But what does this even mean?
Contrary to the beliefs of many witnesses, the great crowd does not inherit the earth according to Society doctrine, although this theory has been taught in the past.[1] The earth is said to be an inheritance of the 144,000 anointed witnesses while those apart from the anointed will merely live on the earth, yet under the rule of the earth’s inheritors:
"Jesus pronounced the mild-tempered happy because they will inherit the earth. As the perfectly mild-tempered Son of God, Jesus is the Chief Inheritor of the earth. (Psalm 2:8; Matthew 11:29; Hebrews 1:1, 2; 2:5-9) But as the Messianic 'son of man,' he was to have associate rulers in his heavenly Kingdom. (Daniel 7:13, 14, 22, 27) As Christ’s 'joint heirs,' these anointed mild-tempered ones will share in his inheritance of the earth. (Romans 8:17) Other mild-tempered, sheeplike people will enjoy eternal life in Paradise in the Kingdom’s earthly realm. (Matthew 25:33, 34, 46; Luke 23:43) That prospect makes them happy indeed!”[2]
The same promise which the anointed await, however, was also given to the Israelites in the Old Testament:
"For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace… For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." (Psalm 37:9-11, 22; KJV)
The Society does confess that the promise of the earth’s inheritance spoken of in Psalm 37 projected ahead to the Kingdom of God. For instance, in 1974 they wrote:
“That David’s words had a broader, large-scale application to the Kingdom rule of the entire earth is seen in the fact that at Matthew 5:5 Jesus quoted from Psalm 37. Did Christ say that its fulfillment was all in the past? No, for he projected it into the future…”[3]
Both Psalm 37 and Matthew 5:5 have seen many about-turns just within the last few decades throughout Society literature, and this has been quite confusing for their readers. For example, at times they teach that both areas insist that the rank and file witnesses shall inherit the earth,[4] other times they teach that both instances apply only to the anointed.[5] Nevertheless, they do consistently maintain that Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5 both refer to the same future fulfillment.[6]
Throughout the entire 37th Psalm, David incessantly contrasts only the righteous from the wicked. Drawing from this, Pastor Russell cited Psalm 37:9-11’s promise and insisted that while the righteous spoken of will receive everlasting life in the inherited earth, “all others he will cut off from life in the second death because he has no pleasure in them that love evil”[7] (emphasis mine). Pastor Russell could speak with such confidence as there is no third group mentioned, no “other flock”; only the good and the bad, the righteous who shall inherit the earth and the wicked who shall not. Russell also seemed to recognize that in this same Psalm, David further reveals that “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever” (vs. 29; Cf. vs. 27). Once more, those who inherit the earth will also dwell in it; “forever.”
The Society increases supporters when revealing passages which speak of a future life in the said Paradise Earth in addition to those which illustrate life within the heavens. Examples do indeed exist for both circumstances. While the Scriptures which point towards life in heaven are too numerous to count, evidence also points towards an after-life in what the Society deems an earthly paradise. For example, Isaiah prophesied of the time in which all creatures upon the earth shall obey God; the wolf will live with the lamb and the leopard with the goat, the cow will feed with the bear and the infants may play near a cobra’s den (Isaiah 11:6-9). The new world shall be filled with heavenly bliss. However, the Society does not readily publicize the instances which further explain that the new heavens will come down upon the earth (Revelation 21:1-3), a detail which God was adamant must not remain hidden:
“and if anyone takes anything away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God will take his portion away from the trees of life and out of the holy city, things which are written about in this scroll.” (Revelation 22:19)
The Kingdom of heaven is not necessarily some unapproachable land above us, but it somehow presently surrounds us; through its government, we may assist all of the saints and angels in conquering the wickedness of this world. We are offered sufficient evidence to understand the nature of its sovereignty, though not yet the capacity to fully comprehend the reality of its present existence. Heaven is often described as this intangible realm which exists alongside our own, but we simply can’t see it. John saw it, and he wrote about it. The Bible fittingly concludes with his testimony in which he described a beautiful city, the New Jerusalem, coming down upon the earth. The new heavens and the new earth described in chapters 21-22 of Revelation are contrasted from the former in that there are no obstacles between them. Continuous access is granted into the new heavens from the new earth by all who endure beyond His judgment (Revelation 21:25); God will reside with His people, walk with them, and He shall be their God forever (Revelation 21:3).
The word “revelation” comes from a Greek word meaning, apocalypse. Despite what modern interpretation implies from this word, it means an “uncovering” or revealing; to unveil something by removing the obstruction of the view. The word ‘revelation’ does not imply future; the revelation of Jesus Christ is just that: Christ is revealed. While portions of John’s revelation do portray future events, much of the book does not. The author himself claims that the events which take place throughout are not all pointed toward the future, but the past and his present as well (Cf. Revelation 1:19). John considered himself to be “a companion in the tribulation” (Revelation 1:9); he considered himself and his contemporaries to be a kingdom of God (Revelation 1:6), as they had already been transferred into God’s kingdom while yet men upon the earth (Colossians 1:13).
I believe that John was offered a vision of two kingdoms, described almost as though one overlapped the other; he saw the powers which we do not see, yet are active all around us. John saw the ultimate struggle between good and evil, a battle which has existed throughout the history of mankind. He saw the participation of the angels and saints in our prayers and worship, and finally, he saw the defeat of evil and the consequential establishment of the new heavens and the new earth. Not much unlike the former, the new heavens which John saw came down upon the new earth; only this time, he saw one individual kingdom governing over all.
There have been many theories presented among the Protestant denominations in recent years, most notably that which is called Replacement theology. The Replacement theory claims that God chose to abandon Israel and instead turn toward other people, but this is a gross misrepresentation of what Christ and His apostles taught. Revelation 21:12’s description of the Kingdom upon consummation contains twelve gates, and each gate contained a name. The names were not those of the Gentile nations, but each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The believing Gentiles are grafted into ancient Israel to receive salvation, though each contingent upon their faith in Christ. After Pentecost, Peter begged the Jews in Jerusalem to repent and turn again to the Lord that He may blot out their sins:
“so that seasons of refreshing may come from Jehovah himself and he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus. Heaven must hold this one within itself until the times of restoration of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old”. (Acts 3:19-21)
Peter wanted them to know that the promise which God spoke directly to the holy prophets still pertained to the Jews who stood there in front of him. The promise had not changed, although the reward was much greater than any understood. Paul makes it abundantly clear that the grace and election that the Jews had received from God was fixed and unchangeable (Romans 11:29), and that "there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is the same Lord over all, who is rich toward all those calling on him" (Romans 10:12). We must continue to preach the Gospel of repentance, not rejection, as Paul said, "really, woe to me if I do not declare the good news!" That 'good news' which we must preach declares that the Gentiles are to be "co-heirs" with Israel, that Christ has come to redeem His people. The Jews are not to respond to a new invitation which is offered to the Gentiles; the same invitation which God had offered to the Jews through Abraham is now extended to the Gentiles. God made a promise for them to inherit the earth, or as the footnote in the New World Translation on Psalm 37:11 confirms: "the land"; the land of Israel. Jesus did not come to abolish this promise; He came to fulfill the law and the Prophets. He did not renege on His covenant with the Jews, fulfilling the law is a further oath that everything which God had promised to the Jews was still to come:
"For I tell you that Christ became a minister of those who are circumcised in behalf of God’s truthfulness, so as to verify the promises He made to their forefathers." (Romans 15:8)
To the Jehovah's witnesses, the concept of the meek inheriting the earth is quite similar to that described above by the subscribers of Replacement theology. While they do offer hope for our patriarchs to dwell upon the earth, they believe that the promise is now directed strictly towards a new group, a group which they refer to as “Spiritual Israel”; a group which consists solely of the anointed. While an idea of a Spiritual Israel is indeed Scriptural, it is not to the exclusion of the members of ancient Israel to whom God has also chosen to offer His salvation.
The Society has taught that the other sheep will be allowed to live on the earth because, though Matthew 5:5 does not strictly apply to these, "it has been quoted in connection with them and properly so because they must be meek or mild-tempered ones in imitation of Jesus Christ."[8] It is uncertain why so many mild-tempered ones will not inherit the earth when this verse confirms that the earth belongs to just these. Perhaps it is because they are not "really" meek:
“Not the Jewish nation, although the opportunity was wide open for them to take advantage of it; but the really ‘meek’ ones, the religiously mourning ones, the ones who felt their captivity to a false religious system, these ones who became the baptized followers of Jehovah’s Anointed One, Jesus. They were the ones that also received the anointing with God’s spirit, just as their spiritual Head and Leader Jesus had received it.”[9]
When God made the original promise to Abraham He said, "all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring as a lasting possession" (Genesis 13:15). At first glance it might seem that Abraham has already received his inheritance, yet in his final words, Stephen noted that although God promised the land to Abraham, he never even set foot in it (Acts 7:5). God doesn’t make false promises. Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that "no matter how many the promises of God are, they have become 'yes' by means of [Christ]." Hebrews 11:8-12 confirms that Abraham has become righteous by faith; that by faith he left everything he owned and headed to a land not yet revealed to him simply because he trusted that God would not mislead him. By faith, he lived in the land where God had led him, as though he was in a foreign land. He was in the land of Canaan, he was in the place which God had given to him and his ancestors as an everlasting possession (Exodus 6:3-4; Cf. Genesis 13:12), but again, Stephen said that had Abraham never entered the promised land, though he lived there in tents with Isaac and Jacob, "the heirs with him of the very same promise" (Hebrews 11:9).
The Society notes that the land in which the patriarchs had dwelled "has been described as the 'paradise of the Holy Land”;[10] they had entered into a representation of the Paradise of God (or Paradise Earth), and they lived in the land as foreigners because they were "awaiting the city having real foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). Though many still today do not recognize the extent of God’s promise in the Old Testament, Abraham did; as Pastor Russell acknowledged, the city which Abraham awaited was that which God built with Christ Jesus as the great cornerstone and His faithful followers "shaped, fitted, polished, [and] prepared as 'living stones.'"[11] This land is also known as "the Kingdom of God."[12] Pastor Russell further declared that:
"The covenant was to give all 'the land of Canaan' to Abram and to his seed for an everlasting possession. The terms of the covenant clearly indicate an earthly inheritance, an inheritance of that which Abram actually saw with his natural eyes. And Abraham (for his name was here changed as a confirmation of the covenant) believed the word of the Lord and never relaxed his faith, even to his dying day; for, says Paul, he 'died in faith, not having received the promises; but, having seen them afar off, he was persuaded of them and embraced them' (Heb. 11: 13) although, during his past life, as Stephen said, 'God gave him none inheritance in the land; no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised that he would give it to him and to his seed after his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.'-Acts 7 :5".[13]
It sounds almost as if Abraham stood upon an empty lot in wait for God to build him a home. The original promise offered to Abraham in Genesis 13:15 cross-references Galatians 3:16 in the New World Translation, a passage in which it is clear that Abraham was to be a member of the New Covenant, for according to Galatians 3:16, the promise of the Covenant was given to Abraham and his seed alone, that seed "who is Christ." Abraham and Christ received the same promise, the promise to inherit the land. The only way for anyone besides Abraham to become a member of the Covenant is to become a member of his seed; a member of the body of Christ.
This concept has always been inconsistent within Watchtower doctrines, and Rutherford gave birth to a unique idea in 1934. Regarding the promise for Abraham and his descendants to inherit the land in Genesis 13:15, Rutherford taught that “Abraham represented God, while his seed referred to His Christ.”[14] It is left uncertain why God would need to receive the land through promise, His Own promise at that, but Rutherford then proceeds to explain how Christ had begun His rule in 1914, which he states fulfilled the promise of making Christ Jesus “the rightful possessor of all the earth.” [15] Therefore:
“There is no Scriptural reason to conclude that the man Abraham and his descendents will inherit the earth… When God said to Abraham, ‘I will give unto thee and unto thy seed after thee the land,’ clearly the meaning thereof is that Abraham in type was given the land and his Seed, the Christ, will possess it for ever. Of and concerning his faithful and obedient followers Christ Jesus spoke, saying: ‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.’ (Matt. 5 : 5)… Jehovah has therefore fulfilled his promise to give all the land to the seed of Abraham, that is, to Christ Jesus: and the ‘meek’ mentioned by the Lord who shall inherit the land, being the teachable and obedient ones, that is to say, the faithful members of his body, these inherit the earth with him for ever.” [16]
Rutherford recognized that this promise was only to Abraham and Christ and that to inherit the land, you had to be a member of the body of Christ. Just as is taught today, Rutherford claimed that those who are of the body of Christ are "anointed member[s] of the Christian congregation."[17] As Rutherford penned the above article, he maintained his residence at Beth Sarim, a mansion that he chose to build with the intention of housing “the faithful men of old” whom he believed would “soon be resurrected by the Lord.”[18] This home was soon to be inherited by several Old Testament prophets, some of whom were “in the Bible at Hebrews the eleventh chapter” according to the Deed of Beth Sarim.[19] Coincidentally it was Hebrews 11:10-16, although soiled in the New World Translation, which explains that by faith Abraham awaited the heavenly city which God had prepared for him. Rutherford went on to say that there is no “scriptural reason to conclude that Abraham and the other faithful men of old shall ever be changed from human to spirit creatures, as we once thought.” [20] Rather:
“Their position, as the Scriptures clearly show, will be that of ‘princes in all the earth’, that is to say, the visible governors of earth, the direct representatives of Christ to whom God has given the earth as his inheritance, and as such princes they will rule under Christ and rule in righteousness. (Ps 2:6-8; Isa. 32:1)” [21]
Rutherford cites Isaiah 32:1 to support Abraham’s future earthly residence, though Insight on the Scriptures states that the princely representatives spoken of in Isaiah 32:1-2 are thought today to be “of the heavenly government.”[22]
From their earliest days, the Society has stressed that God originally purposed for man to live forever upon the earth.[23] They reason that had Adam not sinned against God he would still be alive today,[24] and virtually all prominent and influential commentators of the early Church agree.[25] But man did sin, and the result was death. Christ redeemed mankind, as Charles Russell noted that “the ransom or price of anything always takes the place of the thing bought, and in that sense ‘Christ gave his flesh life for the deliverance of man from death. (Heb. ii. 14, 15.)’” [26] In other words, what Christ purchased through His sacrifice was eternal life for humanity.
The Watchtower further proclaims that our redemption means that Christ bought back “what Adam lost”;[27] and what Adam lost was “the right to live on earth,”[28] a “perfect human life”[29] with “the privilege of living forever in Paradise.” [30] The punishment is described by both the Scriptures and the Society as the life, or soul, leaving the body[31] and the body returning to the earth. In stating that “what Adam lost for mankind, Jesus regained,”[32] they are in effect revealing that Christ bought back human perfection and delivered the soul from the power of Sheol (Psalm 89:48) to one day receive resurrection to life on earth.
On the cross, Christ promised the thief who died next to Him that they will be together in Paradise (Luke 23:43). While the Society insists upon a much later time in which the two must meet again,[33] the statement does nonetheless place Christ in Paradise. In claiming that they will be together, Jesus establishes that this penitent thief shall be a member of His body, as there are no survivors outside of the body of Christ.
Paradise is known today as the abode of the just, it is what Paul later explains to be “the third heaven”; he even knew somebody who was received there, although he does not know whether it was in the body or out of the body (2 Corinthians 12:3-4).
Christ further revealed that He would one day descend with the New Jerusalem, His Church, and reside upon the earth (Cf. Revelation 21:23), where God’s dwelling will forever be with mankind (Revelation 21:3). This demonstrates that God has accepted the sacrifice and will restore humankind according to its original purpose (Cf. Titus 1:2; Isaiah 65:21-25); or as the Society has put it, “Jesus [laid] down his perfect human life as a sacrifice so that offspring of Adam who exercised faith could have what Adam lost.”[34]
[1] The Watchtower, November 15, 1983, p. 30
[2] The Watchtower, October 15, 1991, p. 10
[3] The Watchtower, June 15, 1974, pp. 377-378
[4] i.e. The Watchtower, February 15, 1984, p. 6 (the rank and file witnesses will have an inheritance in the inheritance of the anointed: “While a limited ‘little flock’ will inherit rulership over the earth for a specific time, Jesus’ promise also widens out to include all the billions of mankind who will have an earthly inheritance.”); The Watchtower, November 15, 1983, p. 29 (though the rank and file witnesses will live upon the earth, “by dedicating their lives to Jehovah, conforming to his requirements and associating with the anointed remnant who have been brought into the spiritual paradise from 1919 onward”); The Watchtower, November 1, 1974, p. 662; The Watchtower, June 15, 1974, pp. 377-378
[5] i.e. The Watchtower, February 1, 1971, p. 77; The Watchtower, May 1, 1958, p. 63; The Watchtower, October 15, 1954, p. 631
[6] “Awake!” Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, October 8, 1976, p. 6
[7] Zion’s Watch Tower, December 1890, p. 3 (Reprints p. 1268)”
[8] The Watchtower, August 1, 1959, p. 479
[9] The Watchtower, November 1, 1970, p. 658
[10] The Watchtower, July 1, 1989, pp. 19-20
[11] Zion's Watch Tower, August 15, 1899, p. 2520
[12] Zion's Watch Tower, March 1, 1894, pp. 76, 79
[13] Zion's Watch Tower, February 1, 1894, pp. 44, 46
[14] The Watch Tower, March 1, 1934, p. 69
[15] The Watch Tower, March 1, 1934, p. 69
[16] The Watch Tower, March 1, 1934, p. 69
[17] “Insight on the Scriptures”, Volume I, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1988, p. 349
[18] “Salvation”, J.F. Rutherford, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1939, p. 311
[19] Beth Sarim Deed; December 24, 1929
[20] The Watch Tower, March 1, 1934, p. 70
[21] The Watch Tower, March 1, 1934, p. 70
[22] Insight on the Scriptures, Volume I, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 434
[23] “Insight on the Scriptures”, Volume II, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1988, p. 784
[24] The Watchtower, March 1, 1991, p. 6; The Watchtower, November 15, 1983, p. 9
[25] i.e.. “Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible”, World Publishing, 1967, Genesis 2:17; John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, 1746-8, Genesis 2:17; “Wesley’s Notes”, John Wesley, 1775, Genesis 2:17; Augustin: Exposition on the Book of Psalms: Psalm XXXVIII; Chrysostom: The Homilies on the Statutes to the People of Antioch: Homily V; Methodius: From the Discourse on the Resurrection
[26] Zion’s Watch Tower, November, 1879, p. 47
[27] i.e. The Watchtower, February 1, 1997, p. 5; The Watchtower, April 15, 1990, p. 19
[28] The Watchtower, October 15, 1952, p. 630
[29] The Watchtower, January 1, 1977, p. 6
[30] The Watchtower, April 15, 1999, pp. 17-18; The Watchtower, April, 1, 1992, p. 6
[31] “The Truth Shall Make You Free”, J.F. Rutherford, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1943, p. 37
[32] “Awake!”, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, April 8, 1982, p. 6
[33] Make sure footnote makes it into concordance Luke 23:43: The Society is justified in teaching that punctuation is not evident in the original texts and was to be inserted at the discretion of the translators, therefore the text of Luke 23:43 could rightfully read: “Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.” It may be noted that, “Truly I tell you” was a common phrase of Jesus, as He said this an upwards of 78 times in the New World Translation whereas Luke 23:43 is the only instance where He is quoted as stating, “Truly I tell you today”.
[34] The Watchtower, April 15, 1990, p. 19
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