THE CHOSEN ONES

Last year, there was this young man named Precious from the Jehovah witness who used to come by my place every Sunday after mass. I would be tired and hungry and sometimes I was tempted to make an excuse to avoid him but after a while the time we spent together discussing HIS views of the bible was not as intrusive as I initially found it. Granted, there are lots of issues that I have with the differences in the way the Catholic Church and the Jehovah Witness choose to interpret the Bible but there was one particular argument that stays fresh in my brain. It was the day I brought the attention of Precious to an article I had read in their Awake magazine about the privileged 144, 000 who would go to heaven. I was intrigued, curious and scared to imagine that there are only so few people who would make it to heaven. I started thinking of all the great saints and martyrs who had passed away. The Christians who had died for their faith, those killed in religious bigotry and victims of terrorist acts. Surely, these people would go to heaven. How many more slots would be left for poor mortals like me who were struggling to strengthen our faith?

Well, Precious told me that not all of us had to go to Heaven. Some of us would inherit the earth after the rapture. So there would be 144,000 former humans now angels in Heaven, some inheriting the earth and the rest of those who didn’t make the cut (the goats) rotting away in hell. It wasn’t encouraging I must say, but I was struggling as a Christian so I didn’t give this much thought till today when the first reading of the day drew my attention this verse…

Revelations 14:1 Then I looked and behold, on Mount Zion stood the lamb, and with him a hundred and forty- four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Does this mean that only 144,000 people will go to heaven? Out of the billions of people habituating the earth it is sad to imagine that only such a small group of people will make it to heaven. I know that I do not want to inhabit the earth.

I want to be in Heaven when I die…

I want to see the face of God…

I want to take my angel-like heavenly form…

I want all the problems of this earth cast away from me…

I want heaven and nothing else and I know for a fact that are hundreds of thousands of people who want to go to Heaven and not inhabit the earth. So I do not care what the numbers say because I know that if I live my life in fear of God, doing the things He wants and adoring Him in everything I do I am on my way. We are the chosen ones and Heaven is for all of us. Heaven is the goal. Our lives, passions and dreams are conditional to the touchdown that is an eternity spent in the presence of the Lord.