Thanks for your post You Know (ignore my post to MA). I'm normally not nasty, but he annoyed me.
Where is the "great crowd" of Revelation 7:15? One of the core doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses is that the group depicted in this verse resides on the earth. Witnesses believe that the vast majority of redeemed mankind will be blessed with everlasting human life on earth, while only a "little flock" of 144,000 will go to heaven to serve with Christ. Is this true?? One of the Watchtower Society's main doctrines is that there are actually two classes of Christians--the earthly class, and the heavenly class. Those of the earthly class, therefore, are not in the new covenant mediated by Christ and enjoy a relationship with God only by virtue of their association with those who profess to be the last remaining members of the 144,000 still on earth. To understand the scope of this controversy and its implications, it is essential to know the meanings of two Greek words--naos and hieron--as they relate to God's temple in the Bible.
Hieron is the Greek word for the entire temple complex with all its sub-structures and courts. Naos refers to the inner sanctuary of the temple complex which included the Holy and Holy of Holies (or Most Holy).
Now, it was from the court of the outer temple (hieron--not naos) that Jesus drove the money changers. (See Matt. 21:12, Mark 11:15, Luke 19:45 and John 2:14,15 in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.)
It was the entire temple (hieron--not naos) that was destroyed as a judgment from God. (See Matt. 24:1,2, Mark 13:1-3 and Luke 21:5,6 in the Kingdom Interlinear.)
The further you study, the more apparent it became that the apostle John's use of the word naos in the pertinent texts in Revelation referred to the inner sanctuary representing heaven. Once again, it represents HEAVEN. (See for example Revelation 3:12, 7:15, 11:1, 11:19, 14:15, 15:5, 16:1,17)
It is commonly recognized by Bible scholars that the "courtyard that is outside" the naos referred to in this verse alludes to the courtyard of the gentiles in the temple rebuilt by Herod.
Clearly, this outermost court is in no way the naos (inner sanctuary or "divine habitation") where the "great crowd" is depicted as serving God in Revelation 7:15. It is said to be "outside" the naos and those occupying this courtyard are portrayed as opposers, not supporters of true worship.
IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE::::
A very important fact is that at Revelation 7:9, 15, the "great crowd" is said to be "before the throne" of God. As the Society's publications have pointed out, the Greek word translated "before" in this text is "enopion" and it LITERALLY means "in [the] sight [of]." (See for example page 123 of the book, Revelation--Its Grand Climax at Hand [1988].) This Greek word is used repeatedly throughout the book of Revelation to locate objects and persons "before" or "in the sight of" God in heaven. Where are they????? In heaven. Looking up the following verses in The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures makes this clear:
Revelation 1:4 - "seven spirits that are before (enopion) his [God's] throne, ...."
Revelation 4:5 - "seven lamps of fire burning before (enopion) the throne [of God], ...."
Revelation 4:6 - "And before (enopion) the throne [of God] there is, as it were, a glassy sea like crystal."
Revelation 4:10 - "the twenty-four elders fall down before (enopion) the One seated upon the throne..., and they cast their crowns before (enopion) the throne, ...."
Revelation 7:9 - "a great crowd, ... standing before (enopion) the throne and before (enopion) the Lamb ...."
Revelation 7:11 - "And all the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell upon their faces before (enopion) the throne and worshiped God, ...."
Revelation 7:15 - "That is why they [the great crowd] are before (enopion) the throne of God; and they are rendering him sacred service ...."
Revelation 8:3 - "And another angel arrived and stood at the altar, having ... incense ... to offer ... with the prayers of all the holy ones upon the golden altar that was before (enopion) the throne."
Revelation 9:13 - "And I heard one voice out of the horns of the golden altar that is before (enopion) God."
Revelation 11:16 - "And the twenty-four elders who were seated before (enopion) God ...."
Revelation 14:3 - "And they [the 144,000] are singing as if a new song before (enopion) the throne and before (enopion) the four living creatures and the elders; ...."
My personal favorite is Rel. 19:1. Can't get any clearer than that. What does all of this mean??? Clearly, when considered in context, there is little reason to doubt that the "great crowd" is "before the throne" in heaven in the same manner as the seven lamps of fire, the glassy sea like crystal, the crowns of the 24 elders, the angels, the elders themselves, the four living creatures, the golden altar, and the 144,000.
Again it is a case of the Society reasoning from traditional beliefs and interpretations and endeavoring to make the Bible align with these, instead of starting with the Scriptures and then changing its teachings to conform to God's Word. (Compare Matthew 15:1-9 and Mark 7:6-9 where Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees for allowing tradition to take precedence over God's Word.) So it still remains to be seen if the Society will one day return to its pre-1935 position of accepting the Bible's plain teaching that the great crowd is located "before the throne" in God's heavenly sanctuary (naos) or if instead they will just continue to obscure matters by trying to force the Bible to agree with the present teachings of the organization.
