The New Covenant Includes All Believers
The Watchtower teaches that the new covenant is between Jehovah and
"spiritual Israel" (the 144,000 anointed) with Jesus as mediator. The
millions of Jehovah's Witnesses in the "great crowd" are not parties
to the new covenant — they merely "benefit" indirectly by associating
with the anointed remnant. The organisation parallels them with "alien
residents" under the old covenant who received blessings without full
membership.
Key Watchtower statements:
- "So in this strict Biblical sense Jesus is the 'mediator' only for
anointed Christians." (The Watchtower, April 1, 1979, p. 31) - "The 'great crowd' of 'other sheep' that is forming today is not in
that new covenant." (The Watchtower, April 1, 1979, p. 31) - "The Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, is not the Mediator between Jehovah
God and all mankind. He is the Mediator between his heavenly Father,
Jehovah God, and the nation of spiritual Israel, which is limited to
only 144,000 members." (Worldwide Security Under the "Prince of
Peace," 1986, pp. 10-11) - "The new covenant is between Jehovah God and spiritual Israel, with
Jesus as its Mediator." (God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah, 2010,
p. 173)
This teaching has been consistent from the 1930s through to at least
2010 and has never been formally retracted.
- Open with in the NWT. Let them read it aloud. The critical phrase is 'they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them.' Ask: "If the covenant is only for 144,000 spiritual elites, who are 'the least'? The whole point of that phrase is that the covenant includes everyone — no exceptions, no two-tier system."
- Stay in and highlight the covenant's purpose: 'I will forgive their error, and their sin I will remember no more.' The new covenant is fundamentally about forgiveness. Every human being needs that forgiveness. If you are excluded from the covenant, you are excluded from the forgiveness it provides.
- Turn to , which quotes Jeremiah 31 in full. The writer of Hebrews preserves the phrase 'from the least of them to the greatest.' This is the NT restatement of the same promise — and it adds no restriction to a 144,000 class.
- Read together: "Drink from it, all of you, for this means my blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins." Jesus said 'all of you' and stated the covenant's purpose as 'forgiveness of sins.' He restricted neither the cup nor its purpose.
- If they are open, take them to : "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." The Spirit is the agent of new covenant transformation — says the law will be written on hearts by the Spirit. If the 'other sheep' lack the Spirit's indwelling, Paul says they do not belong to Christ at all. This creates an impossible position for the Watchtower.
- Let the tension settle. Say: "I am not trying to attack your faith. I want you to see what the Bible itself says about who is in the new covenant. The Watchtower says you are outside it. Jeremiah says 'from the least to the greatest.' Which will you trust?"
The new covenant promise in explicitly includes everyone 'from the least to the greatest' — language that directly contradicts a two-class system. And its stated purpose is forgiveness of sins, which every human needs. If you are excluded from the covenant, you are excluded from the forgiveness it provides. The Watchtower has taken a universal promise and restricted it to 144,000 people without a single verse of support.
The new covenant was made with 'the house of Israel' — that's spiritual Israel, the anointed.
Read the rest of — 'from the least to the greatest.' If the covenant is only for 144,000 elite, who are 'the least'? The whole point of the new covenant is its universality — unlike the old covenant, which was restricted to one nation. And says ALL who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs — with no distinction between an anointed class and everyone else.
The other sheep benefit from the covenant without being parties to it — like alien residents under the Law.
Where does the Bible describe this arrangement for the new covenant? Name one verse that says there are 'beneficiaries but not parties.' Even under the old covenant, alien residents could participate in Passover if circumcised (). And says Jesus mediates a 'better' covenant — not a more restrictive one. A covenant that excludes more people than the old one is hardly better.
Jesus made two covenants — the new covenant and a separate covenant for a kingdom.
Check in other Bibles. Nearly every translation says 'I assign you a kingdom' or 'I appoint you a kingdom' — not 'I make a covenant with you for a kingdom.' The Greek word in verse 29 is diatithemi, a verb meaning 'to appoint' or 'to assign,' not the noun diatheke ('covenant'). uses both words in the same passage with clearly different meanings. The NWT collapses this distinction to manufacture a second covenant that does not exist in the Greek text.
The new covenant is about heavenly life — the anointed inherit heaven, the other sheep inherit earth.
says the new covenant is about 'forgiveness of sins' — not a heavenly destination. Every human needs forgiveness. If you are excluded from the covenant that provides forgiveness, on what basis are your sins forgiven? And says nothing about heaven — it describes God writing his law on hearts and forgiving sins. These are universal needs, not class-specific ones.
1 Timothy 2:5 is about Jesus' nature as a man, not about who he mediates for.
The verse makes two points: Jesus is a man (singular) and he mediates between God and men (plural — anthropon, all humanity). Verses 4-6 form a unit: God desires ALL to be saved, there is ONE mediator for ALL men, and the ransom was given for ALL. The scope is universal throughout. Restricting it to 144,000 contradicts the plain meaning of the text.
That's old literature — we don't teach that any more.
The teaching appears in 1979, 1986, 1989, and 2010 Watchtower publications. It has never been formally retracted. The 2010 book 'God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah' (p. 173) still says 'the new covenant is between Jehovah God and spiritual Israel, with Jesus as its Mediator.' Can you show me the specific publication that reversed this teaching?
Do not pile on multiple Watchtower quotes at once — one or two clear quotes are more effective than overwhelming them. Avoid getting drawn into a debate about whether the 144,000 is literal or symbolic (that is a separate argument). Stay focused on the covenant text itself: Jeremiah 31:33-34 and its NT restatement in Hebrews 8:10-12. The 'from the least to the greatest' argument is strongest when read directly from the NWT without commentary — let the words do the work.
Read and in your own New World Translation. Notice the phrase 'from the least to the greatest.' Then ask yourself: does this describe a covenant that includes everyone, or one that is restricted to 144,000? Then look up 'God's Word For Us Through Jeremiah' (2010), page 173, and see what your organisation says about who is in the new covenant. Does their teaching match what Jeremiah wrote?