Wondering about the 144,000.......

by helppls 2 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  helppls

  I've been really impressed by the knowledge of many posters here, re Witnesses 101. Since none of the JWs around me would address my questions anymore, I'm wondering if you guys could help me figure out the following questions:

  -How far back do we start counting, when trying to account for the 144,000?--from Adam? before Christ? 1st century? Pentecost? first time WTS was registered as a corporation? 1874? 1914? 1935?

  -WTS stats show that 52,465 "annointed partook" in the 1935 memorial...what was their average age then? If it was 25 years, which is highly improbable...these people would be average of 95 years old by now, right?. Is this the current average age of the "partakers" in 2005?

  -How many members did WTS have in 1935? What country were they from, mostly? Since early Christianity started mostly in Israel, spreading in Rome, Greece, etc...shouldn't there be more annointed in these places than in the US. That is, if we're to accept the premise that the religion "Jehovah's Witnesses" is an offshoot of the early 1st century Christians?

  -What is the relationship between GB and annointed? If annointed can be either male or female, why are GB members limited to males??

  -Faithful and discreet slave refers to-- GB or annointed group?

  -What and where was Jehovah's chosen "faithful & discreet" slave (supposed to be), before Russell organized the Watchtower Corp in (1874?)

  Okay. That's it for now. Have to go back to work. I will check back at 500PM my time.

  Thanks everyone.
• 

  Gopher

  -How far back do we start counting, when trying to account for the 144,000?--from Adam? before Christ? 1st century? Pentecost? first time WTS was registered as a corporation? 1874? 1914? 1935?

  
  

  
  JW's say this count starts from the inception of the Christian congregation, recorded to be in Pentecost 33 C.E.

  -WTS stats show that 52,465 "annointed partook" in the 1935 memorial...what was their average age then? If it was 25 years, which is highly improbable...these people would be average of 95 years old by now, right?. Is this the current average age of the "partakers" in 2005?

  This is a problem for the Watchtower Society. Their prophecies (or pronouncements in 20th century Watchtower magazines) say that the number of partakers would steadily decline as the end drew near. The number has held steady at about 8,000 for the past 15 years, as newer members partake of the emblems, feeling they have the heavenly calling. It is unknown what the average age of such partakers is, one could only guess that their age range is mainly 50 to 100.

  -How many members did WTS have in 1935? What country were they from, mostly? Since early Christianity started mostly in Israel, spreading in Rome, Greece, etc...shouldn't there be more annointed in these places than in the US. That is, if we're to accept the premise that the religion "Jehovah's Witnesses" is an offshoot of the early 1st century Christians?

  I believe the 52,000 number you cited earlier is quite close to the total number of JW's in 1935. Most of the JW's were partakers at that time.The non-heavenly class was added because they saw their membership would increase past 144,000.

  -What is the relationship between GB and annointed? If annointed can be either male or female, why are GB members limited to males??

  The Governing Body claims to speak for all anointed JW's. They control the organization without any real input from 'partakers' around the world. The GB members are limited to males because of Bible verses that say Paul didn't permit a woman to teach. Women are strictly second-class citizens in the Witness world.

  -Faithful and discreet slave refers to-- GB or annointed group?

  The JW teaching on this is that the slave is the whole anointed 'class' of people, and that the domestics fed by the slave are the anointed as individuals rather than a class. (Try to wrap your mind around that!)

  -What and where was Jehovah's chosen "faithful & discreet" slave (supposed to be), before Russell organized the Watchtower Corp in (1874?)

  There was supposedly always a small group of Christians, usually going against orthodox Christianity, that practiced "true" Christianity before such truth was discovered by Russell. Every year, a minimum of one true Christian kept the faith alive until Russell arrived. Such is what the Witnesses would say (in so many words).
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  heathen

  The JW teaching on this is that the slave is the whole anointed 'class' of people, and that the domestics fed by the slave are the anointed as individuals rather than a class. (Try to wrap your mind around that!)

  Of course they've never been the evil slave either. I always thought of it more as the publishing corporation which has the last say on what is printed is actually trying to portray the slave class as they think they are picking articles that reflect times and circumstances that require immediate attention.

  For instance now that the web has shown what a fraud they are they immediately demonized it . There are some here that profess to be the "anointed" and left because of being treated unfairly so I guess it's fair to call them the "evil slave" . This goes over big in WT land.....