The doctrine introduced by Judge Joseph Rutherford, second President of the Watchtower said from 1935 onward. At the end of May of that year a five-day convention of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses was in session... the president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society discussed the subject of 'the great multitude, 'spoken of in Revelation 7.9-17, Authorized Version. He made it clear that the 'multitude' was no spiritual or spirit begotten class, would not attain the angelic nature in heaven so as to assist the 144,000 joint heirs with Christ. It was a distinctly an earthly class with hope of endless perfect human life in the earthly paradise under Christ's kingdom. (Holy Spirit, 1976, p. 156)

The 144,000 are the only ones able to take communion since Christ is there mediator only (about 6,000 or more are left alive). When they have their memorial service for Christ death, they pass the communion around there is usually no one present who takes it. “the 144,000 members of the Israel of God have properly partaken of the emblems during the Memorial of Jesus' death, and only with them did Jesus make his covenant for a Kingdom.” (Watchtower p.31, Feb.1, 1998)

Watchtower we have a problem, if only the 144,000 allowed to take communion there is a lot of missing explanations. for example, they claim in 1935 C.E. 52,465 memorial partakers (Proclaimers, p. 717)

“the 1976 celebration of the Memorial of Jesus' death, in some 40,000 congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses around the earth, the attendance totaled 4,972,571, of whom only 10,187 professed to be of the anointed “slave” class.”
The Memorial on April 15, 1984, they had only 9,081 professed to be members of the 144,000.
But in 1995 they showed the number who took communion were 28 more than the previous year. The JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES explain this by saying some of the 144,000 fell away. Can we find in Scripture that any of the sealed 144,000 fall away? When the Bible says they are sealed and blameless.

The fact is, 144,000 never met together and decided on any one thing, not even this doctrine about them. Even today 1000 years after this doctrine was invented they have not met.

A Jehovah's Witness needs to answer If Jesus returned invisibly in 1914 why didn’t the 144,000 stop taking communion, The Bible states they are supposed to take it until he returns.

If there are only 144,000 anointed Christians and there were 52,465 anointed that partook of the memorial in 1935. We have during the past 19 centuries only 91,535 anointed Christians. This would be 4,500 every 100 years, if we average it out that’s only 45 anointed every year from all over the world. This is before there ever was a Watchtower Society, which makes it impossible anyway.

The statistics are missing to prove any of their conclusions in numbers or doctrine. How do they know that there were any vacancies, if any, in the 144,000 class. How can the Watchtower organization know the exact number of vacancies today without any records from the first century? They never kept records on the anointed. Were the apostles or the early Church counting the 144,000? If Jesus offered this to first century Christians why is it not mentioned in the Scripture?

The church at Ephesus alone was estimated from 20,000 to 26,000 people! The church of Jerusalem was estimated to be up to 100.000 before the diaspora. History tells us in 70 A.D. over 100,000 Jews fled Jerusalem to Pela because they remembered Jesus words of Jerusalem surrounded by armies.

So the Watchtower uses a great apostasy to explain these numbers, something that Jesus said would happen in the end, not the beginning. He also stated the gates of hell would not prevail against the church, they say it did. 

The Watchtower’s current teaching is that there are “Only a limited number are born again. The great crowd does not need to be born again. Their life is earthly, not heavenly.” (WT 4/1/1988 p.4) They believe that the 144,000 have Jesus as their mediator while the earthly class has the 144,000 as their mediator to Jesus. In other words there is a trickle down affect in the new covenant. One mediator for a group of 144,000 and they are mediators for all the rest.  

Are the 144,000 the only ones written in the lambs book of life? One must be in the new covenant to be in the lamb's book of life according to the Bible. Rev.13 tells us if you are not found in the lambs book you take the mark and serve the beast. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).This takes place IN the tribulation.

There is not much assurance for Jehovah’s Witnesses according to the Bible.

Rev 3:5 “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; if we look to see what the great crowd is wearing in chapter 7: 9,13 (and chapter 19:8) it is white robes.

Rev 7:14 describes those wearing white robes as, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The white robes are made white by being washed in the blood.

Rev 20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. So if the new covenant is just for the 144,000 guess where the rest of the Jehovah’s Witnesses end up?

The 144,000 teaching has more holes than Swiss cheese

Will the great crowd of Jehovah’s Witnesses inherit the earth and only 144,000 go to heaven with Jesus?

The WATCHTOWER says, “YES,” but does the Bible agree? The Watchtower has always taken the position in their words that they invite “careful and critical examination of its contents in the light of the Scriptures.”(8/15/11950, p. 263) So since we are invited, lets do that.<

Who Is the Great crowd?

The Watchtower says they are only found in Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. The Bible teaches in Revelation 7:9-1 5. The great crowd are people in a future time, that come out of the great tribulation. The 144,000 will be sealed in the future after the 6th Seal, the Day of Wrath and in the tribulation. (Revelation 6:12,17; 7:1,3). Ask a JW if they can prove that the 6th seal has been opened for almost 2,000 years and we are now in the tribulation?

This brings us to another watchtower problem- Rev.7 tells us they are 12,000 from each tribe of the Jews sealed for service. Their mission is to preach the gospel to all nations as the fulfillment of Mt.24:14. How is this possible today if the Bible teaches they are all to be sealed at the same time? According to the Watchtower there are 6,000 alive today and the rest were sealed from the time of the apostles. If the Bible says they are all sealed together at one time in the tribulation Rev. 7, this means that they can't be sealed today. Now we have another contradiction, how could the 144,000 be from the time of the apostles? When the Watchtower originally taught for almost 50 years the new covenant is a thing of the future and now teach they were being sealed from the time of the apostles.

If only the 144,000 are going to heaven another problem we are confronted with is that according to the Jehovah’s Witnesses no one exists after death? Not even Jesus did. He needed to be recreated in body. But these 144,000 do not need to be recreated even though Jesus who is their mediator did.

Second Problem is that before 1918 whoever was part of the 144,000 were resurrected. Russell was originally one of the 144,000 until Rutherford the second president changed it. It must be noted that not all of the 144,000 or little flock lived and died prior to 1918. “Those of this spiritual nation who died before the spiritual resurrection began in 1918 slept in death until that year. But the others who were still alive on earth have continued to live out their regular lives. And now when the earthly life of one of such persons ends he is resurrected at once to spirit life. He is changed in a moment from being a human creature to being a spirit creature in heaven with Jesus Christ."

There is a bodily resurrection in Scripture not a spirit resurrection. The Watchtowers standard teaching prior to 1918, even the 144,000 experienced non- existence when they died. Now they are allowed to escape this non- existence, and are immediately taken into the heavenly realms. Yet Russell said, “In 1878 the process of setting up the kingdom began. The Lord raised the sleeping saints.” (Watchtower 6/11/1922, p. 174)

We have quite a variety of answers on when they were raised.

The very teaching that Paul called profane and Idle babblings Russell is espousing In 2 Tim 2:17-18 naming Hymenaeus and Philetus who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. This is because the Bible teaches that the resurrection of the Church is to occur to everyone at the same time, not to just some.

Further confusion is brought to mind when we find where the 144,00 actually go. 'Someone asked me the other day.' Suppose you should be here in 1925 what would you do? 1 said, 1 believe 1 will be home in the Pleiades before then' Watchtower 11/1/20, P. 334 “that one of the stars of that group is the dwelling place of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the place of the highest heavens ... the Pleiades is the place of the eternal throne of God.' (Reconciliation, 1937 edition, p. 14)

Let's go back to Revelation 7:4, and the subject of the 144,000. “And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”

Any good Bible student knows if we cannot divide verses between literal and figurative to suit our preconceived doctrines. There must be a consistency to interpret the thoughts of the writer. The word tribes is always used in Scripture of literal ethnic groups.

The Watchtower Society teaches that the 144,000 of Rev 7:4 are to be taken literally. If chapter 7 of Revelation is to be taken literally so we need to look at where does the Bible say that the 144,000 will be located, who they are and when does it happen.

Another problem, if we take the number of 144,000 literally, why not everything else? What nationality will these 144,000 be? We see the Bible teach the 144,000 are sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel, the twelve tribes (Revelation 7: 9,4). They are called the children of Israel. Only Jews of birthright are called this. The 144,000 are not sealed to become spiritual Israelites, the 144,000 are not just representatives, but Jews. If they aren't Jews, then why take the number of 144,000 literal? Why have a long explanation of the tribes of Israel for? These are the same twelve tribes that come from Jacob, they are sealed OUT OF Israel to become members of the 144,000 Christian evangelists. We may not know who they are but God does. All this demands a literal interpretation of the passage. If we take “every nation” to be literal, what would be the reason we do not take “Israel” to be literal. The Watchtower goes from a literal meaning to symbolic in the middle of a verse with no basis. How can anyone take 12 symbolic numbers, add them up and come up with a literal number of 144,000. If we accept this as literal, then we must interpret 144,000 male virgins as Israelites by birth.

Scripture taken it out of the context it was written in can always prove ones own unique teaching, so can changing the literal words to spiritual meanings. “These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste” Revelation 14:4.

Are any of the 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses men or women married? The 144,000 are men, single men, there are not to be married virgins. Jehovah’s Witnesses even have woman who are part of this. We can see how far away from the Bible their interpretation really is. They are virgins, not parents or grandparents, Revelation 14:1, 4. The reason for this is that they will be too busy serving God during the great tribulation period to focus on a family or anything else but evangelism. Again the timing of the 144,000 being sealed is in the future after the 6th Seal, when the Day of Wrath begins (Revelation 6:12,17; 7:1,3).

Rev.14:4 “These are the ones who follow the Lamb where ever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”Does anyone in the Watchtower Organization say they follow Jesus and not Jehovah. They would have to do this to qualify. Revelation 14:5 makes this plain statement concerning the 144,000 Jewish men, “And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless” this couldn’t apply to anyone part of the Watch tower Society, because Jehovah's Witnesses has missed the date for the second coming of Christ in numerous times from 1874 through 1975. They had spoken falsely in the name of the Lord so they are not blameless.

Furthermore they formally taught of the 144,000 “The Redeemer purposes no mediatorial work in behalf of the church ... The New Creature being without sin needed no mediator to come between it and God... as a New Creature it has no sin.' (Watchtower, 3/15/10, p. 104)

“'The New Creature does not need any imputation of merit,' for the New Creature is sinless ... The New Creature needs no justification because it does not sin ... Would the merit of Jesus be involved in the forgiving of the New Creature's trespasses? No! Jesus has nothing to do with atoning for sin on the part of New Creatures... There is no atonement for New Creatures.”( 1916 Convention Report, p. 213)

Originally the 144,000 who are the new creatures did not need the atonement, forgiveness, the new covenant; they were perfect, without sin.

Even more astounding is, “the great design of the Creator is to have a trinity. We find that our heavenly Father is the first and foremost, the greatest part of that wonderful trinity. We find that the Lord Jesus was to be the merely, nor was the third part to be a single individual. The Bible gives us to understand that the third member in the trinity will be those who have faithfully followed in the footsteps of our dear redeemer...'That they may all be one, as thou Father art in me, and 1 in thee, that they also may be one in us.' There is the trinity,' there we have three in one- the Father, the Son and those who follow in the footsteps of the Son ... Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the nature of God... No wonder the Word of God exalts the hope of the church as it does. We could not believe this unless the Word of God told us it was so.' (1915 Convention Report, p. 123)

This is the Jehovah’s Witnesses 144,000. The “anointed” are elevated to equality with Jehovah God. This teaching has never been retracted or denied, it has only left the attention of the witnesses, and faded from use. Not only is Jesus a lesser God than Jehovah but here they make him and themselves to be one as a trinity. A word they are so repulsed by today but used for themselves early on.

A great multitude -“the great crowd”

The Bibles sequence of events in Revelation is after the 144,000 are sealed we find a great crowd of people. The Witnesses teach this is their organization, those who are not part of the 144,000 that will be on earth. Again this crowd is only seen after the 144,000 are sealed at the same time, which is still in the future. The actual location of the great multitude is of the utmost importance because if they in heaven and not on earth, as the J.W.'s teach there whole doctrine crumbles to pieces. As we look at it logically and biblically lets watch it crumble

The location of the great crowd is “Before the throne” of God and “BEFORE THE LAMB” Rev 7:11. We know the Lamb is in heaven. But if we look carefully it is the great crowd who has washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, they are partakers of the New Covenant. As we have already seen the great crowd are dressed in white and are included in the marriage of the lamb, IN HEAVEN. How did they get there? They are only supposed to be on earth.

Another Watchtower problem, where does the Bible say only 144,000 go to heaven? Since Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that after one dies, they cease to exist so how can you believe that they are mediating for them after they die. (Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that we go into non existence when we die, this is the same for everyone even Jesus, who then was later recreated) where does it say some exist and some don’t?

Where are the 144,000? Not in heaven but on earth during the tribulation, Revelation 7:9-15. It is the great crowd that is “before the throne.” It says they serve him in his temple night and day and he who sits on the throne will dwell among them, (7:15) where “all the angels were standing” v.11. So the Watchtower has it backwards.

Rev 14:2-3 says “And I heard a sound out of heaven ... And they (the great crowd) were singing as if a new song before the throne.” Rev 7:9 says, “... look, a great crowd ... standing before the throne.” Rev 7:14-15 says, “...There are the ones that come out of the great tribulation by death ... That is why they are before the throne of God.” Therefore “before the throne “ means in heaven (Rev. 7:11, 14:2-3), and the “great crowd” is “before the throne” (Rev. 7:9, 7:14-15). In contrast to the 144,000 who are on earth during the tribulation, the great crowd are identified as the future kings from every tribe, tongue, people and nation which (Revelation 5:9-10). The Bible say the great multitude is a number no one could calculate in Rev.7, but we can calculate that there are less than 10 million Jehovah’s Witnesses today? So how can they be the great multitude?

Watchtower Feb. 1, 1998 states, “For the 144,000, being declared righteous opens the way to their having the hope of ruling with Jesus in the heavenly Kingdom. (Romans 8:16, 17; Galatians 2:16) For the other sheep, being declared righteous as God's friends allows them to embrace the hope of everlasting life in a paradise earth-either by surviving Armageddon as part of the great crowd or through the 'resurrection of the righteous (Acts 24:15).”

However Revelation 5:10 says it is those who are washed by the lambs blood, in the new covenant (which are supposed to be only the 144,000) who rule as kings and priests over the earth.

The New World Translation says “over” the earth but the Greek says “upon” the earth. The Watchtower insists that a resurrected and glorified body could not go to heaven and isolates the kings and priests to above the earth as spirit creatures only in heaven. Revelation 21:1-8 those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will enter the new Jerusalem in heaven Revelation 21:27. The context of the chapter refers to heavenly Jerusalem. Believers (also the 144,000) get BOTH the new heaven and the new earth with the salvation package! As it comes down from heaven with God to earth: at the end of the Millennium.

The Watchtowers answer to all this “'What then is Christ's role in this program of salvation? Paul proceeds to say: 'There is one God, and one mediator between God and men [not, all men], a man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.'- 1 Tim. 2:5, 6.' (Watchtower, 11/15/ 1979, p. 26)

How can this be possible if the Watchtower teaches that Christ is not man in heaven but a spirit creature, how can he be mediating for the 144,000.

If you read I Tim. 2:5 it says there is only one mediator, the same word “one” is used for one God? If they don't believe in more than one God they cannot believe in more than one mediator. How can there be 144,000 mediators, if the bible strictly mentions only one mediator. Also in I Tim. 2:5 Jesus is a man, a human, not a spirit creature. The Bible teaches to be a mediator one must be a high priest. 144,000 cannot mediate,   God has only given this function to the eternal high priest. There is only one.

The Bible does not teach to have relationship with the 144,00 for you to be right with Jesus and God. Jesus said He is the way, not anyone else. So the earthly class does not have the blood applied to their lives by the one mediator, but by the 144,000 who have the mediator, therefore Christ is not their personal mediator.

That would be like I know someone who knows another who can get you such and such.

The Bible teaches you have a direct relationship with Jesus or you do not have one with God. It is dependent on ones covenant with Christ the covenant maker. To a Jehovah’s Witnesses they have the Watchtower which is the mother that becomes their mediator for the Bible interpretation and then they have the 144,000 as mediators to the one mediator.

“Your attitude toward the anointed is the determining factor whether you go into everlasting cutting off or eternal life.” “Only a limited number are born again.” The great crowd does not need to be born again.” Again they teach the Earthly Class is not in the New Covenant, but only the 144,000 are. Ask them to read Heb. 8:6, 9:15. Heb 8:6 “ inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.”

Heb 9:15 “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Both of these verses show that without Jesus as your Mediator, you're not in the New Covenant! He has to directly be mediating for you. This is why Christians say He must become your personal savior. Not having Christ as your mediator means you are  not forgiven of your sins and cannot know Jehovah God.

The Watchtower clearly shuts off heaven to their followers. Even the 144,000 do not go because they are going because they are depending on their works, so they are not really in the new covenant of grace (Eph.2:1-10). They are not going to be there either.

Lets sum up what we have seen thus far. The “great crowd” does not have Jesus for a mediator, the “anointed” are their mediators to God. For the great crowd their treatment of the “anointed” is the basis for their salvation. The Bible says Jesus and his atonement is our basis. The great crowd does not have a relationship with Jesus or Jehovah,  because they are not in the new covenant, they are dependent upon the “anointed” for any hope of everlasting life.

The Bible--John 6:53-57 “Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”… “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” Jesus is speaking of the new covenant, his body broken and the blood shed. A Witness needs to know if they are not personally part of the new covenant Jesus says they do not abide in him, and they will not be part of the resurrection. No paradise earth. The Bible says whoever believes Jesus the Christ is born of God. ” (1 Jn.5:1)

Nowhere does Jesus say you MUST be born again to only enter the KINGDOM of HEAVEN? John 3:3,6. 

He said you will not see or enter the KINGDOM of GOD unless you are born again, (meaning spiritually reborn). You will not even see God's kingdom unless you have been born of the Spirit. To do this one MUST personally partake of the new covenant. If this offer is only for the 144,000 then all the Jehovah’s Witnesses of the great crowd today who think they will be in paradise, will not be in the kingdom!

When the Jehovah’s Witness sees their relationship to the anointed class is not what they were taught, everything crumbles. When the 6,000 left in the anointed class are gone the Watchtower will no longer have their hold on the people. They will have only one choice, change their teaching on this as they have done so many other times, (as recently the 1914 date and the blood issue were changed.) We need to show them their own inconsistencies and contradictions with the Bible so they can come into the new covenant and be saved and actually see the kingdom.