What Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that humans have the hope of living forever in a future paradise on earth. This paradise is a restoration of the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve lived. In the future, paradise will not be limited to Eden but will cover the whole earth. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, however, that 144,000 people are anointed as kings to rule with Jesus in heaven. This teaching is based on Revelation 14:1, 3, which says that John saw in a vision the Lamb (the Messiah) standing on Mount Zion with 144,000 who are “singing … before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to master that song except the 144,000, who have been bought from the earth.”
What the Bible Says
The Bible does not say that humans will go to heaven. The Bible teaches, however, that Jesus will return to the earth and rule over the earth for 1,000 years (Acts 1:11; Rev. 5:10; 20:6). Those who will rule with Jesus will do so on earth (Zech. 14:4).
The 144,000 who are “bought from the earth” and “from among mankind” are set apart for sacred service (Rev. 14:3–4). See the article Who Are the 144,000? This means that they are a selection of people who receive special assignments, not that they are physically taken away from the earth. Humans are, in any case, meant to live on earth and not in heaven (Ps. 115:16). If the 144,000 were in fact humans who had become angels in order to rule from heaven, this would contradict the Bible’s direct statement that angels will not rule over humankind (Heb. 2:5).
The Bible does not specify who will rule with Jesus during the 1,000-year reign. Revelation 20:4–6 describes only people who share in the first resurrection and rule with Christ for 1,000 years.
The Bible does say, however, that Jesus will rule from a place on earth. Zechariah 14:4 contains a prophecy that the Messiah’s “feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.” Psalm 2:6 says that King Jesus has been installed “On Zion, my holy mountain.” This means that he will rule from a physical place on earth bearing the same name as the original Mount Zion in Jerusalem. This prophecy is also confirmed by Isaiah 2:3, which says that “law will go out of Zion” and “the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem.” Compare Micah 4:1–2. The fact that Isaiah 2:2 says that “to it all the nations will stream” rules out the possibility that this future city is in heaven. The nations cannot stream to a mountain in the invisible spirit realm.
The physical city on earth from which the holy ones will rule during the 1,000-year reign is the same physical city that Gog of Magog (the King of the North) attacks after the 1,000 years have ended. Revelation 20:9 says that Gog and Magog “advanced over the whole earth and encircled the camp of the holy ones and the beloved city,” that is, the city from which the holy ones rule. This agrees with the prophecies in Psalm 87:2–3, which say that Jehovah “loves the gates of Zion,” the “city of the true God,” and Daniel 9:24, which refers to Jerusalem as “your holy city.”
What About Being “Caught Away”?
Some claim that 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 provides a biblical basis for saying that some people go to heaven. It says:
16 because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. 17 Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.
This passage is not about going to heaven, as some believe. It concerns the time when Jesus returns to the earth.
This Bible passage does not say that people will move to live in heaven. It says that they will be “caught away in clouds” “to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). Paul says that those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. Then “the living who are surviving” when Jesus comes will be caught away together with them (1 Thess. 4:16–17). Notice the words “clouds” and “air.” The passage describes the meeting with Jesus, but does not say where they will live afterward. This agrees with the fact that the disciples saw Jesus being lifted up and that the angels said he would come again in the same manner (Acts 1:9–11). Revelation also says that “every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7).
Being caught away supports the rest of the Bible’s account, which confirms that Jesus will return to the earth and rule over it.
What About “Citizenship in the Heavens”?
In Philippians 3:14, the apostle Paul says: “I am pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God by means of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:20–21 goes on to say:
20 But our citizenship exists in the heavens, and we are eagerly waiting for a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our humble body to be like his glorious body by his great power that enables him to subject all things to himself.
Receiving citizenship in this way means acquiring the rights and duties associated with a kingdom. Citizenship says nothing about where one is located, only which kingdom one is subject to.
Having one’s body transformed to be like the body Jesus receives after his resurrection does not mean that they become spirit creatures in heaven, but that they become immortal and glorified like Jesus (compare Rev. 20:4, 6). These bodies enable them to “subject all things” as people with special power over the earth, like Jesus. Their bodies are unlike those of the rest of the population during the 1,000-year reign, who are still sinful and mortal.
What About the Inheritance “Reserved in the Heavens for You”?
First Peter 1:4 says: “… to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you, …” Viewed in isolation, this verse may give the impression that some people will go to heaven. The passage, however, does not speak about a particular place where people will reside, but about an inheritance reserved in the heavens.
Verse 3 explains this inheritance as “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Verse 5 makes clear that this hope will be revealed “in the last period of time.” Although the inheritance is kept in heaven until it is revealed to those who will receive the hope, the Bible says nothing about where this inheritance will be used. Until it is revealed and put to use, it is safely kept in heaven with Jehovah God.
What About the Voice from Heaven?
Revelation 19:1 says: “After this I heard what seemed to be a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven.” The Bible does not directly say who this great crowd is, but the opening words of verse 1 help us understand that the great crowd refers to angels, not humans.
The verse begins: “After this I heard …” This means that we should look at the preceding chapter, Revelation 18, to understand which events led up to 19:1 and thus better understand who this great crowd is. Revelation 18:2 says that an angel with authority “cried out with a strong voice”; compare verse 1. Revelation 18:4 says, “another voice out of heaven.” It does not specifically say that this is an angel, so it could be either an angel or Jehovah himself. Verse 21 speaks of an angel who lifted up a millstone to illustrate how Babylon the Great would be thrown down. None of the events in the preceding verses involve humans, only angels or Jehovah himself. It is therefore natural to conclude that the great crowd praising Jehovah in 19:1 are also angels.
What About the Buildings and Rooms Being Prepared?
Second Corinthians 5:1–2 says:
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, should be torn down, we are to have a building from God, a house not made with hands, everlasting in the heavens. 2 For in this house we do indeed groan, earnestly desiring to put on the one for us from heaven, …
In the preceding verses, Paul speaks about our outer body wearing away but being renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). In verse 18, he then speaks about looking at the things that are unseen rather than focusing on the things we see around us and on our body. The tent and the “earthly house” that Paul speaks about here therefore refer to the body that is torn down. We humans live in our bodies, and our body is thus like a tent or a house for us (2 Cor. 5:6). The fact that our new bodies are designed in heaven (compare the words “not made with hands” in 2 Cor. 5:1) to free us from sin, sickness, and death does not mean that our new bodies in paradise turn us into spirit creatures.
We can compare this to a car designed in the United States but manufactured in China. In other words, our physical body is designed in heaven but produced and used on earth. This cannot refer to a heavenly or spiritual body, for verse 10 says that each person is “repaid according to the things he has practiced while in the body.”
The judgment does not take place until after the 1,000 years have ended, as discussed in the article on the final judgment. This means that those referred to in this Bible passage retain their human bodies right up to the judgment after the 1,000-year reign.
Something similar is said at John 14:2–4:
2 In the house of my Father are many dwelling places. Otherwise, I would have told you, for I am going my way to prepare a place for you. 3 Also, if I go my way and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you home to myself, so that where I am you also may be. 4 And where I am going, you know the way.
This refers to the time after Jesus has returned to the earth. The Bible does not say that Jesus returns to heaven after he has come back to the earth. On the contrary, the Bible says that a holy city is established on earth where the Messiah has his throne. The house with many dwelling places is, in this case, on earth because Jesus receives them home to himself after he has returned to the earth. Jesus is referring to the dwelling places he will prepare for the apostles, who will rule with him from the capital city on earth during the 1,000-year reign.
What About “Spiritual Death”?
Jehovah’s Witnesses dismiss that Revelation 20:5 speaks of a physical resurrection. They believe that this text must be understood metaphorically as “spiritual death.” There is no Biblical basis for such an interpretation. The concept of “spiritual death” as a human condition is not mentioned in the Bible and has arisen as a misinterpretation of the Bible.
True, the word “death” in the Bible is sometimes used with different meanings. Yet Revelation 20:5 and John 5:28, 29 are not examples of figurative language. These scriptures clearly describe a physical resurrection of people who have been really dead. This is in harmony with how the Bible itself defines death, as we see at Ecclesiastes 9:5 where it says that “the dead know nothing” and Psalm 146:4 “the day he dies his thoughts perish.” Such verses show that death is not a spiritual state of death in which one still has consciousness, but a complete cessation of life and thought.
It is true that the word “dead” is sometimes used in different senses in the Bible. Even so, Revelation 20:5 and John 5:28–29 are not examples of figurative language. These passages clearly describe the physical resurrection of people who have actually died. This agrees with the Bible’s own definition of death, as we see at Ecclesiastes 9:5, where it says that “the dead know nothing at all,” and at Psalm 146:4: “On that very day his thoughts perish.” Such verses show that death is not a state of spiritual death in which a person remains conscious, but a complete cessation of life and thought.
It is therefore problematic to interpret “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended” at Revelation 20:5 or “all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice” at John 5:28–29 as symbolic. Turning these promises into images or metaphors weakens the Bible’s clear and repeated message about an actual, physical resurrection of dead people. Such an interpretation also erases the distinction between the first and second resurrections.
As for Ephesians 2:1, Paul is clearly not speaking about immediate physical death. Nevertheless, what he describes still concerns physical death—the inevitable consequence of Adam’s sin. This becomes clearer in verse 3, where Paul indicates that people deserve to die because of inherited sin. Paul’s point is that this death can be avoided through the resurrection, thanks to God’s mercy. The context is not about symbolic death, but about the certain future death toward which all humans are headed if they are not raised to life through Christ. When God has “made us alive together with the Christ,” this is not meant figuratively, but as a promise of a real, future resurrection.
The same applies to Luke 9:60, where Jesus says: “Let the dead bury their dead.” We have no information about the spiritual condition of the person or people doing the burying. There is therefore no biblical basis for saying that they were “spiritually dead.” Jesus is referring to the fact that they are mortal humans subject to death because of Adam’s sin. Everyone who buries another person is mortal and will follow the same life cycle as the person they bury—as a result of Adam’s sin, as Romans 5:12 also shows. There is no reason to introduce an alternative, symbolic definition of death in this context that the Bible itself has not introduced. If we let the Bible define death as it consistently does—as an unconscious and inactive state—the verse makes complete sense.
If we begin interpreting resurrection passages such as Revelation 20:5 or John 5:28–29 symbolically, are we not moving in the same direction as those who denied the resurrection? The Sadducees did so (Matt. 22:23), some believers in Corinth did so (1 Cor. 15:12), and so did the false teachers Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17–18). All these groups and individuals, in different ways, rejected or distorted the biblical hope of a real, physical resurrection from the dead.
You might like to read about ↓
🔗 The faithful slave: What does the Bible say?