The Great Crowd Gathered From where? By Whom?
I don't believe that anyone could accurately fix a date for Adam's Fall into sin. However; whatever that date was until the flood of Noah's day, very probably many millions had passed away in death. Either through Wars or inherited sin. No one would, or could, know that exact number.
I believe some 4000 years have past since the flood of Noah's Day. How many have died and passed away from the time Noah and his Family embarking from the Ark, aside from those destroyed in the flood, until this present moment in time; no one could know that either. But in 4000 years factoring in the Wars that would have taken many lives, coupled with those who died from inherit sin, or natural causes, that would be another unknown number, would it not?
At last count, there are some eight Billion people living on our earth at this present moment in time. It's taken, from the flood period right up until today to put those eight Billion on this planet. So, it took 4000 years to put the population of this earth as it exists now of eight Billion people on this earth. It is said, in the Wars of this Worlds History, some 5 Billion have been killed; that would bring the population of this World up to 13 Billion; since the flood of Noah's Day. As to how many have died through other means that is also an unknown figure.
From Adam's Fall until todays date, no one knows, or could ever know exactly how many have died, right up to this moment in time, through the Wars fought or Natural causes. Excluding those killed in the Flood. Factoring together, those that have died from the time of Adam's sin, to the flood period, and from the flood period until now, obviously a great unnumbered crowd of humans has died. No one knows the exact number! No one could even guess at it, and be correct. Which brings me to the point I
wish to make about a great unnumbered crowd surviving the great tribulation, after Armageddon is fought.
It is taught today by some, that an unnumbered great crowd will survive the great tribulation. Stop and think about that for a moment. It has taken four thousand years to put the population that exists right now of eight Billion we have at this time. Another eight Billion would roughly take the same amount of time. But it would take another 4000 years to do that. More or less. First question! Do we have another 4000 years, or does this system of things have another 4000 years, to remain before the kingdom comes? But even then would we have a great ununbered great crowd? I'll be honest! I would surely hope not!
Think about this too! Zephaniah the Prophet predicted that Jehovah would "make an extermination indeed a terrible one of all the inhabitants of the earth." Now if a great unnumbered crowd was going to come out of the great tribulation, if the entire earth has been exterminated, from where would anyone get this great unnumbered crowd? You cannot make up a great unnumbered crowd with no one left to make it up out of, now can you? Then too, the unnumbered great crowd would have to be on the earth prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation. Lets assume we have 16 Billion on the earth at that time; is that a number no one could count? Double it! 32 Billion? The censors could still track it could't they? It still wouldn't be unnumbered! {Zephaniah 1:14-18}
What's all of this tell us about where this unnumbered great crowd must come from? Let's Look at this great crowd:
9 "After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. 10 And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: "Salvation [we owe] to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb." {Revelation 7:9 NWT}
At first reading, one would assume that John and Jesus are speaking about the same tribulation from which this great unnumbered crowd appears, but notice the one Jesus is speaking about must be cut short to ensure the survival of some flesh, and it is cut short on behalf of the Holy Ones. We know that because all of the Holy Ones are with him at Armageddon. But it's Prior to Armageddon, that the great foretold time of World peril begins, and Daniels Prophecy is fulfilled, when Michael the great prince stands up. Lets look at that: {Revelation 17:14}
1 "And during that time Mi´cha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, every one who is found written down in the book. {Daniel 12:1 NWT}
Matthew also supplies a clue, as to what occurs after the tribulation Jesus spoke about is cut short; not these next words:
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity. {Matthew 24:29-31 NWT}
Top of Form 1
7 "And war broke out in heaven: Mi´cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time." 13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
{Revelation 12:7-17 NWT}
Revelation 12:7-17 NWT}13 And I saw, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven say with a loud voice: "Woe, woe, woe to those dwelling on the earth because of the rest of the trumpet blasts of the three angels who are about to blow their trumpets!" Consider once again the words of Daniel on this:
1 "And during that time Mi´cha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, every one who is found written down in the book. {Daniel 12:1 NWT}
Notice? This time of World peril only begins when Michael STANDS UP. Or takes active Kingdom Power. I know that many do not believe Michael was Christ Jesus; but who was the great Prince of peace that stood for the Sons of you people? You got it! There was only one who fit that description. That was Jesus! Then too it was Jesus who was to stand up as ruler of God's Kingdom. So Michael had to be Jesus and no one else but.
While it isn't possible for a great unnmumbered crowd to come out of the great tribulation Jesus, spoke about, it is possible, and it does, come out of Daniels period of World Trouble, and thereafter, which I will now show: This by the way, is the only possible way an unnumbered great crowd could appear! There is absolutely no other way, than what I will now show:
2 "And there will be many of those asleep in the ground of dust who will wake up, these to indefinitely lasting life and those to reproaches [and] to indefinitely lasting abhorrence."{Daniel 12:2 NWT}
28 "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment. 30 I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; just as I hear, I judge; and the judgment that I render is righteous, because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me."{John 5:28,29 NWT}
12 "And I saw the dead, thegreat and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. But another scroll was opened; it is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Ha´des gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. 14 And death and Ha´des were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire. 15 Furthermore, whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled into the lake of fire."{Revelation 20:12-15NWT}
"After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues,standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. 10 And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: "Salvation [we owe] to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb."{Revelation 7:9,10} In both Chapter 20 as well Chapter 7 John is talking about the resurrected human dead. The great crowd no one could number.
13 "And in response one of the elders said to me: "These who are dressed in the white robes, who are they and where did they come from?" 14 So right away I said to him: "My lord, you are the one that knows." And he said to me: "These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 That is why they are before the throne of God; and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, 17 because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes." {Revelation 7:13-17 NWT}
Notice! It's all of the human dead standing before the Throne. How is it they come to be standing there? They have all been resurrected by Jesus haven't they? They have all heard the voice of the Son of God and come out, have they not, and there's a massive crowd of resurrected ones is there not? How is, it, it can be said, they came out of the great tribulation? Since the fall of Adam, has not man dominated man to his injury? Has there not been a literal Hell on earth for thousands of years? Have not Jehovah's true servants been brutalized and butchered for all of that time period? Every one of the human dead mentioned have been through a great tribulation, down to the last Man. That is what Matthew was directing our attention to; not the trials and troubles of the last days. Read Hebrews 11:32-40 and tell me you don't believe these ones suffered a great tribulation, if you can.
9 "All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury." { Eccleastes 8:9 NWT}
While the Tribulation Jesus foretold was to be cut short, there is nothing said about cutting short the time of World peril Daniel foretold. That was to be allowed to run its full course until Jehovah's exact day and hour for interventioned arrived. That time of tribulation was to be brought to a sudden halt at Armageddon! Keeping in mind what Johns Revelation told us about the Woe, Woe, Woe, for the earth and the Sea of people, consider the words of Jeremiah's Prophecy on this extreme time of perilous World trouble: {Matthew 24:36}
Israel, has said: "Drink and get drunk and puke and fall so that YOU cannot get up because of the sword that I am sending among YOU."’ 28 And it must occur that in case they refuse to take the cup out of your hand to drink, you must also say to them, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies has said: "YOU will drink without fail. 29 For, look! it is upon the city upon which my name is called that I am starting off in bringing calamity, and should YOU yourselves in any way go free of punishment?"’ "‘YOU will not go free of punishment, for there is a sword that I am calling against all the inhabitants of the earth,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. 30 "And as for you, you will prophesy to them all these words, and you must say to them, ‘From on high Jehovah himself will roar, and from his holy dwelling he will give forth his voice. Without fail he will roar upon his abiding place. A shout like that of those treading [the winepress] he will sing out against all the inhabitants of the earth.’ 31 "‘A noise will certainly come clear to the farthest part of the earth, for there is a controversy that Jehovah has with the nations. He must personally put himself in judgment with all flesh. As regards the wicked ones, he must give them to the sword,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. 32 "This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Look! A calamity is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest itself will be roused up from the remotest parts of the earth. 33 And those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth. They will not be bewailed, neither will they be gathered up or be buried. As manure on the surface of the ground they will become.’ 34 38 He has left his covert just like a maned young lion, for their land has become an object of astonishment because of the maltreating sword and because of his burning anger."{Jeremiah 25: 27-38 NWT}"Howl, YOU shepherds, and cry out! And wallow about, YOU majestic ones of the flock, because YOUR days for slaughtering and for YOUR scatterings have been fulfilled, and YOU must fall like a desirable vessel! 35 And a place to flee to has perished from the shepherds, and a means of escape from the majestic ones of the flock. 36 Listen! The outcry of the shepherds, and the howling of the majestic ones of the flock, for Jehovah is despoiling their pasturage. 37 And the peaceful abiding places have been rendered lifeless because of the burning anger of Jehovah.
All of the preceding is the time of this Worlds greatest tribulation. A time when the entire empire of false Religion will crash in ruins, without any escape route, for any of them. A great tempest will sweep over this earth, the likes of which has never been, or ever will be again. Just as the Prophet Daniel Predicted, so it will be. When Michael stands up and takes Kingdom Power. {Matthew 24:7}
That fact that this unnumbered great crowd is pictured wearing white robes, are the benefits received from the Thousand year Reign of Christ; having the sacrifice of the Christ applied in their behalf leading them all to salvation through that sacrifice. That is why they keep crying with a loud voice: "Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the Throne, and to the Lamb." Why we know this is taking place at the end of the Thousand years, is because we notice it is God who is seated back on his Throne, and the angels and the four living creatures fall on their faces before the Throne of God, and are worshipping God. The fact this unnumbered great crowd has now washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb is the reason they are now standing before the Throne of God. Without having on those white robes they would never be allowed to take a position in front of the Throne of God. Those robes are a picture of their righteous standing before God now. Upon being first resurrected they would not have had those robes on. It would take the entire thousand year reign to get them clothed in them. All of these human dead the Christ will lead to fountains of waters of life. We recall that the Christ was given all authority in heaven with all of God's Angels worshipping him, now Jehovah is back on his throne, with his Angels on their faces worshipping him once again. Now Jehovah is all things to everyone. {1 Corinthians 15:24-28}
No one could possibly know the number of human dead that will be resurrected to life, and very probably no one will ever know the exact count, or number. King David made the mistake of numbering Israel that cost the lives of seventy thousand Israelites in his time period. That was a very bad thing to do in Jehovah's eyes; a very costly mistake. 1 Chronicles 21:1-15 NWT} So, we don't even want to know, how many there are, do we?
The Governing Body of the Watchtower Society would have us all believe that they are gathering this unnumbered great crowd of individuals out from among Mankind, and it's true, they do have seven Million now going door-to-door, with another 17 Million showing interest in their organization. Lets assume they could swing the entire Eight Billion over to their organization; so that they could brag: "Look at us!" "We've got the entire World Population believing as we do!" Even was that to be true, and they don't stand a snow-balls chance in a blast furnace of accomplishing that ever in their lifetime; but was they even to do that would they have an unnumbered great crowd that would make it alive out of the great tribulation, as they believe, that they will? How can you get an unnumbered great crowd out of a population that's numbered to a Man? It's interesting to note too, that the Governing Body has everyone counted to a man, even the anointed class. King David made that mistake and it cost the lives of 23 thousand Israelites. If they really believe that no Man could number this great crowd under discussion, why do they take such pains in trying to keep track of their number? Which brings up another very interesting point! Anyone who pours over the pages of the Bible will learn that none of the Governing Body are of the Heavely High Calling of God. Was any to actually be such, they'd quickly step away from that Organization, on the Fly. Not being such they could never themselves appoint anyone to that high office was one to pass away in death, and yet they do appoint others when one, perhaps in thier eyes apostasizes, or dies off. Only Jehovah himself personally appoints those ones; not even the Christ himself could choose that high office for himself. Yet they, sit down in the Temple of God professing themselves to be God by appointing those ones to that office themselves. What a come down when they do come down, that will be! The higher you raise yourself, the longer the fall to the ground. Theirs will be one long drop. {Hebrews 5:4,5} Not even the Christ himself could choose anyone for that particular office. {Matthew 20:23} {2 Thessalonians 2:4} Certainly no man can choose it for another, nor even for himself.
Now, its my understanding that the Christ is entrusted with doing all of the resurrecting, unless of course the Governing Body has mysterious powers no one knows anything about, and Jehovah has turned the responsibility of resurrecting all the human dead over to them. In that case I would believe they are the ones gathering this unnumbered great crowd. Now, was they to hang around, for say, another 4 thousand years, when the population climbs to 16 Billion or more; but even at that, is even sixteen Billion an unnumbered great crowd? Just how long would they have to hang around until you could say there's an unnumbered great crowd on the Planet? Wouldn't there have to be one there in order to get one in the first place? How could anyone get a great unnumbered crowd if one wasn't there to begin with?
I wonder if they are aware of how stupid they make themselves look? Isn't there at least one functioning brain among any one of them? Surly there must be at least one in the writing department, wouldn't you think? How could anyone miss the stupidity of their teaching and beliefs? Does it really take a Rocket-Scientist to know, you can't get an unnumbered great crowd if it doesn't exist? I thought that was basic Math, a two year old could figure out.
They must have missed entirely what Jesus had said at Matthew 7:14 that only a few were on the road to life. How does one get an unnumbered great crowd out of a few?
13 "Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it. {Matthew 7:13,14 NWT} Or the words of Isaiah the Prophet who alluded to the same thing:
1" Look! Jehovah is emptying the land and laying it waste, and he has twisted the face of it and scattered its inhabitants. 2 And it must come to be the same for the people as for the priest; the same for the servant as for his master; the same for the maidservant as for her mistress; the same for the buyer as for the seller; the same for the lender as for the borrower; the same for the interest taker as for the one paying the interest. 3 Without fail the land will be emptied, and without fail it will be plundered, for Jehovah himself has spoken this word. 4 The land has gone to mourning, has faded away. The productive land has withered, has faded away. The high ones of the people of the land have withered. 5 And the very land has been polluted under its inhabitants, for they have bypassed the laws, changed the regulation, broken the indefinitely lasting covenant. 6 That is why the curse itself has eaten up the land, and those inhabiting it are held guilty. That is why the inhabitants of the land have decreased in number, and very few mortal men have remained over." {Isaiah 24:1-6 NWT}
How do we get an unnumbered great crowd out of an empty waste-land with few mortal men left over in it?
So, what have we got here? Jesus tells us, only a few are on the road to life. Isaiah tells us only a few will be remaining; then the Governing Body comes along and tells us, that there will be a great unnumbered crowd of earthly survivors, and that they are doing the gathering of that unnumbered great crowd.
Common sense, logical reasoning, the Christ, Isaiah the Prophet, allow for only very few survivors of the Battle of Armageddon, all of that is contradicted by the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society, who themselves are going to come up with an unnumbered great crowd; that doesn't exist, that could never possibly exist, among the living; prior to the coming of Christ.
And why not? Afterall, they are the Faithful Slave, aren't they? They are: "God's Organization!" They can pull that one off, no problem! Can't they?
In
conclusion then! Just how great will this unnumbered crowd be? Consider the following promises to Abraham Isaac and Jacob:15 "And Jehovah’s angel proceeded to call to Abraham the second time out of the heavens 16 and to say: "‘By myself I do swear,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘that by reason of the fact that you have done this thing and you have not withheld your son, your only one, 17 I shall surely bless you and I shall surely multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore; and your seed will take possession of the gate of his enemies. 18 And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice."{Genesis 22:15-18 NWT}
"Now there arose a famine in the land, besides the first famine that occurred in the days of Abraham, so that Isaac directed himself to A·bim´e·lech, king of the Phi·lis´tines, to Ge´rar. 2 Then Jehovah appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt. Tabernacle in the land that I designate to you. 3 Reside as an alien in this land, and I shall continue with you and bless you, because to you and to your seed I shall give all these lands, and I will carry out the sworn statement that I swore to Abraham your father, 4 ‘And I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and I will give to your seed all these lands; and by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves,’ 5 due to the fact that Abraham listened to my voice and continued to keep his obligations to me, my commands, my statutes, and my laws." 6 So Isaac went on dwelling at Ge´rar." {Genesis 26:1-4 NWT}
10 ""And Jacob continued on his way out from Be´er-she´ba and kept going to Ha´ran. 11 In time he came across a place and set about spending the night there because the sun had set. So he took one of the stones of the place and set it as his head supporter and lay down in that place. 12 And he began to dream, and, look! there was a ladder stationed upon the earth and its top reaching up to the heavens; and, look! there were God’s angels ascending and descending on it. 13 And, look! there was Jehovah stationed above it, and he proceeded to say: I am Jehovah the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land upon which you are lying, to you I am going to give it and to your seed. 14 And your seed will certainly become like the dust particles of the earth, and you will certainly spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and by means of you and by means of your seed all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves." {Genesis 28:10-14 NWT}
Is it any wonder, why this unnumbered great crowd, cannot be counted for multitude? Doesn't this also show why the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses so - called, could never in a thousand life-times gather this unnumbered great crowd themselves? How very foolish they all are, for even suggesting such a thing. Yet they are the "Faithful Slave," you see. They are "God's Spirit Directed Organization." Whats that old adage? "Believe that, I`ll tell you another one!"
So, from where is this great unnumbered crowd gathered from? Who is it that gathers them? Is it the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society? Absolutely and positively not! It is the Son of Jehovah God, Jesus Christ who gathers all of the human dead from the Common grave of dead Mankind. That is the point of origin for all of those that come out of the great tribulation. An unnumbered great crowd, that couldn`t have come from anywhere else.
Bottom of Form 120 "Keep praying that YOUR flight may not occur in wintertime, nor on the sabbath day; 21 for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. 22 In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short." {Matthew 24:20-22 NWT}
"After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. 10 And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: "Salvation [we owe] to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb."{Revelation 7:9,10} Wannabe
Notice how John draws on the point that this Woe for the earth would escalate, drawing our attention now over to the prophecy of Daniel. To the time of this worlds greatest trouble:
Keep in mind, that the tribulation Jesus spoke about, had to be cut short to save the lives of the surviving members of his anointed Brothers; now in that their very lives were in peril, would mean the War in Heaven had been fought, with satan and his demons ousted from the heavens, and had been thrown down to this earth, with ensuing "Woe for the earth, and for the Sea." With the devil attacking the Christ Brother's. So the ingathering of his anointed Brothers would very probably be done very quickly, as would the separating between the sheep and the goat's. {Matthew 25:31-46} All done just prior to Armageddon. Notice the following: