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"So rather than all good people going to heaven, the Bible reveals that only 144,000 tried and faithful persons will be taken to rule with Christ."
The Watchtower also teaches that the vast majority of mankind will live forever in paradise on earth. The book You Can Live Forever In Paradise on Earth on page 126 says:
"But there will be many more who make up the "new earth" including persons who survive the end of the wicked system of things."
Also, the book United In Worship of the Only True God on pages 103-109 says that those with the hope of living forever on earth are represented in the Bible by the "Great Multitude" or "Great Crowd" of Revelation 7:9-17, the "other sheep" of John 10:16, and the "sheep" that are separated from the "goats" of Matthew 25:31-46.
So you might say that there really is no difference between these two groups of people except where they will spend eternity. But is this really the case? Consider the following.
The 12/1/85 Watchtower on pages 8-18 goes into great detail explaining how Jesus' ransom applies to both of these groups of people. On page 11 of this magazine it explains the following:
"There are two aspects to justification, or the declaration of righteousness:
(1) God's accounting that person guiltless
(2) God's declaring that person perfect and worthy of everlasting life on earth
The 144,000 anointed Christians are declared righteous in both respects. They sacrifice their human life rights and are begotten as spiritual "sons" called to become kings and priests with Christ in the "new heavens.""
Also, the book United In Worship of the Only True God says on page 115 the following:
"And his shed blood serves a two fold purpose -cleansing from sin those humans who exercise faith in it, also making operative the new covenant between God and the congregation of spiritual Israel, which is composed of spirit-anointed Christians (1 John 1:7; 1 Cor. 11:25; Gal 6:14-16) It is these precious provisions that make it possible for the members of the "Little Flock" to be declared righteous by God, actually having human perfection credited to them."
Does Jesus' ransom apply in the same way to those with the earthly hope?
The 12/1/85 Watchtower says the following on page 18:
"By faith in "the blood of the Lamb", the "other sheep", are given an approved standing before Jehovah and are thus declared righteous for friendship with him and for survival during the "great tribulation". They will attain perfection by the end of the Millenium. After the final test they will be declared righteous for life."
This same Watchtower article says on page 17:
"That the "other sheep" are God's friends and even now have a relatively righteous standing before him is also made clear in Jesus' prophecy on the 'sign of his presence', which includes the illustration of the sheep and the goats. Because the "sheep" do good to the remnant of Christ's 144,000 "brothers" still on earth, they are blessed by Jesus' Father and are called "righteous ones". Like Abraham, they are accounted, or declared righteous as friends of God."
So let's compare the different ways Jesus' ransom applies to these two groups of people. If you are a member of the heavenly class, Jesus' ransom declares you righteous for everlasting life NOW and you are adopted as a "SPIRITUAL SON" of God. If you are a member of the earthly class, Jesus' ransom declares you righteous as a "FRIEND OF GOD" (not a spiritual son) and you only receive a relatively righteous standing before God which will only save you through the great tribulation and you must go through one more test before you can be declared righteous for life. Tell me, which group do you think is more highly favored by God?
The book United In Worship of the Only True God on page 111 says the following:
"...and nearly all the inspired letters in the Christian Greek Scriptures are primarily directed to this group of Kingdom heirs - "the holy ones," "partakers of the heavenly calling.""
The 5/1/70 Watchtower adds on page 284:
"However, unlike those with the heavenly hope, the "great crowd" do not have human perfection imputed to them and are not reckoned in the Scriptures as "holy ones."
So it is clear that the Watchtower teaches that the Christian Greek Scriptures of the Bible were written by God primarily to be used by his "holy ones", those with the heavenly calling. Why are these ones considered holy and able to use the Bible as if it were written directly for them? Because, according to the Watchtower, these ones are the only ones who are considered to have human perfection in God's eyes due to Jesus' ransom. Does this mean that the Bible was not written for those with the earthly hope? If one reads the material in the Watchtower publications it is clear that they believe that the Bible was not written primarily with those of the earthly hope in mind. These ones are not considered "holy" according to the Watchtower and are not viewed by God as being declared righteous for life now. Why would God write a book only for 144,000 of his children and leave out millions who would like to be his "spiritual sons and daughters" also?
The answer to this is an unqualified "NO". The book Worldwide Security Under the Prince of Peace on page 10 says:
"Likewise, the Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, is not the Mediator between Jehovah God and all mankind. He is the mediator between his heavenly Father, Jehovah God, and the nation of spiritual Israel, which is limited to only 144,000 members."
So Jesus is mediator only for those of the heavenly calling. This is in contrast to what 1 Timothy 2:5 says:
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus," (NWT)
Recently, the 10/15/95 Watchtower on pages 18-28 has made it clear that the "sheep" (those of the earthly calling) of Jesus parable at Matthew 25:31-46 are no longer being gathered by God at this time. This article says on page 22 that
"Nothing indicates that at that time, or for that matter since, Jesus sat to judge the people of all the nations finally as sheep and goats."
They say this now, in spite of the comment that they made in the book United In Worship of the Only True God on page 112 with regard to how they discovered that the gathering of those with the heavenly calling probably ended in the year 1935. It says:
"When we consider what has actually occurred, it seems evident that the heavenly calling in general was completed by about the year 1935 C.E., when the earthly hope of the "great crowd" was clearly discerned. Since then there have been brought into association with the comparatively few thousand remaining ones of the heavenly class millions of worshipers of Jehovah who are earnestly hoping to live forever right here on earth."
So according to the 10/15/95 Watchtower those with the earthly hope are not only no longer being gathered, they were never gathered to God to begin with. In effect, the Watchtower Society can no longer acknowledge them as a separate group within the organization because they were never separated. Yet, they use the existence of the earthly class since 1935 to say that the heavenly hope is no longer available to those who believe in Jesus' ransom today!
Does this situation not remind you of what Jesus said of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:13?
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men: for you yourselves do not go in, neither do you permit those on their way in to go in." (NWT)
Think about it, those in the Watchtower organization with the heavenly calling are the only ones declared righteous for life now, the only ones who can read and use the Bible as if it were written primarily for them, the only ones who Jesus mediates for, and now they are the only ones who have been officially gathered to God at this time.
From this one can see that those with the earthly calling are truly the second class citizens of the Watchtower.
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