I just came upon this webpage earlier, where it speaks of the 144,000. Not sure it will help any, yet:
http://www.ios.org/cth--95-Speakers_Bureau_Interview_John_Bechtel.aspx
Navigator: What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe?
Bechtel: Let's start with what would probably be the most important issues. Jehovah's Witnesses believe in original sin, the fall from grace. They believe that since Adam's and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden everyone has been born in sin, and therefore they die, because the wages of sin are death. They believe that the only possibility for eternal life in any form in any place is through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That is, parenthetically, the only thing they celebrate; they don't celebrate birthdays or any other holidays whatsoever. Their communion, which they call the Memorial Service, is the largest attendance they draw in the entire year. They place a great emphasis on how many attendees there are at that ceremony because that gives them an idea how many new recruits they can anticipate in the following year.
They believe that only 144,000 will be taken to a life in heaven. They will form a ruling class and will rule with Jesus Christ for a thousand years. But, they will remain in heaven after that period of time and those individuals are the only ones who achieve immortality. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when you die, you're dead, period. And they believe that your only hope of future life is the memory of you that God holds and his ability and willingness to recreate you at some future time. So, the 144,000, when they die, are recreated as spirit creatures- their soul does not go to heaven because their soul is dead. Those who meet God's approval and who survive the end of the world will have the opportunity of living forever here on earth, in an earth much like the Garden of Eden. Even though you can live forever, you do not have immortality; it is still possible for you to die, should you have a fall from grace.
Apart from those things, they believe in the end of the world, when God will bring all the systems of the world as we know it to an end, mostly through the use of natural forces such as hurricanes, tornadoes, natural disasters, and so forth.
Navigator: How do you get to be one of the 144,000?
Bechtel: You really don't. Jehovah's Witnesses more than imply that you don't have any chance of getting to be in the 144,000 because they were all picked years ago. The group of 144,000 began with the immediate Disciples and Apostles of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. A few were added to it over two millennia and whatever numbers they were short were picked around the turn of this last century. But they allow for the fact that some of the 144,000 may have had a fall from grace, and therefore need to be replaced to keep the number complete. I just read in one of their magazines that a guy that I worked with (when we were both in our early twenties) was appointed to the Governing Body. (This is their equivalent of the Pope-a collective Pope of about 18 to 20 or so leaders who lead by committee.) Being appointed to the Governing Body means that you have declared yourself to be of the heavenly class, and thus one of the 144,000. So, you decide that you are one of the heavenly class, and if you have the temerity to take communion, and can keep a straight face about it for long enough, people will accept it and believe it.
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sKally