I ended my previous article:
“Pay attention to the detail”
By saying that there is a
2nd judgement spoken of in
1 Corinthians 3:11 – 15
Which is for Christians only
However, Jesus will first
Judge everyone…
We read about this judgement
In Matthew 25:31 – 46
“All the nations will be gathered
before Him, and He will separate
them one from another,
as a shepherd divides his
sheep from the goats.”
(Matthew 25:32)
Throughout the Bible we have
This reference to “sheep” as being
Of God and godly…
Jesus Himself was described, by
John the Baptist, as being the
Lamb of God who takes away the
Sin of the world
A lamb was used by each family
In Egypt as a sacrifice to be eaten
Before they fled from Pharaoh
In John 10 followers of Jesus
Are referred to as being sheep
And Jesus sent out His Disciples
As sheep among wolves
And warned them to be wary of
Wolves in sheep clothing
So in the judgement for all nations
People will be separated as a
Shepherd divides the sheep
From the goats
The sheep on His right
And the goats on His left
“Then the King will say to those on
His right hand,
‘Come, you blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world:”
(Matthew 25:34)
“Then the righteous will answer Him”
(Matthew 25:37)
Jesus calls the sheep blessed
And then Matthew says in verse 37
That these blessed “sheep” are
RIGHTEOUS
In contrast the goats are neither
Blessed nor righteous
The praise and accusation given
To each group is similar
In that it refers to what was
Or was not done to Jesus
On the road to Damascus
Saul who became the apostle Paul
Was challenged by Jesus for
Persecuting HIM
Jesus is IN His people and
Identifies with His creation
Unfortunately, not all of His creation
Identify with Him but only those
Who are RIGHTEOUS
The righteousness that they have
Is not their own but HIS
Which was given at and through
The cross when His righteousness
Was exchanged with our sin
So WE (Christians) are those
Righteous “sheep” that will
Be judged worthy of a place
In heaven
The goats, however, face
A different outcome:
“And these will go away into
everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Matthew 25:46)