consume those in opposition.” He then illustrates: “Any man that has disregarded the law of Moses dies without compassion, upon the testimony of two or three. Of how much more severe a punishment, do you think, will the man be counted worthy who has trampled upon the Son of God and who has esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt? . . . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The judgment is more severe in that such ones are not merely killed and buried in Sheol, as were violators of the law of Moses. These go into Gehenna, from which there is no resurrection.—Heb. 10:26-31.

The apostle also tells of some who will “undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength, at the time he comes to be glorified in connection with his holy ones.” (2 Thess. 1:9, 10) These would therefore not survive into the thousand-year reign of Christ, and, since their destruction is “everlasting,” they would receive no resurrection. Peter writes to his brothers pointing out that they, as the “house of God,” are under judgment, and then quotes from Proverbs 11:31 (LXX) warning them of the danger of disobedience. He here implies that their present judgment could end with a judgment of everlasting destruction for them, just as Paul had written.—1 Pet. 4:17, 18.

EARTHLY RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT ACCOMPLISHED DURING 1,000 YEARS

A very liberal estimate of the number of persons that have ever lived on earth is twenty billion (20,000,000,000). Many students of the subject calculate that not nearly so many have lived. Not all of these, as it has been shown in the foregoing discussion, will receive a resurrection, but even assuming that they did, there would be no problem as to living space and food for them. The land surface of the earth at present is about 57,000,000 square miles (147,630,000 square kilometers), or more than 36,000,000,000 acres (14,568,732,000 hectares). Even allowing half of that to be set aside for other uses, there would be more than half an acre (c. .2 hectare) for each person. As to earth’s potential food production, one-half acre (c. .2 hectare) will actually provide much more than enough food for one person, especially when, as God has demonstrated in the case of the nation of Israel, there is abundance of food due to God’s blessing.—1 Ki. 4:20; Ezek. 34:27.

On the question of the earth’s food-producing power, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization maintains that the world’s agricultural potential is great enough to feed 157 billion (157,000,000,000) persons.—Time magazine, July 13, 1970, p. 24.

How, though, could the thousands of millions be adequately cared for, in view of the fact that most of them did not in the past know God, and must learn to conform to his laws for them? First, the Bible states that the kingdom of the world becomes “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he [rules] as king forever and ever.” (Rev. 11:15) And the Bible principle is that “when there are judgments from you [Jehovah] for the earth, righteousness is what the inhabitants of the productive land will certainly learn.” (Isa. 26:9) Just how God purposes to take care of this work he will reveal in his due time, when it is necessary to make it known to his servants.—Amos 3:7.

A practical illustration

Nevertheless, an illustration reveals what a simple, practical thing Jehovah has in mind for mankind. Not to prophesy, but merely for the purpose of illustration, let us assume that those who compose the “great crowd” of righteous persons who “come out of the great tribulation” on this system of things alive (Rev. 7:9, 14) number one million (about 1/3,500 [one thirty-five hundredth] of earth’s present population). Then if, after allowing, say, one hundred years spent in their training and ‘subduing’ a portion of the earth (Gen. 1:28), God purposes to bring back three percent of this number, this would mean that each newly arrived person would be looked after by thirty-three trained ones. Since a yearly increase of three percent, compounded, doubles the number about every twenty-four years, the entire twenty billion (20,000,000,000) could be resurrected before five hundred years of Christ’s thousand-year reign had elapsed, giving ample time for training and judging the resurrected ones without disrupting harmony and order on earth. Thus God, with his almighty power and wisdom, is able to bring his purpose to a glorious conclusion fully within the framework of the laws and arrangements he has made for mankind from the beginning, with the added undeserved kindness of the resurrection.—Rom. 11:33-36.

RETIREMENT

In assigning the Levites (not of the priestly family of Aaron) to serve at the tent of meeting under the direction of the priests, Jehovah made loving provisions for their welfare. He commanded Moses: “This is what applies to the Levites: From twenty-five years old upward he will come to enter into the company in the service of the tent of meeting. But after the age of fifty years he will retire from the service company and serve no longer. And he must minister to his brothers in the tent of meeting in taking care of the obligation, but he must render no service.”—Num. 8:23-26; 1 Chron. 23:3.

At Numbers chapter 4 the service organization of the Levites is described. There it is stated that they were to be registered from the ages of thirty to fifty.

It was heavy manual labor to set up, take down and transport the tent of meeting. The ninety-six socket pedestals of silver for the panel frames weighed a talent each (c. 75 pounds or 34 kilograms), plus four more pedestals for the pillars between the Holy and Most Holy compartments, of probably the same weight, and five copper pedestals for the pillars at the tabernacle entrance. (Ex. 26:19, 21, 25, 32, 37; 38:27) The forty-eight panel frames (c. 14.6 feet or 4.5 meters long and c. 26 inches or 67 centimeters wide) were made of acacia, a fine-grained, heavy wood, gold plated. (Ex. 26:15-25, 29) There were gold-plated bars running lengthwise on each side and across the back of the tabernacle. (Ex. 26:26-29) All these items would be heavy. Additionally, there was the considerable weight of the sealskin, ram-skin, goat-hair and linen coverings, the linen screen around the courtyard, with its poles, socket pedestals, tent pins, and so forth. So the handling of the tabernacle involved real muscular work. (Ex. 26:1-14; 27:9-19) Six wagons were provided for hauling these items, but the table of showbread, the golden lampstand and the copper-covered altar of sacrifice were carried. (The priests, not the nonpriestly Levites, carried the ark of the covenant.)—Num. 7:7-9; Ex. 25:10-40; 27:1-8; Num. 4:9, 10; Josh. 3:15.

Evidently there was a five-year period from the ages of twenty-five to thirty years wherein the Levite was serving in “training.” It may have been that these younger ones were not used for the heavy duties, which were reserved for those thirty years and older—full-grown men. (See AGE.) Later, after the Ark was permanently located on Mount Zion (and especially with the temple construction just ahead), the heavy work of carrying the sanctuary would no longer exist. David therefore arranged for the Levites to begin serving at the age of twenty. Doubtless this was done because at the temple more would be needed to care for the greatly enlarged services there.—1 Chron. 23:24-27.

The Levites who retired at the age of fifty did not retire from all service. They could still serve voluntarily and “minister to [their] brothers in the tent of meeting in taking care of the obligation.” (Num. 8:26) Probably they served as counselors and assisted in caring for some of the lighter work included in the obligation of the Levites, but were spared the heavier work. And they were still teachers of the Law to the people. (Deut. 33:8-10; 2 Chron. 35:3) Those of their