Standing before the throne of God indicates that they acknowledge their Sovereign Lord, Jehovah God. There are various ways one can "stand". Not all are literal.
Hmm ... so I guess the angels, and the four living creatures as well as the elders who stand before the throne are on earth too?
Let's look at the Great Crowd in Rev 7, where John asked who they were and one of the elders says starting in verse 14
“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. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to [
c]living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Notice verse 15 states that "they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple". The Greek word rendered “temple” (naos) primarily refers to the Holy of Holies and not to the entire temple complex as the JW’s have mistakenly tried to prove. (See Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon) Even the New World Translation Reference Bible (1985 Edition) has a footnote rendering the word temple as “divine habitation”. And, as we know, Jehovah’s “divine habitation” is in heaven and not on the earth. This same Greek word “naos” is also used in the Septuagint at Psalm 45:15 where we are told that the virgins and her companions are brought into the king’s “palace” for the wedding ceremony. Once again proving that the Great Crowd is in heaven and not on earth. Interestingly enough, the Society still holds to the interpretation that the companions refer to the Great Crowd not realizing that they’ve got a contradiction on their hands. [See the Watchtower publication “Revelation: It’s Grand Climax at Hand!”, pg. 277 where we read: “Then the marriage is performed, the heavenly bride being attended on earth by her virgin companions, the great crowd.” (?!)]
The Greek word “naos” refers to the temple building itself although in some contexts it refers more specifically and restrictively to the “Most Holy” as shown in the Greek lexical sources that cited. Rev. 7:15 is referring to a spiritual class in heaven and not to a fleshly class on earth as the Witnesses teach since entering the “Most Holy” in the antitype implies a change of nature (fleshly to spiritual). Neither the context nor the Greek allow for the JW’s interpretation of an earthly class, especially in light of Psalm 45 where it plainly states that the virgins’ companions (typical of the Great Crowd) follow her into the palace (naos, in the Septuagint).
The Witnesses try to explain away the use of the word “naos” in Rev. 7:15 by saying that it was a synonym of “hieron” which not only refers to the building but also to the courtyard, that is to say, the entire temple complex. They need to try to convince people of this because they teach that the Great Crowd is essentially in the court of the Gentiles which would be outside of the temple. However, the Greek of Rev. 7:15 clearly shows that the Great Crowd is inside the building not in the courtyard because “naos” is more restrictive than “hieron”.
In bringing these lexical points out, I don't mean to imply that in the type the Levites served in the “Most Holy.” Only the High Priest was allowed to enter there, especially on the Day of Atonement. I'm simply showing that the Great Crowd is a heavenly class instead of an earthly one which is driven home with the translation “divine habitation” (as found in the NWT’s footnotes) since Jehovah’s temple as shown in the Book of Revelation is in heaven and not on earth. One only need to consult all of the occurrences of the word “temple” in the Revelation to see that it is the Greek word “naos” that is used. Incidentally, the Greek word “hieron” does not occur even once in the entire book of Revelation which is telling in and of itself.
Two. One before the Kingdom takes over rulership of this earth (separation of sheep from goats) and the other at the end of the thousand years, when satan is let loose to try and tempt the now sinless human race with his tried and tested methods. (Rev 20:1-3) Many of these redeemed ones will never have had their faith tested, so they will then. Many will not pass that final test, but the ones who do will enjoy the reinstatement of God's original purpose for this earth....he formed it to be inhabited.
Can you show me where in scriptures the first judgement is? Thanks!
No that is not what I said. All the pre-human servants of God will be resurrected to "life" as those who have already proven faithful to their death. Jesus says in John 5:28-29 that they do not need judgment, but those who have died in ignorance and perhaps were guilty of evil deeds will be resurrected to judgment....not for the things they did before their death, because death is the wages of sin...they have paid their debt. They will be judged on what they do after their resurrection.
So if ignorance is bliss, why not give them all that chance? By your preaching work, you are messengers of doom and not of Good News. If someone rejected your message, they are put into second death. You're right, ignorance is bliss. Some people will never see the Truth, because they are blinded by Satan, after all he is the god of this world. In fact we're told that if these days were not shortened, even the very elect would be deceived. (Matt, 24:24) Jesus died a "ransom for all", every man, women and child who ever died, with the exception of those who sinned against the spirit, and that only applies to the spirit begotten class, will enter the Kingdom reign of Christ. It is there as you correctly stated that they will be judged, not on the past deeds, but those deeds during the reign, and eventually tested in the end when Satan is let loose.
Wrong....please don't assume to put words in my mouth.....if you misunderstand something, ask....I'll set you straight.
There are only two places for the dead to go...."sheol/hades is the common grave of all mankind, and all in sheol/hades will be resurrected.
Those consigned to "gehenna" however, will never see life again because this death is everlasting.
On this we agree.
Only God knows who is in gehenna so that is not our call.
True it is not your call, and yet you make it your call by your preaching work.
Armageddon will destroy all who reject the message of the Kingdom that was to be "preached in the entire inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations" before the foretold "end" would come (Matt 24:14)....and as far as I can see there are no churches out "preaching the good news of the Kingdom", because none of them know exactly what it is...or what its purpose is that is "good news". Most have no idea what the Lord's Prayer means. How does the Kingdom "come"? When is God's will "done on earth as it is in heaven"?
So you admit it, that those who reject your message and do not join your ranks have been judged to die at Armageddon.
Jesus said he would be "with" his disciples in this very important work (Matt 28:19-20) because it is the only "witness" that humans all over the world will get....so who is out preaching in all the world with one united message about God's Kingdom? Christendom can't even agree on what they believe. It is a divided, bickering mess. Any wonder Jesus will say he "never knew" those people. (Matt 7:21-23)
And who are his disciples? Is it not those who follow in his footsteps? Those who are spirit begotten, those who have been called out of this dark world into His marvelous light? Those who will live and reign with him? There is no other group
In my whole life I have never had a single church member ever come to my door with any message at all. In fact no one has ever called on me...except Jehovah's Witnesses....and the Mormons, who have no message about the Kingdom anyway....so how does that work? Who are doing what Jesus commanded? (Matt 10:11-14)
I've had Witnesses, Adventist, Mormons, Baptist and others come to my door. You do realize that the door to door work is not the only way to reach people. I think if you took a poll of the witnesses in your area and asked them how they became witnesses, the No. 1 answer would be they were born into it. And if you asked those who had no connection to the Witnesses how they became witnesses, the vast majority would say it wasn't through the door to door work. Most likely it was through a friend, co-worker or relative.
