[438]Jesus furthermore said:  “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”. (Matthew 24:14) In the year 1919 many of the Bible Students in different parts of the earth, emerging from army camps and prison dungeons, rejoicing in their privileges, again assembled together and with united action went forth to proclaim the message of the presence of the Lord; and particularly the message, “The World Has Ended—­Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” clearly in fulfillment of the words of the Master in the text last above quoted.  Numbers of public lectures delivered upon this subject throughout Christendom have gladdened the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people, comforting those that mourn.  In 1920 this message was put into printed form in the booklet entitled “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”, and in the lands where the greatest persecution prevailed against the people of the Lord, greatest has been the witness.  Within eight months 2,500,000 copies of this booklet were placed in the hands of the people; and yet the message goes on, giving a wider and wider witness, looking forward to the full consummation of “the time of the end”, the end of the old order and the incoming of Messiah’s kingdom.

REGATHERING OF ISRAEL

[439]Jesus furthermore said that the regathering of Israel to Palestine (Luke 21:24) would be one of the most conclusive proofs of his presence and of the end of the world.  A full discussion of this point, together with many other points concerning the end of the world, is set forth in detail in the above mentioned booklet, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”.  Therein is shown conclusively that the prophecies have been fulfilled exactly on time; that Israel is now being regathered and is rebuilding Palestine exactly as the Lord foretold.  Jesus said:  “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh".—­Luke 21:28.

[440]Jesus, speaking further through his chosen vessel, refers to the harvest of the tare class, saying, “The harvest of the earth is ripe.  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” (Revelation 14:15,16) This gathering of the elements of Christendom, the vine of the earth, and the reaping of it for destruction, is now in progress.  It is one feature of the Lord’s work, which proves his presence at this time.

[441]There are many other corroborative evidences of the presence of the Lord, but space will not permit the examination of all of them here.  We leave the reader to find a more detailed explanation of these great corroborative truths set forth in Volumes 2 and 3 of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.

[442]Why should any one deceive himself by being induced to cease an investigation of this subject because some self-constituted wise one will say:  ‘You can never know when the Lord will come’?  Jesus himself said to his faithful followers:  “Watch therefore:  for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come”. (Matthew 24:42) “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” (Mark 13:37) The clear inference here is that the watchers in due time would recognize the evidences of his presence, and recognizing these, would rejoice.