In order to show you that there are two classes, Jehovah’s Witnesses will have you read Luke 12:32, where Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Then they will take you immediately to Revelation 7:4, which says, “Then I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” Continue reading
Author: David Englund (page 84 of 106)
The Watchtower has a number of arguments to convince you that in Bible times, only Jesus went to heaven. Continue reading
The Watchtower’s two-class salvation system is premised on the belief that there will be two different types of resurrection:
- The 144,000, when they die, receive spirit bodies suitable for life in heaven. Their physical bodies will never be resurrected. They will live in heaven and never again be on earth.
- The great crowd will one day be raised from the dead in physical—not spirit—form. They will live on the earth forever and never go to heaven.
I have previously posted a series of blog articles regarding the resurrection which you may find helpful in challenging these Watchtower’s teachings. I’ll give you links to those articles below along with a brief synopsis of what each covers. Continue reading
The Watchtower claims that in order to be saved, members of the earthly class must prove worthy by their works many times. First, they must prove worthy to be resurrected or to survive Armageddon in order to enter Christ’s coming millennial kingdom on earth. If they make it that far, they will have to overcome their sinful nature during those 1000 years, attain perfection, and then prove worthy again by passing a final test by Satan. If they pass that final test, they will obtain everlasting life and be back to where Adam was before he sinned. They will still be capable of sinning, though, just as Adam was, so in order to escape annihilation they must continue to prove worthy throughout all of eternity.
Not all Witnesses are aware of these requirements. If they are aware of them, they may not have put them all together and seen that they are impossible to attain. In previous articles, I have cited Watchtower literature you can show them in order to establish all this. However, that method is pretty confrontational.
If you prefer a less confrontational approach that doesn’t require a lot of documentation, you might begin simply by asking this question: “Exactly what do I need to do to become acceptable to God?” Continue reading
How are the Great Crowd supposed to achieve moral perfection?
As we saw last time, the Watchtower teaches that in order to obtain everlasting life, members of the great crowd must achieve moral perfection by the end of the millennial kingdom.
How are they supposed to accomplish this?
How will these imperfect, sinful humans ever manage to progress to and attain perfection? The Watchtower claims, “Throughout this time, as the result of the dripping and trickling down of righteousness from the ‘new heavens,’ the human soil of the ‘new earth’ will respond and become fruitful in a corresponding way.”[1]
What does that mean? I don’t know, and I’m sure if you ask them, Jehovah’s Witnesses won’t be able to explain it. Continue reading
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