WHAT DOES THE BIBLE Really TEACH? A WT book—Chapter 8 Part 1 "What is God's Kingdom"

DISCLAIMER--I will, by no means, exhaustively write about each and every error in each and every chapter of this book—that would require a book several times the size of this WT book. I will pick out a topic or two from each chapter to write about. Some will be a “mole hill” in the landscape of Bible doctrine and others will be a “Mt. Everest.”

Chapter 8, “What Is God’s Kingdom?” In Chapter 7, page 74 the WT mentions the 144,000. “These are Christians, who alone, are raised to life in heaven. The vast majority of mankind, however, has the prospect of being resurrected in the future to life in Paradise on earth.” I chose to ignore the topic of the 144,000 at that time but here in Chapter 8 the 144,000 are mentioned again and so I decided to compare the WT 144,000 with the Biblical 144,000.

From WDTBRT page 78, “Who are those 144,000? John himself tells us: “These are the ones that keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes. These were bought from among mankind as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:1, 4) Yes, they are faithful followers of Jesus Christ specially chosen to rule in heaven with him. After being raised out of death to heavenly life, “they are to rule as kings OVER THE EARTH” along with Jesus. (Revelation 5:10)”

In WT soteriology (salvation doctrine), only 144,000 get to go to heaven (thus the term ‘Heavenly Hope.’) This group is also called the ‘little flock,’ ‘anointed class’ and ‘the 144,000.’ This number started to be filled at Pentecost and at this time only about 8,500 remain alive. (The exact number is hard to pin down. In 2005, there were slightly over 8,500 ‘anointed,’ but that number rose to 10,000 today.) Only these 8,500 or so can take communion (called memorial) and are viewed as an ‘elite’ class. The great task of those with a ‘Heavenly Hope,’ is that of providing ‘spiritual food’ for the “other sheep” (those without a Heavenly Hope who will spend eternity on a Paradise Earth.”)

The vast majority of Jehovah's Witnesses (those with an “earthly hope,” also called the “earthly class,” or “other sheep”) must look to those with a “Heavenly Hope” to be their "mediator" between them and God.

“All who by reason of faith in Jehovah God and Christ Jesus dedicate themselves to do God’s will and then faithfully carry out their dedication will be rewarded with everlasting life. However, that life will not be the same for all. The Bible plainly shows that some of these, that is, 144,000, will share in heavenly glory with Christ Jesus, while the others will enjoy the blessings of life down here on earth.” “Let God be True,” p. 298.

It took quite a bit of scriptural twisting to come up with this doctrine.

The 144,000 are mentioned in two chapters in the Bible—Revelation 7 and 14. Revelation 7:4 states, “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Verses 5-8 states that 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel will make up this 144,000.

It appears that the WT may have a problem since the Bible specifically states that the 144,000 will be of Jewish decent. But what appears to be a problem to us is no problem at all for the WT. The WT simply states that the 144,000 (Revelation 4a) is a literal number but Revelation 4b—naming 12,000 each from the twelve tribes—is spiritual. With that kind of exegesis, you can make the Bible say anything you want. But, might not a JW question the WT’s exegesis? Not if he/she wants to remain a JW in good standing. A good Witness is to:

“Avoid independent thinking . . . questioning the counsel that is provided by God’s visible organization (WTBTS).” WT, Jan 15, 1983, p. 22.

Revelation 14:4-5 reveals more information about the 144,000, it states: “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. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.“ The WT’s 144,000 is made up of both men and women, probably not all virgins and more than likely a few fibbers in the group.

The plain reading of Revelation 7 and 14 shows these obvious conclusions. The 144,000 are literal Jews from the 12 tribes with no Gentiles among them (7:4-8). They are all males (14:4) and virgins (14:4) and truthful (14:5). Of all the facts known about the 144,000, what gives the WT the right to say only the number, 144,000 is literal, and all the other ‘facts’ are figurative.

In the WT’s mind, this is what gives them the right:

“God has not arranged for that Word to speak independently or to shine forth life giving truths by itself. It is through his organization (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) God provides this light.” WT, May 1, 1957, p. 274

“Jehovah caused the Bible to be written in such a way that you need his human channel (WTBTS) to understand it.” WT, Feb. 15, 1981, p. 17

"An individual must have The Watchtower to understand the Bible," 1983 Yearbook, pg. 217

Next month, Chapter 8 Part 2 is here.