Sheep And Goat Nations

Matthew 25:31-46

E. J. Davis

V. 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.” These are Jesus’ words, He has been speaking since verse 4 of chapter 24 in answer to the disciples question. Verse 31 sets the time, “When,” Jesus comes in His glory. This is when He reveals Himself to the world at the end of the tribulation (Rev. 19:11-21). When the living nations will be judged. It is not His coming for the church or any portion of it.

“And all the holy angels with him.” Angels in the original Greek is “messengers.” They are the saints, “...the armies which were in heaven...clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” Rev. 19:14. “Then,” shall He set up His kingdom. The King of the Jews will be enthroned. His throne then will be on earth as well as in heaven. In Rev. 4 we read of a throne in heaven and in Rev. 19 a throne on earth. It is a throne of His glory (of His brilliance). The word “glory,” is the estimated value of something. How great is this? How can this be expressed in measure? It is the throne of His glory.

He is going to do more separating. In chapter 24 He is seen separating saint and sinner. In chapter 25 He separates saint and saint (wise from the foolish), also servant from servant, and now 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. Now this is not the great white throne judgment of Rev. 20:11, because that is the judgment of the wicked dead. This relates to the Gentile nations that are left. The righteous nations will be separated from the wicked nations. He likens them to sheep and some to goats. Remember this is a parable. They are not literally sheep and goats, but this is the way He will judge the nations, as a shepherd dividing his sheep from the goats. What determines if they are sheep nations?

V. 34-40 - “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, 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 hungered, 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.”

“Then shall the King say...” (capital “K”), The King of kings and Lord of lords has come to reign. He must put down at the outset all rule and authority and power and set in order and place all other kingdoms as subordinate to His throne. 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 hand upon them will determine their destiny. The righteous will have fed, clothed and harbored His despised and suffering people. There is mercy for them, because they will have showed mercy. They 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. They will be preserved in the world.

V. 41 - “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” They will be separated from God. This is the worse judgment, to be eternally separated from God. The second part of this judgment is everlasting fire, which is a place prepared for the devil and his angels. But some will experience it, because they identified themselves with the devil and will enjoy his punishment also. How can you send a nation? Who is responsible for a nation? The leaders are responsible for the operation of a nation and God will deal with them accordingly. These are identified with the devil and because they are, they take a stand against Israel.

V.42-46 - “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, 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 ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” It is a dangerous thing for saint or sinner to persecute the people of the Lord. The wicked nations on the left hand that have not helped His brethren the Jews, they will be no more. Nations will be annihilated, not the people, but the nations will be no more. We have seen boundaries moved and nations set up and nations torn down, so it will be at that time. There will be less nations (of course there will be less people also because most will die during tribulation time). In Revelation 14:6,7 we read that to every nation the preaching of the everlasting Gospel will be sent out before this time. They are urged to fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come. That is the grace of God to warn men to flee the wrath to come.

—S. W. G.