144,000 ??? calculate this, I think the WATCHTOWER better reconsider !!!

by run dont walk 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  run dont walk

  Okay, let's say for the sake of arguement, the Watchtower is correct about the 144,000.

  Now if the "annoited ones" started to be chosen after Christ was born/death fine let's say 33 AD. So no one from 5000 BCE to 1 BCE qualifies. Fine.

  for the sake of arguement let's say no one qualifies after 1915 (even though many profess to)

  So that leave us 1,914 years to come up with 144,000 "annoited ones".

  That works out to be approx. 8 (little less) people a year for 1,914 years.

  That's 8 people a year on the ENTIRE PLANET.(China, USA, Canada, Europe, Africa, South America etc etc etc COMBINED!!!)

  They claim there is still over 8,000 annoited ones living ???

  At 8 people a year for a 100 years (generously) that only 800 people.

  The numbers no matter how you turn them just don't make sense, like everything else they teach.

  Talk about a load of BS.

  This is why I think they will introduce another "heavenly class" SOON!

  Any comments ........ I know the number 1 answer JW's will give .....

  "Oh, there wasn't much info available from 200 AD til 1878 AD , so there was probaly no "annoited ones" from this time period."
• 

  ISP

  The 144,000 dogma is as elastic as most other WTS garbage. I can't see it being changed or many dubs thinking about it.

  ISP
• 

  Gamaliel

  Good point. But isn't it closer to 75 people per year?

  Gamaliel
• 

  run dont walk

  I need a new calculator, it's more like 75 a year max. but you get my point !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 

  Mary

  Actually, the problem is even more confusing than that. When you take into account the 5,000 that were baptized on one occassion, and the theme throughout the NT that Christianity "kept spreading", then I think that by the end of the first century CE, there could easily have been over 100,000 Christians in existence. All the Society's publications agree that first century Christians all had the heavenly hope.

  Even giving the Society the benefit of the doubt when they say that not many annointed were chosen from the 2nd century CE up to the 19th century because of "apostasy", they still are way over the line because of the thousands and thousands of "Bible Students" who claim to be of the annointed right up until 1935. I don't have the figures, but it's way over 100,000 because it was these numbers that really started freaking ol' Booze Rutherford out and he decided to demote all other Christians to a live on earth, just to keep everybody calm.

  So when you add the very modest figure of 100,000 partakers in this century, and add the 100,000 from the first century CE up to and including the 19th century, then you've got a major problem..........but of course, they don't like to talk about that!
• 

  jws

  Believe me when I say I do not believe this nonsense and am not trying to support them. But, if this 144,000 nonsense were true, there might be valid reasons why so few over so many years - most of which involves JW doctrine though. Granted, according to JW doctrine, the thousands professing to be one of the 144,000 in the early 1900's were not really so, so let's discount them for this discussion.

  I think I remember reading somewhere (hopefully not JW literature) that half the people who ever lived were alive during the last century and/or are still living today. With a world population of 6 billion and only 9,000 some partakers at the moment, then statistically speaking, you'd also expect about the same amount from among the previous 6 billion inhabitants of this earth. Even less because we're only counting since 33 AD. And, even less since there wasn't a nice modern publishing company to organize preaching and distribute literature. And for hundreds of years, the Catholic Church reigned supreme in Europe, severely punishing dissidents. Christianity also wasn't very widespread throughout Asia or the Middle East. So, assuming (according to JW beliefs) that none of the 144,000 were Catholics, Lutherans, Humanists, etc., turning up a "true Christian" would be kinda difficult, much less one qualified to be one of the 144,000. So, 144,000 is kinda on the high side for the past.

  But, as was pointed out, when Jesus and his apostles still walked the earth, maybe there was a boon, a dry spell, then another boon in the past 125 years.

  Again, not meaning to defend them, I just think that the number distribution *could* work out. So don't know that that's a good argument against it.
• 

  RunningMan

  The earliest year for which I can find memorial partakers is 1935. 52465 were reported. I do not think that there was a point in time prior to 1935 when the total head count was greater than 144,000.

  However, there must have been 10s of thousands of supposedly anointed JWs who died prior to 1935 (such as Russell himself).

  So, really, the whole thing just doesn't add up. But, why should it? It doesn't make sense on any logical level, why should it make sense mathematically?
• 

  run dont walk

  I think I remember reading somewhere (hopefully not JW literature) that half the people who ever lived were alive during the last century and/or are still living today. With a world population of 6 billion and only 9,000 some partakers at the moment, then statistically speaking, you'd also expect about the same amount from among the previous 6 billion inhabitants of this earth. Even less because we're only counting since 33 ADI think I remember reading somewhere (hopefully not JW literature) that half the people who ever lived were alive during the last century and/or are still living today. With a world population of 6 billion and only 9,000 some partakers at the moment.

  I agree jws but, that 9,000 is presumming there were no new additions after 1914,so the number will always go down and the population will go up, as the years go by. Just Jesus's days alone must be in the tens of thousands if not more.

  The earliest year for which I can find memorial partakers is 1935. 52465 were reported. I do not think that there was a point in time prior to 1935 when the total head count was greater than 144,000.

  However, there must have been 10s of thousands of supposedly anointed JWs who died prior to 1935 (such as Russell himself).

  well said runningman

  But, as was pointed out, when Jesus and his apostles still walked the earth, maybe there was a boon, a dry spell, then another boon in the past 125 years.

  This is almost what all Witnesses believe !!! Are we to pressume that Jehovah and Jesus took a holiday. This is the part that bugs me about Witnesses, is they have no records from a biblical standpoint from 100 AD to 1878 AD.

  NOTHING, so maybe Jesus and Jehovah were out playing golf.

  It's like those 1700 years never existed, there was Jesus being sacrificed in 33 AD and poof it's now 1879.
• 

  heathen

  oohhhhhhh boy another 144k thread . I don't know why those idiots keep changing the dates around like they did for armageddon . The WT has dropped the ball on this one so many times they have no credibility from where I stand . I guess now the cutting off date were those baptized in 1933 ?????? I don't think a 90 yr old capable of conquering the world . Maybe they should just wait and see who is killed with the ax for bearing witness to jesus to determine who is qualified . I totally disagree with the assumption that the first century christians were in the same group as the 144 k in revelation. I totally disagree that women can qualifiy for this roll. There have been plenty of threads about this and for the most part noone has the correct answer .IMO .