The Watchtower Society has to get rid of the body, the body of Jesus, that is. If they can’t convince Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jehovah disposed of Jesus’ body at his resurrection, then their entire two-class system (144,000 chosen ones going to heaven and the rest of faithful humans living forever on a paradise earth) is in big trouble.  It’s doubtful that anyone would knowingly choose an eternity of “either/or”---either life in heaven or life on earth—if, by the resurrection of Jesus’ body, the Bible is promising all of us a body like his after we die, one that can live both in a new heaven and on a new earth!   So how does the Watchtower Society get Jehovah’s Witnesses to believe that Jesus was raised as a spirit?  One way is by conveniently leaving out the context.

When I was a Witness, it seemed a no-brainer to me that Jehovah disposed of Jesus’ physical body and raised him as a spirit.

At least, that’s what I thought when I read the Bible with my Watchtower preconceptions firmly in place. After all, on three different occasions, Mary Magdalene and some of the other disciples didn’t recognize Jesus when he appeared to them after he was raised from the dead.  Therefore, he must have materialized a different body, as the Society teaches.  Now, though, I can see that in all three instances where Jesus’ followers didn’t recognize him after he was raised, the Bible writers went out of their way to explain why---and it had nothing to do with a materialized body.

On the road to Emmaus when Jesus met two disciples, Luke specifically says, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16 NWT).  In this case, Jesus’ physical appearance didn’t change; instead, the change occurred in the visual perceptions of the two disciples.  At the end of their journey, “their eyes were fully opened and they recognized him” (Luke 24:31 NWT).  Jesus must have been fully recognizable as the person the disciples knew and loved.  If he were materializing different bodies, why change their vision?

When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb, she didn’t know who he was at first because she arrived in the predawn hours, and Jesus was the last person she expected to see there, up and about. John makes a point of saying that she came to the tomb “early, while there was still darkness” (John 20:1 NWT).  First, she noticed the stone was taken away, so she ran to get Peter.  Peter and another disciple ran back to the tomb and left soon after.  Next, Mary peered into the tomb, saw two angels, and, at that point, “she turned back and viewed Jesus standing [possibly by this time with the faint light of dawn at his back, leaving his face in darkness], but she did not discern it was Jesus” (John 20:14 NWT).  No wonder she figured he was the gardener until she heard him speak!  She couldn’t see his face, so who else would she expect to meet walking around the tombs before the sun was even up?

The only other time the disciples didn’t recognize the risen Christ was when they were in a boat.  The light was poor again (“just as it was getting to be morning” John 21:4 NWT), and Jesus was standing over 300 feet away from them on the beach.  Did they fail to recognize him because he had materialized a different body---or because the visibility was at a minimum, and they weren’t expecting to see him there?

On various other occasions, Jesus appeared to a group of women and to his disciples.  When the light was good, there was no question as to who he was.  They all immediately fell at his feet and worshiped him (Matt. 28:9, 17).

Why, then, has the Watchtower Society gone to so much trouble to leave out the context in their explanation of these scriptures?  In a nutshell, here is the answer:

One of the reasons Jesus appeared to his followers after he was raised from the dead was to show them what kind of body they would have when they were resurrected.  He was not a spirit, as he assured them at Luke 24:39:  “See my hands and my feet that it is I myself; feel me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones just as you behold that I have.”

Jesus did not have his old physical body of flesh and blood (1 Cor. 15:50), which was dependent upon earthly sources of energy in order to live.  Instead, his physical body (Gr. soma) had been changed or made into a spiritual body (Gr. soma 1 Cor. 15:44) that had much the same form (flesh and bones), but was obviously very different.  A spiritual body is not a spirit.  In his spiritual body, Jesus walked, talked, ate, and drank.  In other words, he enjoyed earthly things.  However, he also had a body that could appear and disappear in an instant, pass through walls, and travel to another dimension, into heaven itself.  That is why he could promise us that someday we would be eating and drinking with him at his table in his kingdom (Luke 22:29, 30 NWT), because we’d have bodies like his. (Philippians 3:20, 21)

No wonder the resurrection hope has been so thrilling to Christians throughout the centuries!  Paul wrote, “And just as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly one” (1 Cor. 15:49 NWT).  This resurrection of our bodies takes place at the end of this system of things “during the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52) when Christ returns.  The bodies of all the dead will be raised, while those alive on earth will be changed instantly, so that all will receive their new spiritual bodies at the same time (Heb. 11:39, 40).

In the meantime, after we die now and before the last trumpet, we will be with Christ, awaiting our bodies at the resurrection (absent from the body, present with the Lord---2 Cor. 5:8).  The apostle Paul spoke of this intermediate state at 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, where he described putting off our present bodies (like a temporary “tent”) and looking forward to receiving our spiritual bodies (like a “permanent building from God”---2 Cor. 5:1).

So if Jehovah’s Witnesses were given a choice, how many of them would choose to be confined to this tiny physical earth for eternity when we could inherit both the new heaven and the new earth in our resurrected spiritual bodies?  The biblical hope is not “either/or.”  We will all enjoy the same exciting future (Eph. 4:4) where heaven and earth will somehow be merged.  We will be reunited with our loved ones, and we will have a new and wonderful relationship with our bridegroom Christ.  (To read an excellent article by Anthony Hoekema in Christianity Today describing this hope, click here.

But what about the scriptures Jehovah’s Witnesses always quote to prove that Jesus was raised as a spirit?  First Corinthians 15:45, speaking of Jesus, says he “became a life-giving spirit.”  At 1 Peter 3:18, Peter says that Jesus was “put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”  Read my next blog entry entitled, Watchtower Crime Scene---Where Did the Body Go? Part 2 to discover more missing context and deception in translation.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (8)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

...
written by Blueeyes54 , August 20, 2009

You say a lot of words and yet it can all be summed up in a few. God does the choosing of who resides in immortality not man or woman. The Apostle Paul made that very clear. It is not for everyone and Jesus himself made that abundantly clear. Either mortality or immortality it doesn't make one better than the other in spirit. Jesus warned the Apostles that they didn't know what they were asking or they wouldn't ask. Ruling with Christ and seeing the Father's face may seem like a grand privelege, but it comes with hugh reponsibility. God made a gift provision of a bride class for his son. It is part of the reward for enduring his shed blood. Whether one attains immortality or not they must fully understand the role of the gift. When annointed are treated as dirt then the gift is recieved as dirt. It is not fun. They follow Jesus wherever he goes and they listen to his voice and his voice said to listen to the father. It takes both of them to qualify a person for the heavenly thrown. Rev.14:1 The annointed appreciate any and all help from those who accept Christ, unfortunately it is not always returned in kind.
If the number 144,000 turns out to be symbolic, the rest of the prophetic fullfillment still applies. God loves you and so do I.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: -1

...
written by bs , August 21, 2009

Blueeyes54,
You make absolutely no sense at all.

My father in-law always said of any deceased 144,000,
"they weren't annointed their body hasn't disappeared".

PS He was disfellowshipped.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

...
written by Sherry Jansma , August 21, 2009

bs
Thank you for your comments to Blueeyes54 because I now realize I left an important point off my blog. The resurrection of the body takes place at the end of this system, "at the last trumpet" (1 Cor. 15:52) when Christ returns. All of the dead will get their new spiritual bodies then, while those alive on earth will have their bodies changed instantly, so that no one will be made perfect apart from anyone else (Heb. 11:39, 40). In the meantime, after we die now, we go immediately to be with Christ (absent from the body but present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5:8 )awaiting our permanent spiritual bodies at the resurrection. I will edit my blog to reflect this information.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

...
written by JoJoJones , August 21, 2009

If we die now and go to be with Christ what form do we take until we're resurrected into our spiritual bodies at our resurrections? In what way are we present with the Lord? Obviously this is pretty deep for me, but fascinating. I really like the article by Anthony Hoekema and printed copies for a couple of friends of mine. Thank you for sharing it with us! It makes it clear what wonderfulness lies ahead for humankind. Thanks again. I look forward to your next blog entry.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +1

...
written by Blueeyes54 , August 21, 2009

It makes no sense to you as you are not annointed.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: -1

...
written by bs , August 22, 2009

Blueeyes54,
Oh, so you need to be annointed for your entry to make sense.
By your own words you have just proclaimed yourself to be an annointed one.
How does an annointed one justify being on this website?

btw I enjoyed your blog Sherry.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +1

...
written by Sherry Jansma , August 22, 2009

JoJoJones
Thanks so much for your encouraging comments.
I, too, have thought about the questions you asked. As my own death looms closer with every passing year, I find myself increasingly more interested in what's going to happen to me from the moment I die until Christ returns. (You might like to read an article I've written on the subject entitled, A Short Guide to Death and Dying for Former Jehovah's Witnesses. On Freeminds home page, at the top, click on "articles"---"psychology"---"other.")
Regarding your questions, I believe 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 provides some answers. When the apostle Paul was discussing this "intermediate state," as many Christians call it, he said the following at 2 Cor. 5:2, 3: "Meanwhile we groan [now, in our fleshly bodies], longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling [our new spiritual bodies], because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked."
Anthony Hoekema, in the article I attached to my blog, called this "naked" state a temporary "disembodied existence." The Bible seems to interchange the words "soul" and "spirit" when describing the people involved. In Revelation, John said he saw in heaven the "souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus." (Rev. 20:4) The writer of Hebrews said that "the spirits of righteous men made perfect" were in the heavenly Jerusalem. (Heb. 12:23) And Jesus said that people could kill the body but not the soul. (Matt. 10:2

cool

The Watchtower Society's definition of the soul as being the person with a fleshly body is one biblical definition, but from the scriptures quoted above, it isn't the only one. It looks as if it is very difficult to separate the soul from the spirit, as Hebrews 4:12 says. Possibly the soul is our conscious mind, and the spirit is our subconscious. Whatever we are apart from the body is what will be with Christ until he returns.
If we are to put credence in the many "near-death experiences" people have lived to tell about, the people never lost consciousness when they died. They said they were still very much themselves without a physical body, they communicated with other beings, and they felt pure peace and joy in the presence of God. The Bible doesn't seem to go into much detail about exactly what we'll be doing or even how aware we will be of time passing.
At 1 Thess. 4:14, Paul said that when Christ returns, God will bring with him those who had fallen asleep in death, so they must be conscious and separate individuals. Those who come with Christ will receive their spiritual bodies first; then those who are alive at the time will be changed instantly. After that, we will "be with the Lord forever." 1 Thess. 4:17
Hope this information is helpful to you.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +1

...
written by Eric , September 08, 2009

I love your articles Sherry!

My Jw friend says that obeisance is the correct way the bible should be translated for the myriad of examples in the gospels where Jesus is "worshipped" by people. My only question to that is: In Mt 28:9, how could the women 1st protrate themselves low enough to grab Jesus feet and then bow down lower? Then again, obeisance to anything beside God is strictly forbidden Duet8:19,30:17.
Eric

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0