Question for Jehovas witnesses....?

Question

Is it true you all believe there is room in heaven for a certain amount of souls? If so, why do you go door to door trying to convert people? They could take your place.....

Answer 1

To how many does the Bible hold out hope of heavenly life?
Luke 12:32: “Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom.” Rev. 14:1-3: “I saw, and, look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the Mount Zion [in heaven; see Hebrews 12:22-24], and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. . . . And they are singing as if a new song . . . and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth.”

Are the 144,000 only natural Jews? Rev. 7:4-8: “I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: . . . Judah . . . Reuben . . . Gad . . . Asher . . . Naphtali . . . Manasseh . . . Simeon . . . Levi . . . Issachar . . . Zebulun . . . Joseph . . . Benjamin.” (These cannot be the tribes of natural Israel because there never was a tribe of Joseph, the tribes of Ephraim and Dan are not included in the list here, and the Levites were set aside for service in connection with the temple but were not reckoned as one of the 12 tribes. See Numbers 1:4-16.) Rom. 2:28, 29: “He is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit, and not by a written code.”
Gal. 3:26-29: “You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one person in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise.”

Is the number 144,000 merely symbolic? The answer is indicated by the fact that, after mention of the definite number 144,000, Revelation 7:9 refers to “a great crowd, which no man was able to number.” If the number 144,000 were not literal it would lack meaning as a contrast to the “great crowd.” Viewing the number as literal agrees with Jesus’ statement at Matthew 22:14 regarding the Kingdom of the heavens: “There are many invited, but few chosen.”

Who selects the ones who will go to heaven? 2 Thess. 2:13, 14: “We are obligated to thank God always for you, brothers loved by Jehovah, because God selected you from the beginning for salvation by sanctifying you with spirit and by your faith in the truth. To this very destiny he called you through the good news we declare, for the purpose of acquiring the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rom. 9:6, 16: “Not all who spring from Israel are really ‘Israel.’ . . . It depends, not upon the one wishing nor upon the one running, but upon God, who has mercy.”

Answer 2

The premise of the question is false. Jehovah's Witnesses have never pretended that either heaven or Jehovah God has any limits. In fact, Witnesses understand the bible to teach that there are at least 200 million angels.

(Revelation 5:11) I heard a voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads [literally, the plural of 10,000 times 10,000] and thousands of thousands


The preaching work is performed because Jesus commanded it, not because it benefits Jehovah's Witnesses personally or as a religion. The fact is that the vast majority of Witnesses hope to enjoy life ON EARTH forever, rather than in heaven. Almighty Jehovah God selects some humans for a heavenly calling. Still 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

Answer 3

Revelation states that a group of 144,000 will be taken from the earth to rule as kings and priest with Jesus in heaven.

The scriptures also state that there will be people living on earth in a paradise. See Psalms 37:10,11, Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 65...

Most of us do not have a heavenly hope. We believe that we will be part of the group living in the paradise here on earth.

Therefore, we go door to door to spread the gospel. Our goal is not to convert. Our aim is to help people see the truth in the Bible and glean hope from it.

Answer 4

Because they take every word of the bible literally when the whole book of Revelations is symbolic. The 144,000 is 12 squared. That is, the 12 tribes of Israel (which represents the godly of the old covenant) X the 12 apostles (which represent the church of the new covenant. So the 144,000 means ALL of spiritual Israel will be saved, all of the godly from both covenants.

Answer 5

The 144,000, they are 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, they will rule the kingdom of heaven, that is a birth right.. The rest of the true believers will be given a Paradise on Earth, everyone else will die. JW's don't believe in hell.
This question won't bother them, I asked it of my in-laws and that is what they told me about it.

Answer 6

For real. They think it is JW's who are the 144,000, when it says the 144,000 will come from "tribes".

Pssst - That means Jews...

JW's whole religion is based on works, if they dont do something, then their heaven isnt as good.

Answer 7

Great question...one I have asked many times.

((They changed Rev. 7 in their bible to read JW instead of Israel.))

Answer 8

This ought to be good.......
You forgot to mention the fact that they also deny the Deity of Jesus Christ.

Any more lies?

Answer 9

Now isn't that a conundrum?

Answer 10

Jehovah’s Witnesses: Witnessing Tips
By David A. Reed, Ex-Jehovah’s Witness elder

Encounters between Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses typically revolve around a discussion of deity. The reason for this is twofold. First, this is the area where Watchtower theology deviates most dramatically from orthodox Christianity. In contrast to the Trinitarian concept of one God in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the JWs have been taught to believe that God the Father alone is "Jehovah," the only true God; that Jesus Christ is Michael the archangel, the first angelic being created by God; and that the Holy Spirit is neither God nor a person, but rather God’s impersonal "active force."

Second, the subject of deity is a frequent confrontational focus because both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christians (at least those who like to witness to JWs) feel confident and well-prepared to defend their stand and attack the opposing viewpoint. Due to the profound theological differences, such discussions often take the form of spiritual trench warfare—a long series of arguments and counterarguments, getting nowhere and ending in mutual frustration. But this need not be the case, especially if the Christian will "become all things to all men" by taking a moment to put himself in the Witness’s shoes, so to speak (see 1 Corinthians 9:22).

In the JW’s mind he himself is a worshiper of the true God of the Bible, while you are a lost soul who has been misled by the devil into worshiping a pagan three-headed deity. He is, no doubt, quite sincere in these beliefs and feels both threatened and offended by the doctrine of the Trinity. To give any serious consideration to your arguments in support of the Trinity is simply unthinkable to the JW; he would be sinning against Jehovah God to entertain such a thought. So, in order to make any headway with the Witness, it is necessary to bridge the gap—to find common ground that will enable him to rethink his theology. Rather than plunging into a defense of "the doctrine of the Trinity," which can be mind-boggling even to a Christian, take things one step at a time. A good first step would be to consider the question, "Is Jesus Christ really an angel?" It will be frightening to the Jehovah’s Witness to open this cherished belief of his to critical reexamination, but not nearly as frightening as to start off discussing evidence that God is triune.

Since the Watchtower Society speaks of "Jesus Christ, whom we understand from the Scriptures to be Michael the archangel" (The Watchtower, February 15, 1979, p. 31), put the JW on the spot and ask him to show you "the Scriptures" that say Jesus is Michael. There are none.

The Watchtower Society New World Translation (NWT) mentions Michael five times as: 1) "one of the foremost princes" (Dan. 10:13); 2) "the prince of [Daniel’s] people" (Dan. 10:21); 3) "the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of [Daniel’s] people" (Dan. 12:1); 4) "the archangel" who "had a difference with the devil and was disputingabout Moses’ body" but "did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms" (Jude 9); and 5) a participant in heavenly conflict when "Michael and his angels battled with the dragon" (Rev. 12:7).

Ask the Jehovah’s Witness which one of these verses says that Michael is Jesus Christ. Help him to see that it is necessary to read Scripture plus a complicated Watchtower argument to reach that conclusion. Rather than being merely "one of the foremost princes," Jesus Christ is "Lord of lords and King of kings" (Rev. 17:14, NWT) and is "far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come" (Ephesians 1:21, NWT). And, unlike "Michael who did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’" (Jude 9, Today’s English Version), Jesus Christ displayed His authority over the devil when He freely commanded him, "Go away, Satan!" (Matthew 4:10, NWT).

In arguing that Jesus is Michael the archangel, the Watchtower Society also points to another verse that does not use the name Michael but says that "the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet . . ." (1 Thessalonians 4:16, NWT). However, the expression "with an archangel’s voice" simply means that the archangel, like God’s trumpet, will herald the coming of the Lord, not that the Lord is an archangel. Point out to the JW that none of the verses he has attempted to use as proof-texts even comes close to stating that Jesus Christ is Michael the archangel. In fact, Scripture clearly teaches the opposite: namely, that the Son of God is superior to the angels. The entire first chapter of Hebrews is devoted to this theme.

Have the Witness read Hebrews chapter one aloud with you, and, as you do so, interrupt to point out the sharp contrast between angels and the Son of God. "For to what angel did God ever say, ‘Thou are my Son . . .?’ And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him’" (vv. 5,6, Revised Standard Version). Remind the JW that angels consistently refuse worship ("Be careful! Do not do that! . . .Worship God," Revelation 22:8,9, NWT), but the Father’s command concerning the Son is, "Let all God’s angels worship him" (Hebrews 1:6). That is how the Watchtower’s own New World Translation read for some 20 years until, in 1970, the Society changed it to read "do obeisance to him" instead of "worship him"—part of their consistent campaign to eliminate from their Bible all references to the deity of Christ.

True, you have not yet proved the "doctrine of the Trinity" in this discussion. But you have laid a good foundation by giving the Jehovah’s Witness convincing evidence that Jesus Christ is not an angel (he is now faced with the question of who Jesus really is), and you have shown that the Watchtower Society has misled him, even resorting to altering Scripture to do so. Now you are in a much better position to go on to present the gospel. (3:16 continued)
**********************************************************************************
Speaking the Truth in Love to Jehovah’s Witnesses
By Clint DeBoer

I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and remained one until age 11. Coming out of this cult, I entered my teenage years as a bitter atheist where I remained until I graduated from college. Through God’s amazing grace I was saved in 1994 after reading the Bible and realizing that it was indeed the true Word of God. Repeatedly God has blessed me with the passion and privilege to witness to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

You’ve almost certainly had them come knocking on your door on a Saturday afternoon and you may have even engaged a Jehovah’s Witness in a theological discussion. In talking to other Christians I find that when presented with a face-to-face encounter with a Jehovah’s Witness there are usually two responses: 1) A "frontal assault" via debate or heated discussion; or 2) A polite "no thanks, I’m already a Christian" followed by an all too abrupt closing of the door. For the mature Christian, what’s usually missing is the realization that this is a true witnessing opportunity—one that has arrived right at your doorstep. In my earliest attempts at grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns, I tried engaging them in direct debates, often quoting from several texts I had studied regarding the cultic practices of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

After several failed "conversion" attempts, often ending with thoroughly frustrated Jehovah’s Witnesses unwilling to ever return to my residence, I arrived at a startling realization: Jehovah’s Witnesses are real people, with real needs and real feelings. They can feel frustration, anger, fear, and confusion. I then realized that the reason my frontal assaults on the Jehovah’s Witnesses never seemed to work was because I had not put myself in their place and taken their feelings into account. A wise man once said, "When you want to get someone’s attention, you don’t shine a flashlight in their eyes." In presenting my arguments and facts without giving them time to prepare, I had forgotten that they were human beings searching for the truth. I had not been speaking this truth in love.

Months later, when I was again presented with an opportunity to speak with Jehovah’s Witnesses at my door, I engaged them in conversation, and agreed to do a weekly Bible study with them in order to further discuss what exactly they believed. They agreed, with the understanding that along the way I would ask questions whenever we arrived at a topic or subject with which I disagreed or failed to understand. The amazing difference was that instead of blindsiding them with questions and points of contention, I was giving them an opportunity to prepare themselves for a topic of discussion. More importantly, though, I began to care about them personally and yearn for their salvation. In this way, I am able to meet with Witnesses on a weekly basis and take them off the streets, focusing on critical topics such as the requirement that one be born again to enter the kingdom of God, the unbiblical theology of a two-class system of believers, and the true identity of Jesus Christ.