Jehovah's Witnesses And The Eternal Destiny
Of Saved Humanity
Jehovah's Witnesses say that 144,000 "anointed"
Christians will go to heaven as spirits, while the rest of saved humanity
will live on the earth. How should we respond to this teaching?
When Jehovah's Witnesses quote Revelation 7:4 to prove that only
144,000 people will go to heaven, we may object by saying this passage
does not refer to some heaven-bound group, but to individuals from the
twelve tribes of Israel.
Now, Jehovah's Witnesses may try to counter by arguing that Israel
is merely symbolic of the Christian congregation. But if they interpret
Israel symbolically in this passage they would also have to interpret
the 144,000 symbolically as well, since they're both mentioned in the
same verse. Well, either way, their teaching crumbles. Oftentimes, Jehovah's
Witnesses will also cite Revelation 14:1-5; but once again, nothing
in this passage proves that only 144,000 saved individuals will go to
heaven.
On the flip side, Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the "great multitude"
of Revelation 7:9 is a description of the so-called "earthly class"
- saved individuals who don't number among the 144,000 elite. Sad to
say, the vast majority of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that their only
hope lies in being included with this group, since the 144,000 "tickets"
to heaven have already been "sold out." Interestingly enough, all the
passages alluding to the great multitude - such as Revelation 7, verses
9 and 15 - place the group before God's throne which, according to Revelation
11:19, is located in heaven. This is the exact opposite of what Jehovah's
Witnesses teach.
Contrary to their beliefs, the Bible states that all saved individuals
will live in glorified, resurrected, physical bodies - much like Christ's
(Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). Furthermore, Scripture tells us that saved
individuals will dwell in both the new heavens and the new earth which,
according to Ephesians 1:10, will be brought together under Christ.
The truth is, all tickets have not been sold: Jesus Christ paid the
price so that whosoever trusts in Him alone will indeed be saved (John
3:16).
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