Posted by Gary [GLamotta] on April 03, 1999 at 02:47:21 {Ed9c7782HMMRXA6xmpscboLUiPtahc}:
In Reply to: ***JOSEPH; INCORRUPTIBLE SURPRISE posted by Joseph Malik on April 02, 1999 at 21:16:30:
Hi Joseph,
Why do you insist upon linking my ideas with that the WTS? The WTS don't think that the 144,000 will be IN THE FLESH ON THE EARTH. Yet that is fundamental to my view here. That they must first be in the flesh before
becoming spirit creatures.
These are MY views not that of the Society. We vary widely on this area.
And, in fact, point to point, you agree with the WTS on the resurrection more than I do. It is the WTS and you who think you need to take Judgment Day out of it's chronological place in Revelation and reintroduce it during the millennium, and it is you and the WTS who also believe, therefore, that the second resurrection occurs during the millennium. These are not my beliefs. But in those two, you and the WTS are one.
As far as the Bride Class being spiritual and heavenly, that is so fundamental to me, I don't even know how to address it. But I know every scripture can have two sides. It can be stated as literal or figurative. Just as when the Bible says that the "queen of the south will be raised up with this generation and condemn it" I believe that proves that that generation would be raised up. It believe that's literal. But of course you believe it is quite easily accommodated that this condemnation is "figurature" and that they are not actually raised up and it's just their history or known activities that are condemned symbolically.
So there's lots of
leeway, if you want to, to make the scriptures almost say what you want to. So at that point, all I can do is just say, well, I respect your view but I have my own view and my own reservations and I'm willing to wait and see.
And
that's all that can be said.
As far as the millions who survive Armageddon question goes, I thought I addressed it as well as I could.
But specifically, all I have to do is give you why I believe it. You don't have to believe it. So the scripture I base it on is Revelation 20 which says "the rest of the dead did not come to life until after the 1000 years were ended", in conjunction with "Satan was abyssed so that he could no longer mislead the nations."
Combine that with the fact that the 144,000, those part of the first resurrection, are a limited number (in my belief) and they are to serve as kings and priests, I assume they will be ruling over somebody, right?
So I figure it must be the "dead, the great and the small" which are called "nations" from whom Satan is prevented from misleading.
So since there are "nations" present at the time of Satan being abyssed which do not refer to the 144,000, I PRESUME, based upon that, by logical deduction (or illogical, whatever) that these must refer to the non-144,000 survivors of Armageddon.
And then, again, I mentioned to you the "great crowd" that comes through the great tribulation which is a large number
which "no man can number" which sounds like a large number to me. Is it millions? Two milion? or more? We don' know.
But since we are not given a number specifically, and the rest is left up to us to speculate, I imagine,
considering all things, that it must be into the millions. But that is MY belief. If you guesstimate something else, that's up to you. But neither of us can say exactly how many it will be.
So my "millions" right now is just as valid
as any lesser number you can come up with.
And that's what the basis of MY belief in millions surviving Armageddon comes from. I'm not asking that you accept that belief. I'm just giving you my own basis for that belief, part scripture, part deduction, part speculation.
Cheers,
Gary