Would you (JW) attend a synagogue being that Judaism believes in the same God? And also, all funeral and wedding ceremonies that I've been to, usually, have a service also that you would be sitting through. Don't they?
Hi Jensen,
Would we attend a synagogue? It would depend on the purpose of the visit. We might go to attend a wedding ceremony or a funeral of a friend or family, but we wouldnt go for general religious services.
In the case of a service being held at a wedding or funeral, each JW would decide for themselves if they wanted to sit through the service or not.... some might, others may prefer to wait for the service to end. Its an individual matter. There are no hard and fast rules.
Being that you gave this verse to support that Jehovah would rule from heaven....
"And Jehovah will rule as king over them in Mount Zion"
Is Mount Zion then to be understood as the same as heaven? being that you said that God and the 144,000 will be ruling from heaven?
Yes. The christians certainly saw it that way.
Historically, Mount Zion was where the earthly throne of God was situated. The kings of Isreal were said to sit 'on Gods throne' (1Chron 28:5 & 29:23) which was located in Jerusalem, which is located geographically on Mount Zion.
So Mount Zion is the place which represented Gods authority and rulership, not mans. Most of the hebrew scriptures speak of the literal earthly MZ, but we find the christians looking heavenward to what that earthly zion represented, Gods rulership. Why? Because Jesus told them that 'the Kingdom of God was near'...God was going to take over rulership of the earth just as was spoken through the prophet Daniel 2:44 "
“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever
" This was the teaching of Jesus... Gods kingdom is coming! Gods rulership by his own power...not by any earthly power.
EG,
Hebrews 12:22
 But you have approached a Mount Zion and a city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and myriads of angels 23 in general assembly, and the congregation of the firstborn who have been enrolled in the heavens, and God the Judge of all, and the spiritual lives of righteous ones who have been made perfect, 24 and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood, which speaks in a better way than Abel’s blood.
You say that Jesus is now ruling from heaven ,that there is proof of this, yet don't you also teach that Satan is the ruler of the world now. Please explain. Thanks.
Jensen
Yes thats correct. Jesus began to rule when the gentile times ended. But what he has been doing througout the past 100 years is teaching people... he foretold that, before the end of satan and the wicked system, he would be leading a world wide preaching work. During that time, there would be distressing conditions for earths inhabitants with wars, pestilences, food shortages and earthquakes.... but through all this, Jesus would be teaching people by means of a world wide preaching work that would be headed by his disciples:
Matt 24:3 
While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” 4 In answer Jesus said to them: ... 7 “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. 8 All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. ...12 and because of the increasing of lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold. 13 But the one who has endured to the end will be saved. 14 And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matt 28:19 
Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
So the fact that Satan is still here and wickedness is still prevalent does not change our view that Jesus is now ruling in heaven as the king of Gods kingdom. He was very clear that a lot of bad things would be happening during his 'presence' and would continue until he brought the system to its final end.
We believe that since 1914, the world has gone into a steady decline because we are living in the last days...2Timothy 3:1-5 calls the last days "critical times hard to deal with"
This is all the more proof that Jesus is ruling in heaven right now...and soon, mankind will experience relief from the many woes its currently experiencing.
