If God did not intend for us to go to Heaven, then why did Jesus say "repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Mat. 4:17) and "great is your reward in Heaven" (Mat. 5:12) and "whoever practices these commands will he called great in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mat. 5:19) and "store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven" (Mat. 6:20) etc. (there are many more).
2006-12-05 12:48:45 · 10 answers · asked by dizzymisslizzy 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm sorry if I seem like I'm picking on this particular religion but it's just that I have recently heard about them and are curious as to what they believe.
2006-12-05 12:49:52 · update #1
how is this a paradox?
2006-12-05 13:05:00 · update #2
Consider them a cult, and not to be reckoned with.
2006-12-05 12:52:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 6⤋
The Kingdom of the Heavens is like God's government. So the ruler's of the government will be the 144,000 in heaven, ruling Gods kingdom together with Jesus (Rev 20:4-6, 7:4 & 14:3). But also, the Great crowd will be subjects of this kingdom on earth, and so still part of that kingdom(Rev 7:9, Ps 46:8, 9, Ps 72:16, Isa 65:21-25, 2 Peter 3:13).
That's why in Matthew 5 it say's in verse 5 '“Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.', and then in verse 8 '“Happy are the pure in heart, since they will see God.'. Because there are 2 groups. This can also be see in John 10:7-15, when Jesus talks about his 'sheep' and then in John 10:16, when he talks about 'the other sheep' that he has.
2006-12-06 13:30:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You have to take the bible as a whole.
Yes Jesus said that there will be those that go to heaven,
He also said the meek would inherit the earth.
It is not one or the other, it truth is both.
Prov. 2:21,22 says that the wicked will cut off of the earth and the righteous would remain.
This wasn't changed because Jesus came to the earth.
Jesus coming to the earth made this verse possible.
Jesus said "no man was greater than John the Baptist, but the lesser one in the Kingdom is greater" So are you saying that John the Baptist has no hope of eternal life?
for more scriptures go to
www.watchtower.org
2006-12-06 10:26:30 · answer #3 · answered by TeeM 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Kingdom of Heaven is GOD'S KINGDOM (unlike MAN'S Kingdom- which doesn't bring about any changes), But God's kingdom is going to bring about changes on earth, He will rid the earth of unrighteous ones, and bring about Paradise, resurrecting our dead loved ones. "store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven" (Mat. 6:20) that has to do with materialism, we shouldn't put our trust in earthly things but in Godly/ Spiritual things. verse 21: For where your treasure is there your heart will be.
2006-12-05 21:12:18 · answer #4 · answered by BigBluEyes 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jehovah God created the earth and put Adam and Eve upon it.He told them to be fruitful and multiply.They were created perfect and designed to live forever.Had they not disobeyed God and sinned,they would still be alive today.And we would not have inherited imperfection,sin and death from them.
Its was God's purpose that man inhabit the earth.However,due to the rebellion that took place in Eden,man was no enslaved to sin and death.So by means of the ransom sacrifice of his only begotten Son,Jesus we all have the opportunity to have our sins forgiven and establish a relationship with Jehovah provided we exercise faith in God and in Jesus' ransom.
The theme throughtout the Bible is about God's Heavenly Kingdom.That is a real Government ruling from Heaven over the earth.Jesus is the appointed King and High Priest.When Jesus was on earth,He gave us a glimpse of what to expect when God's Kingdom takes over.Man will be healed from illness,the blind will see again,the dead will be resurrected.(Rev.21:3,4).
Ruling in Heaven with Christ will be 144,000 faithful men and women who have been taken from the earth to rule as kings and priests with Christ.(Rev.14:1-4).Throughout the Greek Scriptures these are the ones being referred to as kingdom heirs.The Bible does not teach that all good people go to heaven.It is a major misinterpretation of Christendom.The Bible clearly speaks of two classes.There are those who will reign in heaven with Christ.These spirit anointed ones are referred to as "little flock" at Lu.12:32.And then there are the ones who will have the opportunity for eternal life on earth.These are referred to in the Bible as "great crowd" and "other sheep" -Rev.7:9;John10:!6
At Matt.5:12 Jesus tells his disciples to rejoice at being persecuted because their reward would be great..That 'great reward' is eternal life.It is a free gift.Jesus said that the reward is "in the heavens" becomes it comes from Jehovah.The anointed receive the "crown of life",in their case,immortal life with Christ in heaven.(James1:12,17)Those with an earthly hope,the
"other sheep"look forward to inheriting everlasting life in an earthly paradise.
If you are sincerely interested in what Jehovah's Witnesses believe,why not go to your local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah' Witnesses.They would be only too happy to answer your questions.They would even conduct a free home bible study with you,if you so desired.
There is just too much to explain on this site.And in all honestly this site is not the best place to be searching for answers.
2006-12-05 22:44:42 · answer #5 · answered by lillie 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
The Scriptures quite convincingly teach that Jehovah God and Jesus Christ are spirit beings who live in heaven. Jehovah is the ultimate Sovereign of the universe, and He has appointed Christ Jesus as the King of God's Kingdom government.
(Acts 7:49) The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What sort of house will you build for me? Jehovah says
(Hebrews 8:1) [Jesus] has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens
(1 Peter 3:22) He is at God’s right hand, for he went his way to heaven; and angels and authorities and powers were made subject to him.
Since these government leaders (Jehovah and Jesus) actually rule from heaven, it seems rather straightforward that the government could be referred to as a "heavenly government" or as a "kingdom of heaven". Similarly today, humans speak of an entire country's government using the name of its capital city ("Washington DC", "Moscow", "London"). Interestingly, some humans in the first century thought that Jesus would be a mere human king, so it makes sense that Jesus would show that his kingship was different.
(John 6:15) Jesus, knowing they were about to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew
(John 18:33,36) Pilate entered into the governor’s palace again and called Jesus and said to him: “Are you the king of the Jews?” ...36 Jesus answered: “My kingdom is no part of this world.
The bible also shows that the "kingdoms of the earth" or "the kingdoms of the world" are under the control of Satan, and will be until Armageddon. Jesus' kingdom is different and elevated and has not yet extended its rulership to replace Satan's (more on this below).
(Matthew 4:8-9) the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and [Satan] said to [Jesus]: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me
When an individual "stores up treasures in heaven", this is a reference to the goodwill that remains in Jehovah's memory; even if a person should die, the treasured pattern of his godly life remains with the very 'Giver of Life' (John 5:21).
(Acts 10:4) Your prayers and gifts of mercy have ascended as a remembrance before God
(1 Peter 3:12) For the eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous ones
Jehovah's Witnesses understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom will soon replace all earthly governments.
(Daniel 2:44) God of heaven will set up a kingdom... It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite
That Kingdom will rule over the vast majority of mankind, most of whom will have been raised from the dead after Armageddon.
(John 11:23,24) Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or the grave. Sometime after the resurrection, death and "hell" will themselves be destroyed.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]
(Revelation 20:14) And death and Hades ["hell"] were hurled into the lake of fire
While a limitted number of humans will be resurrected to heaven to share in ruling over mankind, the vast majority (literally more than 99.9%) of Jehovah's Witnesses expect an EARTHLY hope, the same hope given to Adam and Eve.
(Genesis 1:28) God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill THE EARTH and subdue it [caps added]
(Genesis 2:17) You must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die [so never eating from that tree means never dying]
Interestingly, the Scriptures are full of references to this earthly hope.
(Psalms 37:11) 'the meek will possess the earth'
(Proverbs 2:21) 'upright will reside in the earth'
(Isaiah 45:18) 'God formed the earth to be inhabited'
(Matthew 5:5) 'the mild will inherit the earth'
(Revelation 21:3) The tent of God is with mankind
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://watchtower.org/e/20001001/
2006-12-06 12:20:19 · answer #6 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, if you want to know what Jehovah's Witnesses believe, you can get a better explanation by talking to them in person. Here you get comments from people, who either think they know what we believe or don't know what we believe and will only confuse you further.
2006-12-06 10:55:21 · answer #7 · answered by la la la 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you want to know what Jehovah's Witnesses believe then you should ask them. If you post a question here you'll get a lot of those who know nothing about JW beliefs. Notice that people use false websites or opinions as their sources.
2006-12-05 21:13:01 · answer #8 · answered by markmisslindsay 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
They believe Heaven is an Earth transformed into a paradise. They have that much correct.
2006-12-05 20:54:47 · answer #9 · answered by Atlas 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
i will put this question on my watchlist
(there appears to be a paradox)
2006-12-05 20:57:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋