Loyally Supporting Christ's Brothers

HOW HAS JEHOVAH HELPED US UNDERSTAND THE PARABLE?

To understand what the parable of the sheep and the goats means, we need to know (11) Who is "the Son of man," or "the King," who are the sheep and the goats, and who are the Kings "brothers"? (2) when does "the Son of man" separate, or judge,the sheep and the goats?  (3) why are some called sheep and others called goats?

In 1881, the Watchtower  said that "the Son of man, or"the King," is Jesus. And it explained that the King's brothers" were not only those  who will rule in heaven with Jesus but also all people who will live on earth when they become perfect.  The Watchtower said that people would be separated during the Thousand Year Rule of Christ and that those who imitated God's love in everything they did would be called sheep.  

Later, Jehovah helped his people to understand this parable more clearly. In 1923, the Watchtower of October 15 said that "the Son of man" is Jesus.  But then it used Bible verses to explain that the "brother"  in the parable refer only to those  who will rule with Jesus and that they would all be in heaven during the Thousand Year Rule.  It also said that the sheep refer to those who will live on earth under the rule of Jesus and his brothers, the separating, or judgment, would need to happen whole these anointed brothers of Jesus are still on earth, before the Thousand Year Rule begins.  The article also said that the sheep would be those  who believe in Jesus and who believe the Kingdom will bring a  better life. 

For many years we thought that people were judged by means of the preaching work in this time of the end. If they accepted our message, they were sheep, and if they rejected the message, they were goats.  But in 1995 the way we understood the parable changed . The Watchtower compared  Matthew 24:29-31 (read) with Matthew 25: 31, 32 (read), and explained that Jesus will judge people during the great tribulation when the Son of man "comes in his glory." 

Today, we understand the parable of the sheep and the goats clearly.  We know that "the Son of man," or "the King," is Jesus.  The King's  "brothers" are those who are anointed with holy spirit and who will rule in heaven with Jesus.  (Romans 8:16, 17) "The sheep" and "the goats" are people from all nations.  they will be judged toward the end of the great tribulation That will soon begin. And we know that Jesus will judge people according to how they have treated the anointed ones who are still on earth.We are so grateful that Jehovah has helped  us over the years to understand  this parable and the other parables in Matthew chapters 24 and 25!

Next time: Loyally Supporting Christ's Brothers -THE PARABLE TEACHES US THAT THE PREACHING WORK IS VERY IMPORTANT

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015