The Judgment Of The Nations

Matthew 25:31-46, “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. 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 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. 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: For I was an hungred, 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 hungred, 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.”

But be careful not to make the mistake of thinking that this is a general judgment of the 195 political entities called “nations.” There will not be a separation of sheep and goat “nations.” This judgment will be of individual people from all the nations of the earth. After billions have died in the plagues and judgments of the future Great Tribulation, the tens of millions remaining will stand before Christ to be judged as individuals. There will be the saved and the unsaved! There is considerable debate on this topic. This is what I believe Scripturally.

Please consider Matthew 7:21-23. These people boasted to Christ of their “many wonderful works” done is His name. They boasted of their preaching in Jesus' name, calling Him “LORD, LORD.” They were completely sincere. But the Lord said He never knew them, calling them “workers of iniquity.” They were shocked! You see, you are not one of Jesus' sheep unless you have been born-again, and that only happens by doing the will of the Father, which according to John 6:40 is to BELIEVE on the Son of God. Those foolish people had been deceived by the Devil to live the Christian life, without ever being born-again. This is the foolish Lordship Salvation group today, who call Jesus, “LORD, LORD,” but they have not done the will of the Father, they have added works to pervert grace.

This is very interesting. In Matthew 25:31-46 we see the righteous doing many wonderful works. But in Matthew 7:21-23 we see a group of people doing many wonderful works in Jesus' name, but they are unrighteous (goats). So not all goats do evil. Some goats do works of righteousness. And not all sheep do righteousness. Some sheep do evil things. So what's the difference between the sheep and the goats? What makes a lamb a lamb? John 10:1 and 9, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ...I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” If you are not a sheep dear friend, you can become one right now, by simply entering through “THE DOOR” of Jesus by faith! Simply come oh needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He was buried and raised up from the dead three days later. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

You don't have to do anything to be saved accept believe the Good News of Jesus Christ. You need to know WHO He is, WHAT He has done for you, and WHY He did it. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and bodily resurrected three days later from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus died for our sins because we are guilty sinners (Romans 3:23), and there is a penalty for those sins in Hell forever (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:12-15; 21:8; Psalms 9:17). 

So we learn by comparing Scripture with Scripture, that the defining factor in Matthew 25:31-46 of what makes one “righteous” is solely based upon faith. My destination is not based upon how I live my life, it's on whom that I trust to save me. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!