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Jehovah’s Witnesses contend that, any day now, Jesus will descend from heaven with an army of angels to clash with Satan and an army of demons in the long-foreseen Battle of Armageddon. After the destruction, only 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses will survive. This group is yet another that is growing while most of Christianity fades.
This one is a little out of date. The JWs thought in the beginning that a 144,000 adherents should be plenty but they have grown larger than that so for some time now the teaching has been that only 144,000 JWs will be directly in god's presence in heaven, the excess will dwell on earth but it will still be pretty nice.
At least in their system the unbelievers will simply not be invited to the party and will face, not eternal perdition, but annihilation.
This one is a little out of date. The JWs thought in the beginning that a 144,000 adherents should be plenty but they have grown larger than that so for some time now the teaching has been that only 144,000 JWs will be directly in god's presence in heaven, the excess will dwell on earth but it will still be pretty nice.
At least in their system the unbelievers will simply not be invited to the party and will face, not eternal perdition, but annihilation.
I used to work with a JW, nice enough person but then I couldn't understand why she didn't celebrate Christmas or any other holidays really. That's when I was still a Christian and I had 5 Christmas trees in my house and decorated my office like Santa's office. I know what it looks like from the movie "The Santa Clause". I don't know, even now I think it's sad that they are so hard on themselves. Reminds me of my Grandfather.
I used to work with a JW, nice enough person but then I couldn't understand why she didn't celebrate Christmas or any other holidays really. That's when I was still a Christian and I had 5 Christmas trees in my house and decorated my office like Santa's office. I know what it looks like from the movie "The Santa Clause". I don't know, even now I think it's sad that they are so hard on themselves. Reminds me of my Grandfather.
I'm actually shunned by my JW mother for celebrating Christmas and my dad's 70th birthday. They believe it is false worship. Same with all the other holidays. The birthday thing is a bit dicey because the only way can say it's bad is because John the Baptist was beheaded at a birthday party. Plus they believe celebrating a person for any reason detracts from Jehovah.
I'm actually shunned by my JW mother for celebrating Christmas and my dad's 70th birthday. They believe it is false worship. Same with all the other holidays. The birthday thing is a bit dicey because the only way can say it's bad is because John the Baptist was beheaded at a birthday party. Plus they believe celebrating a person for any reason detracts from Jehovah.
I'm sorry to hear that, what a shame that a stinking religion gets in the way of family and personal relationships. I can't believe that birthdays aren't celebrated, that's going way overboard and in no way would detract from their Jehovah. My friend's Mother is JW, she is riddled with dementia now but I always loved her and her attitude about things. I guess anything would have seemed better at that time since all I knew was Fundamentalism.
This one is a little out of date. The JWs thought in the beginning that a 144,000 adherents should be plenty but they have grown larger than that so for some time now the teaching has been that only 144,000 JWs will be directly in god's presence in heaven, the excess will dwell on earth but it will still be pretty nice.
At least in their system the unbelievers will simply not be invited to the party and will face, not eternal perdition, but annihilation.
He got it wrong.
The 144000 are the intermediaries between "the great crowd" (regular JWs) and God. They have been chosen since Jesus' day. They will rule in heaven as "brothers of Christ.". Their numbers were dwindling signalling the end times but then they started going up again. They weirdly enough said these JWs were mentally ill to explain why the numbers were going up. They know who is anointed by who will eat of the body of Christ and drink of His blood (symbolically) and who will refuse it during their Memorial service right around Easter. They regular JWs don't think that scripture about doing so applies to them and that is why they need the anointed because Jesus cannot act as their intermediary. Those other JWs will live on paradise earth forever.
The 144000 are the intermediaries between "the great crowd" (regular JWs) and God. They have been chosen since Jesus' day. They will rule in heaven as "brothers of Christ.". Their numbers were dwindling signalling the end times but then they started going up again. They weirdly enough said these JWs were mentally ill to explain why the numbers were going up. They know who is anointed by who will eat of the body of Christ and drink of His blood (symbolically) and who will refuse it during their Memorial service right around Easter. They regular JWs don't think that scripture about doing so applies to them and that is why they need the anointed because Jesus cannot act as their intermediary. Those other JWs will live on paradise earth forever.
Wow that's really complicated. What's weird is they are Fundamentalists and my Father, who was also a Fundamentalist, would send JW's away screaming because he lived to argue. JW's were heretics, to be converted to the correct version of Christianity. I felt sorry for them.
I admire their tenacity but they really step in it sometimes with the door to door proselytizing. You never know what you're going to run into doing that. Billy Bob might be drunk that morning they come knocking, no telling what he will do. It's just too dangerous to go door-to-door now. I don't answer my door for anyone who is unannounced, so no problems there.
The 144,000 thing always puzzled me. It's all so cryptic in the bible. Well, no one has been able to properly deescalate the speed at which there became 50 gazillion different sects of Christianity. JW's are still Christians. I respect their devotion and have no problem with their beliefs, it's just the proselytizing that needs to end.
Wow that's really complicated. What's weird is they are Fundamentalists and my Father, who was also a Fundamentalist, would send JW's away screaming because he lived to argue. JW's were heretics, to be converted to the correct version of Christianity. I felt sorry for them.
I admire their tenacity but they really step in it sometimes with the door to door proselytizing. You never know what you're going to run into doing that. Billy Bob might be drunk that morning they come knocking, no telling what he will do. It's just too dangerous to go door-to-door now. I don't answer my door for anyone who is unannounced, so no problems there.
The 144,000 thing always puzzled me. It's all so cryptic in the bible. Well, no one has been able to properly deescalate the speed at which there became 50 gazillion different sects of Christianity. JW's are still Christians. I respect their devotion and have no problem with their beliefs, it's just the proselytizing that needs to end.
You should probably still feel sorry for them as anyone addicted to dogma.
Wow that's really complicated. What's weird is they are Fundamentalists and my Father, who was also a Fundamentalist, would send JW's away screaming because he lived to argue. JW's were heretics, to be converted to the correct version of Christianity. I felt sorry for them.
I admire their tenacity but they really step in it sometimes with the door to door proselytizing. You never know what you're going to run into doing that. Billy Bob might be drunk that morning they come knocking, no telling what he will do. It's just too dangerous to go door-to-door now. I don't answer my door for anyone who is unannounced, so no problems there.
The 144,000 thing always puzzled me. It's all so cryptic in the bible. Well, no one has been able to properly deescalate the speed at which there became 50 gazillion different sects of Christianity. JW's are still Christians. I respect their devotion and have no problem with their beliefs, it's just the proselytizing that needs to end.
I think the 144,000 thing comes from something in Revelation. Revelation should never be read as if anything in it is literal. Nobody should assume that it can even be understood, let alone that they have it figured out.
I don't like the door-to-door thing. I don't care that they tell people they can call and get off the list. It should not take any more that one request at my door for them to stop coming to my house. Forever.
However, the big problem is that the kill people over a simple misunderstanding of part of the Bible by refusing to allow their members to receive blood transfusions. Transfusions save lives and are not the same thing as eating blood. That's simple enough for a third grader to understand. Instead, they allow over 900 of their members to die because of a misunderstood Bible verse. They have been well trained to answer these challenges with things like alternative therapies and talking about the people that die from blood transfusions (it's actually about 60 people per year worldwide). I've seen how transfusions are done first hand more than once. It's the last resort. By the time a transfusion is done, it is a case of life or death. Get the transfusion or die. Yet, a Witness will argue that they should try alternatives.
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I don't know, even now I think it's sad that they are so hard on themselves. Reminds me of my Grandfather.
