Are the Jehovah Witnesses correct...only 100,000 people will get into heaven.?

Question

10% of the world is gay..so fundies say gays are going to hell.

50% of the U.S. population is divorced and remarried...1 Corinthians 6:9 tells us that adulterrs/divorced remarried are going to hell.

70% + of the country is overweight...likely because of gluttony...if they do not turn from their sinful lifestyle and lose weight...they will be going to hell...because gluttony is a sin.

I don't know how many smoke...but, by doing so they are not honoring their "temple of God"....therefore, if they continue to smoke, they continue to live in sin.,..and cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

Every day people speed without confessing...thereby breaking the government's laws...so if they have some unconfessed sins like this...they are going to hell...especially if they continue to break the law.

Goodnes...heaven will be a lonely place.

And don't tell me that all except the gay issue can be confessed and forgiven...it's all or nothing folks...that's what the Bible says!

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.”

Do those of the “great crowd” referred to at Revelation 7:9, 10 also go to heaven?

Revelation does not say of them, as it does of the 144,000, that they are “bought from the earth” to be with Christ on heavenly Mount Zion.—Rev. 14:1-3.

The description of them as “standing before the throne and before the Lamb” indicates, not necessarily a location, but an approved condition. (Compare Revelation 6:17; Luke 21:36.) The expression “before the throne” (Greek, e·no′pi·on tou thro′nou; literally, “in sight of the throne”) does not require that they be in heaven. Their position is simply “in sight” of God, who tells us that from heaven he beholds the sons of men.—Ps. 11:4; compare Matthew 25:31-33; Luke 1:74, 75; Acts 10:33.

The “great crowd in heaven” referred to at Revelation 19:1, 6 is not the same as the “great crowd” of Revelation 7:9. The ones in heaven are not described as being “out of all nations” or as ascribing their salvation to the Lamb; they are angels. The expression “great crowd” is used in a variety of contexts in the Bible.—Mark 5:24; 6:34; 12:37.

What will those who go to heaven do there?

Rev. 20:6: “They will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.” (Also Daniel 7:27)

1 Cor. 6:2: “Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?”

Rev. 5:10: “You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over [“on,” RS, KJ, Dy; “over,” AT, Da, Kx, CC] the earth.” (The same Greek word and grammatical structure is found at Revelation 11:6. There RS, KJ, Dy, etc., all render it “over.”)

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

Many of the 144,000 lived and died before the 1800's and 1900's, much less our day and time. The good news of the kingdom that Jesus said would be spread throughout the earth according to Matthew 24:14 is concerning the future paradise on earth that will be ruled over by the 144,000 and of course Jesus Christ. So when a person responds to the good news, he is becoming aware of the opportunity of life on earth - that was God's intention from the very beginning with Adam and Eve. If any are chosen from those with an earthly hope, that is Jehovah's perogative - it is not an arbitrary decision we make or take upon ourselves. So when we share the good news with others, we view them as a future citizen of the new earth, and leave it up to Jehovah as to whether they are later selected as one of the limited number chosen for heavenly life. We want to see the earth filled with righteous mankind - an unlimited number that the Bible calls in Revelation chapter 7 "a great crowd" which no man can number. So we are glad to see as many as will respond, with no thought that they will be limited in their opportunity for everlasting life.

Answer 3

The gluttony thing is wrong because there is nothing in the Bible that says that being over weight is a sin.

The gay issue is that homosexuality is an abomination which means it is gross and inappropriate. If anyone doesn't care about watching homosexual sex then they are gay themselves as far as I'm concerned. Romans 1:26-29 and Leviticus 18:22 says being gay is a sin by the way.

The Jehovah Witnesses are wrong because Jesus does not even say that he is an archangel or an angel. He does say that he is God though in Matthew 4:5-7 where he tells the devil not to put the lord thy God to the test. Jesus says that he is "I am" and he knew Abraham in John 8:33-58.

In Hebrews 1:1-14 and John 1:1-5, 14 it says that Jesus Christ is God. It does not say that he is a god but God. How is the greek word Thoes translated as a god and God at the same time? It is only translated as God.

How do you know if Jesus is not God himself? No body knows everything and to the guy below me:

There are few who follow God but does that mean that I am one of them? Find me a verse where Jesus Christ says that he is Micheal the Archangel only then will I be a JW myself.

Answer 4

144,000
Even the J Dubs Counts are Way Off; If you factor in the "Worthies" And the People who still Take Part in the "Memorial", then some People are making an Error in where they are heading; The Vast Majority are supposed to head towards a Renewed Earth, as is taught in Every J Dub Book Since 1933/34, and Even the Ones Written By Judge Rutherford from 1921, and the Disputed "7th Volume" of the Studies in Scriptures" from about 1917.
Still All the Books like Children ( 1941), right up to 1968 Just before the "Blue Book" came in, all taught a Kind of Brinksmanship, where the 1914 Period was the time from which the people alive at that time would still be alive at the time when things changed ; And perennial revision has happened since then ...

Answer 5

Heaven has millions of angels in fact the angels have been in heaven long before the creation of the earth.
The scriptures say the angels rejoiced when the earth was created.
God created the earth to be inhabited by man and settled the first human pair in the garden of Eden.

The 144,000 will co-rule with Jesus Christ the designated king of heaven AND earth.
The great crowd will be the other sheep who will inhabit the earth. God is not going to destroy the earth because he intended it to be inhabited for mankind forever.
The scriptures say the meek will inherit the earth and it will be restored to a paradise where faithful will live forever where there will be no death, outcry of pain and nobody will say I am sick. All enemies of mankind will be destroyed.

Answer 6

It's 144,000, not 100,000 and this number refers to 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel except for Dan and Ephraim (but that's another story) who are substituted for by Joseph and Benjamin to become instant witnesses of the Gospel and sent forth to preach to the unbelieving remnant on Earth during the Tribulation period. Besides, if the JW's were right, then everyone else would be left out and the intent of Christ's sacrifice would've been a lie.

Answer 7

In Revelations, it gives the number "144,000" who have the heavenly hope and who will rule with Jesus.
It also states that these are the "firstfruits" of the sons of God. Showing that there are more "fruits" as it were who have another hope.
That other group is also mentioned in Revelation as the Great Crowd which no man was able to number. Showing that a large number have the hope of living on the earth - in a paradise. (Psalms 37:9-11)

Answer 8

Just sinning will not send you to hell. Jesus says you can be forgiven of your sins. Please don't use the Bible to say "it's all or nothing." Everyone will sin, that's humanity. If you say sinning is unforgivable by God, then NO ONE will get to heaven. Heaven is reserved for those you truly are sorry. Going to Reconciliation and saying you are sorry without meaning it will do you no good. When you die, God shows you all you have done, the good and the bad. If you are truly sorry for the bad, you can ask God to take you to heaven, which he will always. Hell is for those that sin and are not afraid to sin again. Hell is filled with people who do not regret sin in their life, not everyone that sins.

Answer 9

Are you a troll? None of those people are going to Hell if they confess Jesus is lord and ask for forgiveness.
JW's believe 144,000 will live in Heaven and the rest will reign here on earth.
Which is not right, another example how the bible is taken out of context, the 144,000 represent tribes, not individuals.
edit: and there is a Hell and it isn't going to be here on earth.

Answer 10

The vast majority of Jehovah's 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 11

Everyone that confesses with their mouth and believes in their hearts that Jesus is Lord can be forgiven. They only need to ask. If they are sincere, (the Lord knows their hearts) then we are told in the scriptures, we will be forgiven.

Here's the kicker...some won't confess their sin. Some won't stop and turn away from their sin...and it is sin that separates from the living God.

Peace be with you.