How do Jehovah's Witnesses determine if you're one of the 144,000 people to go to heaven?

Question

I'm really confused. How do they tell?

Answer 1

Only the person him/herself knows. The organization doesn't tell certain people that they are or that they aren't.

The bible says that these people are virgins and that they know they are at one with God, so basically, if a person has to ask himself that question, he or she surely isn't one of the anointed.

Hope this helps.

I'm not a JW, but my mother is so I know all about it...

BTW, I'm an agnostic, but if I were to choose a religion one day, it would be Jehovah's Witnesses. They are the only ones who truly study the bible. What mainstream Christianity teaches makes no sense at all. They are morons. I've seen them myself.

Answer 2

So the answer to the question, “who are the 144,000?” will depend on which interpretive approach you take to the book of Revelation. With the exception of the futurist approach, all of the other approaches interpret the 144,000 symbolically, as being representative of the Church, and the number “144,000” being symbolic of the totality—i.e., the complete number—of the Church. Yet when taking the passage at face value (“And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”), there is nothing in the passage which necessitates interpreting the 144,000 as anything but a literal number of 144,000 Jews, 12,000 taken from every tribe of the “sons of Israel.” The New Testament offers no clear-cut text equating the Church with Israel.

Answer 3

One thing of note is that those of the anointed class don't draw attention to themselves. They do not hold special positions in the congregations or the organization. The receive no compensation or recognition. They do tend to put in more hours in the field service than most. The only way to know one is for sure is when they partake of the emblems on Nisan 14. That's also the only time the organization gets an accounting of how many there are. When I was young there would be 2-3 to a congregation, now there may be 2-3 to a district covering over 100 congregations. They have been dying off, fast. If it was thought this was the only hope, there would be growing numbers of them, not decreasing numbers. And they would draw attention to themselves, like they do in other religions.

Answer 4

the 144,000 are the 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of israel.... only direct descendants of Jacob/Israel are included... and will be 'sealed' with God's mark in the end times (read the book of Revelation)... and will be converted to messianic Jews and preach salvation during this time.

there are others in heaven... those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ.

You can be saved, and have your name written in the book of Life by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior... by following Him and not any man made religion.

Answer 5

The book of the Revelation (it is one revelation, not several revelations) mentions one or two groups of 144,000 people. The first is in Revelation 7:2-4. "And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel." The passage goes on to list the twelve tribes of Israel and say that 12,000 were sealed from each of the twelve tribes. The second mention of the number is in Revelation 14:1-5. "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." These may be the same as the ones in Revelation 7.

But who are they. The passages say they are from the tribes of Israel and that they were the first converts to Christianity. Since the book of the Revelation is a book of symbols, we can tell a couple of things about them. As Jews who were the first converted, they clearly symbolize the church. The number 144,000 is symbolic of a vast number. Almost any time a prophecy speaks of thousands, it should be given this meaning, rather than taking it literally. Since there were twelve tribes and twelve apostles, then 144,000 would probably represent a large number of Jews taught by Jesus followers and converted to belief in Jesus as Messiah. Since they were "firstfruits" they are clearly the first ones converted. Since the Revelation reveals things that are, at John's time, "soon to come to pass" (Revelation 1:1), then these must represent the church that then existed, which are about to resist the power of the Roman Empire.

Answer 6

No human tells any individual Jehovah's Witness whether he is a member of Christ's heavenly "little flock" or earthly "other sheep" (see Luke 12:32 and John 10:16). This feeling is in the heart, communicated by holy spirit.

Of course, Christians with a heavenly hope do not have more holy spirit than those with an earthly hope, and they are not necessarily more godly or more spiritual. They simply recognize within themselves that they have an assignment from God in heaven.

Among the nearly SEVEN MILLION active Witnesses, literally 99.99% choose to identify THEMSELVES with the earthly hope, and consider their hope of eternal salvation to be a divine gift from God. Since each Christian "feels" his hope in his heart, there is nothing human to prevent any Witness from deciding that he is "anointed" (of the 144,000) with a heavenly hope, yet in the last few years about ONE in 10,000 choose to identify himself in this heavenly class.

The work that specifically enjoys the holy spirit is the ongoing global preaching work, which can only be accomplished with God's continued blessing. It seems interesting that no other self-described Christian group comes close to comparing with this work by Jehovah's Witnesses. The central message of Kingdom "good news" remains plain and clear and central to Witness doctrine; many other matters are merely interesting and relatively minor.

(Matthew 24:14) And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20001001/
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_06.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_06.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_05.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_04.htm

Answer 7

You know I thought those were the only people to be saved during the Tribulation, but they are supposed to be specially chosen Jewish people. I always figured my chances were pretty slim to be in that 144,000! There will be 12,000 each from each of the 12 tribes I think. There will be many more people saved than that.

Answer 8

The 144,000 are NOT JW's. The 144,000 come from the 12 Tribes of Israel(Jewish)

Answer 9

In Romans Paul said that the holy spirit will bear witness with our spirit, that we have or don't have the heavenly hope.

www.watchtower.org

Answer 10

All of the 144,000 have already been born. Actually most are dead...there are only a few still alive.

So...all the JWs alive right now and converting right now are not part of the 144,000. But they don't mind because even though they know they will not see heaven, they believe they will live in peace on earth.

Answer 11

Its false doctrine. Anyone who believes in Jesus and has trusted in Him as their Savior goes to Heaven. Its in the Bible, the belief that only 144,000 go to Heaven is not Biblical; and btw, since the JW think that, don't they think the spots are already taken?