The Watchtower 5/1-02 presents a ”new understanding” regarding where the Great Crowd is rendering sacred service. This is most interesting since it concerns a very central teaching of JW – but the inconsistencies are still there!
Why was the ”Great Crowd” placed in The Court of Gentiles?
After Rutherford’s new teachings about the “Great Crowd” as an earthly class in 1935, WTS wanted to separate the Crowd clearly from the heavenly class of 144.000.
Since Jehovah is residing in heaven, the Crowd couldn’t literally be “standing before the throne” (Rev 7:9), so they had to be placed in the “earthly courtyards” – in line with an idea that Jehovah’s spiritual temple is heavenly, but its courtyards are earthly. But which courtyard, referring to the temple of the 1st century?
The Courtyard of the Priests was occupied by the anointed remnant, when still on earth. The Courtyard of Israel couldn’t be used either, since only the 144.00 were named “the spiritual Israelites”, and not the Crowd. And finally, the Courtyard of Women didn’t fit either, of obvious reasons. The only courtyard left was the Courtyard of Gentiles – and this made some sense since the Crowd was “spiritual gentiles or proselytes”.
Watchtower 8/15-1980 argues in detail for this conclusion. It is also interesting to look up the word “Temple” in “Insight on the Scriptures”. Here we can se a picture of a stone with a warning text the visitors to Herod’s temple would see if they tried to pass beyond the Court of Gentiles. The text made it clear that foreigners would be punished by death if they proceeded. Why does “Insight” make a point of this? Obviously to state that the Great Crowd shouldn’t even think about being among the anointed ones in the inner courtyards of the spiritual temple!
The critic - Naos
For many years, critics have argued against the teaching that the Great Crowd is placed in the Court of Gentiles. A central point was the meaning of the greek word ‘naos’.
Watchtower 8/15-1980 argues that ‘naos’, which is crucial in Rev 7:9,10,15, describes the whole temple complex. It can easily be demonstrated that this is not true, but that ‘naos’ refers only to the central sacred build or area of the temple complex. And since the Watchtower 5/1-02 admits this, there is not much point in discussing this any further.
The new understanding
Now, the Great Crowd is admitted closer to the sanctuary, the spiritual temple. How close? They don’t tell exactly. The Watchtower 5/1-02 states that the Crowd can (still) not be in the inner (priestly) courtyard, since this is reserved for the anointed remnant. Still, the Watchtower says that the Crowd “is really in the temple” and not in “a spiritual courtyard of gentiles”. So, where are they? The article indicates that we should not think too much about the temple build by Herod, but rather the temple of Solomon or Serubbabel, or even the temple of Ezekiel’s vision. So, the only reasonable conclusion must be that the Crowd now officially is placed in the more unspecified outer courtyard (for Israelites) of the temple.
The critic – again
This is odd. First, the Watchtower admits that ‘naos’ refers to the central sanctuary, and it admits that ‘naos’ is the actual word used when the Great Crowd is described in Rev 7:9.10,15. Then it argues that the priestly inner courtyard is occupied by the remnant when still on earth. And finally it states that the Crowd is “really in the temple”.
It appears to me that the writer wanted to come at ease with the critics and correct the obvious inconsistencies in placing the Crowd in the Courtyard of Gentiles, but he hasn’t been able to make a crisp clear new understanding that can stand the critic.
Think about this: Rev 7:9,10,15 describes the Great Crowd as “rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple”. The greek word for “rendering sacred service” is ‘latreuo’. This verb is always related to priestly activities. And priestly activites were of course performed inside the temple sanctuary and in the priestly courtyard. Another greek verb, ‘proskuneo’, is used to describe religious activities performed by laymen, other Israelites, outside the priestly courtyard or at any other place. ‘Proskuneo’ can best be translated as “to worship”.
So, it is a perversion of the whole idea of “sacred service” when the Watchtower says that the Great Crowd is “rendering sacred service” outside the temple sanctuary and even outside the priestly courtyard. Sacred service is an activity rendered in a sacred place! “… they are before the throne of God; and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple.” (Rev 7:15) Can it be any clearer?
The Watchtower has for many years related the visions of John to the temple of Jesus, namely the temple built by Herod. As the Watchtower 5/1-02 describes, only this temple had a courtyard for gentiles. In order to make us forget the unholy idea of a Great Crowd rendering sacred service in a courtyard open to any unclean person, they want us to rather place this vision in earlier temples.
But then a new problem arises: Rev 11:1,2 shows clearly that a temple with a gentile courtyard was the temple of John’s visions. The Watchtower tries to blur this by focusing on previous temples. (These verses also demonstrate clearly that the Court of Gentiles was both outside ‘naos’ and also a most unholy place. The NWT tries to cover this up by translating the greek word for gentiles as “nations”, but check other translations.)
Finally, a few small teasers
1. Compare Rev 7:9,10 to Rev 19:1 and ask yourself
where the Great Crowd really is, inside or outside
the temple sanctuary, in heaven or on earth?
2. Read Rev chapters 7, 21 and 22 and think about
where the temple of the vision really is, heaven
or earth?