John 14:19
John 14:1919In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
Reasoning From the Scriptures uses "the world will see me no more" as a universal statement about the post-ascension era — proof that Jesus' return is invisible. The 1914 invisible parousia is the Watchtower's reading of how Jesus comes to those who "see" him while remaining unseen by the world.
The qualifying phrase "in a little while" — mikron — frames the whole sentence. Jesus is talking about the short window between crucifixion and ascension, during which he appeared bodily for forty days () to the disciples and not to the unbelieving world. The believer's continued sight ("but you will see me") is resurrection appearances followed by Spirit-mediated communion ("in that day," v.20, refers to Pentecost). The mode of the final return is settled by ("in the same manner as you have seen him going") and ("every eye will see him, including those who pierced him") — both spoken in their own contexts to address exactly the question does not.