The following statement would equate to 3 million people professing Christianity by the end of the second century. The JW’s teach that all those early Christians were part of the 144 thousand yet their own calculations show that only one in 20 professing Christian could be in the filled number of the anointed and the number must have been filled by the start of the second century.
"As spirit-anointed brothers of Christ, all the early Christians had the prospect of being heavenly priests with Christ." Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom p.35
60 thousand copies held by only one in 50 professing Christianity = 3 million professing Christianity.
"It has been calculated that by the end of the second century 60,000 copies of the major part of the Christian Greek Scriptures could have been in circulation, even if only one in every fifty of those professing Christianity possessed a copy." Watchtower 1963 Apr 15 p.249
Update:@Guy Withagrin, if you want to read the details I said that 1 in 20 would have been in the 144k under the societies figures, is that just 1 in 20 make 19 in 20 or most not Christians even though they professed they were. Note also that these are the societies figures not mine.
"As spirit-anointed brothers of Christ, all the early Christians had the prospect of being heavenly priests with Christ." Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom p.35
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Thus says The Lord: I AM COME! And I have sent My messengers before My face!...
Who is the face and image of God?! Behold, it is He I have sent, He who I am sending! He can wait no longer knocking, for the Day of The Lord is at hand! And the time appointed draws near, when The Son of Man must enter in and gather them together!... Reap, O Son of Man! REAP, glorified Son of The Most High God!
My people, I am The Only God and Savior! There is no other! There is none like Me, save He who is of Me and I of Him, for The Father and The Son are One! YahuShua HaMashiach is His name! Yes, Jesus is The Gift, Christ is The Ransom, for He is both Lamb and Lion, Lord and King!... The Lord of Hosts!
Thus says The Lord: My Spirit is poured out, My messengers called and sent. And if you are willing to receive it, they are Elijah and John; first baptizing with My Word and fire, then many marvelous works performed through men... My witnesses, 144,000.
Behold, even Elijah and Moses shall come prophesying in My name, the coming of The Holy One called Christ. For these are the two lampstands, who shall be sent down to shout The Lord’s proclamation, the two witnesses who stand before The Lord God of Heaven and Earth.
Who else shall I send? Who will go for Me?!
Who will noise in the four corners and shout from the rooftops?
Who will go forth, in the name of The Lord?!...
For I shall surely anoint My messengers, with the Spirit of truth and power!...
Watchmen, go forth! Sound the trumpet!
For the Great and Terrible Day of The Lord draws nigh!
Thus says The Lord: Repent and be spared! For The Thief is about to enter the house and take His spoil! Behold, He has entered the hearts of the penitent already, and has but to call out and they shall be snatched away! Do not wait, little children, for The Master comes to cleanse the house of all its fornications and adulteries committed against its Creator!... He comes to uplift and cast down, to uproot and destroy!
Behold, the Day of Wrath has come, for the anger of The Lord is kindled, and will soon be set ablaze in the heat of His indignation!... Judgments raining down from Heaven upon the whole multitude, upon every tribe, tongue and people! Recompense for every nation! Calamity in every land! Disaster reaching to the ends of the earth, filling every corner!
Who can hide from the face of God revealed in His wrath, burning in His fury?! Who is able to drink from the cup of His indignation, and live?! Is it not written, “Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved?” For the heavens shall be set on fire above, and the earth shall become a raging furnace beneath... Yet whosoever calls on the name of The Lord, and accepts The Son of Salvation, shall be delivered in that Day; for I tell you the truth, it comes quickly, says The Lord.
Thus says The Lord, to the generation of His wrath: I have trumpeted to you, yet you cover your ears. I shall show signs and wonders the likes of which as has never been seen, indeed many signs are made plain already, yet you cover your eyes. Is this not a small thing for The Lord, and the judgment poured out on Egypt a mere twinkle in the vesture of God’s power?
Yet you refuse to repent! Neither will you bow down, for your hearts are hard and your mouths vile! Therefore, judgment is come! Judgment shall fall! It shall fall hard upon your backs and be very heavy!... Breaking the backs of the wicked, abasing the proud and humbling the haughty, casting down the high-minded and bringing swift death upon the oppressor! Behold, on the whole multitude, upon every inhabitant of the earth, shall it fall! All shall be broken!... Some broken and lifted up; and many more, broken and condemned.
Yet I shall not make a total end of this generation; for the elect’s sake I shall leave a remnant, and the redeemed of The Lord shall be delivered. Behold, before the sixth seal is broken, I shall deal to the hard-hearted a glancing blow: One shall be taken, and the other left. Thus is the inheritance of the hard-of-heart, those who continually shout, “Nay! Nay!”...
The innocent shall be taken,
And the upright in heart shall be gone from this place;
All those who hear My words, and also do them, shall not be found...
Yea, even the dead who sleep shall come forth,
As many of all who had lived unto The Lord,
And they too shall be gone from the earth...
Behold, the earth shall starve, all light gathered and taken;
Darkness, thick darkness shall spread forth across the land,
Engulfing the whole earth.
Revelation 3:4 -
"Nevertheless, you do have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their outer garments, and they shall walk with me, because they are worthy."
Notice a FEW.
And this was by the end of the FIRST century. The vast majority of those PROFESSING to be Christians were obviously not, according to Jesus himself.
It is easy to see how hundreds of thousands or even millions were PROFESSING Christianity by the end of the second century.
The pagan festivals, the immortality of the soul, and the trinity were all pulled in to the church of the day, along with the people who believed and followed such teachings.
The APOSTASY had begun!!
And no it was not filled, because we have anointed on earth today. The Bible says in Revelation 7:3 that the great tribulation will not begin till the number is complete. So when you see the tribulation begin, you will know the number is complete and sealed to Jehovah's satisfaction.
Thank you for the observation!
That is the first time I remember having seen an estimate of the number of Christians in the movements early years. I wonder if there are other such estimates around.
Did you know that the scriptures actually indicate that at the time of Paul, the two groups, the little flock and the other sheep were presented in the congregations?! This, you'll not find in Wt literature.
Only those present at the time in the upper room was 120 and were filled with Holy spirit. Like Jesus his footstep followers who have been spirit begotten and anointed with holy spirit can be spoken of as anointed ones
You are assuming, of course, that all those who had the Greek scriptures were actual Christians. However, most were not, or proved they weren't by their actions.
Reference Revelations chapters 2 & 3. You will see that half of the congregations in the Apostle John's day were spiritually in deep trouble.
Harpazo = Rapture
END-TIME BIBLE PROPHECY
The Messiah Lord Jesus said BIRTH PANGS would signal the time of the end (Matthew 24:8). There are NINE birth pangs, they are all PRE-TRIBULATIONAL and the 1st three already occurred.
The first birth pang was worldwide conflict coupled with famines and earthquakes (Matthew 24:7-8). Worldwide conflict was fulfilled in 1914-1918, major famines happened in 1918-1921 and most of the world’s major earthquakes began to occur since 1900.
The second birth pang was the restoration of a Jewish State (Ezekiel 20:33-38; Ezekiel 22:17-22; Ezekiel 36:22-24; Zephaniah 2:1-2). This was fulfilled in 1948.
The third birth pang was Jewish control of the Old City of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2). For the third Jewish Temple (Tribulation Temple) to be rebuilt, Jerusalem needs to be under Jewish control and this was accomplished in the Six Day War in 1967.
The fourth birth pang will be the Ezekiel 38 war. Russia, allied states of Iran, Ethiopia, Somalia, Germany and Armenia will invade Israel. God will miraculously destroy the invading army by earthquake, civil war among the invading soldiers, pestilence, blood, flood, hailstones, fire and brimstone. This will bring a revival in Israel where many Jews will turn to the Lord, and Israel will spend 7 years and 7 months burying the bodies and burning for fuel the military equipment left behind (Ezekiel 39:9-16).
The 5th birth pang will be the development of a one world government (Daniel 7:23-24).
The 6th birth pang will be the splitting of the one world government into 10 kingdoms and this Ten Kingdom Stage will continue until mid-Tribulation (Daniel 7:24).
The 7th birth pang will be the revelation of the Antichrist (II Thessalonians 2:1-3; Daniel 7:24).
The 8th birth pang will be a period of peace and false security that will be shattered by the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).
The 9th and final birth pang before the Tribulation is the signing of the 7-year covenant between Israel and the Antichrist. THIS EVENT IS WHAT BEGINS THE (7-year) TRIBULATION - NOT THE RAPTURE!
The Rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) is also a pre-tribulational event (Luke 21:34-37; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:6-8). The fact that the Church is not mentioned in any of the Tribulation Scriptures proves the Rapture is pre-tribulational. All raptured Christians will receive glorified bodies (Romans 8:22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54)) and it can happen at any second.
THE FIRST HALF OF THE TRIBULATION (SUPPORTING VERSES IN REVELATION 6-9 AND 17)
The Ministry of 144,000 sealed Jewish believers will bring many throughout the world to accept Christ.
There will be a powerful Ministry of Two Witnesses who will also be anointed Jewish believers.
A one world religious system (Babylon the Harlot) will rule. Under this one world religious system, many who are saved during the Tribulation will suffer persecution and death.
The Political system of the 10 kings of the one world government will continue.
During the first half of the Tribulation there will also be war, worldwide famine, death (1/4 of the world’s population will die), a huge earthquake, a blackout and a meteor shower. 1/3 of earth’s dry surface will be destroyed, 1/3 sea life and salt water will be destroyed, a fallen angel called Wormwood will make 1/3 of earth’s fresh water bitter, 1/3 of earth’s natural light sources will be destroyed, there will be another blackout and demons in the form of “locust-scorpions” will come up out of the abyss led by Abaddon their king and they will inflict harm and pain for five months upon those who are not sealed by God (unbelievers). Another demonic invasion will occur and the demons involved will be led by four fallen angels who will be released from the Euphrates River and this army will kill 1/3 of the earth’s population.
MID-TRIBULATION (SUPPORTING VERSES IN REVELATION 10-14 AND 17)
The Antichrist will war against the 10 kings, and during the war the Antichrist will be killed.
Satan will be cast out of the atmospheric heavens onto earth and will resurrect the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will kill 3 kings (the kings of Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia) and the 7 other kings will submit to him.
The Antichrist will kill the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem and the wicked people will celebrate this event. Three and a half days afterwards, God will resurrect the Two Witnesses and take them up to Heaven and the people who celebrated will become terrified. The city of Jerusalem where the murder of the Two Witnesses occurred will then suffer an earthquake which will kill 7,000 people.
The False Prophet will receive from Satan the power to perform great miracles and will deceive many. The False Prophet will command all people to worship the Antichrist and have persons create an image to the Antichrist. The False Prophet will use his satanic powers to give it life and the ability to speak. The False Prophet will cause those who refuse to worship the Antichrist and the image to be killed.
The False Prophet will issue his own counterfeit seal known as the Mark of the Beast and it will be placed on all those who surrender to the Antichrist’s authority and accept him as god. Those who refuse to take this mark will not be able to buy or sell. Those who take this mark will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.
The Antichrist will break the seven-year covenant he made with Israel, cause the sacrifices to stop, sit in the Jewish Temple, declare to the world that he is really God and set up an idol called the Abomination of Desolation in the Temple (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15-16; 11Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 13:11-15).
Through the Antichrist and the False Prophet, Satan will attempt to destroy the Jews once and for all but he will fail because 1/3 of the Jews will succeed in fleeing into the wilderness. These Jews who escape will accept the Lord Jesus as their Saviour during the Tribulation (Zechariah 13:7-9) and while they are in hiding, God will miraculously provide for them (Zechariah 13:8-9; Isaiah 41:17-20). Divine intervention will also destroy the pursuing army.
THE SECOND HALF OF THE TRIBULATION (SUPPORTING VERSES FOUND IN REVELATION 15, 16, 18, 19, 20)
In the second half of the Tribulation, those with the Mark of the Beast will suffer skin sores, the remainder of sea water and fresh water will be destroyed, the sun will cause terrible burns and the wicked will blaspheme God. There will be yet another blackout and persons will suffer gnawing pains.
Babylon will be the center of world economy and political system but Babylon will be swiftly destroyed by fire and become uninhabitable for man.
The Antichrist will locate the Jews who sought refuge in the wilderness and surround them with his armies to wipe them out. The Lord Jesus will then descend from Heaven with His angels and Saints. He will come with great glory riding upon a horse and will destroy the Antichrist, the False Prophet and all of their armies. After this, a loud voice will cry out “It is done!” followed by the greatest earthquake in the earth’s history and hail weighing 120 pounds will fall.
At the end of the Tribulation, there will be another blackout, the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken (Matthew 24:29), the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be thrown into the eternal Lake of Fire and Satan will be cast into the Abyss and bound for 1,000 years.
THE MILLENNIUM
The Lord Jesus will reign over the entire earth during the Millennium. The Jewish and Gentile believers who survive the Tribulation will go on to populate the Millennium. Believers who died before and during the Tribulation and believers who were raptured will be present on earth during the Millennium and because they will have glorified bodies they will not reproduce. All believers will be given special tasks by the Lord Jesus (Revelation 20:4-6). There will be no wars (Isaiah 2:2-4), animals will return to the Edenic state and become vegetarians (Isaiah 11:6-9), people will not labour in vain but eat what they plant and inhabit what they build, there will be renovations in the heavens and earth and there will be righteous and unrighteous children born during the Millennium (Isaiah 65:17-25).
At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed from the Abyss and will deceive and gather the unrighteous for a war against the righteous. This will be his final attempt to destroy the righteous and when the unrighteous of the Millennium surround the good people, God will send fire down from Heaven which will suddenly and massively annihilate all of the wicked people. Satan will then be cast into the Lake of Fire where he will remain in torment for eternity (Revelation 20:7-10).
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
The Great White Throne Judgment will be the next main event. The old heavens and earth will be done away with and all will stand before God’s throne to be judged (Revelation 20:11-12). Those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire which will be their final and eternal abode (Revelation 20:14-15).
THE ETERNAL ORDER (REVELATION 21 AND 22)
Those whose names are found in the Book of Life will enjoy paradise with God forever. The heavens and earth will be made new and the New Jerusalem will come down upon the earth making the earth like Heaven. All curses from the fall will be removed and the earth will be inhabited by the Triune God (The Father, Son and Holy Spirit), all angels and all of the righteous. The seas, moon, night and sun will be done away with and the glory of God will illuminate the earth. The River of Life will flow from God’s throne, the Tree of Life will bear health-giving fruits and leaves and the name of Jesus will be on the foreheads of all of the righteous.
God’s Plan of Salvation for Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZkDk1GZ7do
The book of Revelation is a highly symbolic treatise (cf. 1:1). Because of this fact, many false religionists have attempted to exploit the message of the narrative to their own theological ends. The Apocalypse has become a happy hunting ground for some religious cultists who seek biblical support for their peculiar doctrines.
Twice in this book, mention is made of a group consisting of 144,000. In chapter 7:1ff John heard of 144,000 (12,000 each from twelve different Israelite tribes) servants of God who had been sealed on their foreheads. They were thus obviously redeemed people.
Also, the apostle saw a “great multitude, which no man can number” out of every nation. These too were redeemed individuals who had been made white in the Lamb’s blood (v. 14). They had victoriously triumphed over tribulation, and they served God continuously in his temple.
Some feel that these two groups are really the same people — just from different angles.
Again, in Revelation 14:1ff, John saw the Lamb on Mount Zion. With him were 144,000, sealed with the Father’s name upon their foreheads. This great multitude had been “purchased out of the earth,” and they were said to be the “firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.”
The “Jehovah’s Witnesses” have almost no concept of the distinction between the literal and the figurative language in the Bible. And so, they literalize the number 144,000 in these two contexts, and ridiculously argue that only 144,000 people will gain heaven.
A Watchtower publication states that “the final number of the heavenly church will be 144,000, according to God’s decree” (Let God Be True, p. 113). The balance of saved humanity, they contend, will live on God’s glorified earth.
It should be noted that the term “thousand” is used nineteen times in the book of Revelation, but not once is it employed literally in this document.
There are some minor differences of opinion among reputable Bible scholars as to the identity of the 144,000 in Revelation 7.
John T. Hinds argued that the number referred to those who were saved from the physical nation of Israel (112).
Others, like J. W. Roberts, felt that this company is spiritual Israel, i.e., the church (71). Some think this group represents the martyrs who have given their lives for the cause of Christ.
Be that as it may, it is generally acknowledged that:
“The number is obviously symbolic. 12 (the number of the tribes) is both squared and multiplied by 1,000 — a twofold way of emphasizing completeness” (Mounce, 168).
We must emphasize the following two points:
First, one simply cannot take a symbolic section of scripture and interpret it in such a fashion as to make it contradict other clear, literal portions of the Bible.
Second, any doctrine which logically implies an absurdity is false and must be rejected. The Watchtower theory regarding the 144,000 violates both of these principles.
If one argues that the 144,000 represents a literal number, he should similarly contend that the group of which that number consists is also literal, i.e., literal Israelites.
That would mean, according to the Watchtower scheme of interpretation, that no one would be in heaven who was not of the actual tribes listed.
This would also exclude Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — who were never of the tribes of Israel. And yet, that conflicts with Jesus’ affirmation that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 8:11).
If only a literal 144,000 Israelites will enter heaven, then not one Gentile has the hope of the kingdom of heaven. However, the Lord was plainly alluding to Gentiles when he stated that:
“many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 8:11).
Logically, the Watchtower people must exclude the “great multitude, which no man could number” (7:9) from heaven. This group, they allege, represents the “earthly class.”
That is not so. This multitude was described as “standing before the throne” (7:9), which is in heaven (1:4; 4:2-10). Furthermore, these saints “before the throne” were serving God in “his temple” (7:15). Elsewhere John comments that “the temple of God … is in heaven” (11:19).
The 144,000 are mentioned again in Revelation 14:1ff. Once more, however, the numeral is clustered with several other prominent symbols.
First, there is the “Lamb,” a figure representing Christ (cf. Jn. 1:29; Rev. 5:6).
Second, there is Mount Zion, a symbol of divine government (cf. Isa. 2:2-4).
Third, there is the numeral 144,000, suggestive of the heavenly complement of God’s people — no one will be missing who is supposed to be there.
Fourth, the saints are depicted as “virgins,” which descriptive emphasizes their purity (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2).
Again, though, it must be stressed that if one contends for a literal 144,000, if consistent, he should argue also that a literal Lamb was literally standing on literal Mount Zion with a group of literal men who had never been intimate with literal women, hence, were literal virgins!
If a consistent literal scheme of interpretation is pursued, here is the situation that would obtain:
•Only men will be in heaven, hence, Hannah, Mary, Dorcus, and women of like faith are without that hope.
•Only unmarried men who are virgins will gain heaven. This would exclude Abraham, Moses, Peter, and a host of other biblical worthies.
These conclusions are utterly ludicrous and thus without any merit whatever.
The 144,000 of Revelation 14 likely signifies the entire body of the redeemed.
This group represents a body of people who were “purchased” from among men. The only purchase price ultimately available for human salvation is that of the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood was effective for the obedient who lived before the cross (Gal. 4:5; Heb. 9:15-17), and for those who have submitted to God’s will since that historic event (1 Pet. 1:18,19; Acts 20:28).
Finally, the Bible makes it clear that no one will dwell on a “glorified earth,” for there will be no earth subsequent to the Second Coming of Christ (see Mt. 24:35; 2 Pet. 3:10ff; Rev. 21:1).
but they interpret this Holy scripture totally out of whack, It is only Israel that has twelve tribes, and 12,000 are sealed of each tribe therefore 12,000 x 12,000 = 144,000. Dont know why they equate themselves with the twelve tribes of Israel?
There was a great apostasy!