Found this material on an yahoo egroups site on Greek theology on which quite a number of Witness apologists contribute. There is quite a bit of interesting stuff on here, but here is a worthwhile comment made on the 144,000 as they relate to the "FDS Class" and JW's since 1879. Establishes from purely mathematical point of view that the 144,000 cannot be a literal but figurative
QUOTE:
I think I have discovered a possible reason why it is that no JW participant in this forum is able to concretely identify any individual or group of the "slave class" from the apostles to Charles Taze Russell.
There is very strong evidence that there were many more than 144,000 Christians in the first century. Philip Schaff estimates that there were about 1 million by the end of the first century and about 10 million by the time Christianity was declared legal in 313 and the official persecution by Rome stopped. That doesn't count the millions that were killed.
Even if one doesn't want to count those that were not completely committed, which is pretty difficult when being a Christian meant being an outlaw under a death sentence - but, by any count there must have been far more than 144,000. If the "two classes" doctrine is true, there were no anointed in the 19th or 20th century.
Be that as it may, I would like to mathematically consider the biblical conversions to Christianity in light of the Watchtower's doctrine of a faithful and discreet slave class which is comprised of 144,000 individuals from the time of the apostles to our present day.
In the first century, at Pentecost 3,000 person were baptized. Later the account refers to "five thousand men" as among those accepting the gospel. (Acts 2:41; 4:4) In the years that followed, not only was there further growth in Jerusalem, but churches developed throughout the then known world.
Even if we were to assume that the greater number did not prove faithful, still it is difficult to believe that they were not at the very least thousands who did. Since the Watchtower magazine began to be published in 1879, more tens of thousands have professed to be "anointed" followers of Christ. (The September 1, 1925 Watchtower page 263 reports that 90,434 partook of the elements in that year).
For the purpose of illustration, if we were to accept a very conservative figure of 10,000 proving faithful to death during the course of the first century, and another ten thousand from 1879 onward, that would leave 124,000 others to be approved during the intervening period. Consider what that would mean. It would mean that during the ensuing 1,779 years before the Watchtower organization comes on the scene, Christ Jesus, who was directing his followers in accord with his words at Matthew 28:20, only saw an average of 70 persons a year - in the whole world - become faithful and approved follower of his!!!
(this figure results from dividing 124,000 by 1,779)
It is thus quite possible from a mathematic and geographical perspective, that most of the "anointed" never met other members of the faithful and discreet slave class. It also, would explain why it is so difficult to identify them in history." END OF QUOTE