New Light on the 144,000? (page 5)

Spiral

Redvip2000: "Any reasonable person would be hard pressed to believe that any spirit directed organization would be teaching something incorrect for decades, while God just sits by and lets it happen."

THAT says it all and is part of what's always bugged me, even when I was young. (Should have listened more to that gut instinct.) God's not very efficient at communicating doctrine, is he? (Or so the GB would have us believe.) OR: He tests us by allowing this to happen, and making a correction, and then sees who goes along obediently. What a messy way to run any organization.

But, I have always been troubled by the very concept of prophecy. Why not just say what you mean? Why leave people groping about for centuries trying to understand what you are saying? I don't understand this human tendency to want to look for signs and portents, and then spend years (decades, centuries) trying to figure out what it means.

My grandfather used to say "the Bible is like a fiddle, you can play any song on it". He wasn't a nice man (or religious) but I tend to agree with him on this point. I understand and respect that many here are believers in the Bible, but I just can't square the creation of doctrinal dilemmas for people to try to sort out with the management style of a great leader or teacher.

waton

obviously great things have happened in the past, otherwise we would not be here. so there could be wisdom in considering that

trouble is, the bible is not one of those great things. detached from reality.

Finkelstein

In view of the recent increase of partaking anointed members, the WTS has now instituted some new light and say the 144,000 is actually the 144,000,000 anointed chosen members

minimus

Ray Franz was always correct

baldeagle

Some of us here may already have seen this 26-minute video. It’s from “ExJW Critical Thinker” and here is the video’s description:

“In this video, we use critical thinking to examine the teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses where they state that the Biblical reference of 144,000 people that will go to heaven is a literal number. According to the Watchtower, there has only been the Heavenly Calling for anyone who became a Christian from the 1st century up to the 19th century. We demonstrate that if this teaching is true, it means that Jesus Christ had less than 144,000 disciples following him from Pentecost of 33 C.E. up to the 19th century. But you have to ask the “critical thinking question” is this teaching supported by historical records?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnL0hqDHc2I

Pete Zahut

If they change that teaching, many an apostate will have been correct all along and will be welcomed back into the fold.... all is forgiven. (NOT).

Its more likely that if there is a god, they will be held responsible for having spread this nonsense throughout the world for a hundred years and for having turned honest thinking person's away from him altogether.

Think of the forrests of trees that were cut down and the oceans of ink that were used to print this nonsense not to mention the lifetimes that were spent blanketing the globe with it and the utter disappointment that came to those who realized they'd been duped.

New Light on the 144,000?