[Blurb on page 18]

By faith in “the blood of the Lamb,” the “other sheep” are given an approved standing before Jehovah and are thus declared righteous for friendship with him and for survival during the “great tribulation.” They will attain to perfection by the end of the Millennium. After the final test they will be declared righteous for life.

When such faithful men and women of the past come back on earth in ‘the resurrection of the righteous,’ they will no doubt accept with faith Jehovah’s provision for life through Christ’s ransom sacrifice. (Acts 24:15) Thus they will become a part of Jesus’ “other sheep,” together with the “great crowd” who will have survived the “great tribulation.” (John 10:16; Revelation 7:9, 14) So doing, they will keep their names in Jehovah’s book of remembrance.

Accounted Righteous as Friends for Survival

13. Whom is the Fine Shepherd now bringing in, and how do they get inscribed in Jehovah’s book of remembrance?

¹³ The Fine Shepherd, Jesus Christ, is now bringing in “other sheep” that are not of the “little flock” of 144,000 “holy ones” to whom the heavenly Kingdom is given. (Luke 12:32; Daniel 7:18) These “other sheep” listen to the voice of the Fine Shepherd. (John 10:16) They exercise faith in Jehovah and in his Son. They dedicate their lives to Jehovah on the basis of Christ’s ransom sacrifice. They are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit” and recognize the need to cultivate “the fruitage of the spirit.” (Matthew 28:19, 20; Galatians 5:22, 23) Their names are written in Jehovah’s book of remembrance.

14. What gives the “other sheep” a clean standing before Jehovah, but for what do they need to ask God?

¹⁴ These “other sheep” gathered in this time of the end will make up the “great crowd” whom the apostle John saw in vision, after he had seen the 144,000 members of spiritual Israel. (Revelation 7:4, 9) He described the “great crowd” as having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Re 7 Verse 14) Because of their faith in the Lamb’s shed blood, a degree of righteousness is credited to them. This was depicted by their symbolic white robes. They have a clean standing before Jehovah, and “that is why” he allows them to ‘render him sacred service day and night in his temple.’ (Re 7 Verse 15) Still, each day they must confess their sins to Jehovah and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ.​—1 John 1:9–2:2.

15. (a) How does the parable of the sheep and the goats show that the “other sheep” have a righteous standing with God? (b) To what extent are they declared righteous at the present time?

¹⁵ That the “other sheep” are God’s friends and even now have a relatively righteous standing before him is also made clear in Jesus’ prophecy on ‘the sign of his presence,’ which includes the illustration of the sheep and the goats. Because the “sheep” do good to the remnant of Christ’s 144,000 “brothers” still on earth, they are blessed by Jesus’ Father and are called “righteous ones.” Like Abraham, they are accounted, or declared, righteous as friends of God. Their righteous standing will also mean survival for them when the “goats” depart into “everlasting cutting-off.” (Matthew 24:3–25:46) They will “come out of the great tribulation” that will mark the end of the present wicked system of things.​—Revelation 7:14.

Brought Up to Perfection

16. How do we know that the great crowd are not declared righteous for life before the “great tribulation”?

¹⁶ The “great crowd,” who survive the “great tribulation,” are not already declared righteous for life. We can see this from the fact that the chapter that mentions them goes on to say: “The Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life.” (Revelation 7:17) So, even though God previously counted them as righteous compared to mankind in general and as his friends, they need additional help, or steps to be taken, so that they can be declared righteous for life.

17. (a) What is meant by “the curing of the nations”? (b) Who will need to have their names inscribed in “the book of life”?

¹⁷ During the Millennium, the enthroned Lamb, Christ Jesus, together with his 144,000 associate kings and priests, will apply a program of spiritual and physical “curing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1, 2) Such “nations” will be made up of the survivors of the great tribulation, any children born to them after Har–Magedon, and those who come back in the “resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) All who put faith in Christ’s blood and accomplish appropriate “deeds” will eventually have their names written in “the book of life.”​—Revelation 20:11-15.

18. To what condition will earth’s inhabitants have been raised by the end of the Millennium?

¹⁸ By the end of Christ’s Millennial Reign, those of earth’s inhabitants who have shown that they accept Christ’s ransom and will live by Jehovah’s standards will have been raised to perfection. (Revelation 20:5) They will be as Adam was before he sinned. Like him, they will be tested as to their obedience.

“Glorious Freedom” as “Children of God”

19. (a) What will occur immediately after the Millennium? (b) What will happen to those whose names are not found written in “the book of life”?

¹⁹ Immediately after the Millennium, Christ will hand over to his Father a perfect human race. (1 Corinthians 15:28) “Satan will be let loose” for a decisive test of mankind. (Revelation 20:7, 8) The names of any who fail under test will not be “found written in the book of life.” They will symbolically be “hurled into the lake of fire,” which “means the second death.”​—Revelation 20:15; 21:8.

20. (a) Whom will Jehovah declare righteous for life, and why? (b) How will Jehovah’s merciful arrangement of justification have served its purpose?

²⁰ Those who prove loyal to Jehovah will have their names indelibly written in the “book of life,” as being perfect in integrity and worthy of the right to everlasting life on earth. Jehovah himself will then declare them righteous in the complete sense. (Romans 8:33) They will have been justified to life eternal. God will adopt them as his earthly sons, and they will enter into the promised “glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20, 21) Peace and harmony will have been restored to the universe. Reconciliation with God will be complete for “things upon the earth” and “things in the heavens.” (Colossians 1:20) Jehovah’s merciful arrangement of justification will have served its purpose. To the question, “Are you right with God?” every creature in heaven and on earth will be able to answer yes and add: “To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.”​—Revelation 5:13.