The WTBTS has seriously misconstrued the events and timeframes regarding Armaggedon. They teach... and so most JW's believe... that the great tribulation culminates with the war at Harmageddon, and thus the great crowd who "come out" of the great tribuation are those who "survived Armageddon." This is a LIE. The events occur in THIS order:
1. Great tribulation
2. Immediately AFTER the great tribulation, my Lord returns and
3. Gathers his chosen ones... BOTH the 144,000 "from among the sons of Israel, AND the great crowd "out of EVERY nation, tribe, tongue and people."
4. These are "gathered" in that those who have died are resurrected to spirit bodies (the FIRST resurrection), and those who have NOT died... are instantly CHANGED to spirit bodies.
5. They meet the Lord "in the air," in that they are now SPIRITS, and so are taken by my Lord to the Most Holy, the dwelling place of God in the spirit realm, which my Lord went to "prepare" for them.
6. Where they are JOINED... husbandly-owner and bride... to become ONE spirit (just as a husband and wife of earthly flesh become "one flesh").
7. Satan is abyssed and
8. Christ and His Bride, New Jerusalem, "come down out of heaven" (i.e., out of the spirit realm back to the physical)
9. And sit down on thrones
10. The "1,000 years" of their co-rule begin.
11. During which time the "sheep" (those who did good to Christs brothers) and "goats" (those who did NOT do good to Christ's brothers) are separated.
12. The "sheep" are given "white robes"... spirit bodies... and granted entry into the kingdom, to attend the "marriage feast" of the Lamb and his Bride
13. The "goats" are NOT given spirit bodies, but are everlastingly cut off from entering the kingdom (flesh with its blood cannot enter into the kingdom of the heavens, the spirit realm)
14. The 1,000 years come to an end and Satan is loosed. He goes out to mislead those "of the earth"... the "goats" that were not granted entry into the spirit realm... Gog...
15. And Magog, the spirit beings that sinned in Noah's day but did not put faith in Christ when he went and preached to them... the spirits that were cast out during my Lord's day in the flesh... AND the spirits cast out (hurled down) from the spirit realm with Satan.
16. These, Gog and Magog, encircle the Holy City, New Jerusalem... the Bride of Christ... made up of the chosen ones... AND the camp... made up of the "sheep" who did good to these... because Satan has misled them into believing that they CAN attain to spirit bodies... and live forever... by eating from the Tree of Life... CHRIST... which/who is in the MIDST of the City. If they can get to him... and EAT... they will live forever.
17. The Most Holy One of Israel will NOT let this happen, however, and brings down fire from the spirit realm to destroy these. THIS... is THE War... of the great day of GOD ALMIGHTY... in the place that is called, in Hebrew, HarMageddon. THIS... is ARMAGEDDON. It is these, Gog and Magog that God has "gathered" to such place... for the very purpose of putting an end to them. Why? Because IF they were to gain access... and eat from the Tree of Life... they WOULD live forever... and wreak their hateful, hypocritical, evil havoc on the world all over again. Thus, their destruction fulfills the prophecy of "the heavens and earth [being] cleansed"... "by fire."
18. Immediately after this, Satan is cast into the Lake of fire... which is appropriate, because it is were he originated - he was "forged" from that lake (what it is is another topic altogether, which I won't go into here for the sake of an attempt at brevity).
19. Once Satan is destroyed, my Lord... and his co-rulers... turn the kingdom back over to the Father, who sits down on HIS throne... to judge... "the living AND the dead."
20. The Father is given scrolls: one is a set of scrolls... and the other is one scroll. The set contains the deeds of ALL beings... spirit and physical... good and bad. The other scroll is the Lamb's Book... of life. The scrolls are opened, and...
21. The SECOND (general) resurrection occurs. This is the one that Abraham, et al. was waiting for (they did not know of the first because that hope was not yet held out in their day). At this time, ALL of the dead that did not take part in the FIRST resurrection... are brought back. Some to life... some to judgment.
22. The sea gives up those dead in it - the spirits that were confined by the waters of the flood... and Legion, those confined when my Lord cst them into swine that then went into the sea. Fire destroys spirits... water confines them.
23. Death and Hades (the world of the dead) also give up those in them. Death must loose those he is holding... and Hades is emptied out.
24. ALL of these are then scrutinized as to what is in the scrolls:
a. If their names are written in the SECOND scroll, the Lamb's book, then any BAD deeds they committed are BLOTTED out of the other scroll. Thus, they have NO SIN, for which they are given a white robe... SPIRIT BODY... and granted entry. They are resurrected... to life.
b. If their names are NOT written in the Lamb's book, then any BAD deeds they committed STAND - they have no covering. As a result, these are JUDGED... according to their deeds. And because their bad deeds remain... they are condemned (for wage of sin is death - of the physical body first, and of the SPIRIT body, second)... to destruction in the Lake of Fire... where the body AND the spirit are destroyed. THIS... is the SECOND death.
It's all there, dear ones, written for those who lack the faith to hear the Spirit himself tell them these truths. Know, however, that God... does not want ANY to die... and thus gave us a ransom, His Son and Christ, by means of whose blood our sins... can be BLOTTED out. And it is not too late, for the Spirit and the Bride STILL call out, to those with ears to hear:
"Come! Take 'life's water'... FREE!"
A slave of Christ, and servant to the Household of God, Israel, and all those that go with...
SA
