So we hear from Prince that he's still a JW in 2008:

"After being introduced to Jehovah's Witnesses by friend and bass player Larry Graham, Prince converted in 2001."

"He turned 50 on June 7, but "being a Jehovah's Witness, I don't celebrate birthdays or holidays. I don't vote."

http://www.usatoday.com/l...htm?csp=34

My question is do you think Christains and JWs can both go to heaven?

Do you think JWs are just like other different Christains, like Baptist, Methodist, Presbeyterian, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, etc.?

If the Rapture happen today or anytime in the future, do you think JWs would be Rapture Or do you think Prince and his buddies would be Left Behind to face the AC out of Revelation?

Astasheiks said:

Yes along with a whole host of all kinds of folks.

I haven't a clue how or what the rapture is going to be, I never was able to get through the first book of the Left Behind series so I guess I'm left winging it.

What kind of question is that? If Christians get to go to heaven, then seeing as Jehovah's Witnesses are a branch of Christianity, why wouldn't they be included?

Astasheiks said:

Yes along with a whole host of all kinds of folks.

I haven't a clue how or what the rapture is going to be, I never was able to get through the first book of the Left Behind series so I guess I'm left winging it.

meow85 said:

Many Christains say there are many scriptures in the bible they use are totally different than the King James version.

That's a question that will probably never have "the" answer you're looking for. I feel one has a right to choose whatever religion they feel comfortable and not have to answer for anyone else for their choice of it. It's individual choice.

2elijah said:

P and we are going to answer one day, not to human but to The Master himself! And what would The Lord say about JWs?

Astasheiks said:

That's between the Lord and JWs.

Don't take this personally, but why stress over what the "Lord" will say to someone else, which is an answer you will never know, when you should be focusing on what he will say to you?

The relationship between Prince and Jehovah is a personal one, just like your relationship with God and everyone else who believes in God is a personal one. You are asking questions to answers you will never get unless you have a one on one conversation with Prince, and I doubt that will happen, unless he chooses to have one with you.

I don't agree with some of the principles of the JW faith, but I'm not going to throw stones at anyone who chooses to follow that path. If they're adults who made that choice, well then it's their right to choose. I cannot however, speak for children who are not able to personallyl choose their own religion if they are under 18.
[Edited 9/27/08 13:38pm]

That's between the Lord and JWs.

Don't take this personally, but why stress over what the "Lord" will say to someone else, which is an answer you will never know, when you should be focusing on what he will say to you?

The relationship between Prince and Jehovah is a personal one, just like your relationship with God and everyone else who believes in God is a personal one. You are asking questions to answers you will never get unless you have a one on one conversation with Prince, and I doubt that will happen, unless he chooses to have one with you.

I don't agree with some of the principles of the JW faith, but I'm not going to throw stones at anyone who chooses to follow that path. If they're adults who made that choice, well then it's their right to choose. I cannot however, speak for children who are not able to personallyl choose their own religion if they are under 18.
[Edited 9/27/08 13:38pm]

Are you saying Jehovah and God are not the same spirit/person?

And who stops children from personally choosing their own religion if they are under 18???

I haven't a clue how or what the rapture is going to be, I never was able to get through the first book of the Left Behind series so I guess I'm left winging it.

What kind of question is that? If Christians get to go to heaven, then seeing as Jehovah's Witnesses are a branch of Christianity, why wouldn't they be included?

rapture is a myth thought up just over a hundred years ago.

ehuffnsd said:

The Rapture is not a Myth, Its been there since God wrote The Bible, Revelation 4:1!

From the beginning of the Christian era until the Protestant Reformation, only one person, Ephraem of Nisibis, in 373 AD preached in one known sermon that, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." The doctrine of the Rapture was not heard of again until the Protestant Reformation and the rise of Dispensationalism. In fact, some people believe that the Rapture doctrine was developed to help alleviate some the the problems associated with Dispensationalism, specifically the belief that God deals with Israel and Christians in different ways

John Nelson Darby, a 19th century Irish lawyer turned Anglican preacher, developed a method of biblical interpretation called dispensationalism in which he incorporated Ribera's futuristic views. Darby became "the father of the rapture doctrine." He was the first to develop a full-blown theology that incorporated the teaching that Jesus would return secretly (His "second" coming) to rapture His true followers, leaving the rest behind to be ruled by an evil antichrist for seven years, and then return again (His "third" coming) in a visible, glorious coming to destroy antichrist, save those who were converted during the seven-year tribulation, and establish His own kingdom.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches as well as the Reformed denominations have no tradition of such a teaching and reject the doctrine, in part because they cannot find any reference to it among any of the early Church fathers and find its biblical foundation as not solid.[1]. Some also reject it because they interpret prophetic scriptures in either an amillennial or postmillennial fashion, as being more spiritual than physical.

In a Catholic Bible, e.g. The Douay Rheims Bible, 1 Thes 4:15~17 and 1 Cor 15:51~55 seem clear on this subject. These passages describe "The resurrection of the living" or "First resurrection" which other denominations have named "The Rapture."

Proponents of the rapture insist that the doctrine of amillennialism originated with Alexandrian scholars such as Clement and Origen[2] and was later brought wholly into Roman Catholic dogma by Augustine.[3] Hence, the church up until then held to premillennial views, which see an impending apocalypse from which the church will be rescued after being raptured by the Lord. This is even extrapolated by some to mean that the early church espoused pretribulationism.[4]

Some Pre-Tribulation proponents maintain that the earliest known extra-Biblical reference to the "Pre-Tribulation" rapture is from a sermon falsely attributed to the fourth-century Church Father Ephraem the Syrian, which says, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."[5][6] However, the interpretation of this writing, as supporting Pre-Tribulation rapture, is debated.[7]

There exists at least one 18th century and two 19th century Pre-Tribulation references, in a book published in 1788, in the writings of a Catholic priest Emmanuel Lacunza [8] in 1812, and by John Nelson Darby himself in 1827.[9] However, both the book published in 1788 and the writings of Lacunza have opposing views regarding their interpretations, as well.

The rise in belief in the "Pre-Tribulation" rapture is sometimes attributed to a 15-year old Scottish-Irish girl named Margaret McDonald (a follower of Edward Irving), who in 1830 had a vision that was later[10] published in 1861.

The popularization of the term is associated with teaching of John Nelson Darby, prominent among the Plymouth Brethren, and the rise of premillennialism and dispensationalism in English-speaking churches at the end of the 19th century. In 1908, the doctrine of the rapture was further popularized by an evangelist named William Eugene Blackstone, whose book, Jesus Is Coming, sold more than one million copies. The first known appearance of the theological use of the word "rapture" in print occurs with the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909.[11]

In 1957, John Walvoord, a theologian at Dallas Theological Seminary, authored a book, "The Rapture Question," that gave theological support to the Pre-Tribulation rapture; this book eventually sold over 65,000 copies. In 1958, J. Dwight Pentecost authored another book supporting the Pre-Tribulation rapture, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, that sold 215,000 copies.

During the 1970s, the rapture became popular in wider circles, in part due to the books of Hal Lindsey, including The Late Great Planet Earth, which has reportedly sold between 15 million and 35 million copies and by the movie "A Thief in the Night" which based its title on the scriptural reference 1 Thessalonians 5:2.[12] Lindsey proclaimed that the rapture was imminent, an idea that he based on world conditions at the time. The Cold War and the European Economic Community figured prominently in his predictions of impending Armageddon. Other aspects of 1970s global politics were seen as having been predicted in the Bible. Lindsey suggested, for example, that the seven-headed beast with ten horns, cited in the Book of Revelation, was the European Economic Community, a forebear of the European Union, which at the time aspired to ten nations; it now has 27 member states.

In 1995, the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's book series, Left Behind, which sold tens of millions of copies and was made into several movies.

The doctrine of the rapture continues to be an important component in fundamentalist Christian eschatology today. Many Christians continue to feel that world conditions point to the rapture, Tribulation, and return of Christ occurring soon. And yet virtually all the Christians of the Reformation, including Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Calvinists, and so on believed Revelation was living Church history, with some of it already having occurred and some of it to occur. All those denominations plus many more believed that the pope was the man of sin mentioned in the bible, and put such in their statements on doctrine. Many believe the Reformation itself was a God ordained event.

rapture is a myth thought up just over a hundred years ago.

Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe they will all go to heaven. Only 144,000 get to go. The rest will be on earth and live forever when all the wicked are destroyed and they have cleaned it up and turned it into a paradise. Of course Satan has to be let loose once more for 1000 years to double-check and make sure all the "good" people stay that way. If they don't, they will be destroyed for good this time.

meow85 said:

most Christian demoniations feel they are the one true church and only their believers will make it into heaven.

ehuffnsd said:

The Bible wasn't written a hundred years ago.. the Rapture is in The Bible

Flowers2 said:

the rapture is not in the bible.

* i'd also like to point out that JW's do not believe in going to heaven (and hell) such as is the common belief among Christian churches.

nor do they believe in the Rapture.

noimageatall said:

... that only applies to the Jews ..the ones who don't accept Jesus now, God gives them a second chance..... 12,000 (x 12) of each of Jacob's sons