About the 144,000

One of the ways the World Mission Society Church of God tries to draw new members is to tell them about how close we are to the end of times, and how plagues and disasters and wars are part of the end times events, and that if they want God’s protection from all this, they need to join the WMSCOG in taking the Passover. This all stems from passages in Revelation chapters 7, 9, and 14, which speak of 144,000 having the seal of God.

If you read some of the Fragrances of Zion that members write and get posted on the main church website (http://english.watv.org/fragrance/list.asp), you’ll see that they call themselves the 144,000 and are waiting for all 144,000 of their lost brothers and sisters to be found so that “Father” can return soon.

So I thought I’d find out more about WMSCOG doctrine concerning the 144,000. Ahnsahnghong talked about it in his book, “The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life.” Here’s what he said…

On page 77 (Chapter 5), he explains that in the last days, only the 144,000 will be the ones to be saved--left alive and transfigured to go up to heaven.

On page 81 (Chapter 5), he explains that the 144,000 are chosen by God, and that we should not test God, wondering if we are one of the chosen, but should live as though we were certain we were one of the chosen.

On page 85 (Chapter 6), he says that because “144,000” is interpreted by almost all Biblicists as a literal number, some pastors/leaders of large churches want to interpret it differently. He implies that if their church numbers more than 144,000, then the extras won’t be going to heaven, and since the pastors/leaders know this, they interpret things differently (incorrectly) so everyone thinks they will be going.

On page 443 (Chapter 33), he says that in a short period of time after WWII, the seal must be placed on “the 144,000 saints who will go up to heaven alive.” World War Three will not begin until after all 144,000 are sealed, and if you do not have the seal, even if you are one of the elect, you will die either in disasters or in the war.

On page 445-447 (Chapter 33), he says that the Seventh-day Adventists also believe the 144,000 will go to heaven alive, but since they believed the last days started in 1844, and everyone alive in 1844 is dead now, then they must have been wrong in their timing. He says the sealing did not start in 1844 as the Seventh-day Adventists believe, but it started after World War Two.

On page 447-449 (Chapter 33), he says that the “blood of the Passover Lamb” (keeping the Passover) is the seal that is required to escape the last plagues and enter heaven.

According to all these statements and interpretations, we can get a picture of Ahnsahnghong’s view of the 144,000, but I still have questions:

--My sister told me that the 144,000 will not be the only ones saved and going to heaven. If the church is teaching that the 144,000 are not the only ones to be saved, then that sounds like a contradiction. What are they actually teaching now, and is it the same as what Ahnsahnghong taught?

--If the 144,000 are specially chosen and you can’t know if you are one of the chosen but should live as though you are, that means that there can be people who follow all God’s laws, keep all the feasts, and keep the Passover so they can have the seal, and still not be one of the “chosen”. What about John 1:12 which says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,” and John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Emphasis mine) How sad to be told that if you do ALL the church requires you will be spared from the last plagues, only to find out that you might not be saved from those plagues after all.

--WWII ended in 1945 and WWIII hasn’t happened yet, so according to Ahnsahnghong, we are in the last days and the 144,000 are currently being sealed? And according to him, if the church has more than 144,000 members, some of them will not be going to heaven with them. The church website says that they have 1 million members, and that they reached 200,000 members back in 1999. If only 144,000 are being taken to heaven alive, what is the church teaching will happen to the rest? Do they die in the end disasters and plagues and then join the others in heaven? Or do they just die in the end disasters and plagues and tough luck, no heaven for them? Or...?