Who declared that John's revelation was directed at synagogues?
The Jews by the time of this book's writing (sometime in that late 1st and the early 2nd century )....were scattered around the globe after Rome sacked Jerusalem around 70 A.D.The book of revelation, as stated in Rev. 1 is directed at Christian congregations in Asia Minor....not to the Jews.......this book was recorded in a 'signified' manner and its directives as stated was to GIVE HOPE to the Christians who would read this book.....why the 7 churches in Asia? That is were Rome was persecuting Christians....attempting to stop the spreading of this religion around the Empire.
......signified, meaning the book used symbolism (like the number 7 to project completeness).....but its clear in a Literal Fashion the scriptures prove there were more than 7 congregations in Asia during this time period......this could only mean that John was being directed to reveal his message to all of Christianity......yet you insist upon applying a literal meaning to the 144K mentioned in (Rev. 14:1-5) picked to help Christ as leaders in a supposed Kingdom that has not yet been established...when in reality the kingdom was established when the Father gave Jesus all authority in heaven and earth, to enter that kingdom would require all disciples to be baptized into the kingdom in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-19)
Jesus Himself stated that His kingdom would come in this generation (the 1st century)......as those standing there hearing Jesus preach would not taste of death until Jesus established His kingdom with Power (Matthew 16:28, Luke 9:27, Mark 9:1)
Your problem is the fact you refuse to accept that his Book of Revelation's prophecy was to "Shortly Take Place" (Rev 1)
Next when you read from (Revelation 7:1-12)..........if we say the 144 thousand is to be used as a literal number then you must accept all the message in a literal fashion. You must conclude that the 144 thousand will all be JEWS.....why? They all will come from the tribes of Israel. (Rev. 7:6-8). So much for 21st century gentiles being among the 144 thousand. These people are to be located on earth, as opposed to the great multitude who are before the throne of God in heaven (and these people come from ALL NATIONS).
Next, read the context of (Rev. 14:1-5) You find the 144 thousand standing on a hill on earth, Mt. Zion (Jerusalem) with the lamb.....Jesus. We also learn that all of the 144 thousand are virgins, as none of them have been defiled by women, all 144K will be MEN, (so much for anyone that has ever engaged in heterosexual relationships or female members of the JWs ....if you take this book literally)...thus all the JWs first must convert to Judaism with a tribal ID while never having engaged in sex with a woman....if they are to be numbered with the 144 thousand.
God gave us a brain to USE. If you read the scriptures in a logical manner you will see .......the Kingdom of God was spoken of in future tense until Jesus ascended into Heaven in the clouds accompanied by angels (Acts 1)....after the ascension, every time the Kingdom of God is mentioned it's spoken of in PRESENT TENSE......meaning the Kingdom had already been established. The Kingdom of God.......the Kingdom of Christ....i.e, the church which will stand against the gates of Hades (Matthew 16) (the resting place of the dead awaiting final judgment, when hades will give up its dead -- Rev. 20:13).........already exists and has existed for over 2000 years. Mankind has been living in the last days over those 2000 years (Acts 2:17) and most certainly we all are living in a state of tribulation in dealing with this reality called LIFE.
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