Judgment of the Nations Matthew 25: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’” (25:31-34)

The Olivet Discourse Matthew 24 – 25 – Commonly known as the Olivet Discourse – Delivered to the disciples on the Mount of Olives – Theme – Christ’s second coming – Prompted by disciples’ question in 24:3 – “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” – Answer is the longest given to any question asked in the New Testament

All sin is known to God and All sin must be punished “You may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Num. 32:23) Not even Christians are exempt – But, judgment and punishment for all their sins was placed upon Jesus Christ – Their guilt and punishment was nailed to the cross with Christ – Through God’s divine grace working through their obedient trust in His son Those who deny Christ as Lord and Savior – Bear the penalty of their own sins – Spiritual death and eternal damnation

Judgment of the Nations Closing words in the Olivet discourse One of the most severe and sobering warnings of judgment in all scripture Divine separation of righteous sheep from unrighteous goats Judgment will occur before Christ establishes His millennial kingdom on earth

The Setting of Judgment (vv a) The Judge – “When the Son of Man” (v. 31a) – Judge will be Christ himself – “Son of Man” – most common title Jesus used, affirms His incarnation His identity with mankind His time of humiliation and sacrifice His condescension His submissiveness His humility His meekness His gracious love for fallen humanity “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All nations will be gathered before him,” (25:31-32a)

The Setting of Judgment (vv a) The Time – “comes in His glory, and all the angels with him,” (v. 31b) – The time of judgment will be Christ’s return – “comes in His glory” – Accompanying Him will be a host of His angels The Place – “he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (v. 31c) – On earth, while he reigns over the restored earth for 1,000 years

The Setting of Judgment (vv a) The Subjects – “All nations will be gathered before him,” (v. 32a) – Subjects of Christ’s judgment will be all nations – All nations – every person alive on earth when the Lord comes – At the Rapture – believers taken into heaven – During following 7 years of Tribulation Newly saved believers – “sheep” Unsaved non-believers – “goats”

The Process of Judgment (v. 32b) Process of judgment – absolute, unerring separation of the saved from the unsaved Shepherd – easy to distinguish sheep from goats – Herded together – Separated for feeding and sleeping Easy for Christ to judge saved from unsaved – Saved “sheep” – placed on His right, the place of favor and blessing – Unsaved “goats” – placed on His left, the place of disfavor and rejection “and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (25:32b)

The Inheritance of the Saved (vv ) “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (25:34-40)

The Inheritance of the Saved (vv ) “The King” – the Son of Man who sits on the glorious throne is also the Son of God, the divine King. The inheritance of the saved – on his right – “The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” – Believers who survived the holocaust of the Tribulation, will be ushered alive into the millennial kingdom

How do believers become worthy of “inheriting the kingdom”? Believers will not inherit the kingdom based on good deeds – Basis of inheritance – “Blessed by my Father” because of their trust in His Son – Child receives inheritance on the basis of being in the family – Believer receives inheritance as a child of God and a fellow heir with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:16-17) Good deeds are the fruit, not the root, of salvation – Good deeds without genuine trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will bring no spiritual benefit – Righteous deeds in vv 35 – 36 are measurable evidence of salvation Good deeds mentioned all deal with common, everyday needs – No mention of monumental undertakings or spectacular accomplishments – Routine day-to-day kindnesses that meet the needs of fellow believers – A life marked by compassion of God and meekness and love of Christ

The Condemnation of the Unsaved (vv ) Unbelievers on his left – will join the “devil and his angels” in the “eternal fire” of hell “Cursed” – because they rejected Christ – Rejection of Christ left them in a state where they were not able to do righteous deeds “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (25:41:46)

The Condemnation of the Unsaved (vv ) Punishment for rejection of Christ - ETERNITY – Eternal separation from God Separation from His goodness, righteousness, truth, joy, peace, and every other good thing – Eternal association with the devil and his angels In the place of eternal torment God prepared for them – Eternal isolation No fellowship, no consolation, and no encouragement – Eternal duration – not 1, 10, 100 years – eternity – Eternal affliction – no relief; no respite

Judgment of the Nations “But the righteous will go away into eternal life.” (v. 46) Jesus uses the same word (aionios, eternal) to describe salvation and condemnation – Believers will be in heaven with God forever – Lost will be in hell with the devil forever

Conclusion We will all be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ – Saved – eternity with God in heaven – Unsaved – eternity with the devil in the fires of hell Judgment is based on genuine acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – Believers will not inherit the kingdom based on good deeds – Good deeds are the fruit, not the root, of salvation – Good deeds – routine, day-to-day kindnesses that meet the needs of fellow believers – Strive for a life based on the compassion of God and the meekness and love of Jesus