Any uneducated response that simply calls JWs a “cult” or just wants to sidetrack the issue with unchristian negative comments ABOUT JWs will be seen as insincere and off track and will be ignored. I want an informed response to this question and to this question only.
2007-08-30 11:35:03 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Regarding the resurrection of humans to heaven, Jehovah's Witnesses 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) after Armageddon.
(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
(Luke 12:32) Have no fear, LITTLE FLOCK [with a heavenly hope], because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom [rulership alongside the Christ] [caps added]
(John 10:16) And I [Jesus] have OTHER SHEEP, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring [to be subjects of the kingdom] [caps added]
Over whom will they rule? Over those "other sheep", 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.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or 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 from among godfearing worshippers, including many who were never Jehovah's Witnesses. Today, each true worshipper "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]
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
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20001001/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20001001/
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
2007-08-31 04:24:08 · answer #1 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses have given you very thorough answers to your question. In a nutshell, they seem to be saying that only 144,000 people will ever go to heaven (from the time of Christ onwards). I'm here to express two observational points.
(1) The reason WHY those people go to heaven has only been touched on briefly by the JWs.
(2) The JWs have majored on explaining why everyone else will NOT go to heaven.
This has entailed screeds of copy about living forever on a paradise earth. Well, as the Bible says, 'Out of the heart's abundance, the mouth speaks'. Not one of the JW answerers believes s/he will go to heaven. They are looking forward to this paradise earth and their enthusiasm shows. An interesting little exercise might be to post your Q again, but start off with, 'Christians...' Then you will get myriad answers full of excitement at the heavenly hope and expressions of wonder that God's grace has caused sinners to be forgiven and adopted into God's family, all because Jesus died for them, and they trust in that alone.
2007-08-31 16:18:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
as an ex Jw..I am qualified to speak in this: They believe that 144,000 literal Jehovah's Witnesses will go to heaven...the remainder of Jehovah's Witnesses are members of the great crowd, will live on a paradise earth with Jesus.
Interesting that they misinterpret scripture of the calling to heaven, because the Bible clearly states that the 14,000 will be tribes.....I have never seen a tribe of one.
2007-08-31 21:44:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
In short, we believe this because this is what the Bible teaches...
Starting with the apostles, 144,000 faithful anointed Christians will go to heaven to rule as kings and priests with Jesus, and power of judging will be given them.
God created us to inhabit the earth, and his purposes will be fulfilled. Had he wanted more spirit creatures, he would have created more spirit creatures. The 144,000 who will serve in heaven were bought from the earth for the express purpose of serving as rulers with Jesus, over the earth. Since they are to be rulers over the earth, then that can only mean that there will be subjects of the Kingdom on earth to rule over. An in depth study of the Bible will reveal this to anyone whom Jehovah draws, but not all will be drawn and so therefore, even though you can show them from the Scriptures exactly what God's will is, they won't see it. Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. However, honest-hearted sincere and humble individuals are continuing to learn what the bible teaches, and, just as it says at John 17:3, are gaining everlasting life.
One of the answerers above said that we believe that works will gain you everlasting life, and that is not true, but we do believe that just as the Bible teaches, "faith without works is dead"...by your actions your faith is perfected. Even Satan believes in God and Jesus, but his works show where his loyalty is, and what his heart condition is...
1 John 2:17b:..."but he that does the will of God remains forever.”
(Matthew 24:13) “. . .But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.”
2007-08-31 20:29:50 · answer #4 · answered by wannaknow 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
DO ALL GOOD PEOPLE GO TO HEAVEN?
The Bible shows that their will be those whom will live here on earth in a paradise and also those who will be among the 144,000
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 112: 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."
WHO SELECTS THE ONES WHO WILL GO TO HEAVEN?
2Thess. 2:13,14; "We are obgligated 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 destuny hecalled you through the good news we delcare, for the purpose of acquiring the glory of our Lord Jesus christ."
WHO WILL BE REWARED WITH ETERNAL LIFE ON THE EARTH?
Matt. 5:5 "Happy are the milded-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth."
Matt. 6:9,10 "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be santified. let your kingdome come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon the earth. (Gen 1:28 and Isaiah 45:18 shows what is Gods will regarding the earth.)
This is a great question, I does require time for explanation and reading of the scriputres that just can not be done on yahoo answers. However if you are really sincere and would like to have better understand of why Jehovah's Witnesses Believe that 144,000 persons will go to heaven, I would say call the nearest Kingdome hall and ask for someone to visit you, or if you like you can visit any Kingdom Hall. they wuld be happpy that you came fo ra visit and will be eagar to help you.
2007-08-30 19:45:18 · answer #5 · answered by Vivimos en los Ultimos Dias 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
I think that is 144,000 starting with apostles and disciples. During the Dark Ages there were no anointed ones selected until Charles Taze Russell. They believe that this number is close to completion and since the current anointed ones are dying of old age, the time of the end must be near.
Why? The Bible says that they will be judges and priests for 1000 year - The Bride of Christ.
2007-08-30 18:41:34 · answer #6 · answered by Aeon Enigma 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
The Devil has vigorously peddled the clever lie that humans have an inherent immortal soul. Similarly, he has promoted the blatantly false religious doctrine that all "good" people go to heaven when they die, as if that privilege were somehow our birthright and not dependent on Jehovah's choosing and benevolence toward mankind.
Clearly, the Devil's aim is to devalue God's special gift in our eyes by making it seem ordinary. The truth is, Jehovah does not grant any man a heavenly audience with himself, much less, immortality, unless first they demonstrate that they have an unbreakable faith in him and in his son, Jesus Christ.
However, in order to create within his chosen ones an indomitable faith, they must first endure Jehovah's displeasure and his tempered discipline; for even their Lord Jesus learned obedience from the things he was made to suffer.
That brings us to the letter of Hebrews and why, after talking at length about all the acts of faith by men of former times, the apostle exhorts God's sons to endure his disciplining. At Hebrews 12:8, Paul wrote: "But if you are without the discipline of which all have become partakers, you are really illegitimate children and not sons."
A few verses down in that same 12th chapter, Paul partially quotes from Isaiah, where he said: "Hence straighten up the hands that hang down and the enfeebled knees, and keep making straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather that it may be healed."
The 35th chapter of Isaiah, which Paul quoted from, is Jehovah's exhortation to Israel after they had endured God's punishment of them as a nation. That is why we find Jehovah telling his people to take heart, because he is opening up a highway of holiness in order for the redeemed ones to return to Zion. In reality, the prophecy applies to spiritual Israel after they are disciplined.
So it is that the apostle Paul is really exhorting Christians who would be living during the conclusion of the entire system of things, when Jehovah rocks the heavens and the earth, and severely disciplines those whom he calls his sons. That would mark the occasion when spiritual Israel (the 144,000) would finally come to stand before the awesome heavenly Mount Zion. - Rev 14:1
2007-08-31 11:09:47 · answer #7 · answered by keiichi 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
If I'm not mistaken, heaven awaits for 144,000 people. The rest of the Jehovah's Witnesses will inherit eternal life in Paradise on earth.
What this brings into question though is those who existed before CT Russell defined JWs. They would have held parts of JW belief, i.e. Arianism, but other groups would have held other parts of that belief system. I suppose they would leave that issue up to God.
2007-08-30 18:43:45 · answer #8 · answered by ccrider 7 · 4⤊ 5⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses believe only those who are in the New Covenant and are annointed by the holy spirit will go to heaven. This is a scripturally sound teaching to which I wholly subscribe. Jesus said "This cup means the new covenant, by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf" (Luke 22:20). Peter said "Repent, and let each one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the holy spirit" (Acts 2:38). Only spirit filled, annointed and baptised believers in Christ can partake of the bread and the wine and claim to be in the New Covenant with Christ and have assurance of a heavenly hope.
However, they claim this number is restricted to 144,000 (Revelation 7: 4 which is taken as a literal number). They believe that the 144,000 make up the spiritual seed of Abraham, and they will rule over the earth, with Christ, for his millennium rule. ("God's Kingdom of 1,000 Years" -1973, page 48; "Insight on the Scriptures" Volume II, pages 888 and 890).
Who are the 144,000? Why, faithful servants of Jehovah. What about the millions of other Jehovah's Witnesses who do not have a heavenly hope? They have been told that "The same spirit is operating on Jesus' 'other sheep', but it is not arousing in them the hope and desire for heavenly life." (Watchtower 15 February 1998, page 19, paragraph 6) Theirs is an earthly hope - to live forever on a paradise earth.
As of Passover, 2007, there were about 8,500 of the annointed class who partook of the bread and the wine at the Memorial service.
Why they believe only 144,000 will be resurrected to heaven is beyond me. Genesis 15 and Galatians 4 say the (spiritual) seed of Abraham is INNUMERABLE. 144,000? I think not. Nowhere in my Bible does it say that some Christians can have a measure of the holy spirit. Nowhere in the Gospel does it say there is to be a 2-tier salvation. It's tragic that millions of sincere, Bible believing and God fearing people have been sold short.
2007-08-31 14:12:18 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋
They don't believe in Heaven....The Jehovah's Witnesses' movement's primary concern is the end-time (eschatological) renewal of human society. They believe that Jesus Christ will return to establish a new kingdom, which they call a "theocracy," in which Jehovah God will bring total tranquility to the earth. They believe this utopia will come only after the Battle of Armageddon, in which the present world order will be destroyed. The Jehovah's Witnesses view all earthly institutions, organizations and governments as evil. They believe that only the Watchtower Society is capable of speaking truthfully about God in the world today.
2007-08-30 18:49:32 · answer #10 · answered by dreamdress2 6 · 1⤊ 7⤋