Shaky Pillar #2
False Hope of Heaven
“So rather than all good people going to heaven, the Bible reveals that only 144,000 tried and faithful persons will be taken there to rule with Christ” (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Copyright 1982 by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Page 124).
JWs think heaven is a reward restricted to a limited few, and the rest of the saved will enjoy a different blessing.
Any doctrine from any source promoting the notion that saved souls will experience diverse blessings in eternity to come is a doctrine that rejects the biblical premise of “one hope.” Paul told the church at Ephesus, “(There is) one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). There are as many hopes as there are Lords and faiths, which is to say just one. To suggest heaven for some saved and something else for the rest is to present two hopes.
To teach equality of reward hereafter, Jesus preached a parable about hired laborers working a vineyard.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a shilling a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle; and to them he said, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again, he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise. And about the eleventh (hour) he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard. And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that (were hired) about the eleventh hour, they received every man a shilling. And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received every man a shilling. And when they received it, they murmured against the householder, saying, These last have spent (but) one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling? Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:1-16).
To suggest a special place in heaven for a reserved few while all other saved souls go elsewhere is to contradict the plain meaning of this parable about the heavenly kingdom. When those who have worked for the Lord receive what is right, they will receive the same as all the rest of the blessed.
If it is true that heaven is for a select minority among the faithful and not for all, then it would be wrong for Christians to place any hope there. Yet, Paul talked to brethren in Colosse about “the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world” (Colossians 1:5-6). Not only could the Colossians correctly hope of heaven, but disciples the world over could do so, as well.
The concept that heaven is reserved for an exclusive group of 144,000 is derived from misunderstanding two passages in the Book of Revelation. If the number is intended literally rather than figuratively, as the book's overriding theme would necessitate, then it is even more restrictive than the Watchtower likely intends. John recorded, “I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:4). The 144,000 under consideration are Israelites. Specifically, they are from the tribes of Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin (Revelation 7:5-8). Thus, all gentiles are excluded. Furthermore, concerning “the hundred and forty and four thousand, (even) they that had been purchased out of the earth,” it is written that “These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins” (Revelation 14:3-4). Not only are gentiles excluded, but so are married people and women. That is a very limited group of people.
Immediately after saying that twelve thousand were sealed out of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, John’s narration continued: “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of (all) tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cry with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-10). If a numberless multitude stands before Christ’s throne proclaiming His praises, then that 144,000 must refer to something else.
