Do 144,000 People Go to Heaven?
Jehovah's Witnesses Believe that the Rest of the Saved Live on Earth
There are more than 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in the world; does this mean that only small portion of them will achieve eternal life?
Sometimes a person not familiar with the Jehovah's Witness denomination will ask if they believe only 144,000 people will make it into heaven. The next question that gets asked is, “Aren't there more than 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses?”
The answer to the second question is yes, but that does not mean that the people who take the Watchtower up on its promise of salvation face Hell. According to Jehovah's Witness beliefs, the existence of the human soul ends at death. After the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the dead who were saved will be resurrected.
Basis for the 144,000 People Go to Heaven Belief
The Biblical verses that are the basis for the 144,000 specically created people going to heaven are found in the Book of Revelations and the Gospel of Luke. The “little flock” as the Watchtower calls this elite group, are special creations that were selected to become human so that they may work on rehabilitating and perfecting the human race. These spirits needed to be born as members of mankind so that they could undestand the weaknesses of the human race.
Accorrding to the Watchtower.org, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when a person dies, his soul ends. If a person accepts salvation, he or she will be resurrected by Jehovah and will live on Earth. Some souls, however, were created by God to be kings and rulers. Thd 144,000 spirits created by Jehovah before the creation of the Earth will go to Heaven after the resurrection. The remaining saved souls will dwell on a glorified Earth for all eternity.
Knowing if You Are One of the 144,000
Because only 144,000 people get into heaven under the beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses, most people will not make it. Instead, the people who obtain their salvation who are not one of the select group of specially created spirits will be resurrected and will live on the Earth after the return of Christ.
When someone asked the question on Yahoo answers, they said it was unlikely that families will be broken up. The poster who answered the question on Yahoo answers said there are only a few thousand of this elite group left on Earth.
Note: The author is not a Jehovah's Witness, but someone born in the Mormon church who got asked this question by friends who confused the Jehovah's Witnesses with the Mormons.
Resources:
Watchtower.org – Achieving Eternal Happiness on Earth
Yahoo Answers – Will only 144,000 People Go to Heaven?
