THIS ESSAY WAS WRITTEN IN 2012 AND COPY SENT TO THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS HEADQUARTERS BOTH IN BROOKLYN, USA,. LONDON BETHEL, UNITED KINGDOM, BETHEL, ACCRA, GHANA AND LONDON DALSTON CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH WITNESSES
I am writing this Essay to
highlight the understanding I received from the Lord respecting the 144,000
doctrine of the organisation. I must state here that I was to actually
limit the write-up to what is written in the scriptures. I am going to use the
New World Translation – the on-line version throughout in this Essay.
Readers to evaluate it and make up their own minds about its viability.
For years I had believed that
there is a select number of 144,000 Kingdom Heirs selected from among mankind
who will go to heaven to become Kings and Priests with our LETHEL ord and God.
The selection of this number concluded around 1935. If there are
survivors till now, then they will be those grafted because of those who were
once partakers but fell away from the faith. This understanding has been based
on a scripture at
Revelation
14:1-3 “Then I saw, and look! the Lamb+ standing on Mount Zion,+ and with him 144,000+ who have his name and the name of his Father+ written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of
many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; and the sound that I heard was
like singers who accompany themselves by playing on their harps. 3 And they are singing what seems to be a new song+before the throne and before the four living creatures+ and the elders,+ and no one was able to master that song except the 144,000,+ who have been bought from the earth”
But could this understanding be
in error? Please note that these 144,000 were said in verse 3 to be …..”before
the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders..”
The question, however, is who really does the Bible teach as representing the
144,000? In an earlier text, the Apostle gave us a breakdown of these
figure:
144,000 FROM THE TRIBES OF
ISRAEL
Revelation 7: 4 And I heard the
number of those who were sealed, 144,000,+ sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel:+5 Out of the tribe of Judah 12,000 sealed; out of
the tribe of Reu′ben 12,000; out of the tribe of Gad 12,000;
6 out of the tribe of Ash′er 12,000; out of the
tribe of Naph′ta·li 12,000; out of the tribe of Ma·nas′seh+ 12,000;
7 out of the tribe of Sim′e·on 12,000; out of the
tribe of Le′vi 12,000; out of the tribe of Is′sa·char 12,000; 8 out of the tribe of Zeb′u·lun 12,000; out of the
tribe of Joseph 12,000; out of the tribe of Benjamin 12,000 sealed.
Although this breakdown
has been given as coming from the natural tribes of Israel, the understanding
of these tribes of Israel has been interpreted to mean “Isreal of God” which
the Apostle Paul referred to at Gal.6:16 and also Rom.9:6
Galatians 6:16: “As
for all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon
them, yes, upon the Israel of God.”
Romans 9:6
“However, it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who
descend from Israel are really “Israel.”
To understand the text at
Rev 7, the whole of the chapter has to be analysed. It must be noted that
following on from verse 9, another group emerged referred to as great crowd
which no man can number.
Revelation 7:9
After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number,
out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues,*+ standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in
white robes;+ and there were palm branches in their hands.+ 10 And they keep shouting with a loud voice, saying:
“Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne,+and
to the Lamb.”+11 All the angels were standing around the throne and the
elders+ and the four living creatures, and they fell facedown before
the throne and worshipped God
Please note here,
that as in Chapter 14:3 respecting the 144,000, this great crowd were
said in Rev.7:9 also as standing before the throne and before the
Lamb….and in verse 11 the four living creatures and the elders were also
mentioned.
The Bible is therefore
telling us that both the 144,000 and the great crowd have the same inheritance
before the Lamb.
The question therefore is
who really are the 144,000 and also the great crowd?
The True
Identity of the 144,000
To understand the true identity
of the 144,000 specifically mentioned as coming from the twelve (12) tribes of
natural Israel, we have to go back to the relationship the natural Jews enjoyed
with God and the enduring promise of God to them.
The Almighty God had a
covenant arrangement with the natural Jews. He emphasized the enduring nature
of this relationship:
Isaiah 10: 20 In that day
those remaining of Israel And the survivors of the house of
Jacob Will no longer support themselves on the one who struck them;+But they will support themselves on Jehovah, The Holy One of
Israel, with faithfulness.21 Only a remnant will return, The remnant of Jacob,
to the Mighty God.+22 For though your people, O Israel, Are as the
grains of sand of the sea, Only a remnant of them will return.+An extermination has been decided on,+And
justice* will engulf them.+23 Yes, the extermination decided on by the Sovereign
Lord, Jehovah of armies,
Verses 21 and 22 indicates that
only a remnant of the Jews will return indicating that God will always preserve
remnant of the Jews because of his long association with them.
This was echoed by
Apostle Paul
Rom. 9: 27 Moreover, Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Although the number of the sons of Israel may be as the sand of the sea, only
the remnant will be saved.+ 28 For Jehovah* will make an accounting on the earth, concluding it and
cutting it short.”*+29 Also, just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless Jehovah* of armies had left an offspring* to us, we should have become just like Sod′om, and we should
have resembled Go·mor′rah.”+30 What are we to say, then? That people of the nations,
although not pursuing righteousness, attained righteousness,+the
righteousness that results from faith;+ 31 but Israel, although pursuing a law of righteousness,
did not attain to that law. 32 For what reason? Because they pursued it, not by
faith, but as by works. They stumbled over the “stone of stumbling”;+33 as it is written: “Look! I am laying in Zion a stone+ of stumbling and a rock of offense, but the one who rests
his faith on it will not be disappointed.
Please note that the
Almighty God foreknew that his manifesting in the flesh 1Tim3:16 will create a
stumbling block for the Jews. Without a firm promise for a remnant of
Jews, it will mean Israel, as far as the Kingdom is concerned will become like
Sodom and Gomorrah. Simply because it became very difficult for them to have
faith in him.
Jeremiah 31:35 This is what Jehovah says, Who gives the sun for
light by day, The laws* of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs
up the sea and makes its waves boisterous, Whose name is Jehovah of
armies:+36 “‘If these regulations should ever fail,’ declares
Jehovah, ‘Only then would the offspring of Israel cease as a nation before
me always.’”+37 This is what Jehovah says: “‘If the heavens above
could be measured and the foundations of the earth below could be explored,
only then could I reject all the offspring of Israel for all they have done,’
declares Jehovah.”
The new covenant will be
in their hearts and will be enduring. The Almighty is saying unless
something drastic can happen to the moon and the stars… only then will his
covenant with Israel fail and “he
will reject all the offspring of Israel”
Even if we do not fully
understand, one has to assume a situation where the Almighty God selected
Abraham and only for all of them to fail to enter the Kingdom without remnants
because of their disbelief.
The question then is when will
be the time when Jermemiah 31:35-37 be fulfilled according to the
scriptures. Our Lord Jesus Christ when on earth gave an answer to this
puzzle when he said:
Mat 24:29 “Immediately after the
tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened,+ and the moon will not give its light, and the stars
will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.+30 Then the sign of the Son of man
will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in
grief,+ and they will see the Son of man+ coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.+ 31 And he will send out his angels
with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from
the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.+
It is therefore very
clear from the above scriptures that the ordinances will stop functioning as
Jeremiah prophesized just immediately after the Great Tribulation. As the
Great Tribulation is still in the future, we have to understand that the
Almighty God will preserve a remnant of natural Jews. The Revelation
account at 7 and 14 is confirming this. This means out of the 12 Tribes
of the natural Jews, there will be 12,000 coming from each tribe.
The understanding of the
organisation that the little flock constitute the 144,000 does not seem to be
supported by the Bible, even using the New World Translation. Let
us now look at the Great Crowd.
THE GREAT CROWD ARE THE ISRAEL
OF GOD
Revelation 7:9
“After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to
number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues,*+ standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in
white robes;+ and there were palm branches in their hands.”
I have established earlier that
both the 144,000 and the Great Crowd are said to be standing before the throne
of God and before the elders and the four living creatures.
Does this Great Crowd
constitute a secondly earthly class? If so, why were they both standing
before the throne? This great crowd are purely people from the gentiles who
will come under the covenant arrangement. To be precise, all those who will
exercise faith in the ransom of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible long
prophesied the coming of people from among the gentiles:
Romans 9:23 And if this was
done to make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy,+ which he prepared beforehand for glory, 24 namely, us, whom he called not only from among Jews
but also from among nations,+ what of it? 25 It is as he says also in Ho·se′a: “Those not my people+ I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not loved,
‘beloved’;+ 26 and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are
not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”+
This scriptures refers
exclusively to gentiles also being called “sons of the living God”. This
was confirmed by Apostle Paul at Galatians 6:16 and Rom.9.6 earlier quoted:
Galatians 6:16: “As
for all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon
them, yes, upon the Israel of God.”
Romans 9:6
“However, it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who
descend from Israel are really “Israel.”
THE TWO
SHEEPFOLD
How are we, therefore, to
understand the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ with respect to the two sheep
folds?
John 10:16 “And I
have other sheep, which are not of this fold;+ those too I must bring in, and they will listen to my voice,
and they will become one flock, one shepherd.”
Although Our Lord Jesus Christ
primarily instructed his disciples to preach only to the Jews (first sheep
fold) the message will spread to gentiles (second sheep fold) in time and they
will all become one flock under one shepherd.
Mathew 10:5 These 12
Jesus sent out, giving them these instructions:+ “Do
not go off into the road of the nations, and do not enter anySa·mar′i·tan city;+ 6 but instead, go continually to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.
In John 10:16, Our Lord Jesus
Christ is here re-echoing the prophecy at Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 31:23 And if this was
done to make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy,+ which he prepared beforehand for glory, 24 namely, us, whom he called not only from among Jews
but also from among nations,+ what of it? 25 It is as he says also in Ho·se′a: “Those not my people+ I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not loved,
‘beloved’;+ 26 and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are
not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”+
Please note that it is this
same prophecy of Jeremiah 31:27-37 that confirmed that the covenant promise of
God to natural Israel will not pass as long as the ordinances exist.
Gentiles are the other sheep
that will come under the covenant arrangement:
Ephesians 3: 5-6 “In other
generations this secret was not made known to the sons of men as it has now
been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by spirit,+ 6 namely, that people of the nations should, in union
with Christ Jesus and through the good news, be joint heirs and fellow members
of the body+ and partakers with us of the promise.”
Galatians 6:16: “As for
all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon
them, yes, upon the Israel of God.”
There is no sub-division
in the Lord. All those who walk orderly in Christ constitute Israel of
God.
Romans 1: 16 For I am not
ashamed of the good news;+ it is, in fact, God’s power for salvation to everyone having
faith,+ to the Jew first+ and also to the Greek.
The Jew, by their
enduring covenant with God hence salvation of remnants by election and Gentiles
by faith. I have selected few scriptures clarifying this position.
Romans 9:30 What are we to say,
then? That people of the nations, although not pursuing righteousness, attained
righteousness,+the
righteousness that results from faith;+ 31 but Israel, although pursuing a law of righteousness,
did not attain to that law. 32 For what reason? Because they pursued it, not by
faith, but as by works. They stumbled over the “stone of stumbling
Gal. 3:14 This was so that the
blessing of Abraham would come to the nations by means of Christ Jesus,+ so
that we might receive the promised spirit+ through our faith.
Romans 4:11 And he
received a sign+—namely, circumcision—as a seal* of the righteousness by the faith he had while in his
uncircumcised state, so that he might be the father of all those having faith+ while uncircumcised, in order for righteousness to be
counted to them;
THE LITTLE FLOCK NOT ONLY THE
144,000
Luke 12:32 “Have no fear,
little flock,+ for
your Father has approved of giving you the Kingdom
Please let us continue reading
at Luke 13: 23 Now a man said to him: “Lord, are those being saved few?”
He said to them: 24 “Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the
narrow door,+ because many, I tell you, will seek to get in but will not
be able.
The overall number of those to
be saved will be few contrasted with mass of mankind. Please note that
when the Bible talks about salvation, it refers primarily to those who will
have “the first resurrection”. The second resurrection is outside the
scope of this Essay.
PARTAKERS OF THE LORD’S EVENING
MEAL
The bread and wine represents
Christ’s perfect body and blood and he says:
John 6:53 “So Jesus said to
them: “Most truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and
drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.+54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has
everlasting life, and I will resurrect+ him on the last day;55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains
in union with me, and I in union with him.+”
Can a person profess to be a
Christian if he does not partake of the emblems symbolizing the body and blood
of Our Lord Jesus Christ when available? Please note that the Bible and using
exclusively the New World Translation has shown us that the Great Crowd are
before the throne of God as the 144,000 natural Jews. Any restriction or
fear introduced into a Christian of good standing from partaking of the emblems
establishes that we have elected not to be part of Christ. What,
therefore is the significance of our being called Christians?
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