JANUARY 15, 2014 31

ed ones have faithfully completed theirearthly course.

15 In his detailed prophecy about theconclusion of this system of things, Je-sus said: “This generation will by nomeans pass away until all these thingshappen.” (Read Matthew 24:33-35.) Weunderstand that in mentioning “thisgeneration,” Jesus was referring to twogroups of anointed Christians. The firstgroup was on hand in 1914, and theyreadily discerned the sign of Christ’spresence in that year. Those who madeup this group were not merely alivein 1914, but they were spirit-anointedas sons of God in or before that year.—Rom. 8:14-17.

16 The second group included in “thisgeneration” are anointed contempo-raries of the first group. They were notsimply alive during the lifetime of thosein the first group, but they were anoint-ed with holy spirit during the timethat those of the first group were stillon earth. Thus, not every anointed per-son today is included in “this genera-tion” of whom Jesus spoke. Today, thosein this second group are themselves ad-vancing in years. Yet, Jesus’ words atMatthew 24:34 give us confidence thatat least some of “this generation will byno means pass away” before seeing thestart of the great tribulation. This shouldadd to our conviction that little time re-mains before the King of God’s King-dom acts to destroy the wicked and ush-er in a righteous new world.—2 Pet. 3:13.

CHRIST WILL SOONCOMPLETE HIS CONQUEST

17 What conclusion can we draw fromthe three lines of evidence that we have

17. What conclusion do we draw from thethree lines of evidence that we have consid-ered?

considered? Jesus cautioned that wewould not—and we do not—know the ex-act day or hour. (Matt. 24:36; 25:13) Butwe can and do know “the season,” asPaul mentioned. (Read Romans 13:11.)We are living in that season, the lastdays. If we give our full attention to Bi-ble prophecy and to what Jehovah Godand Jesus Christ are doing, we cannotfail to see compelling evidence that weare indeed living close to the end of thissystem of things.

18 Those who refuse to recognize theawesome authority that has been giv-en to Jesus Christ, the victoriousRider of the white horse, will soon beforced to admit their error. They willnot see a way out. At that time, manywill cry out in terror: “Who is able tostand?” (Rev. 6:15-17) Yet, the very nextchapter of Revelation provides an an-swer. The anointed ones and those withan earthly hope will indeed “stand” inthat day with God’s approval. Then “agreat crowd” of those other sheep willsurvive the great tribulation.—Rev. 7:9,13-15.

19 By our consciously focusing atten-tion now on the unfolding fulfillment ofBible prophecy in these exciting times,we will not be distracted by the noisefrom Satan’s world; nor will we be blindto the real meaning of world events.Christ will soon complete his conquestof this ungodly society by waging thefinal war in righteousness. (Rev. 19:11,19-21) Think of what the Bible assuresus can then be our happy lot!—Rev. 20:1-3, 6; 21:3, 4.

18. What awaits those who refuse to recognizeGod’s Kingdom?19. As one who recognizes, accepts, and re-sponds to the clear evidence that the last dayswill soon end, what are you looking forward to?

time were contemporaries of the first group. At least someof those in the second group will live to see the beginningof the coming tribulation. The two groups form one gener-ation because their lives as anointed Christians overlappedfor a time.[3]

19 What may we conclude? Well, we know that the sign ofJesus’ presence in Kingdom power is clearly evident aroundthe globe. We also see that the anointed ones who are stillalive and part of “this generation” are getting on in years;yet, they will not all die off before the great tribulationbegins. Therefore, we can conclude that very soon indeedGod’s Kingdom will come and exercise its rule over theearth! How thrilling it will be to witness the fulfillment ofthe prayer that Jesus taught us: “Let your Kingdom come”!

20 Let us never forget the words that Jehovah himselfspoke from heaven regarding his Son: “Listen to him.” Astrue Christians, we are eager to heed that divine direction.We are keenly interested in everything that Jesus said andtaught about God’s Kingdom. What that Kingdom has al-ready accomplished and will do in the future is the vitalfield of study that will be discussed in this publication. Thenext chapter will examine the exciting developments thatsurrounded the birth of God’s Kingdom in heaven.

[3] Anyone who was anointed after thedeath of the last of the anointed onesin the first group—that is, after thosewho witnessed the “beginning of pangsof distress” in 1914—would not be partof “this generation.”—Matt. 24:8.

FOOTNOTE

20. What vital field of studywill be discussed in thispublication, and what willbe examined in the nextchapter?

Jesus indicated that the Kingdom will come after“this generation” has witnessed the fulfillment ofthe prophetic sign (See paragraphs 17, 18)

GROUP 1:Anointed ones who saw the beginningof the fulfillment of the sign in 1914

GROUP 2:Anointed ones who were contemporariesof the first group; some of these will live tosee the great tribulation

G E N E R A T I O N(Matt. 24:32-34)

“This Generation”1914Destruction of

Babylon the Great