The Watchtower and the Gospel

What is the gospel of the kingdom? If you ask this question to a Jehovah’s witness they will likely give you a mechanical speech about the blessings of “paradise” and recite to you Psalm 37:10-11 or Revelation 21:3-4. If you press them about the resurrection and heaven, then they will begin to tell you a strange doctrine about 144,000 people being given spirit-bodies in heaven alongside God. Is that the gospel? Far from it.

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (1 Cor. 15:1-5)

When they come knocking, ask them what the gospel is and I guarantee you they will not tell you this message. They will not tell you of “first importance,” that Christ died for your sins. And if by some strange coincidence, you encounter a witness who does mention the death of Christ, he will certainly not tell you about the resurrection of Christ or about his post-resurrection appearances. This is because they do not place due importance and centrality upon the resurrection of Christ, nor do they believe that Christ was risen from the dead bodily on the third day. They think that his human body was utterly destroyed by God and was dissolved into atoms.

Watchtower Sept. 1, 1953, p. 518: "What happened to the perfect fleshly body of Jesus after his death? Was it preserved so that in time men will look upon it in worship? or does Jesus still have this fleshly body in the heavens, “spiritualized” so that it can be seen and worshiped? Neither. The Scriptures answer: It was disposed of by Jehovah God, dissolved into its constituent elements or atoms."

Insight Book, Vol. I., p. 840-842: “Jehovah God evidently disposed of Jesus’ fleshly body in his own way (possibly disintegrating it into the atoms of which it was constituted). (Lu 24:2, 3, 22, 23; Joh 20:2) Jesus did not take back his fleshly body and thereby cancel out the ransom for which it was given. The apostle Peter testifies that Christ went into heaven, the realm of spirits, not flesh, “he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit.” (1Pe 3:18) Before his ascension to heaven Christ, as a mighty, immortal spirit person, did materialize various fleshly bodies to suit the occasion, for the purpose of giving to his disciples visible, palpable evidence of his resurrection.​—Joh 20:13-17, 25-27; 21:1, 4; Lu 24:15, 16.”

Does any verse say that Jehovah God dissolved Christ's body into atoms? No. Do any of those passages cited say this? No. Paul specifically says that he “was buried, and that he was raised.” (1 Cor. 15:3-4) The same body which was buried was raised but in contrast, the witnesses teach that Christ was given an entirely different body, a “spirit body.” Not composed of flesh and bones, and that in this ghostly form Jesus decided to “materialize” different bodies on the different occasions on which appeared to people. This is entirely contrary to what the gospels teach. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, he had the crucifixion wounds on his body. These were not imitation crucifixion wounds. These were the same wounds inflicted to him on Calvary.

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”” (Joh. 20:25, 26)

What did Thomas ask to see? He asked to see the wounds inflicted upon Christ. If in fact, his body was already dissolved into atoms his request would be impossible to fulfill. That body, the body of the crucifixion, would have been lost forever!

“After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (Joh. 20:26-29)

If the Watchtower doctrine is to be believed then Jesus was lying or at the very least being deceitful. Thomas wanted to see his wounds, but Jesus never showed him the wounds inflicted from the crucifixion. Jesus showed him a fake body with fake wounds. Thomas never touched the imprint of the nails because the wounds on that body were not from any nails. Thomas was blessed because he had “believed.” (Joh. 20:29) That he believed what? That Jesus materialized a new body a few seconds ago with fake wounds? Is that what he was blessed for believing?

Luke 24:39: “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.””

The Watchtower simply does not believe these words that Jesus spoke to his disciples. They think that he was actually a spirit, and was not truly flesh and bones. In other words, they believe the exact opposite of Luke 24:39, that his flesh was only illusory and temporary but his true nature was spirit. There were occasions when the disciples, and even Mary did not recognize the risen Christ, but this was because God miraculously "kept their eyes from recognizing him." (Luke 24:16) Otherwise, he would have been readily noticed, because his hands and feet still bore the mark of the nails and his side the imprint of the spear. Further proof that the resurrection of Jesus was bodily and literal is to be found in the fact that the apostles referred to him as a man, a human person, even after his resurrection.

1 Timothy 2:5 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

For there is one God,+ and one mediator+ between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus,

Acts 17:31 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

Because he has set a day on which he purposes to judge+ the inhabited earth in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and he has provided a guarantee to all men by resurrecting him from the dead.”

Not only is, he said, to presently be a man in his role as mediator in heaven, but in the future judgment, he will be a man, the world will be judged by “a man whom God has appointed,” not by an archangel. Is this a translation issue? Or maybe the word can be understood differently? I'm afraid not. The words "man" (ανήρ) and "human" (άνθρωπός) are used in these verses. Furthermore, it would be good to note that the Watchtower claims Jesus is “mediator” only for the 144,000 and not for all of the saints.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus frequently talked about a future time when he would eat and drink with the apostles and prophets in his kingdom. The Watchtower has absolutely no response for these passages, and is forced to take them as being figurative for “joy.”

“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”” (Luke 22:14-18)

Our Lord mentioned eating and drinking “again” with his apostles “in the kingdom of God.” This proves that the kingdom will be upon the earth, and Christ will also be here when he returns. In the future kingdom with Jesus again eat a meal with 12 apostles present. This is also prophetically spoken of by Ezekiel,

“Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. The Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out by the same way.”” (Ezek. 44:1-3)

Our Prince will “eat bread before the Lord,” in the restored temple. What does the Watchtower do with these verses?

Watchtower Study Bible on Matthew 26:29:

“drink it new: That is, the vine’s new product. In the Scriptures, wine sometimes symbolizes joy.​—Ps 104:15; Ec 10:19.”

Let us suppose (for the purpose of a reductio ad absurdum) that he really meant joy instead of literally drinking wine. In this case, the meaning of Matt. 26:29 would be something like,

‘I will not again be joyous or happy until I am joyous with you in heaven.'

Is that really what Luke 22:28; Matt. 26:29 and Mark 14:25 are supposed to mean? Jesus surely was joyful when he saw his faithful apostles again after his resurrection and when he ascended to his Father. Was our Lord devoid of joy until the year 1918 when the his supposed heavenly resurrection was taking place? Is that really a credible interpretation that honors God?

Everywhere the resurrection is discussed in any specificity, the apostles and the prophets are clear that it is when the corpse is transformed, and given life again. Contrary to this teaching, the Watchtower says that the bodies of the “anointed” are left to rot in the grave while they are given different bodies, spirit bodies, in heaven, a supposed “heavenly resurrection.”

Watchtower Nov. 15, 1984, p. 8-9: “Others besides Jesus enjoy a resurrection to spirit life, as the Bible says: “Each one in his own rank: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to the Christ during his presence.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) Who are “those who belong to the Christ”? They are the 144,000 faithful disciples who are chosen to rule as kings over the earth with Christ in God’s Kingdom… As noted before, it occurs ‘during Christ’s presence,’ which began in 1914.”

An invisible and secret resurrection which began sometime before 1935, after 1914 but around the year 1918. This is directly contradictory to what Christ said to his anointed apostles and disciples, namely, that they would be “resurrected on the last day.” (John 6:49, 40, 44, 54) Who do you choose to believe? Do you believe Christ that his apostles will be resurrected on the last day or do you think they were raised around 1918 invisibly? Recall that claiming the resurrection has already begun is no small matter. The apostle Paul strongly rebuked Hymenaeus and Philetus for claiming that the resurrection had already taken place. (2 Tim. 2:17, 18) The apostle Paul, an anointed Christian, expected his mortal body to be transformed and glorified. He does not expect to be given a different body in heaven. He expects that his mortal body will be glorified, put on immortality, and put on incorruption.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Phil. 3:20, 21)

Paul expects Jesus to come “from” heaven, and to “transform” the bodies of his saints. Is this what the Watchtower expects? Not at all. Paul would not have used this language if he believed anything vaguely resembling the watchtower doctrine. The word for “transform” in Phil. 3:21 is μετασχηματίζω, which signifies a change or transformation as any standard lexicon will inform you.

Fred B. Craddock: “"As a Jew and as a Christian Paul accepted the body as created of God and as a central part of one's identity. It is not a substance foreign to our true nature. Naturally enough, then, Paul's doctrine of the resurrection was just that, resurrection from the dead and not the survival of an immortal soul free at last. As far as the body was concerned, resurrection meant the transformation of this lowly body to conform to Christ's glorious body (v. 21). What that transformed body would be like Paul sought once to explain (I Cor. 15:35-50), but not to everyone's satisfaction. The transformation will be the work of Christ, who, by virtue of his lordship at God's right hand, has the power to subject everything in creation to himself."” (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Philippians, p. 68.)

There is no such thing as a “heavenly resurrection” in the Bible. Such a concept is fiction and would have been foreign to ancient Jews. In the Pharisaic, tradition Resurrection was always something bodily those in the tombs would rise, in the dust would wake up! The dead in the tomb would hear the voice of the risen Lord, and rise as he did.

Isaiah 26:19: “Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.”

Daniel 12:2: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

John 5:28-29: “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

The meaning of such language is quite direct, which is why for many years the Watchtower taught that Daniel 12:2 was actually figurative and did not describe an actual resurrection. They just could not accept the plain meaning of the words, that those dead in the dust would arise, because they interpret what follows in Daniel 12:3 to be about the “anointed class,” and of course, they do not think the anointed will rise from the dust.

Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy! p. 291:

“Has there been such a spiritual revival of God’s anointed servants in the time of the end? Yes! It is a historical reality that in 1918 a small remnant of faithful Christians were subjected to an extraordinary attack that disrupted their organized public ministry. Then, against all likelihood, in 1919 they returned to life in a spiritual sense. These facts fit the description of the resurrection foretold at Daniel 12:2.”

The Watchtower Jul. 15, 2010, p. 20-24:

“Speaking about the time of the end, an angel foretold: “The ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse; and those who are bringing the many to righteousness, like the stars to time indefinite, even forever. . . . And the true knowledge will become abundant.” (Dan. 12:3, 4) Who would be the ones having insight and who would shine? Jesus provided a clue in his illustration of the wheat and the weeds. Speaking about the “conclusion of a system of things,” he stated: “At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:39, 43) In his explanation, Jesus identified “the righteous ones” as “the sons of the kingdom,” anointed Christians.​”

Notice that because “those who shine brightly” in Dan. 12:3 are identified with anointed Christians, it was inferred that Daniel 12:2 must be about the same group. However, those described in Dan. 12:2 rise “from the dust,” so it was argued that it must be a figurative resurrection. Nowadays, there has been yet another change of interpretation regarding Daniel 12:1-4 in Watchtower literature, which will likely be followed by another and yet another change.

Matt 8:11: “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

If you ask Witnesses about this passage, they will have no response for you. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not supposed to be “anointed” on their doctrine, but they are said by Christ to be in the kingdom of heaven. So desperate are they to avoid the weight of Matthew 8:11 that their literature claims “Abraham” really means Jehovah, and “Isaac” really means Jesus and “Jacob” really means the anointed. In other words, they simply deny that Jesus meant what he said.

Watchtower Sept. 1, 1978, p. 27, 28:

“Jesus spoke of such a meal with Jehovah as the Greater Abraham, when he foretold that many Gentile believers (like the believing Gentile “army officer”) would come from all parts of the earth and “recline at the table with Abraham [Jehovah] and Isaac [Jesus Christ] and Jacob [the spirit-begotten Christian congregation] in the kingdom of the heavens.”​”

Because their system cannot tolerate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being in the kingdom they simply swap out the names for whoever they prefer. This is eisegesis if anything is. If Jesus was resurrected as a man, bodily just as he foretold, then the entire system of salvation, outlined by the watchtower is false, because Christians must share in the likeness of the Resurrection of Christ. If Jesus was raised as a man on the Earth, then all Christians will be resurrected in the same manner.

Romans 6:5: “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

When describing the resurrection, Paul does not say that the body will be discarded entirely. What is sown is the seed, that is the spirit or the soul and it is sown in a glorified body. (1 Cor. 15:36-38) What happens to the body at the resurrection? Does he say that it is forsaken and replaced by a different body?

“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:50-54)

The body is not discarded. It puts on imperishability and immortality. It is glorified and perfect by the power of God. Often “flesh and blood” signifies the “sinful flesh” which is corrupted by sin. (Rom. 8:3) A body like that cannot inherit the kingdom. therefore our bodies are changed, not discarded or replaced but transformed and glorified, having become bodies capable of inheriting the kingdom. This is proven by the fact Paul says, “we will not all sleep,” that is die. On the Watchtower Doctrine the anointed must die before they are given heavenly bodies but for Paul, those of the anointed who have not died will have their bodies changed. That is totally incompatible with their concept of the first resurrection. Watchtower is plain that the anointed must die before they are given heavenly bodies,

Reasoning Book: “According to Romans 6:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 15:35, 36, 44 (quoted on pages 314, 315), they must die before they can gain heavenly life.”

Who do you choose to believe? Them or Paul who says, “we will not all sleep”? (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16-17) Look over 1 Corinthians chapter 15 carefully and pay careful attention to the verbs.

James Ware: “"I have argued, in 1 Cor. 15:36-54 the resurrection is understood as the revivification and glorious transformation to immortality of the mortal body of flesh. Throughout 1 Cor. 15:36-54 the subject of the verbs Paul uses to describe the resurrection event is the body of flesh and bones. Moreover, the verbs Paul employs for this event not the annihilation or replacement of the present body but its revival and transformation. It is this body that will be given life (15:36), raised (15:42, 43, 44, 52), and transformed (15:51, 52, 53, 54). Paul's predicate complements reveal that the "change" Paul envisions for the risen body in vv. 51-52 involves a change in its qualities rather than a destruction of its substance. Finally, in v. 44 both contextual and lexical consideration indicate that the phrase σώμα πνευματικόν [spiritual body] refers not to a body composed of pneuma but to the fleshly body given imperishable life by the power of the Spirit." (Paul's Understanding of the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:36-54, JBL 133, No. 4, 2014, p. 835.)

Again, the apostle says the body will be “changed,” (1 Cor. 15:52) “transformed,” (Phil. 3:20-21) and “glorified.” (Rom. 8:17, 30; 2 Thess. 1:10) Our mortal bodies will not be left to rot to dust in the grave while a different spirit body is given to the recipient in heaven. Our mortal bodies will “put on immortality” and be glorified, changed. Hence, when Paul speaks of a “spiritual body” in 1 Cor. 15:45 he means simply immortalized and glorified flesh.

Nicholas T. Wright: “This then is carried over into the discussion of the resurrection body in chapter 15. Here we face the problem of the disastrous translation of the RSV, perpetuated in the NRSV, where we find the contrasting present and future bodies translated as ‘physical body’ and ‘spiritual body’ (15.44, 46). Generations of liberal readers have said, triumphantly, that Paul clearly thinks the resurrection body is spiritual rather than physical, so there’s no need for an empty tomb. But that’s emphatically not the point. For Paul, as for all Jews, Christians and indeed pagans until the rise of the Gnostics in the second century, the word ‘resurrection’ was about bodies. When pagans rejected ‘resurrection’, that’s what they were rejecting. Paul’s language here, using Greek adjectives ending in –ikos, is not about the substance of which the body is composed, but about the driving force that animates it. It’s the difference between, on the one hand, a ship made of steel or timber, and a ship powered by sail or steam. For Paul, the psyche is the breath of life, the vital spark, the thing that animates the body in the present life. The pneuma is the thing that animates the resurrection body. This is where the link is made: the pneuma is already given to the believer as the arrabon, the down payment, of what is to come, since the Spirit who raised the Messiah from the dead will give life to the mortal bodies of those who belong to the Messiah (Romans 8.9-11).” (Mind, Spirit, Soul and Body.)

Faced with this mountain of clear scripture evidence that Jesus was resurrected in his own body as a man and that Christians will share in the same Resurrection the Watchtower responds with only one proof text in their defense, namely, 1 Peter 3:18,

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”

From this text they argue that Christ was raised as a “spirit creature” not as a human being. But the word "in" is not found in the Greek text here which is devoid of prepositions in the key phrases. Compare the following versions:

NWT: He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

KJV: put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,

ERV: In his physical form he was killed, but he was made alive by the Spirit.

GNV: Put to death concerning the flesh, but was quickened by the spirit.

ISV: He was put to death in a mortal body but was brought to life by the Spirit,

Do you discern the difference? "In" or "by" greatly changes the meaning. It might be understood that Christ was brought to life by the Holy Spirit. In the original Greek text neither "in" nor "by" is used. These words are inserted by translators for the sake of clarity, it could be either "in" or "by" as the intended meaning. To illustrate, I will put the inserted words in brackets, "made alive [in] [the] Spirit." Many of the ancient and modern commentators who accepted the sense “in the spirit” understood the passage to mean that the spirit of Christ, before the resurrection, descended into prison to preach to the spirits there. (cf. 1 Pet. 3:19) This is also a possible understanding. Should we base such an important doctrine over a single preposition which is not in the Greek text or upon the plain teaching of Christ and his apostles? Are you going to stake your salvation upon their translation and interpretation of one verse?

I would like the reader to ponder that teaching falsehoods about the resurrection of Christ is an issue of preaching the correct gospel, it is a matter of “primary importance.” (1 Cor. 15:1-4) Those who willingly preach a different gospel are under a divine curse (ανάθεμα). (Gal. 1:8-9) Those who make themselves teachers will be subject to a more severe judgment, as James says, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (Jas. 3:1) What we teach about the resurrection and the gospel of the kingdom matters, and our Lord will ask an account from us on the day of judgment. (Matt. 12:36) It is the duty of the saints to teach others the same doctrines that were taught by Christ and by his apostles, not to embellish them, or alter them according to the whims of an organization that constantly changes what it teaches. The Bible is a much more living and vivid book when it is interpreted for what it says apart from much later religious traditions.