Tuesday, April 7 Jehovah . . . does not desire anyone to be destroyed.​—2 Pet. 3:9.

[Áine]

Tuesday, April 7

Jehovah . . . does not desire anyone to be destroyed.—2 Pet. 3:9.

 

When it comes to the way he judges humans, Jehovah kindly reveals to us how he feels. (Ezek. 33:11) Jehovah is not quick to destroy people once and for all. He is profoundly merciful, and he shows mercy whenever possible. What do we know about the people who will not be resurrected? The Bible offers only a few examples. Jesus indicated that Judas Iscariot will not be resurrected. (Mark 14:21; see also John 17:12 and study note.) Judas knowingly and willfully worked in opposition to Jehovah God and His Son. (See Mark 3:29 and study notes.) Similarly, Jesus said that some of the religious leaders who had opposed him would die without a hope of resurrection. (Matt. 23:33; see John 19:11 and study note “the man.”) And the apostle Paul warned that unrepentant apostates would not be resurrected.—Heb. 6:4-8; 10:29. w24.05 4 ¶10-11

[dljbsp]

We often think of judgment as a line—cross it, and the outcome is fixed. But Jehovah presents something different. Not a line, but a tension. A pull between justice and mercy, where mercy is not the exception—it is the preference.

[Brad Smith]