Prophecy
Earlene Davis
Matthew 25
THE JUDGMENT OF THESHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS
Mt. 25:31-33, “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: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” The time is set when this shall come to pass, when Jesus comes in His glory, when He reveals Himself to the world ending the tribulation period. Read Rev. 19:11-21 describing that time. Then the living Gentile nations will be judged, It is not at His coming for the church or any portion of it.
“All the holy angels with him” in the original Greek is “messengers.” They are the saints, “the armies of heaven…clothed in fine linen, white and clean – Rev. 19:14. He begins to set up His kingdom on the earth as well as it is in heaven. The word “glory” means the estimated value of something. It cannot be expressed, it is the throne of His glory.
He is seen separating nation from nation. Because God hates a mixture, He always has. He will cast out of His kingdom all things that offend and they that work iniquity. This is not the Great White throne judgment, for that judgment of the wicked dead will come after the reign of Christ (Rev. 20:11-15). These are the Gentile nations that are left after the great conflict, Armageddon. The righteous nations will be separated from the wicked nations. Like a shepherd dividing his sheep from the goats. What determines if they are sheep nations?
Vs. 34-40, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, yet blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Notice, King is with a capital K. The King of kings and Lord of lords is reigning. He must put down at the outset all rule and authority and power and set in order, placing all other kingdoms as subordinate to His throne (Isa. 24:21). Then it will be manifested that the heavens do rule. Are they for Christ or against Him? Their conduct toward His brethren the Jews in their dark hour of God’s chastening of them will determine their destiny. The righteous will have fed, clothed and harbored His suffering people. There is mercy for them, because they showed mercy. They shall enter into that glad Millennial day, into a state of security and bliss, yet not having their glorified bodies. That will come later at the last trump when all the New creation will be changed. Those righteous nations will be preserved in the world.
V. 41 - “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, yet cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” This is the worst judgment, to be separated from God. Also in everlasting fire, which God prepared for the devil and his angels. God did not prepare everlasting fire for mankind, He gave His Son for all men to be saved. Because they reject God’s Son they will experience this judgment, they identified themselves with the devil and took a stand against Israel.
Vs. 42-46. “For I was an hundred, and yet gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and yet gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and yet took me not in: naked, and yet clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and yet visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hundred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as yet did it not to one of the least of these, yet did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
It is a dangerous thing to persecute the people of the Lord, for He counts it as rejection of HIM. The wicked nations on the left hand that did not help the Lord’s brethren the Jews, will be no more, a nation no more. Not the people, but they will no more be a nation. We have seen boundaries moved and nations set up and nations torn down, so will it be at that time. There will be less nations, of course there will also be less people because many will die during tribulation.
In Revelation 14:6-7, we read that to every nation the preaching of the everlasting Gospel will be sent out before this time, urging everyone to fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come. That is the grace of God, giving them time to repent and accept God’s salvation, warning men to flee the wrath to come.
