A question for JWs and anyone else?

Question

What is the significance of 144,000 people in Revelations?Don't JW teach that only that many people are going to heaven? Yet Revelations 7:24 makes it clear that that is the Jews sealed during the tribulation.

"Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads."
And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed."
Revelations 7:3-8

So, according to your religion, where do the rest of the Christians go? Hell? Limbo?

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses consider that "144,000" to be a literal number, partially because it is expressed two different ways. Witnesses expect that many thousands of the 144,000 have never set foot in a Kingdom Hall or read 'The Watchtower'.

The fact is that the vast majority of Witnesses hope to enjoy life ON EARTH forever, rather than in heaven. Jehovah's Witnesses understand heaven to refer to the dwelling place of spirit creatures such as Jesus and the angels. They understand the Scriptures to teach that exactly 144,000 humans will join Christ Jesus as kings and priests to administer God's Kingdom (which 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
(Revelation 14:1) Lamb [Jesus] standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
(Revelation 20:6) they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him

The men and women who make up the 144,000 are selected by God from among two thousand years of Christians. Over whom will they 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.”

Hell is NOT someplace/something mankind needs to fear; there is no suffering in 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


Almighty Jehovah God selects those few who have the heavenly calling. Each person "feels" his own hope and each person's hope remains unquestioned by his fellow Christians. 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]

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20001001/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20001001/
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

Answer 2

First, JWs do not believe that a loving God would create hell to torment people. (Jeremiah 7:30onwards)

Second, JWs believe that Jesus is God's son and our Savior (to answerer above: i think you refer to islam) and they follow his commandment of preaching the good news of God's kingdom to the world.

The 144,000 are the anointed ones whom Jesus made a covenant with, those who will go with him to heaven as corulers (kings and priests) in God's Kingdom. Add up the total of those numbers 12,000 x 12=144,000. However, 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.

It means that the 144,000 comes from all-over the world. Rev. 14:3 gives a clear definition: " And they are singing as if a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth." Earth,and not a specific nation.

This agrees when Jesus said in Matthew 22:14 regarding the Kingdom of the heavens: “There are many invited, but few chosen.” The few being the 144,000. But who are the many invited?

How would kings and priests rule if they have no subjects?

That's were people with paradise hope comes in.
Psalm 37 confirms this hope. “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth.” (Psalm 37:11) This verse is not talking about just a temporary restoration of the nation of Israel to the Promised Land. The same psalm specifies: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:29) Note that this psalm says that everlasting life on earth is to be a reward for “the meek.”

Revelation 7:9 refers to “a great crowd, which no man was able to number.” Compared to the numbered group who will be with Jesus in heaven, this group was said to be no man was able to number, we conclude that they are the 'many' invited.

Remember that Adam and Eve were created and purposed to fill the earth, it remains the same. God did not say that they will go to heaven later, it was because of Jesus covenant with his faithful and discreet slaves that the arrangement was made.

Answer 3

The 144,000 refer to Spiritual Israel, physical Israel lost their favored standing as a nation. If you will notice the tribes listed are not even the original tribes...they were:
Judah
Reuben
Gad
Asher
Naphtali
Simeon
Issachar
Zebulun
Benjamin
Levi
Dan
(Joseph was actually two 1/2 tribes consisting of Manessa and Ephraim)

As far as whre the rest of the Christians go...the ones who die, are dead until the resurrection back to life on earth
(Psalm 72:8: "And he will have subjects from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.")

I don't know why people have such a hard time realizing that God created the earth for mankind.

Psalm 37: 9-11, 29: "For evildoers themselves will be cut off,
But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth.
10 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more;
And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be.
11 But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth,
And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.
29 The righteous themselves will possess the earth,
And they will reside forever upon it.

Matthew 5:5: "“Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth."

John 3:16: "“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."

Does not say" will go to heaven" but rather says will "have everlasting life" and does not say "will burn in hell" but rather says "be destroyed".

Psalm 115:16: "As regards the heavens, to Jehovah the heavens belong,
But the earth he has given to the sons of men."

Isaiah 45: 18: " For this is what Jehovah has said, the Creator of the heavens, He the [true] God, the Former of the earth and the Maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited: “I am Jehovah, and there is no one else. "

You might come back with
2 Peter 3: 11-13: "Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought YOU to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah, through which [the] heavens being on fire will be dissolved and [the] elements being intensely hot will melt! 13 But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell."

but read it carefully, and you may come to understand that the "new heavens" and the "new earth" are not leiterally meaning a different heaven or a different earth, but rather different in that "righteousness is to dwell" there. Satan and his demons have already been completely ousted from heaven, so now it is already new in that sense, but heaven could not possible be on fire physically, that is a metaphore...anyway we read that the earth "will not be made to totter"

Psalm 104:5: "He has founded the earth upon its established places;
It will not be made to totter to time indefinite, or forever."

So I guess in answer to your question, the rest of the Christians will live on earth, just as God purposed from the beginning. He has not changed.

Answer 4

You'll note there never was a tribe of Joseph in ancient Israel.
There was a tribe of Ephraim, but its not mentioned in Revelation.
Revelation is symbolic.
The 144,000 symbolic 'Israelites' go to heaven to form the government that work with Jesus, to reign over the earth.
"Thy kingdom come" means we ask for God's government to take over.
Jesus, while on earth, preached the theme that the kingdom of God was at hand.
Kingdom means Government ....a political administration.
In the U.S.A. the government is formed of ...so many people.
It rules over 300 million others, from California to New York.
God's government, composed of Jesus and 144,000 chosen from the earth, will rule over an earth FILLED with faithful worshippers of God.
Psalm 37:29

Answer 5

YHVH and His son Y'hshua created the earth. They created it to be inhabited. They created mankind out of the dust of it and to inhabit it without death in perfection. satan decieved man. but YHVH will not allow satan to thwart His original creation. Man was created to live on earth, not in heaven. God tells us in the Bible clearly that when you die you return to the earth and have no more thoughts. Only His son was sent to earth from heaven and then returned there after he gave his life for us. Y'hshua taught that there will come a day when the dead are resurrected into YHVH's earthly Kingdom. After YHVH destroys those "ruining the earth" He will restore His original purpose for the earth and mankind; the very thing that Adam and Eve lost. YHVH tells us that he will choose 144,000 faithful humans to help Y'hshua rule over the earth for 1,000 years as they help bring mankind back to perfection in "the new earth". If you have a Bible you can find all of these truths if you are willing to read and study it.

agape!

Answer 6

They have taken the passage from Revelation way out of context. The Bible also says that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Now that doesn't mean that everyone is automatically saved and going to Heaven no matter what. Salvation is a free gift, which anyone can have but the Bible teaches he or she must accept the gift by

!) believing
2) repenting of sins
3) confessing Jesus as the Son of God
4) being baptized into Christ
5) live a faithful life

According to the Bible, anyone who does all of the following will have a place in Heaven. Not just 144,000

Answer 7

Without going into a long discussion on JW theology/mythology, they teach that God decided to limit the number of those who would be in heaven to 144,000. The rest of the faithful would spend eternity on a perfect, renewed earth.
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Answer 8

Oh Sandra, You do understand that John wrote the e book of Revelation in the previous he wrote his epistles? extra greater Deuteronomy 4:2 states "Ye shall no longer upload unto the notice which I command you, neither shall ye lessen ought from it, that ye might shop the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." so as that should make something of the previous testomony (the 34 final BOOKS) and the completed New testomony to blame by ability of your interpretation of Rev. 22:18. The Bible itself is a decision of BOOKS. And there have been many variations got here upon that date lower back to the 2d century. by ability of the time the Nician council (325 advert) there have been many distinctive compilations of books that have been seen scripture. It replaced into the council that customary what could be scripture/doctrine, and what could be discarded. So do no longer attempt to break down somebody else's faith. exceedingly in the event that they have carried out greater homework than your self.

Answer 9

salvation is open to just as many people as willl demonstrate TRUE faith in the provision that Jehovah has made through Jesus the Bible says that only144,000 will go to heaven to be with Christ.. in ps. 37:11 is says Tthe meek oned themselves will possess the earth and they will find their their exquite delight in the abundance of peace" so although only 144,000 will go to heaven everyone who proves faithful to what Jehovah requires, which he outlines in the Bible, will reside FOREVER on the earth.

Answer 10

Their is no Rev 7:24 And for the question? Well how many made it through the Flood, or sodom? I wouldnt worry about the number, I would be worried if im gonna make it or not.