Separating of People There are other significant developments that Jesus associated with the conclusion of the system of things. One of these is the separating of “the sons of the kingdom” from “the sons of the wicked one.” Jesus spoke of this in his parable about a wheat field that an enemy oversowed with weeds. “The wheat” in his illustration represents true anointed Christians. “The weeds” are those who profess to be Christians but prove themselves to be “sons of the wicked one” because they cling to the world of which the Devil is ruler. These are separated from “the sons of [God’s] kingdom” and are marked for destruction. (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) Has this actually taken place? After World War I, there was a separating of all who claimed to be Christian into two classes: (1) The clergy of Christendom and their followers, who came out in strong support of the League of Nations (now the United Nations) while still holding fast to their national loyalties, and (2) true Christians of that postwar era, who gave their full support to God’s Messianic Kingdom, not to the nations of this world. (John 17:16) These proved themselves true servants of God’s Kingdom by undertaking the preaching of “this good news of the kingdom” earth wide. (Matthew 24:14) With what results? First, there was the gathering of the remnant of those anointed by God’s spirit, who have the hope of being with Christ as part of the heavenly Kingdom. Though such ones were scattered among the nations, they were brought into organizational unity. The completion of the sealing of these anointed ones draws near.—Revelation 7:3, 4. Then, under Christ’s direction, there began the gathering of “a great crowd . . . out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues.” These make up the “other sheep” who will survive “the great tribulation” into God’s new world. (Revelation 7:9, 14; John 10:16) This work of preaching God’s Kingdom before the end comes continues right down to the present time. Loyally, the great crowd of other sheep, now numbering into the millions, help the anointed remnant publicize the vital message of the Kingdom. This message is being heard in all nations.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 13:25:05 +0000
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