Romans 6:7 – For he who has died has been acquitted from his sin.

The JWs teach that this verse says that when one dies all his sins are paid for, if he receives a resurrection he starts with a clean slate and only what he does from the time he is resurrected counts. But is this biblical? and Is this what Paul was saying in Romans 6:7? First let’s look at some other texts that have to do with this subject and then we will return to see if we can decipher what Paul was saying.

Matthew 12:36, 37 – I tell you that every unprofitable saying that men speak, they will render and account concerning it on Judgment Day; for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.

See also Rom 2:5 and 14:12

This text is saying what we have said will not be wiped away at death, whether it be good or bad we will be judged not on what we do after resurrection but what we do now in this life. Now lets read 2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of the Christ, that each one may get his award for the things done through the body, according to the things he has practiced, whether it is good or vile.

It is quite clear every person that has lived will be judged worthy of life or not on the basis of what they do in this life. There is judgment in the future of all of us. Hebrews 9:27 – And it is reserved for men to die once for all time, but after this a judgment.

Again, we will be judged on the basis of this life. But is it fair that those who never read a bible or even heard of God or Jesus be judged?

Rom 2:12-16 – For instance, all those who sinned without law will also perish without law; but all those who sinned under law will be judged by law. For the hearers of law are not the ones righteous before God, but the doers of law will be declared righteous. For whenever people of the nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law, the people, although not having law, are a law to themselves. They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written in their hearts, while their conscience is bearing witness with them and, between their thoughts, they are being accused or even excused. This will be in the day when God through Christ Jesus judges the secret things of mankind, according to the good news I declare.

If a person practiced unrighteousness he will not be able to say as an excuse that he never had the opportunity to know Jesus. Why not? All of us were given a conscience. The nations who did not have knowledge of the true God will be judged on the basis of their conscience. The Israelites who were under law will be judged on their adherence to that law. Christians will be judged by our imitating Christ. What about children who died young or those not mentally competent? The bible does not say, but we can be assured that the decision will be just.

What was Paul saying in Rom. 6:7 if in reality the slate is not wiped clean at death? We should look at the context. For instance Rom 6:2 says in part – …Seeing that we died with reference to sin, how shall we keep on living any longer in it?

Also lets read Rom 6:11 – Likewise also you; reckon yourselves to be dead indeed with reference to sin but living with reference to God by Christ Jesus

The death talked about in Rom. 6:7 is not physical death but death as to sin as can easily be seen by the context.

The society teaches that God would never resurrect an unrighteous person only to send him to the Second Death. However I believe that that is exactly what the bible says. All people who have lived will appear before the judgement throne, “those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgement.” (John 5:29) Also see Dan 12:2

Could not God simply judge the unrighteous while they are dead and not resurrect them simply to destroy them forever? Even in today’s court systems the one accused has the right to appear at his trial. It also may serve another purpose, if one of these unrighteous humbles himself before Jesus perhaps he will be shown mercy.

Knowledge of this coming judgement for all should motivate us to make corrections in our personalities now. Let us imitate Jesus to a fuller degree, then “we may have freeness of speech and not be shamed away from him at his presence”. (1 John 2:28)

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27 Comments on Romans 6:7; Are Sins Wiped Out at Death?

  1. Amos says:

    Another good article Andrew.

    This is another topic that I’ve given some thought to.

    Do you think that those who are resurected & show repentance will be given a “second chance?”

    If not, what benefit would their repentance be?

    Amos

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  2. andrew says:

    The bible lets us know that hades will be emptied and also Jesus mentioned that many towns and lands would be present at judgement day. (Matt. 11:22-24 ; 12:41,42)
    Some would find it difficult or impossible to be forgiven and escape eternal destruction. (Matt. 23:33)
    Others, though not following Jesus’ instructions, will receive “blows” or “lashes” but will not receive the penalty of eternal destruction. (luke 12:47,48)

    God is very merciful. King Manasseh was a wicked person, but received a second chance. It could be that those who were wicked in life but completely humble themselves and repent would receive “lashes” instead of eternal destruction. The bible doesn’t say and we can’t be sure. But I do think that all, righteous and unrighteous, will be resurrected to be judged. Some will have freeness of speech, others will be shamed.

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  3. Jolly Roger says:

    JJ, interesting.

    “The society teaches that God would never resurrect an unrighteous person only to send him to the Second Death. However I believe that that is exactly what the bible says. ”

    Did you know that before they insert the needles into a condemned man’s arms, needles to carry the drugs that will execute him, the EMT that performs the execution swabs the prisoner’s arm with alcohol. When asked why they did this, the EMTs replied that it is required because if they didn’t there was the “risk of infection”. Now, this probably isn’t the stupidest thing that I have ever heard of, but I’m sure I am going to have to sit a spell to figure out exactly what two or three things might be stupider. (Yeah, now that I think about it, some guy did recommended sending the bullets to be used in a firing squad through an autoclave first, I think that guy’s new nickname is “Lefty”.)

    Sometimes I think that we are just losing our grasp on the big picture.

    What would be the purpose in resurrecting a person so that you could just kill them? “Hello, glad you’re back. Unfortunately, our records indicate that previously, you died in your sleep, so now you get to die screaming. Ready? One, two, threeeeee, bye..AAAAaaaggghhhh. Wait a minute! That was way too fast. Bring that one back so we can do it again, and this time I want him to hit at least a full C over middle C, get it!”

    The point is that Jehovah has a purpose for mankind and it doesn’t include vengeance upon imperfect humans being misled by a completely and perfectly evil spirit creature, a spirit creature nearly infinite in power and strength when compared with a puny human. Question: if a man trains his pit-bull to attack on command and then commands the dog to attack a 9 year-old child, who, ultimately, is guilty of the child’s death? Now, obviously, you can’t allow the pit-bull to continue to exist, it’s a threat, but do you torture it to death as a lesson to all the other pit-bulls? No, that wouldn’t be merciful, that would be cruel. Now, if you, a mere imperfect man, can be merciful to a pit-bull, how much more so would our Heavenly Father be towards an imperfect man? Somewhere I remember a quote by this Jewish guy that went something like, “Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing.”

    Further, what is Jehovah going to do with all those people who died in the flood? Are you saying that they didn’t suffer enough yet?

    JJ, what is Jehovah going to do with Adam?

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    • JJ says:

      Hey JR

      Brother Andrew wrote this post, lol. I don’t want to get on your bad side so leave me outta this one! :-)

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    • andrew says:

      JR you can be quite humorous.
      I would be the first to admit I could be wrong about this. Jesus hasn’t begun to judge yet “Because he has set a day in which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth”
      People have lived and died for thousands or years without receiving a final judgement. All judgment has been reserved for that time period. Without Jesus sacrifice we would not even be able to have the opportunity to be judged. The verdict for all humans would be guilty. The point of judgment day would be justice not torturing the wicked. The wicked deserve their day in court just as much as the righteous. Jesus blood paved the way so God can show mercy to those he choose to.

      The text I cited above in Heb 9:27 shows all men die then judgement. The final decision for each person will be made during this judgment not before. Those who are proven unworthy of life will die. They will die for the second time, that is why the bible calls it the second death.

      My belief is that the people who died in the flood, those destroyed by God in Sodom and Gomorrah, those canaanites killed by the Israelites during the promised land conquest, have all not been eternally judged yet. Dan 12:2 says “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to shame and eternal contempt”

      John 5:29 “…those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” Yes the good, the bad and the ugly, I believe, will all be resurrected so they may be called to account for what they did in the flesh.

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      • Jolly Roger says:

        Andy, thank you for your reply, especially the opening statement. I will take that as a complement, and I sincerely hope that my seeming frivolity with such a serious subject(s) does not “put you off” as the cliche goes. If you haven’t guess already, it is really a matter of defense against what I call “The Pink Floyd Effect” (with proper and sincere apologies to Roger Waters, David Gilmour, et al).

        Some time ago I read book about how we (humans) learn things, and one of the sources for the books material was Albert Einstein who gave a detailed description of how he learned things. He said that, at first, whatever new subject he was subject or train of thought that he was exposed to always seemed preposterous, complete flaky, a crackpot idea, at first; but then, after he thought about it a while, he would detect patterns in the subject, patterns that seemed to make sense. Finally, Einstein said that he would detect enough patterns that he would be able to deduce the underlying principles and thus be able to construct cause and effect experiments along the line of, “Well, if ‘A’ is true, then I should be able to do this and that, and come up with ‘B’.” – and, after he had reached the point where he could successfully predict results based upon his summations he felt that he had truly “learned” the subject. (For those of you, of whom I’m sure Andy is probably the first to do so, spot this Einsteinian declaration as nothing more than a reiteration of “reading in an undertone”, “meditating on the word of God”, and, finally, “sounding it down into our hearts”, go to the head of the class.)
        There are, however, (and I’m sure each of us are familiar with the type of personality I am speaking of, as I can see that it is the basic psychological trigger for the articles on this site, not to mention the site itself) those folks who scour the scriptures looking for “just another brick in the wall.” There are a certain type of JW person who is simply looking for constancy, (but, gee, who isn’t?) that is, they have found the truth and they are sticking to it, that is, as long as it doesn’t change too much, too fast. It’s not that they don’t believe you, or might not agree with you, it’s just that they’ve got all these handy bricks here that make a really neat wall, and as long as they are on one side of the wall and the questions on the other, they really aren’t bothered by all that yammering going on.

        A few years ago as heard an ex-JW say something rather astute, to the sense that for every scripture in the Bible that “proves” something, there exists another scripture that is equal and opposite. Now, with a few rare exceptions (i.e. 1John 4:8), I have to admit what the guy said is true. So, what to do when, in chapter 1, the math book states 2+2=4, but in chapter 5, the book says 10+10=100? The two statements seem like they contradict each other until you pull back the camera and look at it as a “big picture”. In fact, the two statements say the same thing, it is just that the first statement uses a decimal based system, while the second statement uses a binary based numbering system.

        But how can we compare Dan 12:2, John 5:29, with, say Psalms 37:10, 1John 4:8, and Rev21:3,4? Remember, death is not a product of what we do in this life. Death is the one thing that drives us all, that motivates us all, that gives us a sense of time, but it is NOT supposed to be here. We die because of what Adam did, not what we ourselves do, just as in no matter what we do in this life, nor how long we do it, we will eventually die.

        Question, since Dan 12:2 uses “eternal” life, is he talking about humans? Does not “eternal life” mean immortality?

        If I die tomorrow (boy, I hope not) I will experience my “first” death. So, then I sleep in death for a while, until it comes time for Jehovah and Jesus to attend to the resurrection/judgement phase, and after a short while, up comes my turn. Now, Jehovah is going to “remember” me and if I get a passing grade (oh, please, oh please!) I will be given life again; however, if I don’t make the grade (just hypothetically, you see) He will decide that I “practiced vile things” too much and I stay dead, i.e. not in existence anymore, out of the way, can’t bother anybody ever again. Is this not a second death, a permanent death? Am I not receiving an eternal judgement for all my villainous activities? (Missed it by that much! – Maxwell Smart) Now, Jehovah will still remember me and my shame forever because He doesn’t forget anything, but those residing on the Earth will not remember me, because the things of the past will not be brought to their minds. If you lived in a true, spiritual, Earthly paradise, would you want to be reminded of Auswitch, or the Spanish Inquisition? (which, of course, nobody ever expects!)

        In the end, this does not violate the “God is love” statement, because: Jehovah’s name is sanctified, His purpose for the Earth and humankind once again continues on (and this time with no more detours), and my villainy receives perfect justice; and, all is done with the least amount of pain and suffering as possible.

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  4. Jolly Roger says:

    I don’t have a “bad” side, just one that is totally misunderstood. Thanks, I don’t know how that slipped by my steel trap of a mind. Hmmmm. Age, I suppose.

    Okay, And…Man up! Your turn.

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  5. Amos says:

    JR,

    I do agree with your reasoning on the resurrection of the wicked/non anointed. I could not see a loving God bring a person back to life, then pronounce them deserving of the second death, without giving them an opportunity to repent & leave their wrong course, (this is the view of the SDA’s).

    I see the dealings between YAHWEH & the anointed, as a pattern of His dealings with the rest of the resurrected dead during the millennial age.

    Amos

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    • andrew says:

      Will there be a resurrection during the 1000 yr. reign? All who claim Christ as master will, it appears, receive a resurrection at Christ’s coming. That is when Christ will adjust accounts with his slaves. And the rest of the dead? “and the rest of the dead didn’t come to life until the thousand years had ended”. (Rev. 20:5)

      Of course some interpret this as coming to life in a figurative way, which is possible. However Rev. 20:11-15 talks about the final judgement of all those who weren’t Christians. The placement of this text seems to indicate this judgement happens after the 1000 yrs. Also the text lets us know not until this time is hades emptied and death destroyed. And when is death destroyed? 1 Cor. 11:26 “The last enemy to be abolished is death.” So death is not destroyed until the end of the 1000 yrs. Therefore the emptying of hades, or in other words the resurrection of non-christians, doesn’t seem to happen until after the 1000 yrs.

      The reason I mention this is that it ties in with this theme we have been discussing. I might not be explaining this well. I know you enjoy considering as I do these topics.

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  6. JJ says:

    Ditto for me brothers. This is a very deep topic and unless I delved into for many many hours I couldn’t even begin to advise someone on it other than to repeat what I’ve been taught at the KH. Is it completely correct? I don’t think so but I haven’t done the research on this one yet. There’s so much to study and so little time!

    I did find a blog by a brother that served as an elder for a long time, many of these elders/former elders have been contacting me lately it is amazing. He makes a very interesting comment on Romans 6:7 here:
    http://reasoningwithjws.blogsp.....art-1.html

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  7. greybeard says:

    I don’t know brother Andrew,

    To me it seams as if you might be limping on two different opinions. Even you said you might be wrong on this. I for one happen to believe this verbatim: Romans 6:7 – For he who has died has been acquitted from his sin. We are also taught the wages of sin is death. Now what? You want to apply more? Maybe interest due too on top of the wages? I can see where you are coming from but I am not sure what you mean. Are you implying that there will be those resurrected that will not get a second chance to repent? If so, I just don’t see a God of love doing that to his child. Do you have children? Could you do that to him? Uhhhhh lets bring back little Johnny and tell him it was wrong to rape his sister then put him to death again. I got to tell you, funny as Jolly Roger put it, I agree with him. My Bible reads that God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son… Notice THE WORLD, not THE RIGHTEOUS. He loves all of his children. There is no man righteous or doing good on this planet! NOT ONE! Their are some declared righteous now through the blood of Christ Jesus. But none on their own.

    It is not as if God doesn’t have enough time or space/planets for his children to grow into righteousness. I would think the only way God would destroy anyone was if they were like Satan himself and the demons. 100% wicked.

    I think with this subject one needs to use sound reasoning. What would you do with your child?
    In Jehovah’s eyes the dead are as living to him. He doesn’t view death as we do. We inherited sin. It is not our fault we are not perfect.

    When a person is resurrected I believe he will still think and act the same sinning way he was when he died. They all will need to be taught. Every last one of them. This time, without Satan and possibly without the “dent in the pie pan” that Adam gave to us. Sure there will be those who will not conform and choose to die but I believe they will be few.

    Thats MHO and I could be wrong but I sure do not think so,

    Your brother,
    Greybeard

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    • greybeard says:

      And another thing,

      I was wrong only one time in my life. I thought I was wrong but I was right!

      I wish 😉

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    • andrew says:

      God is all knowing, just, and the very personification of love. I’m sure God would never confuse wickedness and ignorance nor wickedness and weakness. He is the perfect judge.

      Does God need to give those who did vile things a second chance, so as to determine how they would act? Wouldn’t He know already during the time of judgment who would decide to do good things and who would continue his evil ways? Could He not read their heart and innermost feelings and know more about that person than the person himself knows? Since we can’t read hearts and we don’t know how someone would respond to a second chance that seems to be the only loving thing to do. It may seem to us God would be unjust not to wipe the slate clean on everybody and give a do over under perfect conditions. God doesn’t need to do that. He will know how everyone would react under perfect conditions. How everyone would have reacted will be determined during judgement day. It is appointed to us to live then die then be judged (Heb 9:27)

      Unfortunately the bible is not crystal clear on many subjects. I guess that shows us all the importance of being tolerant of different ideas.

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      • andrew says:

        Let us also consider the parable of the sheep and the goats. Both the sheep and the goats view Jesus as their Lord. It follows on the heels of other parables having to do with the punishment and reward of his slaves. This would seem to indicate it takes place at the Lord’s coming when he judges those who claim to be his slaves. All christians who have lived appear before their master to render account. The sheep inherit the kingdom as rulers. (vs. 34)
        And what happens to the goats? Matt 25:46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment…”

        Do not these deserve a second chance? We may not have deemed these as evil. Jesus didn’t say they murdered or robbed or raped. They simply didn’t show love and mercy. Why aren’t they given a second chance? Jesus reads hearts. If these people who claimed to be christian lived once and then were judged either fit for the kingdom or for eternal destruction, why shouldn’t we expect the same basis for judging those who didn’t claim to be christian?

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        • Dennis says:

          “Let us also consider the parable of the sheep and the goats. Both the sheep and the goats view Jesus as their Lord.”

          I don’t see this as correct. Not all the goats could possibly view Jesus as Lord since the goats would encompass more than just professing Christians.

          It seems from this post that we may be confusing the judgment that the Church is currently under with the period of judgment during the Kingdom for mankind in general. I wish I had more time to dig into it. I will just say this real quick though. My view on salvation and judgment pretty much mirrors the classic Bible Student position (the Church on trial now and the World of Mankind in the millennium which will be a period of judgment – Thus a 100 year old man could die as a mere boy) except I don’t believe the 144,000 to be a literal number. Interesting subject matter brother Andrew.

          D

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      • Dennis says:

        “Does God need to give those who did vile things a second chance, so as to determine how they would act?”

        In my opinion, yes because the vile life lead may have been done so in ignorance. If they had all the information at hand maybe their life course would have been different. This very well could be the first real chance for great multitudes.

        “Wouldn’t He know already during the time of judgment who would decide to do good things and who would continue his evil ways? Could He not read their heart and innermost feelings and know more about that person than the person himself knows?”

        If this is the case then his resurrection wouldn’t be to judgement but sentencing. If this is the case, why not just leave em dead? This would constitute a Kangaroo Court.

        “It may seem to us God would be unjust not to wipe the slate clean on everybody and give a do over under perfect conditions.”

        Do over? IMO the PERIOD of judgment will be the first real, fair chance for most of mankind, free from Satanic influence and with the benefit of being taught 100% truth from the Lord and his Bride.

        “How everyone would have reacted will be determined during judgement day.”

        Possible, but since this is conjecture it’s just as likely to be wrong than right (as you’ve admitted brother), maybe more.

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  8. greybeard says:

    Like you said Andrew, The Bible is unclear on many subjects.

    You said, “It may seem to us God would be unjust not to wipe the slate clean on everybody and give a do over under perfect conditions…

    Does this not sound like a “clean slate”? Romans 6:7 – For he who has died has been acquitted from his sin. We are also taught the wages of sin is death.

    You then said, “God doesn’t need to do that. He will know how everyone would react under perfect conditions.” So what you are saying is God already knows everything so he is not going to resurrect everyone under perfect conditions. My question to you is if God knows everything then WHY let EVERYTHING continue to go on the way it is right now? Could it be that God chooses not to “know everything” even though he could? I don’t believe God chooses to know everything in detail. If he did life would be boring to him in my opinion.

    To me it is very simple. I don’t try to read something else into the scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” What does the word ALL here mean? If ALL die because of ADAM, Why can’t ALL sinners be made alive because of Christ? Or the majority? Isn’t that what this scripture is saying?

    When Jesus was put to death by the Jews what did he ask God? He asked him to forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. How many people on this God forsaken Earth do you think know what they are doing? How many people do you think would put a man like Jesus to death? I honestly don’t think many would. I believe for the most part mankind has more good than bad in him. As long as a man has more good than bad I believe God thinks the glass is half full. I don’t think he is going to pour it out.

    You quoted Matthew 12:36, 37 – I tell you that every unprofitable saying that men speak, they will render and account concerning it on Judgment Day; for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.

    So then is not EVERY man condemned? Every nan has spoken “unprofitable saying” except Christ himself. The point you are trying to make with this scripture is that after death we are still accountable for our sins. Your understanding of this scripture contradicts Romans 6:7.

    The way I see this scripture is after the resurrection we will need to agree that we were wrong in our past life. both our words and our actions. If we continue in that same course of conduct with out words and actions then for sure, we will be condemned.

    I got to tell you brother,
    With all due respect,
    I do not agree with you on this at all.
    I believe Jehovah God is much more forgiving than what you are presenting.

    With Christian love,
    your brother,
    Greybeard

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  9. greybeard says:

    Another point,

    You said, “Does God need to give those who did vile things a second chance, so as to determine how they would act? Wouldn’t He know already during the time of judgment who would decide to do good things and who would continue his evil ways? Could He not read their heart and innermost feelings and know more about that person than the person himself knows?”

    My question to you is, WHY did God put the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden?

    He already knew the outcome as you say didn’t he?

    Your Brother,
    Greybeard

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    • andrew says:

      The JWs say God didn’t use his foreknowledge. This would be called speculation. Myself I don’t know. There has been debate about this for centuries. Some say God foreknows everything that happens. Then the question arises if that is true, do we really have free will if everything has been foreknown? The answer to these questions are unknowable at this time.

      It is as Paul said in Rom 11:33,34 “Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgements and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”

      I think the beginning of wisdom is the realization of ignorance. We are all babes in understanding at this time.

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  10. greybeard says:

    How do you understand this scripture here?

    1 John 2:2 “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

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  11. Bro. Ed says:

    I realize this is a fairly old post but I felt a strong urge to put forward some supporting scripture and comments related to this topic.

    It’s only natural that we would struggle with the concept of the resurrection to judgement. It’s one of biggies and when we try and rationalize on the possibility that at the end of the 1000 years God would raise some to eternal life and others to eternal destruction (second death), we can’t quite understand how God could possibly be so unkind or unfair to resurrect some only to punish them again. But let me pose things in a different way.

    When Christ returns to judge the unrighteous to eternal destruction, do we believe that they will be given a second chance? Not according to 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 (take special note of verse 9):

    “This takes into account that it is righteous on God’s part to repay tribulation to those who make tribulation for YOU, 7 but, to YOU who suffer tribulation, relief along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels 8 in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. 9 These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 at the time he comes to be glorified in connection with his holy ones and to be regarded in that day with wonder in connection with all those who exercised faith, because the witness we gave met with faith among YOU.” NWT

    What about those of Sodom and Gomorrah? We read the very same judicial punishment being leveled at those who lived there in Jude 1:7:

    “So too Sod´om and Go·mor´rah and the cities about them, after they in the same manner as the foregoing ones had committed fornication excessively and gone out after flesh for unnatural use, are placed before [us] as a [warning] example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.” NWT

    While it’s reasonable to say that many at Christ’s return and it’s corresponding judgement will have rejected the salvation offered through Christ, many through circumstance would not even contemplated the saving Grace of God through His Son. More significantly those of Sodom and Gomorrah were living generations before God offered his Son for the salvation of those that believe in him. And yet, they underwent “the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.”

    What about those that rejected Christ when he was on Earth? Well if Christ’s own words are anything to go by it’s fairly conclusive:

    “Wherever anyone does not take YOU in or listen to YOUR words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off YOUR feet. 15 Truly I say to YOU, It will be more endurable for the land of Sod´om and Go·mor´rah on Judgment Day than for that city.” Matthew 10:14-15 NWT.

    If we know that Sodom and Gomorrah has been punished with everlasting fire for the ungodly acts they committed, boy oh boy how much more so for those that rejected the salvation offered through Christ.

    Let me go one step further, if we believe that almost everyone who has died, bar a few special situations like Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities that rejected the message about Christ, will be resurrected for a second chance, then educated in order to attain everlasting life, salvation through Jesus Christ really isn’t salvation – or is only salvation for those alive at the return of Christ. I ask, what was being offered to the generations after Christ died? Salvation from what? God’s wrath? Again, why did Christ die for our sins if death ‘acquits’ us from sin? As a slight aside but it’s a really important contextual reality, Romans 6:7 is only talking about not being slaves to sin, and putting our sinful flesh to death as verse 11 reinforces, “Likewise also YOU: reckon yourselves to be dead indeed with reference to sin but living with reference to God by Christ Jesus.” It’s not a general reference to death nullifying sin, and verse 23, “For the wages sin pays is death.” is stating a fact that sin leads us to death, “but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    Paul goes on to say in Romans 2:3-11, “But do you have this idea, O man, while you judge those who practice such things and yet you do them, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and long-suffering, because you do not know that the kindly [quality] of God is trying to lead you to repentance? 5 But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and of the revealing of God’s righteous judgment. 6 And he will render to each one according to his works: 7 everlasting life to those who are seeking glory and honor and incorruptibleness by endurance in work that is good; 8 however, for those who are contentious and who disobey the truth but obey unrighteousness there will be wrath and anger, 9 tribulation and distress, upon the soul of every man who works what is injurious, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who works what is good, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.” NWT

    Brothers and sisters, this is why we don’t take lightly the salvation being offered. This is why at it’s most basic the ONLY thing required for salvation is belief in Christ and the Father and baptism as Mark 16:16 shows, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved, but he that does not believe will be condemned.” Pretty reasonable terms considering.

    So then is that it? Well not quite and that’s why there is going to be a second resurrection and Judgement after the 1000 years are ended:

    “And I saw a great white throne and the one seated on it. From before him the earth and the heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. But another scroll was opened; it is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds.” Revelation 11-15 NWT

    Andrew has gone over much ground, but I’ll highlight the following scriptures in closing:

    “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of the Christ, that each one may get his award for the things done through the body, according to the things he has practiced, whether it is good or vile.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 NWT

    “I tell YOU that every unprofitable saying that men speak, they will render an account concerning it on Judgment Day; 37 for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36

    Finally no mater what, when Jesus returns he will be the perfect judge to decide who will perish and who will be saved (but not necessarily rewarded with the prize of ‘the inheritance’). And when all those who come to life at the end of the 1000 years (the second resurrection) and stand before the heavenly throne, this judgement too will be a perfect one. Yes, just as in our own courts, a condemned man must face justice and know the shame of his crimes and his punishment or the joy and freedom that comes with his acquittal. That’s true justice.

    Your brother in Christ

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  12. Lyte Lee says:

    Everyone is appointed a day to die and that day is not the same for everyone though many people die on the same day everyday. However, everyone is appointed to stand in judgment before the throne of God. That will be on the same day. How will they be judged if they have already died? They will be judged for what they did in the flesh and therefore will be judged in the flesh. Thus all will be resurrected. For the condemned there are two deaths. The first is physical death. The second death is when they are thrown into the lake of fire which is described as the second death. “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:14

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  13. Euphrates says:

    Each will be judged according to what light( truth) they had during their life, we do have free will, that shows that he is a loving God, just because God knows what is already going to happen, that doesn’t mean you have no free will, He is outside of time and it’s hard to get a grasp on all this, predestination, free will ! Rest assured we all agree God is all loving and will judge fairly and that most of this generation won’t have much of an excuse when we stand before him to be judged! I agree with Andrew , In that death came after Adams sin, but at death we are not forgiven of our sin, there will be 2 resurrections as stated in the bible, Rev 20:5-6 but the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished, blessed and holy is he who has part in the first ressurection . Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Everyone will be ressurected in 2 stages and will be judged, anyways great article Andrew, good work and I agree with most of what u say cause it is scriptural Regards to all, God be with you all!

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  14. Euphrates says:

    So those who are part of the first resurrection are saved, however will still be rewarded according to their deeds, and as for the second resurrection they are not saved but condemned and await their punishment which ultimately will be the end of their existence . God bless you all.

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  15. W.H. Conley says:

    Great article!

    It wouldn’t be fair for criminals that had never been exposed and that died in good standing never had their deeds exposed and accounted for.

    Jesus said that there is nothing done or said in secret that will not be exposed. The Apostle Paul said everyone will stand before the judgment seat of God. The Watchtower teaching denies this simple truth. Acording to the Watchtower those that did evil will simply not be resurrected thus preventing them from appearing before God’s throne and having their deeds exposed.

    Rev 20:13,14 speaks about scrolls that contain the lifecourse of every human on earth. They will be resurrected & judged according to their deeds. It’s very clear & simple.

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  16. W.H. Conley says:

    It will be very interesting when J. F. Rutherford will have to give an account for his actions such as:

    1. Deceit and cunning used to steal the Watchtower from the 4 ousted directors in 1918 and to completely ignore the wishes of it’s founder.

    2. Abuse of power, vulgar language, excessive drinking and verbal attacks on the Bethel family.

    3. His False prophecies for 1918 & 1925 and blaming the rank & file for their dashed expectations when thses prophecies failed.

    4. Setting himself up as the sole prophet-channel of God.

    5. Treating Attorney Olin Moyle like trash and kicking him out of Bethel and reviling his name because Brother Moyle had the courage to speak up against the abuse of J.F. Rutherford.

    6. Ruining the lives of many that didn’t marry or have children because the Judge said so.

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