Jehovah's Witnesses and the 144,000
As I conclude looking at the doctrine concerning the 144,000, I will examine the only other passage in the Bible that speaks of the 144,000, Revelation 14:1-5. John writes, “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they sang* a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.”
Does Revelations 14:1-15 teach only 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will be in heaven? The answer is NO! Nowhere in this passage do we see only the 144,000 in heaven. Do we have a description of the 144,000? The answer is yes; in verse 4 will find additional information concerning the 144,000. John informs us they are men who have not defiled themselves with women and are virgins.
When I asked two Jehovah's Witnesses if only virgin men will be in heaven, they replied no. They said verse 4 is symbolic. How do you know it is symbolic? They said the Book of Revelations is full of symbolism and verse 4 is meant to be taken that way. How do you know that? They took me to other passages they said couldn’t be read as literal. I agreed there are some verses in Revelations that are symbolic but Revelations 14:4 seems to be a very straightforward narrative and connects well with the previous verses. What are your reasons for taking it symbolically? Their final answer was “It just is.”
Again we witness an example of esogesis where the Watchtower Organization instead of taking the straightforward teaching of the Scriptures, come to the text with an agenda and without scriptural warrant and makes a claim these verses are symbolic. This opens the door to any group who comes to the Bible and when the Scriptures disagree with their beliefs announce they are symbolic. This method violates the exegetical rules for interpreting the Bible.
The Jehovah's Witnesses love to announce they are an organization of Biblical Truth; their claim is they let the Bible do the talking. This is a smokescreen! Regularly they take verses out of context to support their beliefs and when the Bible clearly contradicts their beliefs they read their beliefs into the Bible. Don’t be fooled by this organization. Their false teaching concerning the 144,000 is just one of many examples of Scripture twisting. But don’t take my word for it; read the chapters yourself (Revelations 7 and Revelations 14). You will find their belief of only 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in heaven is obviously false.
Not only are they wrong about the 144,000 but more importantly they believe in a false Jesus who cannot save them. As a result, instead of only 144,000 Jehovah Witnesses in heaven, there will be no Jehovah's Witnesses in heaven; they will spend eternity in hell. They need to believe in the Jesus of the Bible, fully God and fully man, second person of the Trinity. Heaven is only for followers of the true Jesus Christ; who believe Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and bodily rose on the third day. My hope is for any and all Jehovah's Witnesses that read this blog to turn away from the false Watchtower Organization and turn towards the one true Jesus.
