A truly significant step in understanding Jehovah’s purpose centered around Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats, at Matthew 25:31-46. In that parable Jesus said: “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.” As the parable goes on to show, the “sheep” are those who help Christ’s “brothers,” even seeking to bring them relief when they are persecuted and in prison.

When discussing the time that this prophetic parable would be fulfilled, the article showed that Jesus included it as part of his response to a request for ‘the sign of his presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.’ (Matt. 24:3) The article explained why the “brothers” referred to in the parable could not be the Jews of the Gospel age nor humans who show faith during the millennial period of testing and judgment but must be those who are heirs with Christ of the heavenly Kingdom, thus why the parable’s fulfillment must be at a time when some of Christ’s joint heirs are still in the flesh.—Compare Hebrews 2:10, 11.

The experiences of those anointed brothers of Christ when they endeavored to witness to the clergy and to the common people associated with the churches of Christendom also indicated that the prophecy embodied in Jesus’ parable was already being fulfilled. How so? The reaction of many of the clergy and prominent members of their churches was hostile—no refreshing cup of water, either literally or figuratively; instead, some of these instigated mobs to tear clothing from the brothers and beat them, or they demanded that officials imprison them. (Matt. 25:41-43) In contrast, many humble church members gladly received the Kingdom message, offered refreshment to those who brought it, and did what they could to help them even when the anointed ones were imprisoned for the sake of the good news.—Matt. 25:34-36.