HAVE you ever been told a secret?— * There is one I would like to tell you. In the Bible it is called “the sacred secret which has been kept in silence for long-lasting times.” (Romans 16:25) At first only God knew “the sacred secret.” Let’s see how God saw to it that this secret became known to many.

To begin with, do you know what “sacred” means?— The word means holy, clean, or very special. So the secret is called the sacred secret because it is from God, who is holy. Who do you think wanted to know this special secret?— Angels did. The Bible says: “Into these very things angels are desiring to peer.” Yes, they wanted to understand this holy secret.​—1 Peter 1:12.

When Jesus came to earth, he talked about the sacred secret and began to explain it. He told his disciples: “To you the sacred secret of the kingdom of God has been given.” (Mark 4:11) Did you notice what the sacred secret is about?— It is about God’s Kingdom, which Jesus taught us to pray for!​—Matthew 6:9, 10.

Now let’s see how it was that God’s Kingdom was a secret “for long-lasting times” until Jesus came to earth and began to explain it. After Adam and Eve broke God’s law and were put out of the garden of Eden, God’s servants came to know that God would still make the whole earth into a paradise. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:8, 9; Isaiah 45:18) They wrote about the happiness people would enjoy on earth under God’s Kingdom.​—Psalm 37:11, 29; Isaiah 11:6-9; 25:8; 33:24; 65:21-24.

Think, now, about the Ruler of God’s Kingdom. Do you know whom God chose to be Ruler?— His Son, the “Prince of Peace,” Jesus Christ. “The princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder,” the Bible says. (Isaiah 9:6, 7) You and I must take in “knowledge of the sacred secret of God, namely, Christ.” (Colossians 2:2) We need to know that God took the life of the first angel (spirit Son) whom he created and put that life inside Mary. That Son, who had been a powerful angel, became the one whom God sent to earth as a sacrifice so that we can have everlasting life.​—Matthew 20:28; John 3:16; 17:3.

There is more, though, that we need to know about this secret than that God has chosen Jesus to be the Ruler of His Kingdom. Part of the sacred secret is that others will be with the resurrected Jesus in heaven, both men and  women. They will rule with Jesus in heaven!​—Ephesians 1:8-12.

Let’s learn the names of some of those who will rule with Jesus in heaven. Jesus told his faithful apostles that he was going there to prepare a place for them. (John 14:2, 3) By looking at the following scriptures, you will see the names of a few of the men and women who will rule with Jesus in his Father’s Kingdom.​—Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 15:39-41; John 19:25.

For a long time, it was not known how many people would rule in heaven with Jesus as part of his Kingdom. But now we know the number. Do you know it?— The Bible says it is 144,000. This too is part of the sacred secret.​—Revelation 14:1, 4.

Do you agree that this “sacred secret of the kingdom of God” is the most wonderful secret anyone could ever come to know?— If so, let us try to learn all we can about it so that we can explain these things to as many people as we can.