"For 19 centuries there
was only the one calling, the heavenly one, with Jehovah being very
selective as to who would serve with his Son to make up the Kingdom
government." (The Watchtower, February 15, 1982 p. 30)
Here is an astute questioner and the WT response
w52 1/15 p. 62 Questions
From Readers
According to the article
“Hated for His Name” in the September 1, 1951, Watchtower,
hundreds of thousands of Christians died in the “ten persecutions”
starting in Nero’s time, 144,000 dying in Egypt alone during one of
the persecutions. How can this be harmonized with the Scriptural
limitation of 144,000 placed on the number being in Christ’s body,
and which position was the only one open to Christians during those
centuries?—J.A., Dominican Republic.
The article did not class with
any finality the individuals that died during these persecutions, but
spoke of the results in a general way. Note that a key qualification
was made in the case referred to in the question: “In the province
of Egypt alone, 144,000 such professed Christians died by violence in
the course of this persecution, in addition to another 700,000 who
died as a result of fatigues encountered in banishment or under
enforced public works.” The victims are identified as
“professed Christians”, not Christians in fact. Many of
those persons might have been caught in the wave of
persecution, but may never have actually preached the truth
or followed in Jesus’ footsteps, being only professed Christians.
They knew the world they lived in was rotten and they were listening
to the message of the Christians and willing to die for it even
though not in line for the high calling in Christ Jesus. Many
professed Christians today might be willing to die for their faith,
but still not be Jesus’ footstep followers and meeting the
Scriptural requirements for such.
Isn't this response arrogant as well as insulting to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for
staying true to their Christian beliefs? The WTS pulls the same stunt today by claiming they alone are true Christians and those non-JWs dying for their faith in Christ in other lands are simply professed but not real Christians. They know who belongs to Christ and who doesn't.
