Paradise

Since its release in 1982 the Watchtower Society’s book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth has been the primary study text for prospective new converts. During its first fifteen months in print nearly 15 million copies were produced in 55 languages according to The Watchtower of January 1, 1984, page 28. As the book’s title indicates, it introduces readers to the hope that draws millions of people to become Jehovah’s Witnesses—the hope of everlasting life in a beautiful earthly paradise.

Such a promise is certainly attractive, especially for men and women who have not come to enjoy a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Not knowing anyone in heaven, why would they want to end up going there? In fact, coming face-to-face with God on his home turf can be a frightening thought for many. A subtropical paradise in an earth forever rid of poverty, sickness, and death proves more appealing to human nature. But is it truly biblical to proclaim this as the Christian hope?

The Greek word translated paradise appears three times in the New Testament—at Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:4, and Revelation 2:7—but Jehovah’s Witnesses largely ignore the two later verses and instead hang their hope on Jesus’ words to the dying criminal nailed up next to him, as these words appear in the JW New World Translation: “Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) This constitutes Christ’s promise that the man would be resurrected more than two thousand years later to life on an earth transformed to a beautiful garden park, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe.

Unfortunately, however, the meaning of the verse in the New World Translation is affected by the anonymous translators’ choice to punctuate Luke 23:43 differently from the way it appears in most other Bibles. Placing the comma after the word “today” instead of before it, the NWT gives Jesus’ words a unique twist. It has Jesus speaking “today” to the man about being with him in paradise some time in the future, whereas the customary rendering with the comma before the word “today” indicates that they arrive in paradise that very day. Since ancient Greek manuscripts do not feature any punctuation to break the sentence into two parts, the comma’s location in English depends on the translator’s understanding of what is meant.

Interestingly, the Watchtower Society’s Comprehensive Concordance of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (pictured to the right – click to enlarge) lists dozens of passages where Jesus uses the expression “Truly I say to you” or “Truly I tell you.” (The same Greek word is rendered both “say” and “tell.”) Comparing these verses reveals that the Society’s translators punctuated them consistently—except Luke 23:43. Why did they punctuate that one verse differently? Perhaps because to do otherwise would disprove the Watchtower Society’s teaching that the dead go nowhere—that those who die cease to exist. Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that it would be impossible for the dying man to go to Paradise that day, because he went into nonexistence pending a future resurrection.

Logically, though, there would be no need for Jesus to use the word “today” to point out when he was speaking. Whenever we open our mouth to speak, we are speaking “today,” and the fact is so obvious that we need not mention it unless making a contrast with something spoken on a different day. Here the context reveals nothing of that sort that would call for Jesus to verbalize the obvious fact that he was speaking “today.” Rather, the only time factor under discussion was the matter of when Jesus would be in Paradise. The man dying next to him begged, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42 NIV) Yes, Jesus would remember him. When? Today!

Moreover, it would be reasonable to assume that the Paradise Jesus spoke of as his destination after death would be the same Paradise that Revelation speaks of Christian overcomers going to: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7 KJV) According to the Watchtower Society’s own publications, this verse speaks of a heavenly paradise, not an earthly one:

The Apostle Paul likewise speaks of paradise as heavenly rather than earthly. At 2 Corinthians 12:2–4 he speaks of being “caught up into paradise” which he also calls “the third heaven.”

Clearly, the earthly “paradise” Jehovah’s Witnesses are promised by their organization and the heavenly “paradise” the Bible promises for Christians are not one and the same.

David A. Reed, Answering Jehovah’s Witnesses: Subject by Subject, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997).