Resurrection Doctrinal Fallacies

In this blog, we will examine a few of the resurrection doctrines of the Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Christadelphians. When their doctrines are examined under a microscope, however, their fallacies are revealed. If their ideas about the resurrection are flawed, then so too are their ideas about soul sleep.

Jehovah Witnesses:
The Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) essentially believe in a two-class system. Only a very select few get to heaven to rule and reign with Christ during the millennial reign. Specifically, the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14. Ironically, they interpret the number literally, but they don't interpret who the Bible says the 144,000 are literally: the tribes of Israel. Instead, they believe the 144,000 are "spiritual Israel." That is, faithful Christians chosen by God. Why they would need to be in heaven to govern the earth is not clear. Especially since Christ will be coming down to earth to rule and reign.

JW's believe the 144,000 began ruling with Christ in 1914. Why 1914? It's interpreted from Daniel 4, where King Nebuchadnezzar was driven insane for “seven times.” So, if one time is equal to 360 days, seven times is equal to 2,520 days. 2,520 days added to 607 BC, when they believe Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon, comes to 1914. The problem is, most historians date the destruction of Jerusalem to 587/586 BC, not 607 BC. Regardless, they are speculating that Daniel 4 is prophetic, which is an assumption.

According to JWs, the rest of humanity will be resurrected on earth. The question is, if there is no continuity maintained, how is the conscious self restored? JWs get around this "problem" by insinuating they are recreated from God's memories. They will cite several scriptures to justify this reasoning, such as God numbering the hairs on our head (Matt 10:30), but this interpretation is all based on inference. There is no direct scripture that says that God will resurrect people this way. Such a resurrection would essentially mean it wouldn't really be you that's being resurrected, but a mere copy or duplicate of yourself, which personally doesn't sound very appealing.

Additionally, while there may be some non-JWs resurrected, eternal life is strongly tied to becoming a JW. In other words, if you knowingly rejected JW teachings, you're probably out of luck. For those who died in ignorance but lived a moral life, then they get a chance to learn righteousness during the Millennial Reign of Christ. Even then, there is no guarantee that they will have eternal life, only the opportunity. So, it's basically a delayed judgment. However, Hebrews 9:27 suggests that judgment comes immediately after judgment. There are other passages that would also suggest urgency in this life, such as 2 Corinthians 6:2. The bottom line is that the JWs' theology of the resurrection is based heavily on assumptions and inference.

Seventh-Day Adventism:
Much of the Seventh-Day Adventist doctrine comes from the visions and writings of prophetess Ellen G. White. Her writings have such a strong doctrinal authority as to be a de facto second canon. That in itself makes their doctrine highly dubious, as it rests on Ellen G. White and not on Biblical Scripture. Ellen G. White also had a big influence on the Adventist doctrine of Investigative Judgment. In short, the Investigative Judgment is a special phase of judgment that began in heaven in 1844. In that time, Jesus supposedly began the process of a pre-judgment phase to determine who is saved before the Second Coming. It stems from a failed prophecy by William Miller that Jesus would return in 1844. When that didn't happen, it was salvaged and repacked in the form of Investigative Judgment. Aside from the fact that such a thing is clearly not in the Bible, it shifts salvation away from grace through faith alone and to works, though they will deny it. It also negates free will, as salvation is essentially already predetermined. Of course, they will say foreknowledge is not predestination, but to justify their doctrine they have to create a paradox to resolve the obvious conflicts.

Christadelphians:
Christadelphians believe in a selective resurrection. According to their doctrine, not everyone is resurrected, only those who are considered "responsible." The obvious question then is, what makes a person responsible? According to them, a responsible person is someone who has heard God's message and has a sufficient understanding of it. The irresponsible ones then are those who are ignorant and never heard or understood the gospel. There are some serious problems with this doctrine, however. Daniel 12:2 implies everyone is resurrected, not only a selective portion. Also, salvation would not be based on confessing with the mouth and believing in the heart that Jesus is Lord (Rom 10:9), but on an extra-biblical qualifier: understanding, which focuses heavily on works. Such a doctrine would provide no grace to those who died never having heard the gospel, children and babies who have died, or those who are mentally handicapped and unable to comprehend the gospel. They would not be resurrected according to Christadelphian theology.