1950 This Means Everlasting Life - A2Z.org

THE "OTHER SHEEP" AND THE "GOATS" 237
ness . No, they were merely sheep going astray,
and they heeded the Right Shepherd's call and responded
to his voice and followed him .-Romans
5 :6,8, NW; 1 Peter 2 :25.
3 Those following him who become his spiritual
brothers and joint heirs in the Kingdom are comparatively
few, just 144,000 in number, and so he
calls them a "little flock" : "Have no fear, little
flock, because your Father has approved of giving
you the kingdom ." Luke 12 :32, NW These are
the first to receive the life benefits of the surrender
of his soul, from Pentecost forward . John the
Baptist was the first man to introduce members
of this little flock to Jesus, members taken from
among the natural Jews whom John had baptized .
Therefore Jesus likened him to the doorkeeper
of a special sheepfold : "The doorkeeper opens to
this one, and the sheep listen to his voice, and
he calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out." John 10 :3, NW The sheep of this special
Kingdom fold were not taken from only the natural
Jews . No ; but three and a half years after
Pentecost A .D. 33 the Right Shepherd in heaven
used the apostle Peter to take the key of knowledge
and open the way for sheep from among the
non-Jewish or Gentile nations to enter into the
Kingdom fold.-Acts 10 :1-48 .
4 But not all who eventually gain life through
the Right Shepherd enter into the Kingdom sheep-
3 . Who introduced him to the "little flock"? From
among whom are such sheep taken?
4 . Who are his "other sheep", and what do they attain to?