2 Tim 4:8 From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.
Jam 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.
Rev 2:10: Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.
Tit 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before eternal times; (ἐλπίδι ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἣν ἐπηγγείλατο)
Jhn 5:26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;” 1 Jhn 5:11 The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Does Paul promise, on the basis of Paul 2 Tim 4:8, anything other than eternal life, that is, access to the kingdom of God? Who is meant when talking about all? My friend, a Jehovah’s Witness, was 100 percent sure that all of these cannot enter the kingdom of God. They are the only ones rewarded with eternal life. Only the 144,000 chosen Jehovah’s Witnesses are allowed to enter the kingdom of God. So we came to a different view, because in my opinion, access to God’s kingdom and especially salvation is not limited to members of any organization.
In Timothy’s letter, Paul speaks of the crown of righteousness which he says will be received on the day of the resurrection. Paul also states that the same reward (crown) is also available to all those who love Jesus’ coming – parousia. The verses revealed that the resurrected ones will receive eternal life on the day of resurrection. What else do they get? They get a high position in the kingdom of God, i.e. they will rule together with Jesus Christ.
This is how I interpret the concepts of the crown of righteousness and the crown of life. The English translation speaks of crown, which refers to the government, to rule. λοιπὸν ἀπόκειτα μοι ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης στέφανος Loipon apokeitai moi ho tes dikaiosynes Stephanos. Strongs define the word Stephanos: that which surrounds, i.e. a crown, garland, Honor, Glory. – In the covenant and in many other places we speak only of eternal (αἰωνίου) life. This is why I think Paul means wreaths (or crown) of righteousness for something more than just eternal life. If Paul intended to have eternal life in the aforementioned verse, he could have used the same phrase as in many other verses is used for this purpose.
According to the Bible, those who are eligible for the first resurrection will rule the kingdom of God together with Jesus: Rev 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.
6 How blessed and holy are those who participate in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and Christ and will rule with him for a thousand years.
Of these verses of the Revelation we can conclude the following:
In verse 20:4, we speak of those who, in the first resurrection, have come to life; they received eternal life, the life where death no longer has power. They were people who either had been executed for Jesus’ sake, or else they were faithful to the word of God and had not bowed to the beast or took the mark on their foreheads or hands. In verse 20:5, it is spoken of the other dead: they did not live until the end of the thousand-year reign, when there was a general judgment on all. Then they shall rise up as, both the righteous as well as the ungodly. The participants of the first resurrection are according to verse 20: 6 Blessed and holy, because they can no longer die. They are therefore immortal priests of God and Christ, who together with Christ shall rule the kingdom of God for a thousand years (The Millennial kingdom).
