Introduction to "The Three Eternal Destinies"
Answer
Section titled “Answer”The Twelve Tribes teach the doctrine of The Three Eternal Destinies, asserting that “there are not just two, but three eternal destinies for mankind.” They believe this doctrine “justifies God’s heart toward mankind” by revealing Him as a fair judge rather than a God of indiscriminate wrath. Humanity is divided based on their response to conscience or the gospel.
1. The Unjust and Filthy This category comprises those who willfully reject their conscience to pursue evil. The Unjust are characterized by “lying, deceit, greed, laziness, and slander,” often exemplified by dishonest lawyers or exploitative businessmen. The Filthy are those who “give themselves over to degrading acts of immorality,” using others to fulfill base appetites. Their fate is the Second Death, as they “will spend eternity in the eternal lake of fire,” a place originally prepared for Satan and his angels.
2. The Righteous The Twelve Tribes believe “the Righteous are the ‘good people’ of every nation and culture who live according to the dictates of their own conscience” [594, ITN Archive Indexed 2001.pdf]. These individuals are not sinless, but they “do not sin so as to ruin others” and “suffer to do the good they knew in their conscience”. They must experience the First Death to pay for their sins, but in the final judgment, they are awarded a “second life in the Nations of God’s Eternal Kingdom” [537, 597, It Takes A Community, Spring 2003.pdf].
3. The Holy The Holy are those who hear and obey the gospel of Messiah. The term “literally means: set apart for sacred purpose – to the service or worship of God” [17, 3ED7.pdf]. They must leave everything—possessions, family, and independent life—to live in communal tribes. By receiving Messiah’s sacrifice, their sins are paid for, and they pass “out of eternal death and into eternal life” now. Their destiny is the Holy City, New Jerusalem, where they will “rule and reign over the Righteous in the nations of the eternal age” [538, 597, It Takes A Community, Spring 2003.pdf].
The group teaches that “all people are born righteous” in the image of God [610, destiny.pdf]. Throughout life, an individual’s choices and deeds determine their final category, which becomes “unalterable” or “crystallized” for eternity.