https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/144000.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Revelation 14:1-5<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the kingdom of heaven will be established after the\n“end times” with 144,000 faithful saints chosen by God to becomes spirits and to rule with\nChrist for the millennium.\n A. These rulers, they say, will govern the earth on which will dwell resurrected\nhumans along with the animals.\n B. “Hence, the context of Revelation 7:4 and related statements found elsewhere in\nthe Bible bear out that the number 144,000 is to be taken literally. It refers to those\nwho will rule in heaven with Christ over a paradise earth, which will be filled with\na large and undetermined number of happy people who worship Jehovah God.”\n[The Watchtower<\/i>, September 1, 2004, page 31]\n
C. They justify these beliefs by citing Revelation 7:4 and Revelation 14:1-3<\/p>\n
II. Problems with Symbols<\/p>\n
A. Revelation is written in symbolic language – Revelation 1:1<\/p>\n
1. Great care must be taken not to assign literal means to symbolic language.<\/p>\n
B. Reading the context of Revelation 7:1-12<\/p>\n 1. If we say that the 144,000 is literal, then we must conclude that they are all\nJewish since they all come from tribes of Israel\n 2. These people are located on the earth, as oppose to the great multitude\nwho are before the throne of God in heaven (and these people come from\nevery nation)\n
C. Reading the context of Revelation 14:1-5<\/p>\n 1. Again we find them on the earth, standing on Mount Zion (Jerusalem) with\nthe Lamb.\n 2. We also learn that they have not defiled themselves with women, so a\nliteral reading requires us to conclude that they are all virgins and only\nmales will be in the number.\n D. Interestingly, Jehovah’s Witnesses state that Peter is one of the 144,000. He is\nJewish and a male, but since he had a wife (I Corinthians 9:5), he wasn’t a virgin.\n
E. The conclusion is that these are symbolic passages.<\/p>\n
1. The numbers given<\/p>\n
2. The tribes<\/p>\n
3. The lack of defilement<\/p>\n
4. All represent ideas<\/p>\n
III. Problems with the Resurrection<\/p>\n A. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have some raised as earthly people and others raised as\nspiritual beings. \n
B. But Paul says we will all be spiritual beings – I Corinthians 15:42-53<\/p>\n C. To get around this, the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that this passage only speaks of\nthe 144,000, but such a limitation is not mentioned or even hinted at in this\npassage.\n
1. Instead Paul clearly states it applies to everyone – I Corinthians 15:51-52<\/p>\n 2. This is supported by I John 3:2 which also states that we will be\ntransformed.\n
D. In the resurrection, the righteous join Jesus to be with him – I Thessalonians 4:16-17<\/p>\n
IV. Problems with the Kingdom<\/p>\n
A. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world – John 18:36<\/p>\n B. Jehovah’s Witnesses have Jesus being given authority and the kingdom in the\nfuture\n
1. But Jesus already has all authority – Matthew 28:18<\/p>\n 2. The end is when Jesus gives his kingdom back to the Father – I Corinthians\n15:20-28\n
C. Paul states the kingdom exists because we have entered it – Colossians 1:13<\/p>\n
D. One passage cited to talk about their paradise on earth is Isaiah 65:21-23<\/p>\n
1. It is a beautiful description<\/p>\n 2. But as often is the case, there is a flaw when we read the context – Isaiah\n65:20\n
a. People still die!<\/p>\n b. Oh, but did you notice this description says there are still sinners in\nthis world!\n c. But Jehovah’s Witnesses say that in their earthly paradise, sin will\nbe cleansed from the world.\n
V. Heaven is not for a select few righteous people<\/p>\n
A. There is an inheritance awaiting – I Peter 1:3-4<\/p>\n
B. There are many mansions in heaven – John 14:2-3<\/p>\n
C. Who are the 144,000?<\/p>\n
1. They represent God’s elect people currently on earth at any one time.<\/p>\n 2. These are the people sealed (protected) from the tribulation to be brought\nagainst the earth – Revelation 7:1-2\n a. But they sealing will not protect them from being martyred –\nRevelation 11:7\n b. It only a protection against the harm to the earth, which was held\noff for a while until the people are sealed – Revelation 7:3\n 3. They are a spiritual Israel – James 1:1; I Peter 1:1; Galatians 6:16;\nPhilippians 3:3\n
D. Who are the great multitude? – Revelation 7:13<\/p>\n
1. They came out of the tribulation – Revelation 7:14<\/p>\n
2. They weren’t sealed, implying they no longer needed protection<\/p>\n
3. They are with the angels before the throne of God – Revelation 7:15<\/p>\n 4. These are the redeemed from all ages, gathered before God to sing His\ngreat praises.\n E. You and I can be a part of that great throng – not by following the man-made\ndoctrine of a false religion, but conforming our lives to the will of God as taught in\nHis book.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Revelation 14:1-5 I. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the kingdom of heaven will be established after the “end times” with 144,000 faithful saints chosen by God to becomes spirits and to rule with Christ for the millennium. A. These rulers, they say, will govern the earth on which will dwell resurrected…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[355,102],"class_list":["post-46755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-jehovahs-witnesses","tag-revelation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9568,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-there-a-distinction-between-the-144000-and-the-great-multitude\/","url_meta":{"origin":46755,"position":0},"title":"Isn’t there a distinction between the 144,000 and the great multitude?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 26, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I don't disagree about the symbolism John constantly uses in Revelation, but I noticed a distinct difference he says concerning the twelve tribes, for the 144,000, but then he goes on to talk about other people. Revelation 7:8 Of the tribe of Zebulun [were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46671,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-gods-original-plan-to-have-humans-live-on-the-earth-forever\/","url_meta":{"origin":46755,"position":1},"title":"Was God’s original plan to have humans live on the earth forever?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Question: Thank you, sir, for using the word of God in answering questions. God bless you for that. Sir, I was studying the Bible with two Jehovah's Witnesses members. I was told most of the righteous will be in the big crowd and enjoy paradise on earth. I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9565,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-are-the-144000\/","url_meta":{"origin":46755,"position":2},"title":"Who are the 144,000?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 25, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Revelation it talks about 144,000 in a couple of places, I was talking to my friend about it. It's been six months since I have read Revelation straight through and I have never done a real \"study\" on it. But what are the requirements for the 144,000 people?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93578,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/false-teachings-of-jehovahs-witnesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":46755,"position":3},"title":"False Teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jon Gary Williams They speak of Christ, the soul, hell, the resurrection, and other fundamental biblical ideas. But what they espouse regarding these and other biblical terms does not align with what the Bible teaches. Has a Jehovah's Witness ever knocked on your door? If not, someday they will.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34419,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jehovahs-witnesses-failed-prophecies\/","url_meta":{"origin":46755,"position":4},"title":"Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Failed Prophecies","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Jehovah's Witnesses are known throughout much of the world. Their zeal in spreading their doctrines by sending out missionaries who go from door to door is well known. While we admire their commitment to their doctrines, we must acknowledge that their faith is not based on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39088,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/revelation-14-and-the-harps\/","url_meta":{"origin":46755,"position":5},"title":"Revelation 14 and the Harps","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer I'm dealing here with a very narrow aspect of the question of instruments in worship. In support of the use of instruments in worship, we often hear Revelation 14 brought up. 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