Jehovah's Witnesses and the 144,000...?

Question

How do you know you're one of the 144,000? There are way more than 144,000 JWs. Also, why are the JWs the only ones who are part of the 144,000? Why would 144,000 mean JWs today? What if the 144,000 were people from 2, 3 even 4 centuries ago? Why do you think it's for people today?

Also: By looking at the verses it is obvious that the 144,000 are literal Jews of the ancient tribes with no Gentiles among them (7:4-8). They are all virgin males (14:4). If the JW states that the usage of Jewish male virgins is figurative, what gives them the right to state that number of 144,000 is literal?

TeeM -- How on earth can you be a "spiritual virgin"? Rom. 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". You'd have to be perfect....

Answer 1

Jehovah's 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

Some very good answers given here but wanted to add, to Anna who was confused about the 144,000 and the great crowd,

In Rev. 7:14, they are spoken of as coming out of the great tribulation, and the latter part of verse 15 says that the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. That indicates that they were under the heavens. Also such phrases as nor thirst anymore, sun beating down, scorching heat, shepherd guiding them etc., indicate a earthly situation not heavenly. Rev. 19.1 says the loud voice was "as" a great crowd, not a great crowd, the King James Version uses the word "multitude". So these are the 144,000 giving praise to Jehovah. Keep reading, and eventually you will get the sense of it.

Also a comment was made about the 144,000 having to be perfect, well, they have to die to be resurrected to heaven and we know that the wages of sin are death, so their slates have been wiped clean. They are "as new."

Answer 3

The 14th chapter of Revelation mentions 144,000. It depicts them as standing on top of Mount Zion with Jesus. It further goes on to say that only the 144,000 could master the song so as to ultimately qualify reign with Jesus. So, that's pretty clear.

The 144,000 are the spiritual organization that is built upon the 12 apostles. Are the 12 apostles symbolic? How about the 12 tribes that descended from the 12 sons of Israel? The millions of churchgoers who have been indoctrinated with the idea that it is their birthright to go to heaven have very little comprehension what the kingdom of God actually is.

According to Revelation, the 144,000 are Christians who are bought from all tribes and nationalities and they are to be kings and priests and rule with Christ for the 1,000 years. That is what the kingdom of God is.

Answer 4

These are really good Q's.

1) bc I'm not.
I, like Most J's W's have an earthly hope.

2) J's W's of today or otherwise; are not the only ones that enter into the marriage arrangement w/ Christ as heirs to the Kingdom & throne, along w/ Christ.
Although, ANYONE whom professes and proclaims the 'name of God' can be called a Witness of Jehovah.

3) It doesn't. The Bible clearly states when Jehovah started claiming the spiritual Israel.

4) Right; it's ppl starting from Jesus' ministry forward.
We don't think its just for ppl today.
That's not what the Bible teaches.

By discerning all the pertaining scriptures,
all in harmony as a whole.
Its clear that it is "Spiritual Israel," not of the flesh.
Clue: Its in heaven--they are all in heaven. Not earthly.
After Jesus' ascension, Peter was sent to the house of Cornelious- a gentile.
Others, born not an Israelite; are acceptable and accepted as "Spiritual Israelites" for accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.
It is not (as u said literal Jews), 2 tribes are left out, and there's 1 added to the list, that is not a tribe of Israel.
(I'm saying this from memory, which ISN'T great, mine that is.)
I could go & find it all, tonight. It'll take some time. Then give you the Bible texts.

EDIT: I did find it last nite. It is the Spiritual Israel of God.Although, I was working from memory....I was correct.
This expression, found only once in Scripture, refers to spiritual Israel rather than to racial descendants of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.(Ge32:22-28)
The Bible speaks of "Israel in a fleshy way" (1Co10:18), as well as spiritual Israel made up of those for whom descent from Abraham is not a requirement.(Mt3:9) The apostle Paul, when using the expression "the Israel of God," shows that it has nothing to do with whether 1 is a circumsised descendant of Abraham or not.--Ga 6:15,16.
The prophet Hosea foretold that God, in rejecting the nation of natural Israel in favor of this spiritual nation, which includes Gentiles, would say "to those not my ppl: 'You are my ppl.' "
(Ho2;23;Ro9:22-25) In due time the Kingdom of God was taken away from the natural Jews and given to a spiritual nation bringing forth Kingdom fruitage. (Mt21:43)
To be sure, natural Jews were included in spiritual Israel.
The apostles & others who recieved holy spirit @ Penecost 33C.E.(about120), those added on that day (3000), and those that later increased the # to about 5000 were all Jews & proselytes. (Ac 1:13-15; 2:41; 4:4)
But even at that, they were, as Isaiah described them,
"a mere remnant" saved out of a cast-off nation.---
Isa 10:21,22; Ro 9:27.
Other Scriptures elaborate on the matter;
Ro 11:17-24; Ga 3:28,29; Ro 9:6; 2:28,29; Ac15: 14;
1 Pe 2:9,10; Ex 19:5; Re 7:4; 14:1,4.

Answer 5

P. June is correct. Psalms 37:9,10,29 tells us that the meek will inherit the earth forever. Those who go to heaven will rule with Jesus over those on the earth. These make up the kingdom(God's government with Jesus as King, and the 144,000 as co rulers) that ones pray for in the Lords prayer-Matthew 6:9,10

Answer 6

There were 12 tribes of Israel. There were 12 Apostles. This number 144,000 represents all those who will go to heaven. Its not a literal number. Its a symbolic number. The Witnesses need to learn the difference between literal and figurative speak in the sciptures.

Answer 7

The 144,000 Jews are the ones who will convert the other people to Jesus during the tribulation.

When one's eyes are on Jesus, they can interpret the Bible passages. Jesus is the answer, not a religion.

Answer 8

First, that number started after the death of Jesus in the first century and has been accumulating ever since. Though these people were loyal to Jehovah, they were not called Jehovah's Witnesses until the early 1900's.

How does one know? That is between them and Jehovah, not anybody else. Most of us are like the prophets, who never had a heavenly hope. They hoped for a resurrection to a paradise earth. We do too. Earth is after all mankind's home, made for us and everything.

Since Jesus came to fulfill the Mosaic Law and bring it to an end and the Jews rejecting Jesus as Messiah, in fact, killing him, they are no longer the chosen people. the 1st century Christians opened up to the Gentiles to be brought in so anyone could share in the benefits of worshiping Jehovah. Both men and women are part of this 144,000 as women have just as good a record of faithful service to Jehovah. In heaven, there is no male or female distinctions of spirit creatures. There job is to be part of the government over earth. Since they are from among us, we know they will have an understanding of us.

We know this is a definite number by the same number repeated again in Revelations as definite numbers are done. Figurative numbers are used only once in descriptions.

Answer 9

The number "144,000" must not be taken literal. It simply represents the complete number of the martyred saints. If one makes the number literal, he must also make their description literal. This would mean that only virgin men will go to heaven (14:4). On the contrary, these were the "firstfruits" to God and the Lamb (14:4) indicating others would follow. The Bible speaks of heaven for every faithful child of God (2 Cor. 5:1-2; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Pet. 1:4-5). Those who limit heaven to only 144,000 have completely misunderstood the Bible, not to mention John's teaching in Revelation. As explained in the article below, the sealing of the 144,000 in chapter 7 was done to those living on earth and does not refer to those in heaven at all.

Answer 10

As a former believer of Witness doctrines who is nowadays a Christian, I remember being taught that 144,000 of the most faithful of followers would be the only number allowed to go to Heaven to rule with Jesus.

But nowadays I know that the 144, 000 are virgin Jewish males who before the great Tribulation are not believers in Christ but after the rapture of the Christian Church into Heaven, these 144, 000 virgin Jewish males instantly become believers in Jesus Christ and they will announce the 2nd coming of Christ is on the way.