“Millions Now Living May Never Die.”

J. F. Rutherford, on the other hand, was not making forecasts based on science or medicine. His discussion was based on the Bible. He demonstrated by means of fulfilled Bible prophecies that the world of mankind had entered into its “time of the end.” (Daniel 12:4) He then pointed to the Bible-based hope that just as Noah and his family survived the end of the world in their day, millions will survive the destruction of this world and live on into a righteous new world to enjoy everlasting life in a paradise earth.​—Matthew 24:37-39; Revelation 21:3, 4.

To many of those in his audience, Rutherford’s speech was startling. Even today, many people find such talk about living forever on earth under the rule of God’s Kingdom unrealistic and hard to believe. (Psalm 37:10, 11, 29) But is what the Bible says about why we grow old and die really so unbelievable? What, in fact, does it say on the subject?

Made to Live, Not to Die

Logically, the Bible opens with the account of the beginning of human life. In the first chapter of Genesis, we read that after creating the first human pair, “God blessed them and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.’”​—Genesis 1:28.

For the first human pair, Adam and Eve, to carry out that assignment, it would necessarily mean that they would have to live a very long time, and so would their offspring. But for how long? Reading on in the Bible book of Genesis, we find no mention of any specific life span prescribed for Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, there was one condition that they would have to meet if they were to continue living. God said to Adam: “As for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”​—Genesis 2:17.

Thus, death would come upon them only if they disobeyed God’s command. Otherwise, they had the prospect of living on indefinitely in that earthly Paradise called Eden. Clearly, humans were made to live, not to die.

The Genesis account goes on to relate, however, that the first human pair chose to ignore God’s clearly stated command and thereby sinned. Their course of disobedience brought upon them, and subsequently upon their descendants, the condemnation of death. Centuries later, the apostle Paul explained: “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.”​—Romans 5:12.

The law of inheritance is such that Adam and Eve could only pass on to their offspring what they themselves had. As created, they were capable of passing on perfect, unending life to future generations. But now that their own lives had become marred by sin and death, they could no longer bequeath that grand heritage. Sin, imperfection, and death have become the lot of all mankind ever since, in spite of the efforts to extend the human life span.

In a sense, this can be likened to a computer program in which there is a flaw, or bug. Unless the bug is isolated and corrected, the program will not work properly, and the results may be disastrous. Man has not been able to isolate, much less correct, the inherent flaw that results in the malfunctioning of our human bodies, resulting in aging and death. However, man’s Creator, Jehovah God, has made arrangements to correct it. What is his solution?

God has provided the perfect human life of his Son, Jesus Christ, “the last Adam,” who thus replaces, in effect, the original Adam as our father and life-​giver. Therefore, instead of being condemned to die as children of the sinner Adam, obedient humans may be reckoned worthy to receive everlasting life as children of their “Eternal Father,” Jesus Christ. Jesus himself explained: “This is the will of my Father, that everyone that beholds the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life.”​—1 Corinthians 15:45; Isaiah 9:6; John 3:16; 6:40.

At the conclusion of his earthly ministry, in prayer to his heavenly Father, Jesus Christ declared the basic requirement for attaining this grand reward of life by saying: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”​—John 17:3.

“Like the Days of a Tree”

Think of planting a sequoia seed and watching it grow hundreds of feet into the air, enjoying its growth throughout its lifetime. Then imagine surviving it and planting another one thousands of years later and again enjoying its growth and beauty.

Is such a notion realistic? Indeed it is, for it is based on the promise of man’s Creator, Jehovah God, who says: “Like the days of a tree will the days of my people be.” (Isaiah 65:22) This promise helps answer the question, How long can man live? The answer is: on into the indefinite future, yes, actually forever.​—Psalm 133:3.

An invitation is being extended now, namely: “‘Come!’ And let anyone hearing say: ‘Come!’ And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.” (Revelation 22:17) This is an invitation that Jehovah God is having extended to all honesthearted ones. The invitation is to take advantage of God’s spiritual provisions for everlasting life on a paradise earth.