Q: I've always wondered why the 144000 are declared righteous with their ascension into heaven, in other words they are made perfect immediately, whereas the great crowd need a 1000 years to attain perfection. Not that I mind 1000 years to do so if Jehovah deems me worthy but both the anointed and GC start at the same point ie [that is] imperfect. So why isn't the great crowd afforded the same benefit of receiving perfection immediately in the new system as their heavenly counterparts?
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A:
The 144,000 receive
immortal spirit bodies upon their resurrection, the same as Jesus. Since
they become a "new creation," clothed with immortality, they cannot be sinful.
Paul explains: "For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this
mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the
imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor. 15:35,
42-54, ESV; Rom. 6:4,5; 2 Cor. 5:17)
On the other hand, God's people who "come out of the great
tribulation," survive in the bodies they have, and that body is in need of
healing because we were all born in sin. (Rev. 7:9,10; Rom. 5:12) It took a
thousand years (1,000) for Adam's once perfect body, which after his sin had
come under the condemnation of death, to grow old until he eventually died and
returned to dust; and it will take just as long to undo all the damage caused by
Adam's rebellion. (Gen. 3:17-19; 5:5; Eccl. 3:19,20; 1 Cor. 15:22-26; Rev.
20:1-3, 6) As
the thousand years of God's kingdom progresses, you will become aware of
steadily feeling better and stronger with every passing day/month/year, without
the fear of growing old and all the accompanying aches and pains. (Isa. 33:24;
65:17-25; Rev. 21:3-5) Just as precious as the physical health will be, so too
will the joy be of putting on the "new personality" which will reflect God's own
personality, like that of Jesus, since we are created in God's image. (John
12:44,45; Eph. 4:22-24) That means that the time will come when you will no
longer have to struggle to do what is right, because doing the right thing will
come to be the natural course, just as it was with Jesus who never sinned. (Heb.
4:15) You will have eternity ahead of you. We cannot even imagine what Jehovah
has in store for those who love him, and who prove their love by their
obedience, unlike Adam who missed out on God's blessings.
Don't confuse the reaching of perfection in body and mind with being declared
righteous. The idea that "the rest of the dead did not come to life until
the thousand years were ended," at Revelation 20:5, is an interpolation that
does not belong in the text. Not only that, but the idea itself is an outright
contradiction of the many Scriptures which assure us that all God's faithful
servants have been reconciled [declared righteous] to God due to the ransom
Jesus paid in which they put faith, thereby setting them free from the
condemnation of sin and death. Paul tells us that "God recommends his own love
to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more,
therefore, since we have been declared righteous now by his blood,
shall we be saved through him from wrath. For if, when we were enemies, we
became reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now
that we have become reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only
that, but we are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have now received the reconciliation." (Rom. 5:8-11) Our reconciliation
to God is not waiting for some future day, but it is now.
Take Abraham for
example. He was "declared righteous" on account of his faith, yet he is not
among the 144,000 who will rule with Christ in God's kingdom; for the choosing
of these co-rulers did not begin until Jesus arrived, at which time the
selecting of them began with the twelve apostles. (Rom. 4:1-11; Luke 6:12-16;
Matt. 11:11; 19:27,28; Rev. 3:21; 21: 9,10, 14; Dan. 7:13,14, 27) Like in the
case of Abraham, all of God's faithful servants today have been declared
righteous for life due to their faith, and they will remain such as long as they
keep themselves "in God's love with everlasting life in view." (Gal. 3:26,27;
Jude 21; Heb. 6:4-6; Rev. 3:4,5)
Jesus indicated
that God's faithful servants of old were declared righteous by God, even though
they were sinners and died, when he told the Sadducees who did not believe in
the resurrection: "But that the dead are raised up even Moses disclosed, in the
account about the thornbush, when he calls Jehovah ‘the God of Abraham and God
of Isaac and God of Jacob.’ He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for
they are all living to him.” (Luke 20:37,38) All these faithful ancient
worshipers of Jehovah, although they died are alive to him, and they will return
in "the resurrection of the righteous." (John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15) There is no
such thing as having to wait until the end of the thousand years before God's
righteous people "come to life."
If you are a
faithful and obedient baptized worshiper of Jehovah, then Jehovah has already
declared you as righteous on account of your faith in his only-begotten Son,
Christ Jesus. (John 3:16) He is your Father, and you are a member of his
household. (1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Cor. 6:17,18; Jer. 7:23) As such, you have been built
upon the foundation that God himself laid, namely that of Jesus and the 144,000
(Jesus himself being the foundation corner stone), with whom "you, too,
are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit." This is
God's temple―His people, and this is the only place where we can worship the
true God in "sprit and truth." (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Cor. 3:16,17; 6:19; John
4:21-24; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 Peter 2:4-10; compare Matt. 25:40, 45,46) The fact that
the "great crowd" is pictured standing before the throne of God, and rendering
sacred service to him day and night in his temple, gives convincing evidence
that they have already been declared righteous for life, even before the great
tribulation breaks forth upon mankind. Therefore, there is no difference when it
comes to being declared righteous whether one is of the great crowd or the
144,000. (Rev. 7:13-17)
After having said all this, please bear in mind that I have attempted to answer
your question regarding the great crowd that comes out of the great tribulation.
They have God's protection because he has already declared them righteous.
This does not apply to all those who return in the resurrection of the
unrighteous, "those who practiced vile things," as Jesus said, for their
resurrection will be one of judgment. (John 5:29) Before these unrighteous ones
can be reconciled to God and be declared righteous, they too need to exercise
faith in Christ Jesus and submit to his kingdom rule during the thousand years.
(See Revelation 20:7-10)
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