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Why nao Olketa Jehovah’s Witness sei datfala namba 144,000 wea buk bilong Revelation storyim hem minim wanfala really namba and no tokpiksa nomoa?

Aposol John raet olsem: “Mi herem namba bilong olketa wea kasem seal, wan handred and foti-foa thousand.” (Revelation 7:4) Insaed long Bible, disfala toktok “olketa wea kasem seal” hem minim wanfala grup wea God chusim from midolwan olketa man for rul witim Christ long heven ovarem Paradaes earth wea bae kamap. (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22; Revelation 5:9, 10; 20:6) Samfala reason stap why olketa sei disfala namba 144,000 hem wanfala really namba. Wanfala reason hem showaot from olketa toktok wea stap raonem Revelation 7:4.

Insaed vision aposol John herem namba bilong disfala grup 144,000. Bihaen hem lukim narafala grup. John storyim disfala mek-tu grup olsem “wanfala big crowd, wea no eni man savve kaontem, wea kamaot from evri nation and tribe and pipol and languis.” Disfala big crowd hem nao olketa wea bae winim datfala “big trabol,” wea bae distroem disfala wicked world.—Revelation 7:9, 14.

Bat, lukim, hao John showimaot hao Revelation chapter 7 verse 4 hem difren from verse 9. Hem talem hao datfala first grup, “olketa wea kasem seal,” hem garem namba. Bat, datfala mek-tu grup, “wanfala big crowd,” hem no garem namba. Taem iu ting raonem datwan, hem mek sense for sei datfala namba 144,000 hem wanfala really namba. Sapos datfala namba 144,000 hem tokpiksa nomoa and hem minim wanfala grup wea no garem namba, then John bae iusim semkaen toktok nomoa long tufala verse hia. Dastawe, olketa verse wea stap raonem barava showimaot hao datfala namba 144,000 mas wanfala really namba.

Olketa difren savveman saed long Bible, long bifor and distaem, garem sem tingting olsem—namba hia hem wanfala really namba. Olsem example, taem hem storyim Revelation 7:4, 9, British savveman Doctor. Ethelbert W. Bullinger talem olsem winim 100 year go finis: “Hem klia toktok nomoa, hao long hia hem talem stret wanfala namba bat long nara part long disfala sem chapter hem no talem namba.” (The Apocalypse or “The Day of the Lord,” page 282) No longtaem go nomoa, Robert L. Thomas, Junior, professor of New Testament long The Master’s Seminary long United States, raet olsem: “For sei disfala namba hem tokpiksa nomoa hem no garem eni strongfala faondeson.” Hem sei moa: “Hem wanfala namba [long Revelation 7:4] wea barava difren from sekson long 7:9 wea no garem namba. Sapos 144,000 hem wanfala tokpiksa namba nomoa, iumi hard for sei eni nara namba long buk bilong Revelation hem wanfala really namba.”—Revelation: An Exegetical Commentary, Volume 1, page 474.

Samfala sei from Revelation iusim barava tokpiksa languis, evri namba insaed, wea insaed diswan hem datfala namba 144,000, hem mas tokpiksa nomoa. (Revelation 1:1, 4; 2:10) Bat, datfala tingting hem barava no stret. Hem tru, Revelation garem planti tokpiksa namba, bat hem garem tu olketa really namba. Olsem example, John story abaotem “twelvfala nem bilong twelvfala aposol bilong Lamb.” (Revelation 21:14) Hem klia tumas, namba 12 wea disfala verse storyim, hem no tokpiksa namba. And tu, aposol John raet abaotem “datfala thousand year” bilong rul bilong Christ. Wei for lukluk gud long Bible showimaot hao datfala namba tu hem wanfala really namba.a (Revelation 20:3, 5-7) Dastawe, for savve sapos wanfala namba hem really namba or tokpiksa nomoa hem depend long olketa verse wea stap raonem.

Wei for sei datfala namba 144,000 hem really namba and hem for samfala man nomoa, wea smol nomoa taem iu markem witim “big crowd,” hem agree witim samfala nara part long Bible. Olsem example, bihaen nao insaed long datfala vision wea aposol John kasem, hem storyim datfala 144,000 wea hem lukim wea Jehovah “baem olketa from midolwan long olketa man olsem olketa firstfala frut.” (Revelation 14:1, 4) Disfala toktok “olketa firstfala frut” hem minim wanfala smol sekson. And tu, taem Jesus stap long earth, hem story abaotem olketa wea bae rul witim hem long Kingdom bilong hem long heven and hem kolem olketa wanfala “smol flock.” (Luke 12:32; 22:29) Tru nao, olketa wea bae rul long heven olketa smol namba nomoa taem iu markem witim olketa wea bae stap long Paradaes earth wea bae kamap.

Dastawe, olketa verse wea stap raonem Revelation 7:4 and olketa toktok antap wea iu savve lukim long Bible barava showimaot hao datfala namba 144,000 hem wanfala really namba. Hem minim olketa wea bae rul witim Christ long heven ovarem wanfala paradaes earth, wea bae fulap witim hapi pipol wea worshipim Jehovah God and namba bilong olketa hem big tumas wea iumi no savve kaontem.—Psalm 37:29.

[Footnote]

[Blurb long page 31]

Namba bilong olketa wea bae go long heven hem 144,000 nomoa

[Piksa long page 31]

Datfala “big crowd” hem no garem namba

[Piksa Credit Line long page 31]

Stars: Courtesy of Anglo-Australian Observatory, photograph by David Malin