What do you see wrong with this picture?
Our JW friends are very fond of claiming the Great Company mentioned in Revelation Chapter 7 is in reference to themselves, but how then if they claim to be Jehovah’s WITNESSES (keep in mind our witness for God is more than simply a witness in word, i.e., preaching the word, but more importantly a witness in deed, See James 1:22; 2 Cor 3:2), how then do they account for fact that this particular company of individuals failed in this respect, failed to truly witness Christ (in themselves) before men, failed to properly develop the fruits and the graces of the spirit, which represents the embroidery of their robes, that pattern of Christ which all the faithful are to emanate, but much worse than this they allowed these robes to become spotted with the flesh and by contact with the world, and thus were obligated to endure great tribulation in order that these might be cleansed in the blood of the Lamb?
The Lord’s faithful on the other hand apparently kept their robes clean and so were spared this great tribulation, so there is definitely a distinction made between the faithful and the unfaithful. If we accept the claims of our friends that they are indeed the great company then it would appear that the so-called worldwide brotherhood are not quite the faithful witnesses of Jehovah they make themselves out to be, in fact in making such an assertion they are basically consigning all their members (8 million+) strong to this class of unfaithful servants, minus of course the few anointed among them.
It’s true that the faithful spotted their garments likewise but the difference was that they were constantly approaching the throne of heavenly grace by means of THEIR ADVOCATE in order to cleanse their robes from these spots, thus "they have not defiled their garments," (Rev 3:4)
The Witnesses, that is those not Anointed (begotten by the spirit to a new nature, a spirit nature) have no Advocate. The Lord is the Advocate only for those who have accepted the terms proffered at this time to follow in his foots steps and lay down their lives in sacrifice. "We (the Church, the Anointed) have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." (1 John 2:1) For more on this issue please see, “The Mediator and the New Covenant” Part 4
Speaking of Robes!
How could our JW friends claim to be the great company spoken of in Rev 7 when they don’t even have “robes” never have and never will, how could they soil that which they don’t possess?
The robe is the wedding garment.
When was the organization ever espoused to Christ?
When did the Lord ever become the Advocate for the organization?
What exactly are these “robes”, what do they represent and how precisely does one go about acquiring one? Who possesses a robe?
The robe represents the righteousness of Christ, the merit of his justification which is imputed to the consecrated to cover their fleshly blemishes and imperfections so as to make them acceptable to God.
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isa 61:10)
“The imputation of this merit to the Church as separate and apart from the world engages and obligates that merit for a while in making good the imperfections of the flesh of the Church, so as to permit this class to offer to God a justified, and, therefore, an acceptable sacrifice.” (Rom 12:1)
"When we say that our Lord imputes His righteousness, we are NOT to think that our Lord gives His own righteousness as the High Priest, BUT that He imputes THE MERIT of his human sacrifice on our behalf. The earthly life-rights, which the Lord laid down, were to His credit, giving Him the power of restitution for the world of mankind, the power of their regeneration. But before the merit of that sacrifice is given to the world, it is made the basis of our justification, for the covering of our imperfections. It could have been used for us in restitution but such was not God’s Plan during this Age. Hence, Jesus’ merit is imputed to believers WHO CONSECRATE, and also covers the blemishes and unwitting trespasses of their imperfect earthen vessels to the end of their course.” (Q 338)
In the next age mankind will not require a “robe” a temporary covering as the Church has need now, in the next age when the ransom is applied in their behalf the world will receive actual justification.
Is the wedding garment mentioned in the Parable of the Marriage Feast (Matt 22:1-14) the same as the robe mentioned in Rev 7?
“YES: The wedding robe of the parable represents our Lord's merit imputed to His people as a covering for their blemishes or imperfections of the flesh. This robe takes cognizance of the Church as the prospective Bride who acknowledges the Headship of Jesus her Lord.” (Q 490:1)
We received the robe of Christ's righteousness when we consecrated and became betroth to Christ.
According to the parable the wedding garment is the putting on of Christ, of his righteousness, his justification, acquired by all who take THE SECOND STEP of a full consecration, a consecration unto sacrifice, the putting on of the new man, the new nature.
"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," therefore “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Gal 3:27; Eph 4:24)
“This Robe of Christ's Righteousness does not appertain to us at all until we become New Creatures IN CHRIST JESUS. It was not intended to cover the flesh of those who are not the consecrated people of God… It is only the Church who has had a change of nature and whose minds or hearts God accepts as being in relationship to Him in Christ and whose bodies are imperfect, and, therefore need a covering.” (Q604:1)
So, there you have it, considering all the facts that we have examined thus far in this study including what we have here there is no Scriptural support for the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be the Great Company, a spirit begotten class.
Our JW friends are very fond of claiming the Great Company mentioned in Revelation Chapter 7 is in reference to themselves, but how then if they claim to be Jehovah’s WITNESSES (keep in mind our witness for God is more than simply a witness in word, i.e., preaching the word, but more importantly a witness in deed, See James 1:22; 2 Cor 3:2), how then do they account for fact that this particular company of individuals failed in this respect, failed to truly witness Christ (in themselves) before men, failed to properly develop the fruits and the graces of the spirit, which represents the embroidery of their robes, that pattern of Christ which all the faithful are to emanate, but much worse than this they allowed these robes to become spotted with the flesh and by contact with the world, and thus were obligated to endure great tribulation in order that these might be cleansed in the blood of the Lamb?
The Lord’s faithful on the other hand apparently kept their robes clean and so were spared this great tribulation, so there is definitely a distinction made between the faithful and the unfaithful. If we accept the claims of our friends that they are indeed the great company then it would appear that the so-called worldwide brotherhood are not quite the faithful witnesses of Jehovah they make themselves out to be, in fact in making such an assertion they are basically consigning all their members (8 million+) strong to this class of unfaithful servants, minus of course the few anointed among them.
It’s true that the faithful spotted their garments likewise but the difference was that they were constantly approaching the throne of heavenly grace by means of THEIR ADVOCATE in order to cleanse their robes from these spots, thus "they have not defiled their garments," (Rev 3:4)
The Witnesses, that is those not Anointed (begotten by the spirit to a new nature, a spirit nature) have no Advocate. The Lord is the Advocate only for those who have accepted the terms proffered at this time to follow in his foots steps and lay down their lives in sacrifice. "We (the Church, the Anointed) have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." (1 John 2:1) For more on this issue please see, “The Mediator and the New Covenant” Part 4
Speaking of Robes!
How could our JW friends claim to be the great company spoken of in Rev 7 when they don’t even have “robes” never have and never will, how could they soil that which they don’t possess?
The robe is the wedding garment.
When was the organization ever espoused to Christ?
When did the Lord ever become the Advocate for the organization?
What exactly are these “robes”, what do they represent and how precisely does one go about acquiring one? Who possesses a robe?
The robe represents the righteousness of Christ, the merit of his justification which is imputed to the consecrated to cover their fleshly blemishes and imperfections so as to make them acceptable to God.
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isa 61:10)
“The imputation of this merit to the Church as separate and apart from the world engages and obligates that merit for a while in making good the imperfections of the flesh of the Church, so as to permit this class to offer to God a justified, and, therefore, an acceptable sacrifice.” (Rom 12:1)
"When we say that our Lord imputes His righteousness, we are NOT to think that our Lord gives His own righteousness as the High Priest, BUT that He imputes THE MERIT of his human sacrifice on our behalf. The earthly life-rights, which the Lord laid down, were to His credit, giving Him the power of restitution for the world of mankind, the power of their regeneration. But before the merit of that sacrifice is given to the world, it is made the basis of our justification, for the covering of our imperfections. It could have been used for us in restitution but such was not God’s Plan during this Age. Hence, Jesus’ merit is imputed to believers WHO CONSECRATE, and also covers the blemishes and unwitting trespasses of their imperfect earthen vessels to the end of their course.” (Q 338)
In the next age mankind will not require a “robe” a temporary covering as the Church has need now, in the next age when the ransom is applied in their behalf the world will receive actual justification.
Is the wedding garment mentioned in the Parable of the Marriage Feast (Matt 22:1-14) the same as the robe mentioned in Rev 7?
“YES: The wedding robe of the parable represents our Lord's merit imputed to His people as a covering for their blemishes or imperfections of the flesh. This robe takes cognizance of the Church as the prospective Bride who acknowledges the Headship of Jesus her Lord.” (Q 490:1)
We received the robe of Christ's righteousness when we consecrated and became betroth to Christ.
According to the parable the wedding garment is the putting on of Christ, of his righteousness, his justification, acquired by all who take THE SECOND STEP of a full consecration, a consecration unto sacrifice, the putting on of the new man, the new nature.
"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," therefore “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Gal 3:27; Eph 4:24)
“This Robe of Christ's Righteousness does not appertain to us at all until we become New Creatures IN CHRIST JESUS. It was not intended to cover the flesh of those who are not the consecrated people of God… It is only the Church who has had a change of nature and whose minds or hearts God accepts as being in relationship to Him in Christ and whose bodies are imperfect, and, therefore need a covering.” (Q604:1)
So, there you have it, considering all the facts that we have examined thus far in this study including what we have here there is no Scriptural support for the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be the Great Company, a spirit begotten class.
