Who Can Read the “Sign” Aright?

“Hypocrites, you know how to examine the outward appearance of earth and sky, but how is it you do not know how to examine this particular time?”​—LUKE 12:56.

1, 2. What could Jesus’ enemies determine from the sky’s appearance, but what could they not understand?

WISE mariners know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, and they heed its indications. As a well-known rhyme puts matters: “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight,/​Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.”

² The Lord Jesus Christ made a similar point even more dramatically when confronted by his enemies. Concerning that encounter the Gospel writer Luke reported: “Then he went on to say also to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud rising in western parts, at once you say, “A storm is coming,” and it turns out so. And when you see that a south wind is blowing, you say, “There will be a heat wave,” and it occurs. Hypocrites, you know how to examine the outward appearance of earth and sky, but how is it you do not know how to examine this particular time?’”​—Luke 12:54-56.

3. What “sign” proving that Jesus was the Messiah were his foes unable to obscure?

³ Those proud foes could forecast the weather, but they were too hypocritical and spiritually ignorant to understand matters of much greater significance. Jesus performed various signs that helped honest-hearted ones to believe in him. (John 2:23) However, especially was his death on Passover Day of 33 C.E. and his resurrection on the third day a “sign” proving that he was the Messiah, or Christ. (Matthew 12:38-41; Luke 11:30) Naturally, Jesus’ enemies tried to obscure that “sign.” (Matthew 27:62–28:20; Acts 4:1-4) But before he ascended to heaven upwards of 500 Jews became witnesses of his resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:3-6) Similarly, today there is a “sign” that cannot be obscured. Reading it aright is a matter of life and death. But what is that “sign”? And who can accurately read it?

The “Sign” for Our Day

4. Today, what “sign” is in evidence, and what are some of its features? (Matthew 24:3)

⁴ Jesus’ disciples had asked him: “What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” In response, Christ foretold unparalleled wars, food shortages, earthquakes, and other features of the “sign” of his invisible “presence” in Kingdom power. A principal feature is the globe-encircling work of Kingdom preaching now being done in 203 lands by over 2,840,000 witnesses of Jehovah. Watch Tower publications have often pointed to this and other evidence now fulfilling the “sign” of Jesus’ “presence.”​—Matthew, chapters 24, 25; Mark, chapter 13; Luke, chapter 21.

5. Why was Jesus not overstating the case when he called the first-century Jews “a wicked and adulterous generation”?

⁵ There is no denying the fact that since the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the evidence in fulfillment of the “sign” has been multiplying. What significance should this have for us? Well, we do not want to be like the Jews of 19 centuries ago who were good weather-forecasters, but who ignored the plain evidence before their eyes and did not want to draw the conclusion to which it logically led. Long before that, God had empowered Moses to perform three signs to prove his divine authorization to the suffering Israelites. (Exodus 4:1-31) But in the face of many more than three signs, the Jews of that first-century generation were unwilling to accept as the Messiah the One greater than Moses. (John 4:54; Hebrews 2:2-4) So Jesus was not overstating the case when he called them “a wicked and adulterous generation.”​—Matthew 12:39.

6. Informed people are now saying what about world conditions?

⁶ People of this 20th-century generation who do not desire or believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ do not read aright the “sign” of this system’s end. But present conditions are by no means heartening, as shown by the following samples:

“United Nations Secretary General Javier-Perez de Cuellar has observed that the world has come to a most critical stage in the evolution of international affairs and the drive towards a just, peaceful and stable international order seems to have been weakened. . . . ‘The . . . decline of mutual trust among nations provides a fertile breeding ground for tension and conflict,’ the UN Secretary General said.”​—Indian Express, October 22, 1983.

“Many of us have been saying for years that nuclear war would kill many millions of innocent people and would make large portions of the world uninhabitable . . . A group of respected scientists has reached an even more dismal conclusion​—that a nuclear war, or even one general nuclear exchange by the superpowers, could touch off a worldwide climatic disaster that in turn could kill billions rather than millions and possibly could end human life on earth. The two-year study was made for the Conference on the Long-term Worldwide Biological Consequences of Nuclear War. Its conclusions were endorsed by more than 100 scientists . . . Carl Sagan . . . put the consequences of nuclear war in stark terms: ‘The extinction of the human species would be a real possibility.’”​—The Express (Easton, Pa.), November 3, 1983.

7. Where must lovers of life in a better world look for reassurance?

⁷ Such is the gloomy outlook of certain responsible, authoritative commentators. It is especially dark because they cannot point to any way out of the disaster they envision. Surely, lovers of life in a better world want hope-inspiring information. Happily, there is a way out of impending world calamity, for there were survivors of an equally threatening global peril. Why, if there had been no survivors of the Deluge in Noah’s day, the earth would not now teem with over 4,000,000,000 human inhabitants! Only one book​—the Holy Bible—​gives us an accurate account of how only eight humans, along with specimens of animal life, survived that global catastrophe.

8. In contrast with others, what were Jesus’ disciples to do when the present system of things was about to be removed?

⁸ Since the same reliable Book gives us Jesus’ description of the conditions that would obtain on the earth when the present collapsing system of things would be removed, should we not try to read that “sign” aright? Thirty-seven years before Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman legions in 70 C.E., Jesus gave that long list of features of the composite “sign” that would precede the global catastrophe prefigured by the Flood. And among other things, he said: “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.”​—Luke 21:25-28.

9. From 1895 to 1931, how was this journal’s mission indicated on its front cover?

⁹ Part of that prophecy appeared on the front cover of the Watch Tower issues of January 1, 1895, through October 1, 1931. Above that Bible quotation was a watchtower sending out rays of light, while a raging sea beat against the rock foundation upon which the tower stood. Thus this journal indicated its mission to a generation, members of which are yet alive and are reading this very issue.

10. How can we avoid suffering the fears experienced by human leaders today?

¹⁰ Today, men of affairs, whose hearts are growing faint out of fear, place their own interpretation upon features of the composite “sign.” But our best interpreter is Jesus Christ, and if we attach to the “sign” the significance he gave it, we shall not suffer the fears common to the human leaders who do not know the way out of the present world mess. Rather, we shall rejoice because our deliverance from this wicked system is getting near.

The Marked Time for the “Sign” to Appear

11. How did Jesus indicate that world events betokening the end would occur right on time?

¹¹ World events are happening right on time. How so? Well, before Jesus gave the prophecy recorded at Luke 21:25-28, he foretold the second destruction of Jerusalem. True to his word, it occurred in 70 C.E. As for the surviving Jews, Jesus said: “They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled.” Those nations were non-Jewish, or Gentile. Hence, the period of trampling is often called “the times of the Gentiles.” (Luke 21:24, NW; King James Version) When did they end? Well, more is involved than what happened to earthly Jerusalem. So the date when the Israelis took over control of the old walled city of Jerusalem, or the fact that it is the capital of the modern independent nation of Israel, is not the determining factor. God’s timetable is what matters!

12. When did the Gentile Times start, how long were they, and when did they end?

¹² The Gentile Romans began trampling down Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. But before them the Gentile Greeks, Persians, and Babylonians had trodden down that “city of the great King” Jehovah. (Matthew 5:34, 35) The Babylonians destroyed it and its temple in 607 B.C.E. From that time onward, the Gentile trampling upon what represented God’s Kingdom began, and the Gentile Times really started. Those Gentile Times were to be seven in number, each corresponding with a prophetic year of 360 days. On the basis of “a day for a year,” all “seven times” would total 2,520 years. (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6; Daniel, chapter 4) Beginning with Jerusalem’s desolation in 607 B.C.E., they would end in 1914 C.E.

13. Since when have Bible students known the date for the Gentile Times to end?

¹³ As early as 1880, the Watch Tower magazine said that the Gentile Times would extend to the year 1914. Then with the publication of the book The Time Is at Hand in 1889, Bible students earth wide were further alerted to the fact that the Gentile Times would end in the autumn of 1914.

14. Despite what happened to Jerusalem in 1948, why can we say that the Gentile Times ended in 1914?

¹⁴ Well, then, in that year, did old Jerusalem cease to be trampled on by non-Jewish, or Gentile, nations? No, for in 1914 the historic city was still in the hands of the Turkish Empire, the ally of imperial Germany. On December 9, 1917, it was taken from the Turks by British troops under General Allenby. Jerusalem continued under British rule by mandate of the League of Nations until 1948. Then the Jews rose up and captured the western part of modern Jerusalem outside the old walled city. The walled city was taken over by the Muhammadans. How, then, can we say that the Gentile Times ended in 1914? Because in that year the government of the great King Jehovah was born in heaven.

15, 16. (a) When did old Jerusalem cease to be “the city of the great King” Jehovah, but what more exalted Jerusalem exists? (b) Where, then, would Jehovah have installed Jesus Christ as King?

¹⁵ When Jesus was on earth, the temple of God stood in Jerusalem, and Jesus worshiped there. So Jerusalem could then be called “the city of the great King” Jehovah. (Matthew 5:34, 35) But certainly at the miraculous ripping of the inner temple curtain at the death of Jesus on Passover Day of 33 C.E., it ceased to be Jehovah’s royal city. The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Gentile Romans in 70 C.E. confirmed that fact. Happily for the Jewish Christians then, and for all Christians since, there is another Jerusalem, a more exalted one, “heavenly Jerusalem.”​—Hebrews 12:22.

¹⁶ In line with this fact, Jesus’ prophecy recorded at Luke 21:24 began with an application to earthly Jerusalem but must end with reference to “heavenly Jerusalem.” Yes, for “heavenly Jerusalem” has replaced earthly Jerusalem as “the city of the great King” Jehovah God. There, in that celestial “city,” was the place for “the great King” Jehovah to install his glorified Son Jesus Christ at the end of the Gentile Times in 1914.

17. At the end of the Gentile Times, what divine command was given to the enthroned King Jesus Christ, and who offered themselves willingly for his service?

¹⁷ That was the divinely appointed time for Jehovah to issue to his enthroned Son Jesus Christ the command embodied in the words of Psalm 110:2, 3: “The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, saying: ‘Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.’ Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force. In the splendors of holiness, from the womb of the dawn, you have your company of young men just like dewdrops.” True to this prophecy, the dedicated “people” who followed in Jesus’ footsteps and recognized the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 offered themselves willingly to serve as announcers of the newly begun rule of Jehovah God in heavenly Zion by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the so-called Christian nations did not submit willingly to Jehovah’s newly enthroned King. Actually, they proved to be his “enemies,” for they engaged in the first world war of human history over the issue of world domination. Worldwide they also interfered with the proclamation of God’s Kingdom.

18. In 1918, what proof was there of enmity against God’s Kingdom?

¹⁸ Enmity against God’s Kingdom became particularly evident in 1918. On May 8, 1918, the editor of the Watch Tower magazine and a number of his fellow workers were arrested amid war hysteria. Later, on June 21, they were sentenced to many years of imprisonment in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Only after the war had ended and they had spent nine months in prison were these ministers of God’s Kingdom admitted to bail. In due course, they were exonerated of all the false charges lodged against them.

19. After World War I, what position did the Federal Council of American churches take toward the League of Nations?

¹⁹ World War I ended on November 11, 1918, and in the following month the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America publicly declared itself to be in favor of the then-proposed League of Nations. That religious body declared the League to be “the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth.” Ignoring that religious recommendation, for political reasons the United States of America refused to join the League, joining only the World Court. Yet the League went into operation at the start of 1920, and the members of the Federal Council of Churches gave it their blessing and support.

20. What position did Jehovah’s people take toward the League, and what did they start to advertise?

²⁰ On the other hand, the Watch Tower magazine and Jehovah’s people circulating it refused to recognize the League of Nations as the political substitute for God’s Kingdom. They never recognized it as the fulfillment of the model prayer as taught by Jesus Christ: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew 6:9, 10) They did not offer themselves for the service of that man-made substitute, that fake! Rather, they gave their allegiance to the real Kingdom of God in the hands of Jesus Christ in “heavenly Jerusalem.” With God’s help, they had read aright the “sign” of Jesus’ “presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.” So they set out to advertise the Kingdom worldwide.

Seeing the “Sign” With Understanding

“While he was sitting upon 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?’”​—MATTHEW 24:3.

1. Why have the world-shaking events since 1914 not been accidental, and what did Jesus’ disciples ask him?

THE world-shaking events since World War I of 1914-18 have not been accidental. They were foretold 19 centuries ago by Jesus Christ. He had told his disciples about many startling things to come, and for that reason they asked him: “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?”​—Matthew 24:3.

2. Why did the apostles want to know more than what would happen before Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E.?

² Those apostles wanted to know more than what would occur between that time and the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus did not return either visibly or invisibly on that calamitous occasion. Nor did the system of things that had existed since the Deluge conclude at Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E. In reality, “the sign of [Jesus’ unseen] presence and of the conclusion of the system of things” was due to appear long after the earthly lifetime of his apostles.

3. (a) What shows that “this good news of the kingdom” was not preached by Christendom’s religions during the post-apostolic apostasy? (b) Will God’s Kingdom fail when the United Nations fails?

³ By means of prophetic parables regarding God’s Kingdom, Jesus had told his apostles about the religious rebellion that was to take place after his return to heaven and their death. During all the time of that apostasy, would there be any worldwide preaching of “this good news of the kingdom”? (Matthew 24:14) Certainly not by Christendom’s religions, when as late as December 1918 the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America hailed the then proposed League of Nations as “the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth.” In spite of that religious endorsement, however, the League failed at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. But with that failure, did the true Kingdom of God fail? No! Nor will it fail when the League’s successor, the United Nations, fails shortly. Rather, that divine Kingdom will destroy the United Nations, no matter how many heavenly angels may be needed to do this!

4. Why was the Kingdom-preaching work to be part of the “sign”?

⁴ All the foregoing helps to make possible a sharper understanding of this important fact: It was in response to the request for a “sign” that Jesus told his followers: “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.” (Matthew 24:14) This signifies that such earth-wide preaching of the Kingdom would be part of the composite “sign” that would mark “the conclusion of the system of things.” It would also be visible evidence of Jesus Christ’s invisible “presence.” The manner in which Jesus lined up the succession of events prior to his prophecy about the Kingdom-preaching work is noteworthy. In part he said:

5. What are some features of the “sign” that Jesus mentioned before foretelling worldwide Kingdom preaching?

⁵ “You are going to hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not terrified. For these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. . . . And because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off. But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.”​—Matthew 24:6-13.

6. Why are the features of the “sign” not just a continuation of a previous pattern of things?

⁶ True, there had been wars, food shortages, earthquakes, and pestilences down through the centuries of our Common Era until 1914. (Luke 21:11) Nevertheless, there had been nothing to compare with what has taken place since the Gentile Times ended in that momentous year. The international strife that was surprisingly stirred up in the summer of 1914 grew into a military engagement in which 28 nations eventually took part. Along with that human upheaval came natural earthquakes. There were food shortages, or famines, and in the final year of that world war there came the thieflike pestilence called the Spanish influenza that took the lives of more than 20,000,000 humans. All of this was not just a continuation of the previously occurring pattern of things. It was the start of a series of events making up a “sign” that this system of things is in its foretold “time of the end.” (Daniel 12:4) The Bible’s last book​—The Apocalypse, or Revelation—​makes this certain.

7. Why was the book of Revelation recorded, and what would many things therein “presented . . . in signs” signify?

⁷ The apostle John, who received the Revelation, was commanded to write it down for a special purpose. What purpose? This: “To show [God’s] slaves the things that must shortly take place.” And at the close of the Revelation the Lord Jesus Christ says: “Yes; I am coming quickly.” At that, John responds: “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.” Many things thus “presented . . . in signs” would, at their appearing in history, signify that we are living in “the time of the end” of this system of things. (Revelation 1:1; 22:20) Yes, they would be helpful to us in seeing the composite “sign” with understanding.

8. Who is the rider on the “white horse,” and when did God authorize him to go forth against his foes?

⁸ In Revelation chapter 6 appears the account of what has been called the ride of “the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.” Appearing first is the rider of “a white horse,” the glorified Jesus Christ, going forth to make war against his foes. This he was authorized by God to do at the end of the Gentile Times, when Jesus’ foes in heaven and on earth should have submitted to his rule.​—Psalm 2:1-12.

9. What is pictured by the rider on (a) the “fiery-colored” horse? (b) the “black horse”? (c) the “pale horse”?

⁹ The rider on the “fiery-colored” second horse pictured international war, for a military weapon, “a great sword,” was given to him. On the third mount, “a black horse,” was a rider picturing food shortage. How do we know this? Because he carried a pair of scales with which to measure out basic food supplies at inflated prices. The fourth rider, on a sickly-looking “pale horse,” pictured pestilence, for the account says: “The one seated upon it had the name Death. And Hades [the grave] was closely following him.” True, this fourth rider was given authority “to kill with a long sword” of war “and with food shortage . . . and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Notably, though, he was also authorized to make victims for the grave (Hades) by means of “deadly plague.”​—Revelation 6:1-8.

10. What was to occur after the fifth and sixth seals were opened, and what would earth’s inhabitants have to admit?

¹⁰ After the apostle John saw those visions of features that were to mark “the conclusion of the system of things,” he saw the opening of the prophetic scroll’s fifth and sixth seals. At that point, he saw a vision of terrifying natural phenomena, starting with “a great earthquake.” Finally, earth’s inhabitants were obliged to admit: “The great day of their wrath [that of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ] has come.” The closing of that symbolic day of wrath would signify that the end had at last come for supporters of this world.​—Revelation 6:9-17.

Gathering Those Approved for Salvation

11. What illustration did Jesus use to show the certainty of what he foretold regarding his “presence” and “the conclusion of the system of things”?

¹¹ In giving the “sign” of his “presence and of the conclusion of the system of things,” Jesus said: “Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Likewise also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.”​—Matthew 24:32-35.

12, 13. (a) What did the Jewish national calamity of 70 C.E. not signify? (b) Of what was that catastrophe a prophetic type? (c) So, what did Jesus go on to prophesy concerning his coming?

¹² When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 C.E. just as Jesus had predicted, this terrible tribulation upon the Jews did not signify that he had come the second time and that his invisible presence had begun. (Matthew 24:15-21) Since the Bible uses ancient Jerusalem as a type, that shocking catastrophe of 70 C.E. was really a prophetic type. It portrayed in miniature what was to occur on a world scale after the Gentile Times ended in 1914 and therefore after Jesus Christ actually had begun his invisible presence. That is why Jesus had also said:

¹³ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.”​—Matthew 24:29-31.

14. What covenant and sacrifice are referred to at Psalm 50:5?

¹⁴ The foretold gathering of those “chosen ones” during the conclusion of this system of things is in fulfillment of God’s command: “Gather to me my loyal ones, those concluding my covenant over sacrifice.” (Psalm 50:5) Since Jehovah calls it “my covenant,” it could not be a dedication that an individual makes to God upon becoming a Christian and that he could make binding by sacrificing himself. No, this covenant concluded between Jehovah and the “loyal ones” is God’s promised “new covenant” with the house of spiritual Israel. The sacrifice upon which that new covenant is based is the ransom sacrifice of “the Son of man,” Jesus Christ.​—Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 24:30.

15. Who are the “loyal ones,” and they now serve as what to the world?

¹⁵ The “loyal ones” taken into the new covenant are made spiritual Israelites. (Luke 22:19, 20) God calls for the gathering to take place so that he can examine those gathered, approve the loyal and reject those not living up to their claims about being in his covenant, the new covenant. (Psalm 50:16) Since World War I, the evidence is that Christendom, which claims to be in the new covenant, has not proved acceptable to Jehovah God. In sharp contrast stands a small remnant of truly dedicated, baptized disciples of the new covenant’s Mediator, Jesus Christ. They have proved to be spiritual Israelites. These loyal adherents to the new covenant are the “chosen ones” whom the Son of man gathers to himself by means of his angels. They carry out the obligations of the new covenant, “my covenant,” as God calls it. Because of their activity in support of God’s Kingdom by Jesus Christ, they have become a ‘sign’ to the whole world.​—Isaiah 8:18; Hebrews 2:13, 14.

16. (a) When was there a spiritual awakening for the remnant of the “loyal ones”? (b) In the parable of the ten virgins, who is the Bridegroom, and who make up his symbolic bride?

¹⁶ For that remnant of “loyal ones,” there had to be a spiritual awakening during the early part of “the conclusion of the system of things.” This was an outstanding feature of the “sign” that Jesus foretold in his great prophecy. For the remnant, the time of that awakening was one of great joy, a joy like that of the five discreet, or wise, virgins awakened by the midnight cry: “Here is the bridegroom! Be on your way out to meet him.” (Matthew 25:1-6) That joyous awakening occurred in the spring of 1919, when the anointed remnant began to recover from the effects of the worldwide persecution and interference they had experienced during the dark period of World War I. The Bridegroom of the parable of the ten virgins is, of course, Jesus Christ, and his symbolic bride is his loyal congregation of 144,000 members who are to be associated with him in the heavenly Kingdom. (Revelation 14:1-4) Bible chronology and modern correspondencies indicate that the Bridegroom King came to the spiritual temple in the spring of 1918. Then he began to resurrect from the dead the faithful members of the spiritual bride and to unite them to himself in the heavenly Kingdom. As the expression of the remnant of the bride, pictured by the discreet virgins, Revelation 19:7 states: “Let us rejoice and be overjoyed, and let us give him the glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has prepared herself.”

17. (a) Why could the ‘discreet virgin’ class rejoice? (b) The discreet virgins brought what along, and therefore could do what?

¹⁷ Yes, the time of the spiritual awakening of the ‘discreet virgin’ class and their coming to understand the meaning of the “sign” that began to appear in 1914 was the occasion for great rejoicing. Then applicable to them were the words: “Happy are those invited to the evening meal of the Lamb’s marriage.” (Revelation 19:9) In Jesus’ parable, the five discreet virgins brought along a reserve supply of illuminating oil so as to be able to relight their lamps and thus join the happy marriage procession with lighted lamps. When the Bridegroom arrived, “the virgins that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.”​—Matthew 25:1-10.

18. (a) After World War I, the anointed remnant still had enough of God’s enlightening Word and his holy spirit within themselves to do what? (b) What was announced at their first postwar convention?

¹⁸ True to the picture of the five discreet virgins, the anointed remnant proceeded to give a bright and gladsome welcome to the heavenly Bridegroom, the time for whose marriage to his bridal congregation had arrived. After their spiritually disconcerting experiences during World War I, they still had enough of God’s enlightening Word and his holy spirit within themselves as “earthen vessels” to rekindle their work of enlightening mankind concerning God’s Kingdom by means of his Bridegroom-King. (2 Corinthians 4:7) Accordingly, on September 1-8, 1919, the ‘discreet virgin’ class held their first international convention at Cedar Point, Ohio. There the proposed publishing of a new magazine in addition to The Watch Tower was announced. This new journal was to be called The Golden Age, a name descriptive of the kind of age restored mankind will enjoy during the Thousand Year Reign of the Bridegroom-King Jesus Christ. That magazine is still being published, now under the name Awake!

19. (a) How did the ‘discreet virgin’ class become an outstanding feature of the “sign” of Jesus’ “presence”? (b) Who are now the happy ones on earth?

¹⁹ Shortly after that convention, the first issue of The Golden Age​—that of October 1, 1919—​was published. With that journal and other publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the loyal ‘virgin class’ went forth on their mission of world illumination. They launched out on the postwar work of ‘preaching this good news of the kingdom for a witness to all the nations’ before the end of this system of things would come. (Matthew 24:14) In this way the anointed remnant, the ‘discreet virgin’ class, became an outstanding feature of the composite “sign” marking Jesus’ invisible “presence” as empowered King and “the conclusion of the system of things.” That enlightening work is further weighty proof that “the time of the end” began at the close of the Gentile Times in 1914. Happy are all those who with understanding see this foretold feature of the “sign” in all its significance!

Act Promptly Upon the “Sign”!

“Keep awake, because you do not know the day nor the hour.”​—MATTHEW 25:13, Byington.

1. Why would it be unwise to be like the foolish virgins of Jesus’ parable?

IN THE light of the incoming golden age for the world of redeemed mankind, how unwise it is to be like the five foolish virgins of Jesus’ parable! They acted too late and did not make it into “the kingdom of the heavens.” Those foolish ones did not act as illuminators at the needed time. (Matthew 25:1-12) When “this good news of the kingdom” shall have been preached “in all the inhabited earth for a witness” and “the end” is due, they will have lost their opportunity to share in that never-to-be-repeated privilege of service.​—Matthew 24:14.

2, 3. (a) With what admonition did Jesus conclude the parable of the ten virgins? (b) Why is that admonition still timely, and with what does the ‘discreet virgin’ class therefore need to keep supplied?

² That is why Jesus Christ closed his parable with this admonition: “Keep on the watch, therefore, because you know neither the day nor the hour.”​—Matthew 25:1-13.

³ Those words of the Bridegroom Jesus Christ are very timely, especially now, 71 years into this “conclusion of the system of things.” Even at this late date the remnant of the ‘discreet virgin’ class does not know the day or hour when “the door” will be shut to further opportunity for admittance into the heavenly Kingdom to be with the Bridegroom to whom they are espoused. Constantly it behooves those seeking to prove themselves discreet virgins to keep supplied with spiritual oil. In doing so they let the light shine by spreading “this good news of the kingdom” for an earth-wide, international witness until “the end” comes.​—Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10; Revelation 14:6, 7.

“Sheep” and “Goats” Now Being Separated

4. According to Matthew’s account, what final parable of Jesus must be fulfilled as part of the “sign” of His “presence”?

⁴ Before “the end” comes to “the conclusion of the system of things,” another work of separating people must take place and serve as part of the “sign” indicating that we are in “the time of the end.” (Daniel 12:4) This is the fulfillment of Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats, with which Matthew closes his account of Christ’s great prophecy concerning the “sign” of His invisible “presence” and of “the conclusion of the system of things.”

5. When was the separating of people like sheep and goats to take place?

⁵ Note now what Jesus foretold about this, as recorded at Matthew 25:31-46. He began the parable by saying: “When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.” What follows next? Jesus continued:

6. What does the Shepherd-King say to the people on his right?

⁶ “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. For I became hungry and you gave me something to eat; I got thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you received me hospitably; naked, and you clothed me. I fell sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to me.’

7. What inquiry will the righteous, sheeplike people make, and how will the King reply?

⁷ “Then the righteous ones will answer him with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?’ And in reply the king will say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

8. (a) The goatlike people did not act promptly to do what? (b) So where will the King send them in contrast with the righteous, sheeplike ones?

⁸ “The goats” do not act promptly on the “sign.” They do not do the things done by “the sheep” class. Thus we read: “Then he will say, in turn, to those on his left, ‘Be on your way from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I became hungry, but you gave me nothing to eat, and I got thirsty, but you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, but you did not receive me hospitably; naked, but you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, but you did not look after me.’ Then they also will answer with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them with the words, ‘Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did not do it to one of these least ones, you did not do it to me.’ And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life.”

9. For having done what during the present-day fulfillment of Jesus’ parable of “the sheep” and “the goats” can you be happy?

⁹ Likely you are taking part in the fulfillment of this prophetic illustration. Did you note the good things Jesus mentioned? Have you done such things to his “brothers”? Happy you can be if you have acted as a “sheep” toward them!

10. How did Jesus draw a distinction between his “brothers” and those pictured by “the sheep” and “the goats,” and what basis is there in the Bible for this?

¹⁰ Jesus drew a distinction between his spiritual “brothers” and those proving to be like sheep or goats. At the time of this parable’s fulfillment, his “brothers” are those who have imitated him by unreservedly giving themselves to God. Like Jesus, they have offered public evidence of this by getting baptized in water. Moreover, Jehovah, the Father of the King Jesus Christ, has become their heavenly Father by begetting them with His holy spirit and thus making them spiritual “brothers” of his Son. This puts them in line for a place in the heavenly Kingdom with their Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16) In this connection it was written concerning him: “For both he who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified all stem from one, and for this cause he is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers,’ as he says: ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the middle of the congregation I will praise you with song.’” (Hebrews 2:11, 12) Here Psalm 22:22 is applied to the glorified Son of God, Jesus Christ.

11. Are there many of Jesus’ spiritual “brothers” now on earth, and what class, or “congregation,” do they make up?

¹¹ There is yet on earth a remnant of those spiritual “brothers” of the reigning King Jesus Christ. As a class, or “congregation,” they make up “the faithful and discreet slave” that Jesus foretold in his prophecy on “the conclusion of the system of things.” He said: “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint him over all his belongings.”​—Matthew 24:45-47.

12. (a) Since 1919 the “slave” class has been outstanding in doing what? (b) Over what “belongings” has the “slave” been appointed? (c) The “slave” now in action is part of what?

¹² Historical facts answer Jesus’ question about the identity of this “slave.” “The congregation” that serves as the “slave” is made up of his God-given “brothers” still on earth. It is the same as the ‘discreet virgin’ class. Since 1919 this “slave” has been outstanding in serving fresh spiritual food from the Bible to the “domestics” of the Master’s household, doing so at a time most “proper” for it. Hence, the invisible Master has appointed this dependable “slave” class “over all his belongings” of a spiritual kind. Particularly is this so in connection with the preaching of “this good news of the kingdom” throughout all the earth, over which he rules. Until now this Kingdom witness has increased! “The faithful and discreet slave” in action is a prominent part of the “sign” showing us what time it is.

13. Since when have “all the nations” been gathered before the King, and when did the “slave” begin gathering “the sheep” to His right side?

¹³ It is to the members of the “slave” class that the righteous “sheep” have done good things. The symbolic sheep and goats are people of all the nations to which the Kingdom witness now is being given. So, as represented by such sheep and goats, “all the nations” have been gathered before the King seated on his heavenly throne since the end of the Gentile Times in 1914. In line with that foretold gathering, noteworthy is the year 1935. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which is used by the “slave” class, then had some 49 branch offices earth wide. In that same year the attention of the “slave” was specifically directed to the earthly sheeplike ones, with a view to gathering them to the right side of the reigning King Jesus Christ. Thus, these out of all nations came into closer association with the “slave” class.

14. In the light of John 10:16, what new view was taken of the righteous sheeplike ones, and how many branch offices of the Watch Tower Society now serve them?

¹⁴ Those righteous, sheeplike ones no longer were to be given a broad general classification as “men of good will.” (Luke 2:14, Douay Version) No more were they to be viewed as an indefinite, unorganized class of God-fearing people in all nations​—lost sheep, as it were. Jesus said he would gather “other sheep” and make them “one flock” with the remnant of the “slave” class. (John 10:16) The gathering of such “other sheep” from then on is an outstanding part of the “sign” marking “the conclusion of the system of things.” And to serve them the Watch Tower Society now has 95 branch offices.

Timely Action on the “Sign” Rewarded

15. To “inherit the kingdom,” what requirements must “the sheep” meet?

¹⁵ According to Jesus’ parable, the righteous “sheep” must meet certain requirements during “the conclusion of the system of things.” They have to recognize and acknowledge Christ’s spiritual “brothers” who make up “the faithful and discreet slave” class. “The sheep” must also do good things to the “slave” class, even visit them when they are unjustly confined in prison. This “the sheep” must do so as to enjoy the blessing of the heavenly Father and have the King Jesus Christ invite them to “inherit the kingdom prepared for [them] from the founding of the world.”​—Matthew 25:34.

16. By the words “inherit the kingdom,” the King invites “the sheep” to enter what, surviving what “war”?

¹⁶ Since these “sheep” are not the King’s spiritual “brothers,” he does not invite them to sit on heavenly thrones and rule with him for the special thousand years of his reign. By his words “inherit the kingdom,” he is inviting them to enter the Kingdom era after he has destroyed all the ungodly kingdoms of this world during “the war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon. (Revelation 16:13-16) Many of the sheeplike ones now living will survive that war of all wars and enter into Christ’s Thousand Year Reign without dying.

17. How does the King speak to “the sheep,” and how did he acquire something to bequeath to them?

¹⁷ So the King Jesus Christ speaks to these “sheep” as to his children whose time has come to enter into an inheritance from him. By his death as a perfect human to provide a ransom sacrifice for all mankind, he gave up all prospects of personally enjoying the earthly Paradise. (Luke 23:39-43) In this respect Jesus, “the last Adam,” is unlike “the first man Adam” who sinned and forfeited the earthly Paradise for all his offspring. Thus the resurrected Jesus Christ, who becomes the “Eternal Father” of all the redeemed world of mankind, had something to bequeath to these sheeplike ones on earth. (1 Corinthians 15:45; Isaiah 9:6, 7) The human family was founded in “the first man Adam,” with all his Paradise prospects and opportunities. But that lost Paradise is to be restored by means of God’s Kingdom in the hands of “the last Adam,” Jesus Christ.

18. In what sense was the Kingdom realm “prepared for [the sheep] from the founding of the world”?

¹⁸ Not until after they had been driven out of the first Paradise did Adam and Eve begin to have children. Their second son, righteous Abel, was murdered by their first son, Cain. So their son Seth was viewed as taking Abel’s place. With the birth of such offspring, the world of mankind was founded. But before this, when the parents of the world of mankind were driven out of Paradise, Jehovah God made his merciful promise concerning a “seed” that would bruise, or crush, the head of the symbolic Serpent, Satan the Devil. That “seed” was to be a royal Seed, and this involved a Kingdom, according to God’s purpose and forevision. (Genesis 3:15) When Satan the Serpent and his seed are put out of action, therefore, the redeemed ones of mankind would enter into a Kingdom realm on earth, under the heavenly government of the victorious Seed that crushes the Serpent and his seed. In this way “the kingdom” that the sheeplike ones “inherit” from their Eternal Father, Jesus Christ, is the Kingdom realm that was “prepared for [them] from the founding of the world.”

19. What kind of start will the post-Armageddon system of things have on earth?

¹⁹ Since the symbolic goats will be cut off in destruction at Armageddon, the surviving “sheep” will give a righteous start to the post-Armageddon system of things on a Paradise earth. Regarding this, Jesus said: “These [goatlike ones] will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life.”​—Matthew 25:46.

20. How can we avoid misinterpreting the features of the “sign”?

²⁰ During this “conclusion of the system of things” since the end of the Gentile Times in 1914, “the sheep” and “the goats” differ in the way they interpret the “sign” of Jesus’ “presence.” Since we unquestionably are in a time of judgment, this question is of vital concern: What does the “sign” signify to us? If left to our own judgment, we might misinterpret the features of that “sign.” So we do well to ask: What does Jesus Christ say that this composite “sign” should indicate to us? According to him, it should signify that the present system of things is to end shortly in a “great tribulation” more destructive than the global Flood of Noah’s day.​—Matthew 24:21.

21. (a) Although the “great tribulation” is ahead, why should we rejoice? (b) What opportunity and possibility exist for “the sheep” class of today?

²¹ Yet, rejoice, for this “sign” also signifies that the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ is at hand, is ready to begin after the destruction of Satan’s system of things on earth. (Luke 21:28) Therefore, under divine protection you have the priceless opportunity of surviving that “great tribulation” right on into the new system of things, in which righteousness is to dwell forever. Indeed, there is set before you the possibility of never dying but of living endlessly and blessedly in a paradise earth under the universal sovereignty of Jehovah God!

22. (a) If we act on the “sign” promptly and aright, what will we do? (b) In connection with the “sign,” how will Jesus Christ be vindicated?

²² Whether we are Christ’s spiritual “brothers” or the righteous “sheep,” then, let us act on the “sign” promptly and aright. Let us have a further part in the outworking of its prominent feature: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.” Then we shall have nothing to fear when “the end” comes. Instead, our joy will overflow! Then, too, Jesus Christ will be vindicated as the reliable forecaster of the many-featured “sign . . . of the conclusion of the system of things.”​—Matthew 24:3–25:46.