuted and killed
along with their little children will spend eternity in heaven apart from
their children on earth. Is that what you believe?
After the JW comments on the troubling issues, you carefully ask about
Matthew 19:13,14,16,27-29 and then Ephesians 3:15. Keep in mind you can
only introduce a verse if you do it by asking questions. JWs often find
it suspicious if a person can refer to more than one verse from memory
so be careful whenever you present scriptures. You will want to write these
verses either on a piece of paper that you will call your "notes" or write
them in the margin of your Bible. You will ask the JWs how these verses
support their view as contrasted with the Christian version.
In conclusion you will emphasize the emotional consequences of their
JW belief and how it leads to sadness. You will contrast the Christian
version of the paradise earth and show why it is more satisfying. Then
you ask a final grabbing question. "If I were to hold to the more satisfying
Christian version of the paradise earth would I be welcome in the JW religion?"
Sample conversation
Here is a sample conversation you might have with a JW:
You |
I really enjoy discussing the Bible and comparing what different
Christian groups believe. Some groups don’t like to discuss their beliefs
and leave it to their Ministers to do that. How about you? Are you comfortable
explaining your beliefs in contrast to what others believe? |
JW |
Oh yes, we enjoy doing that. |
You |
I had read some things about what some Southern Baptists
believe about the future and it sounded interesting. I am curious
as to how your beliefs compare. Would that be OK if I made some notes and
compare your views with the views of others? . . .Let me get some paper
so I can make some notes. |
You |
I have some paper here and also found my notes on what some
others believe. I had read something a prominent Southern Baptist, Charles
Stanley, wrote and he said some interesting things about the future for
believers and I found that others believe it too. My notes say that Charles
Stanley wrote in a book entitled "Eternal Security" that although
a Christian goes immediately to heaven when he dies, the final home for
all believers is to live on earth forever and this will be the kingdom
of God. Have you heard of this before? (Or . . . I know you believe something
like that.) What would you say about this view? |
JW |
We did not know anyone else believed that. We believe that
the final home for the majority of mankind will be to live on a paradise
earth forever. This will be the earthly part of the kingdom of God. |
You |
Will families be together in the kingdom? |
JW |
Oh yes, notice this picture here. It shows families being
reunited in God's kingdom on earth. It will be a paradise and people will
welcome family members back from the dead. Doesn't this look wonderful? |
You |
Yes. What if a family member was not a believer could they
make it into heaven because the rest of the family is there? |
JW |
No. Only tested and faithful persons can go to heaven. Actually
only 144,000 people will go to heaven. The majority of believing mankind
will live on earth forever. |
You |
What about little children of Christian parents who live
forever in heaven, since infants cannot be believers, will they go
to heaven or not? |
JW |
No, the children of believing parents will live on earth. |
You |
If they cannot go to heaven but must live on earth, who
will care for them if their parents are in heaven? |
JW |
We don't know for sure. There will be many millions of adults
on earth and some might even be relatives and could raise the children. |
You |
Since the infants will have parents in heaven, could the
adults on earth have parents or relatives in heaven? |
JW |
Yes, I suppose it could be possible that some adults would
have relatives, either parents, siblings or grown children in heaven. |
You |
What about Joseph and Mary? Some of their children became
believers but they could have had children who died as infants. In the
kingdom where will each member of this family live? Where will Joseph live
or Mary or the children? |
JW |
Since Joseph apparently died before Jesus did, Joseph will
live on earth forever. Mary will be in heaven along with the grown children
that died as faithful Christians. Any infants that died would be raised
into the earthly kingdom. |
You |
So it sounds like all the many Christian parents who were
persecuted and killed by Rome in the early centuries will spend eternity
in heaven apart from their children on earth. Is that what you believe? |
JW |
Well, yes. Those who died faithful who were part of the
144,000 will be in heaven forever while those who are raised onto earth,
if they stay faithful, will live there forever. Here let me show you how
the Bible teaches this . . . |
You |
Oh, my. That viewpoint is a bit of a surprise. Forgive me
for saying this but my first reaction to this is a little uncomfortable.
But I would like to understand this better before I get the wrong impression.
OK? |
You |
Before we get into WHY you believe these things, which we
can do a bit later, I want to know first WHAT you believe. After I learn
WHAT you believe we can go back over WHY you believe it. First let me learn
WHAT you believe so I can put it together and ask good questions that compare
your belief with what these others believe. To help me put this together,
could you comment on one Bible passage for me? I know if you could comment
on this one verse, or maybe two, I will see your point. Would that be OK? |
You |
The verse I would like to understand is Matthew chapter
19 starting about half-way through. Let me get my Bible . . . . Here it
is, it is Matthew 19 starting about verse 13. When I read this I get the
feeling that this is saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to little
children and that no one should hinder them from going into the kingdom
of heaven. How do you see it? |
JW |
This is possibly referring to people who are like children,
they are teachable and accept the Bible without arguing. Or maybe it refers
to children entering the earthly part of the kingdom. I will need to check
on this and get back to you. |
You |
When I continue reading down to verses 27-29, the context
seems to imply that those who go to heaven will gain the relationships
they lost in this life. For example it says that those who lost children
will gain them in the kingdom. Is this talking about the people that go
to heaven and what is it that they will gain? |
JW |
It is talking about those who will be in heaven but they
do not literally get these things when they are in heaven. They only figuratively
get children in that they rule over others who are like children to them. |
You |
So your view is that heaven does not truly belong to little
children. And when Peter asked about those relationships that he and others
lost, they won't really ever get those back. Peter was asking literally
but Jesus answered figuratively? |
You |
I see, then I had one more verse that if you comment on
it I will understand your view. According to my notes here the verse is
Ephesians 3:15. . . . [Read it.] What families in heaven is this talking
about? |
JW |
I am not sure I will have to research this. |
You |
Ok, then summarizing this. It appears that in comparing
these two views, these Southern Baptists and those who hold that view agree
with you that people will live on earth in paradise forever but the difference
is that while they believe godly families will be able to fellowship together
and comfort one another, kind of like the pictures in your literature,
you believe that some of these families will not be able to welcome their
family members back because the families will be forever separated, some
in heaven and some on earth. Is that how you see the difference? |
JW |
Yes, that seems to be the difference. |
You |
Oh, dear. Oh my. That sounds so very sad to me. That does
not sound like a paradise to me. I can see why some people would hesitate
to believe this doctrine of yours, it seems so sad.
So what Bible verses lead you to conclude that some families will be
eternally separated rather than this other view that says believers will
initially go to heaven but later live on earth united with all their believing
family? Do you have verses that indicate your interpretation is more correct
than this other view? |
JW |
I cannot think of any verses that specifically show that
point. I will have to research this. |
You |
If the Bible taught this sad doctrine then I would naturally
believe it but I hope you can see why I would not choose it since it is
so sad. Suppose I were to hold to the more satisfying Christian version
of the paradise earth where believing families will be united forever in
paradise, even families like Joseph and Mary, would I be welcome in the
JW religion if I held that view? |
JW |
No, you would not be allowed to be a JW. |
You |
Oh dear. Oh that is so sad. I have never heard such a thing.
If I held to your view of the future I would still be allowed to join some
other church, even though there was this difference. Though they would
probably wonder why I would choose such a sad view over the more satisfying
view where families would be united in happiness forever. But they would
still let me join. Yet if I believed the more satisfying Christian view
you would not let me join your group unless I believed your sad interpretation.
I hope you can see why I do not find your viewpoint attractive can't you? |