JUDGMENT NO. 4
1. Subjects-- The
NATIONS (Gentiles).
2. Time-- The
"Revelation of Christ."
3. Place-- The
"Throne of His Glory." On the Earth-- "Valley of
Jehoshaphat."
4. Basis of
Judgment-- Their Treatment of Christ's Brethren-- The Jews.
5. Result-- Some
Nations "SAVED," Others "DESTROYED."
This judgment is
FUTURE.
The account of this
Judgment is given in Mt 25:31-46. The description of this judgment, and of the
one given in Re 20:11-15 are combined by many, and taken to teach the doctrine
of a general judgment. But when we compare them as they differ so widely that it
is evident that they do not describe the same event. What God has put asunder
let no man join together. The following comparison will show the difference in
the two accounts
Matthew 25:31-46
1. No Resurrection.
2. Living Nations
Judged.
3. On the Earth.
Joel 3:2.
4. No Books
Mentioned.
5. Three Classes
Named. "Sheep," "Goats," "Brethren."
6. Time-- Before the
Millennium.
Revelation 20:11-15
1. A Resurrection.
2. Dead judged.
3. Heaven and Earth
Gone.
4. Books Opened.
5. One Class Named.
"The Dead."
6. Time-- After the
Millennium.
This comparison
reveals the fact that one of these judgments is "on the earth," the
other in the "heavens," and that they are separated by 1000 years.
(Many World leaders and
groups have attempted to destroy the Jews as a nation and a people, claiming their
Birthright for themselves. If this was allowed
to happen, the written Bible prophecies would fail and it is the thinking of the
Devil (Antichrist) that Jesus Christ would not have a reason to return to this earth.
Even religious organizations have
unwittly participated in this Unholy scheme. Many still wonder, what was Hitler’s real reason
for trying to destroy the Jews. Understanding
the Bible prophecies will help us understand what has been and still is going on
in the Middle East.)
The Greek word
"ethnos" here translated "Nations" occurs 158 times in the
New Testament. It is translated "Gentiles" 92 times,
"Nation" or "Nations" 61 times, and "The Heathen"
5 times, but it is never in any instance (unless it be this) applied either to
the "dead" or the "resurrected."
As this is a
judgment of nations only, the Jews cannot be in it, for they are not reckoned
among the nations. Nu 23:9. And as the Church will be associated with Christ in
this judgment, for the "Saints" (the Church) shall judge the
"World" (the Nations) (1Co 6:2), the Church cannot be in this
judgment either. As we have seen the Church and the Jews have been already
judged, so the "Judgment of the Nations" cannot be a general
judgment. Who then, is asked, are meant by the Sheep? Do they not represent the
Righteous, and all the Righteous from the beginning of the world to the end of
Time? And do not the Goats in like manner represent all the Wicked?
If the Sheep are the
Righteous, and the Goats the Wicked, then who are the Brethren? If they are the
"followers of Christ," as some claim, they should be classed with the
Sheep. The Scriptures teach that the Righteous are saved by "faith,"
and the Wicked are lost because they "reject Christ," but in this
judgment scene the Sheep inherit a "Kingdom" and the Goats are
commanded to "depart," because of their treatment of the Brethren.
All the confusion is
caused by trying to make a judgment of "nations" mean a judgment of
"individuals." The Sheep represent one class of Nations, and the
Goats another class, while the Brethren represent the Jews (Christ's brethren).
We must bear in mind the time and place of this judgment. The time is at the
"Revelation of Christ" when He comes to set up His "Millennial
Kingdom" on the earth. The place is the "Valley of Jehoshaphat"
in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
"For, behold,
in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of
Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather ALL NATIONS, and will bring them down
into the `Valley of Jehoshaphat,' and will plead with them there for MY PEOPLE and
for my heritage ISRAEL, whom they have scattered among the Nations, and parted
my land." Joel 3:1-2.
This prophecy
clearly states that there is to be a "Judgment of Nations" on the
earth in the "Valley of Jehoshaphat" at the time of the restoration of
the Jews to their own land, and that the basis of judgment is the treatment by
the nations of Christ's brethren-- The Jews.
During the
"Tribulation Period" the Nations that treat the Jewish People kindly,
feeding and clothing them, and visiting them in prison, will be the "Sheep
Nations," while those who neglect to do so will be the "Goat
Nations." At the "Judgment of Nations" the King (Christ) will
say to the "Sheep Nations," inasmuch as ye have been kind to My
brethren (the Jews), "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This Kingdom is the
"Millennial Kingdom" that the "Sheep Nations" as Nations
will "inherit" and possess during the Millennium. And as they are to
be among the "saved nations" of the New Earth (Re 21:24) it can be
said of them that they, or at least the righteous individuals of them, shall
enter into life eternal. Mt 25:46. Christ's sentence upon the "Goat
Nations" will be-- "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the Devil and his angels," and "these shall go away into
everlasting punishment." The "Goat Nations" will at once be
destroyed as Nations, not one of them shall get into the Millennium, and the
wicked individuals that compose them will perish and be eternally lost.
