of this little flock remaining on earth. (Luke 12:32) However, today there is a great and mighty flock of sheep, meek and teachable people, following the Good Shepherd, even as Jesus said there would be. “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [not of the “little flock” fold]: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16) The parable of the “sheep and goats” reveals that Christ Jesus would begin to gather and “bring” these “other sheep” following his enthronement as King in 1914 and his coming to the temple for judgment in 1918. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.”—Matt. 25:31, 34.

²⁴ In such separating work, now progressing among the nations, the “other sheep” class are placed on the King’s right hand of favor. The Revelation vision given to John describes these “other sheep” as a “great multitude” of persons of good-will who have been gathered together in recent years and are now joyfully singing: “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Never again will they hunger or thirst, “for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.” (Rev. 7:9-17) Some sheep have been in this one flock organization of the Lord for twenty or thirty years, others for a much shorter time, and still others, like newborn lambs, are now studying this Watchtower magazine for the first time. But all together, Jehovah and Christ Jesus are feeding the “sheep”, whether they be young or old. “Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, . . . He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm [“with his arm”; His right arm Christ Jesus (Septuagint, Bagster; Douay; Leeser)], and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.”—Isa. 40:10, 11, Am. Stan. Ver.

25. What do the clergy now do, but the faithful servants do?

²⁵ This gathering of the half-starved “other sheep” out of Christendom’s dried-up strongholds by the Good Shepherd has progressed so rapidly since the Lord came to the temple that it has filled the clergy and the principal of their flocks with fear and anguish and has caused them to howl out in bitter rage. They see that this righteous work of the Lord is dividing off and bringing out from their ecclesiastical pens all the “sheep”, leaving only the “goats”, and so they weep and curse and gnash their teeth in anger over this loss in membership and revenue. “Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.” (Jer. 25:34-36) Better that they howl now, for shortly, when this work is completed, Armageddon’s slaughter of Christendom’s false shepherds will silence them forever! Hence all you faithful servants, feed now the flock!

Divine Requirements Resting on Servants

 1. How do servants prove their love for the Shepherd, happily?

AS THE Lord gathers more and more sheep into his fold he adequately provides for their every need by appointing servants who lovingly help and assist the flock in the way the Lord directs. Such Theocratic way is set forth in the Bible. The apostle Peter, it will be remembered, had very forcefully impressed on his heart and mind the necessity for him to prove his love for Christ by feeding and caring for the Lord’s sheep. Peter never forgot this truth, for, thirty years later, he earnestly exhorted other servants of the Lord to likewise prove their love by feeding the “sheep. This letter of Peter’s, as well as Christ’s direct commandments to servants in general, has been preserved for the instruction and guidance of those having special responsibilities in the Theocratic organization today. Servants do well, therefore, if they both study this counsel and put it into practice. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them,” said Jesus.—John 13:17; Phil. 4:9.

 2. Who are the “elders” whom Peter tells to feed the flock?

² “I appeal therefore to those who are elders among you; I am their brother-elder,” is the way Peter begins his counsel. (1 Pet. 5:1, An Amer. Trans.) The “elders” (Greek: presbytérous, older ones) do not refer to “elected elders” made so by the popular vote of some congregation after a heated political campaign. Peter is addressing himself to the older or elder ones in Christian growth, to those that are mature and well versed in Theocratic law and organizational requirements. They are not necessarily those old in body and mind or those who have been a very long time in the truth, but rather those mature in spiritual growth and development. Timothy, though a youth perhaps in his late teens, was nevertheless mature in spiritual growth, hence an elder. It