Posted by Gary [GLamotta] on April 04, 1999 at 01:30:46 {th2VaRoznYMRXA6xmpscboLUiPtahc}:
In Reply to: bible canon & 144,000 posted by felix a on April 03, 1999 at 20:43:15:
Good point, but in addition to the early Christians there are the "faithful men of old" like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Josph who as Hebrews points out, were waiting for something better, a better resurrection. Daniel's last verse tells Daniel that he will get his reward at the "last day" indicating he too would be one of the chosen ones.
It would seem, though, based upon a couple of parables that even with so many professed Christians and particularly Jehovah's Witnesses who clearly are chosen out, that as the banquet was set up and the feast to begin, many begged off from the wedding feast and thus there were not enough places to be filled. At least not from any particular number from this group. Thus there had to be replacements. It was said that "many are invited, but few chosen."
So it is clear that while many profess Christianity, they must maintain their integrity and sometimes they don't.
It would seem therefore, that the standards are so high that nobody qualifies easily and this allows Jehovah then to pick and choose whom he wants out of a much bigger pool.
Cheers,
Gary