Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

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Donray
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Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

Post #1

Post by Donray »

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that only 144,000 people will go to heaven. God chooses these 144,000 individuals, the process began with the first century Christians and was completed in the year 1935. Of course from 1879 (the year the Watchtower started) till 1935 only faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses were chosen for this special role. All faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses not chosen to be among the 144,000 elite that go to heaven (those joining the Watchtower after 1935) will spend eternity on earth. All other people on the earth will be destroyed at war of Armageddon here on earth. This would also include any Jehovah's Witnesses who has been disfellowshipped or is otherwise unfaithful to the Watchtower and has not worked his or her way back into the good graces of the Watchtower by the time of Armageddon.

If one believes the JWs all other Christians and everyone that is not a JW will not go to heaven or live on the Earth after Armageddon.

Question for debate is JW the only true Christin religion or is it some type of cult that calls itself Christian?

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Re: Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

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Post by tigger2 »

Donray wrote: Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that only 144,000 people will go to heaven. God chooses these 144,000 individuals, the process began with the first century Christians and was completed in the year 1935. Of course from 1879 (the year the Watchtower started) till 1935 only faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses were chosen for this special role. All faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses not chosen to be among the 144,000 elite that go to heaven (those joining the Watchtower after 1935) will spend eternity on earth. All other people on the earth will be destroyed at war of Armageddon here on earth. This would also include any Jehovah's Witnesses who has been disfellowshipped or is otherwise unfaithful to the Watchtower and has not worked his or her way back into the good graces of the Watchtower by the time of Armageddon.

If one believes the JWs all other Christians and everyone that is not a JW will not go to heaven or live on the Earth after Armageddon.

Question for debate is JW the only true Christin religion or is it some type of cult that calls itself Christian?
Nice try, but mostly false. For example, many people from all walks of life (not just JWs) will be resurrected to life after Armageddon and given a new chance under paradisaic conditions.

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Re: Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

Post #3

Post by Donray »

[Replying to post 2 by tigger2]

You did not address the question.

Is JW the only true Christin religion since only JWs will have Gods grace and get an afterlife.

What you are implying is that JW is just cult and not true Christians.

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Re: Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

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Post by Checkpoint »

Donray wrote: [Replying to post 2 by tigger2]

You did not address the question.

Is JW the only true Christin religion since only JWs will have Gods grace and get an afterlife.

What you are implying is that JW is just cult and not true Christians.
Your OP did contain some inaccuracies.

The JWs are just one of a number of Christian groups who make claims about their faith and that of other believers.

Blanket statements about being a cult or not Christian are not helpful and miss the point, whether coming from JWs or from others such as you or me.

God has the final say on who is who, who is and who is not a true Christian.

1 Corinthians 4:

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

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JehovahsWitness
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Re: Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

Post #5

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 1 by Donray]


Hello,

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I can clarifiy that we do NOT believe only those belonging to our organization will be "saved". That is a complete falsehood.



# Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe only 144,000 individuals will go to heaven?

Yes we do. However we do NOT believe those have been chosen only from our organization since the modern day organization of JWs has only existed since the late 1900s; (and this would exclude the Apostle Peter and other first century Christians hand chosen to go to heaven by Jesus). Actually Jehovah's Witnesses believe that throughout the ages from Pentecost 33 CE God has been choosing people to be part of this number, and do not presume to say who they are or even that no individuals will be added to that number now in 2016.

# What role does 1935 play in Jehovah's Witness theology? 1935 was the year when it was clearly understood that the were a growing number of individuals that did not feel they had a heavenly calling. It was the year that it became clear that their was a "great crowd" of individuals that would live in paradise on earth and the organizational shift began to focusing on this group rather than those will a heavenly hope.

# Is JW the only true Christin religion ? Yes we believe that is so.

# Do JWs believe that only JWs will have Gods grace and get an afterlife? Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in an "afterlife". We do believe, however, that people will be resurrected to eternal life in paradise. JWs do NOT believe this undeserved kindness will ONLY be extended to those that belong to our modern day organization.

Here is a statement on the subject as found on the Official JW website (link provided)

Image
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/who-saved/
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Tue Sep 06, 2016 2:39 am, edited 4 times in total.
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"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

Post #6

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 1 by Donray]

# Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe that all non-Witnesses will be killed at Armageddon?

No. Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe this. We believe that ours will be the only religious organization that will be allowed to survive. Just as there is a difference between saying "Wall Street" will be destroyed and saying every individual that works in Wall street will die, we believe that every human on earth, whether a JW or not will be judged individually by Jesus. JWs believe there is no guarantee of being saved just because we are inside the organization nor that being a non-witness will mean death is inevitable.

# Are people "disfellowshipped" because they do not prove "faithful to the Watchtower?

No. Disfellowshipping or shunning is a disciplinary procedure that Jehovah's Witnesses adhere to as outlined in the bible. This measure is taken if a dedicated and bapised Witness engages in "unrepentant unscriptural behavior". Adherence to the instructions in the Watchtower is, for the most part a personal matter. By far the majority of disfellowshipping is done for sexual immorality.


# Are Jehovah's Witnesses some type of cult that calls itself Christian?

I find this question to be inflamatory and insulting. Cults for the most part engage in dangerous and illegal and or anti-social behavior and to suggest that 9 million people do this is unwarranted. Jehovah's Witnesses are generally recognized for being law abiding, family orientated people that make a positive contribution to their communities. IF this question was asked with the pupose of encouraging a frenzy of anti-witness verbal attacks, I feel confident at least on this forum, that that will not happen as the posters here are balanced and respectful in their address.

Jehovah's Witnesses do however consider themselves Christians as they strictly adhere to the teachings of Christ as presented in the bible canon.


JEHOVAHS WITNESS
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"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Post #7

Post by liamconnor »

# Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe only 144,000 individuals will go to heaven?

Yes we do.

This cannot be right? Is it?

If literally only 144,000 souls (I mean, literally countable) then why do J.W.'s continue to evangelize? There are way more than 144,000 J.W.'s. With every added member the percentage of acceptance decreases for every member.

It doesn't matter whether J.W.'s or Christians or kangaroos join. what matters is the percentage.

Suppose the J.W.'s stopped evangelizing at 144,000 and successfully discouraged all other members. The chances of each member would be higher than had they attracted members.

There is no reason for J.W.'s to evangelize their position,

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Post #8

Post by JehovahsWitness »

liamconnor wrote:
# Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe only 144,000 individuals will go to heaven?
Yes we do.
This cannot be right? Is it?
I can assure you, this is absolutely accurate.
liamconnor wrote: If literally only 144,000 souls (I mean, literally countable) then why do J.W.'s continue to evangelize?
Because we believe many millions (maybe billions) of people will have the opportunity of being offered eternal life in paradise.

The Jehovah's Witness beliefs are as follows:

To reestablish the lost paradise of Eden, God has arranged for a governement to fix the global problems and rule over the earth. Those humans that die and go to heaven do so because they have been invited to become members of that government. The number of ministers in that government is fixed at 144,000 (Compare Rev 14:1; Mat 6:9, 10)

- LOCATION: The government headquarters will not be in Washington but in Heaven
- THE HEAD OF STATE of this new government will not be Obama but Jesus
- TERRITORY will not be only North America but the entire planet
- THE CITIZENS (living under the government) will not be 300 million "Americans" but millions of people from every tribe and race and language group.

No government is comprised of every citizen in its territory. At most, governments are usually composed of a few hundred people*. God's new World Government will be no different. Jehovah's Witnesses evangelize to gain prospective citizens not to offer seats in government (144,000). There is no limit to the number of potential citizens.

Hope that helps,

JW



*The American government for example is made up of about 1000 people; effectively 1000 ruling over 300 million. (Congress 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators)
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"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Post #9

Post by 2timothy316 »

[Replying to post 7 by liamconnor]

This is a good point. JWs have 8,220,105 active members worldwide. Yet here is the kicker. 19,862,783 that attended the yearly Memorial of Jesus Christ death. That's 11,642,678 more people than we have currently active. This shows there is more than just active JWs that have some sort of interest in Jehovah and His Son.

Why would almost 20 Million people be interested in God's Kingdom if there 20 Million were be taught only 144,000 are saved? Also, only 15,177 partook of the emblems to declare they have the Heavenly hope. Declaring the Heavenly hope-taking of the bread and wine is voluntary. What are the other 19,847,606 that didn't declare they have a Heavenly Hope even doing at the Memorial?

I'll let the Bible explain.

“This is what Jehovah has said, the Creator of the heavens, He the true God, the Former of the earth and the Maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited: ‘I am Jehovah, and there is no one else." (Isaiah 45:18)

"But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell." (2 Peter 3:13)

"The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it." (Psalms 37:29)

"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. 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.� (Revelation 7:9, 10)

So those all those millions of other that don't have the hope to live in Heaven do have a hope. Hope to live on Earth. Both Heaven is a paradise ans so too will the Earth be a paradise according to the God inspired letter from Peter.

So though JWs keep up with all these numbers, we know they are not accurate. The number of those saved will never be really known until after the the Great Day of Jehovah. The numbers JWs keep are evidence for our faith that there is a Great Crowd of people that even exist. So when we ask ourselves, 'Is there a Great Crowd?' We can answer with a confident 'yes'. We want that Great Crowd number of meek to be as huge as Jesus will allow. After all he is our judge. (Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46.)

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Re: Jehovah’s Witnesses only ones that will be saved?????

Post #10

Post by onewithhim »

Donray wrote: Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that only 144,000 people will go to heaven. God chooses these 144,000 individuals, the process began with the first century Christians and was completed in the year 1935. Of course from 1879 (the year the Watchtower started) till 1935 only faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses were chosen for this special role. All faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses not chosen to be among the 144,000 elite that go to heaven (those joining the Watchtower after 1935) will spend eternity on earth. All other people on the earth will be destroyed at war of Armageddon here on earth. This would also include any Jehovah's Witnesses who has been disfellowshipped or is otherwise unfaithful to the Watchtower and has not worked his or her way back into the good graces of the Watchtower by the time of Armageddon.

If one believes the JWs all other Christians and everyone that is not a JW will not go to heaven or live on the Earth after Armageddon.

Question for debate is JW the only true Christin religion or is it some type of cult that calls itself Christian?
No....you gotta get your facts straight. The choosing of the 144,000 didn't end in 1935. That was when more focus was on the ones who did not have the heavenly hope. There were many then that didn't want to go to heaven. Bro. Rutherford asked, at a convention, "who are here that feel that they want to live on Earth forever?" and many stood up. He said, "Behold, the great crowd!" (Revelation 7:9,14) But that didn't mean that the 144,000 was complete.

And no, not all people will be destroyed who are not Jehovah's Witnesses! We don't teach that. Please stop spreading untruths!

It is easy to see which religion is the true one. Forget for a moment that we claim to be the one true faith. Just hold up other religions and compare them to what Jesus taught.

(1) Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves." (John 13:35) It has to be a love that affects every aspect of our lives. What do the majority of religious organizations do when tension between worldly nations leads to war? It is known that by far the majority of them have been willing for their members to go out on the battlefield and slaughter their fellow believers of another nationality at the command of worldly men! Do you think such a course is according to God's Word and really reflects the spirit of God? (See IJohn 3:10-12; Matthew 5:44.)

(2) Jesus preached about God's Kingdom and made it the focus of his ministry. He said, "Also to other cities I must declare the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this I was sent forth." (Luke 4:43) He commanded all of his disciples to preach to the whole world about the good news of the Kingdom (Matthew 24:14). He outlined how we must pray to God, and one of the foremost requests would be for God to bring his Kingdom to cause his will to be done on Earth (Matthew 6:9), so it's more than just something in someone's heart. What religions are teaching that God's own government will soon rule the earth? There are none that do so, with the exception of one. (See, please, Isaiah 9:6,7; Daniel 2:44; Revelation 20:4,6.)

(3) Where did Jesus stand on getting involved in politics? Didn't he say that his followers would be "no part of the world"? (John 15:19) When the people tried to make Jesus king right then and there, what did he do? (John 6:15) He surely would have made the best political choice for everyone! But his time hadn't come yet. He spoke of the coming Kingdom that would solve all the world's problems. The Bible shows that, if our worship is to be clean and undefiled from God's standpoint, we must "keep ourselves without spot from the world," and "whoever wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God." (James 1:27; 4:4) I think you can appreciate why this is so serious when you remember that the Bible points out that the ruler of the world is Satan the Devil. (John 12:31; I John 5:19) Do the facts how that the churches in your community take this to heart? Or are they deeply involved in the world's affairs, in its nationalism and its politics?


These are just three points out of many. Just these points should be enough to show you who might be the one true religion. I'm not saying who it is. You tell me. If it's yours, point out how it agrees with Jesus. Thank you.



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